COVID-19
breaking news & updates
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Alameda County Health Officials Strongly Support State Order to Reduce the Risk of Circulation of COVID-19 in Health Care and High-Risk Congregate Settings
On Monday, the State announced that all staff in acute health care, long-term care, high- risk congregate living and other health care settings will be required to provide proof of vaccination by showing their vaccination card or digital vaccination record. Any staff person who is not fully vaccinated or fails to show proof of their vaccination will be required to wear a medical grade mask and undergo COVID-19 testing once or twice per week, based on their employment setting. The Order also applies to State employees. The Alameda County Public Health Department strongly supports this Order and strongly encourages all health care and high-risk congregate living setting workers to get vaccinated as soon as possible. Alameda County Health Care Services Agency Read more
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One Millionth Alameda County Resident Receives COVID-19 Vaccine
One million Alameda County residents are fully vaccinated from COVID-19 or two-thirds of the county population, public health officials said last Friday. Of the residents 12 years old and older, 70.7% are fully vaccinated and about 83% have had at least one dose. It's been a long 7-month journey to get to this remarkable milestone in one of the largest and most diverse counties in the State," said Colleen Chawla, director of the Alameda County Health Care Services Agency. Pleasanton Weekly Read more
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East Oakland Groups Seek Emergency Funds To Continue COVID-19 Services In Hardest-Hit Communities
A coalition of about 17 East Oakland organizations - including the Street Level Health Project - has requested an emergency fund of $40 million from Alameda County's Board of Supervisors to help address the devastating impacts of the pandemic. Alameda County has seen a "concerning" spike in coronavirus cases and COVID-19 hospitalizations in recent weeks, especially in East and West Oakland, and the Ashland and Cherryland neighborhoods near Hayward . SF Chronicle Read more
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San Mateo County is First Bay Area County to Reissue Indoor Mask Mandate in Some Settings
San Mateo County - where 88.6% of the county's age 12 and over population has been fully vaccinated against COVID-19 - is the first Bay Area county to issue an indoor mask mandate stricter than what California and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) guidance currently recommends. Starting Monday, all residents - including vaccinated ones - will have to wear masks inside county offices, clinics and other publicly accessible facilities because of the spread of the more contagious Delta variant. Masks are still only recommended inside other indoor places, such as grocery stores, restaurants, gyms and theaters. SFGate Read more
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Get Vaccinated And Get Free Admission to Sonoma County’s Summer Fun Fest
Get vaccinated against COVID-19 to skip the entry fee at Sonoma County’s Summer Fun Fest starting this week at the Sonoma County Fairgrounds in Santa Rosa, county officials announced Monday. Visit the Jockey Club for your choice of the Pfizer, Moderna or Johnson & Johnson shot and receive a free one-day festival pass and ride ticket. The event, which is an updated version of the traditional Sonoma County Fair, opened yesterday and runs through Aug. 8 (closed Monday and Tuesday). Press Democrat Read more
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San Leandro Costco Will Keep Offering Senior Hours In Pandemic
Costco Wholesale has decided to continue offering special hours for seniors to keep them safe as the number of coronavirus cases rise. Seniors can continue shopping during exclusive hours two days each week: Tuesday and Thursday. The company initially planned to stop senior hours but opted to offer it for guests as the Delta variant cases grow across the U.S. Costco Wholesale is at 1900 Davis St. in San Leandro. Hours for seniors or anyone with disabilities are 9 to 10 a.m. Tuesdays and Thursdays. San Leandro Patch Read more
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Is California’s Vaccine Pace Picking Up Amid COVID Surge?
It’s possible that a surge of infections could do what a $116 million lottery may not have: break the vaccine slump. COVID-19 vaccination rates across much of the U.S. sputtered recently. By early summer, demand in California plummeted, with new first doses trudging in at a rate not seen since vials were carefully rationed at the start of the rollout in December. But there are early signs that as case rates escalate across the state and nationwide due to the highly contagious Delta variant, the vaccination pace may also be picking back up. Sacramento Bee Read more
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Biden Expected To Announce Vaccination Requirement Across Federal Government Today
President Joe Biden is expected to announce today a requirement that all federal employees and contractors be vaccinated against COVID-19, or be required to submit to regular testing and mitigation requirements , according to a source with direct knowledge of the matter. The announcement will come in remarks where Biden is also expected to lay out a series of new steps, including incentives, in an attempt to spur new vaccinations as the Delta variant spreads rapidly throughout the country. It will also follow the decision by the Department of Veterans Affairs to require its frontline health care workers to be vaccinated over the course of the next two months. CNN Read more
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"Well Past Time": L.A. Politicians Want COVID-19 Vaccine Mandate For City Workers
A growing number of Los Angeles politicians want to require city workers to get vaccinated against COVID-19 as infection numbers have resurged, a step already announced in New York, San Francisco and Pasadena. “It is well past time that we act,” Councilman Mark Ridley-Thomas, whose district stretches from Crenshaw to Koreatown, said Monday. The pandemic “is not retreating,” Ridley-Thomas said, “and the best defense to date are the vaccinations. So why wouldn’t we do all that we can to avoid the calamity that we were confronted with no more than five months ago?” LA Times
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At the F.D.A.’s Urging, Pfizer-BioNTech And Moderna Are Expanding Their Studies Of Children 5 to 11
At the urging of federal regulators, two coronavirus vaccine makers are expanding the size of their studies in children ages five to 11 - a precautionary measure designed to detect rare side effects including heart inflammation problems that turned up in vaccinated people younger than 30. NY Times Read more
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You Got Your California Digital Vaccine Record - But How Does The QR Code Work?
While many Californians still may be having trouble getting their digital vaccine record, those who do have theirs received a QR code. Officials recommended keeping a screenshot of that code in your phone - which may be increasingly handy in the Bay Area as a growing number of restaurants and bars require proof of COVID-19 vaccination as the Delta variant drives a new coronavirus surge. SF Chronicle
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New Pfizer Data Suggests 3rd COVID Vaccine Dose "Strongly" Boosts Protection Against Delta Variant
A third dose of the Pfizer/BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine can "strongly" boost protection against the delta variant - beyond the protection afforded by the standard two doses, suggests new data released by Pfizer on Wednesday. The data suggest that antibody levels against the delta variant in people ages 18 to 55 who receive a third dose of vaccine are greater than five-fold than following a second dose. ABC7
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State/National/International News
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Actual Number of U.S. Coronavirus Cases May Be More Than Double The Official Tally
By early March 2021, roughly 65 million people in the U.S. - or one out of every five people - had been infected by the coronavirus that causes COVID-19, a new analysis shows. The findings, described in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, suggest that roughly 60% of coronavirus infections had gone uncounted at that point - adding to a growing body of evidence that the pandemic’s true toll is far greater than official tallies show. LA Times Read more
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If You Are Not Vaccinated Against COVID-19, You Shouldn’t Go Into a Bar Or Restaurant, Expert Says
Less than half of the US population is fully vaccinated against COVID-19 - and with cases on the rise, experts are urging a return to precautions reminiscent of the earlier days of the pandemic. “What I would say bluntly is: If you are not vaccinated right now in the United States, you should not go into a bar, you should probably not eat at a restaurant. You are at great risk of becoming infected,” CNN Medical Analyst Dr. Jonathan Reiner, professor of medicine and surgery at George Washington University said. In 48 states, the rate of new COVID-19 cases in the past week jumped by at least 10% compared to the previous week, according to data from Johns Hopkins University. In 34 of those states, the rate of new cases increased by more than 50%. CNN
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Doctors Worry That Memory Problems After COVID-19 May Set The Stage For Alzheimer's
In the U.S. alone, millions of people have developed persistent cognitive or mood problems after getting COVID-19, but it may take a decade to know whether these people are more likely than uninfected people to develop Alzheimer's in their 60s and 70s. Studies of people who have had COVID-19 may help scientists understand the role infections play in Alzheimer's and other brain diseases. Previous research has suggested that exposure to certain viruses, including herpes, can trigger an immune response in the brain that may set the stage for Alzheimer's. NPR Read more
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Is Asking About Someone’s COVID Vaccine Status a HIPAA Violation?
From politicians to professional athletes, people in the media spotlight have deflected questions about their COVID-19 vaccine status by - incorrectly - accusing reporters of violating the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act, or HIPAA. When Dallas Cowboy’s quarterback Dak Prescott was asked at a training camp press conference whether or not he was vaccinated, the NFL star said, “I don’t necessarily think that’s exactly important. I think that’s HIPAA.” In fact, HIPAA doesn’t block anyone from asking another person about their health status, according to Alan Meisel, law professor and bioethics expert at the University of Pittsburgh. “What it does is prohibit certain health care entities from revealing certain health information about patients,” Meisel said. KRON4 Read more
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34-Year-Old California Man Who Mocked COVID-19 Vaccine On Social Media Dies Of Virus
A man who mocked COVID-19 vaccinations died this week at a Los Angeles-area hospital after contracting the virus. Stephen Harmon was 34. Before his hospitalization, Harmon had made fun of vaccination efforts on social media. “I got 99 problems but a vax ain’t one,” he said in a tweet last month. Mercury News Read more
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As Virus Cases Rise, Another Contagion Spreads Among the Vaccinated: Anger
As coronavirus cases resurge across the country, many inoculated Americans are losing patience with vaccine holdouts who, they say, are neglecting a civic duty or clinging to conspiracy theories and misinformation even as new patients arrive in emergency rooms and the nation renews mask advisories. NY Times Read more
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Vaccinated U.S. And E.U. Travelers Can Enter England Without Quarantining
Fully vaccinated travelers from the United States and the European Union will be allowed to enter England without quarantining upon arrival starting Aug. 2, the British authorities said on Wednesday as they seek to attract tourists after months of restrictions. Last week, the government relaxed all but a handful of restrictions in England despite a major surge in infections. Cases have since declined, surprising experts and government officials who had expected them to keep rising. NY Times Read more
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Cal State Universities To Require Coronavirus Vaccination, Won't Wait For Full FDA Approval
The California State University System said Tuesday it will require faculty, staff and students who come to campus in the next school year to be immunized against the coronavirus even if federal regulators have not yet given full approval to a vaccine. Cal State is the nation's largest four-year public university system, with about 485,000 students on 23 campuses from San Diego to Humboldt County. Its announcement reflected growing apprehension among education leaders nationwide about the threat the virus's delta variant poses to the coming school year. SFGate Read more
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Confirmed Cases
Bay Area: 470,433
California: 3,929,933
U.S.: 34,652,522
Alameda County
Vaccines Administered: 2,141,398
Cases: 95,243
Deaths: 1,274
Test Positivity: 5.3%
Hospitalized Patients: 188
ICU Beds Available: 95
Cases have increased recently and are very high. The number of hospitalized COVID patients has also risen in the Alameda County area. Deaths have remained at about the same level. The test positivity rate in Alameda County is relatively low, suggesting that testing capacity is adequate for evaluating COVID-19 spread in the area. NY Times
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Reported Deaths
Bay Area: 5,829
California: 64,313
U.S.: 611,675
Contra Costa County
Vaccines Administered: 1,494,183
Cases: 75,580
Deaths: 828
Test Positivity: 7.3%
Hospitalized Patients: 131
ICU Beds Available: 35
Cases have increased recently and are very high. The number of hospitalized COVID patients has also risen in the Contra Costa County area. Deaths have remained at about the same level. The test positivity rate in Contra Costa County is relatively low, suggesting that testing capacity is adequate for evaluating COVID-19 spread in the area. NY Times
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CDC Tells The Vaccinated To Mask Up In Some Settings
NPR Questionnaire Can Guide You
If you hung your mask up in May after the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said face coverings were no longer necessary for vaccinated people, you're probably not eager to start masking up once more. And with the recent announcement that some vaccinated people should mask up again in certain situations because of the spread of the highly contagious Delta variant, your head may be spinning. NPR Read more
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- COVID-19 testing is a good idea, but keep in mind, people who test negative can still harbor the virus if they are early in their infection.
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A viral test tells you if you have a current infection.
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An antibody test might tell you if you had a past infection.
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COVID Test Resources
Food Pantries
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Over the last seven days, Alameda County officials have reported 2,270 new coronavirus cases, which amounts to 138 cases per 100,000 residents.
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Over the last seven days, Contra Costa County officials have reported 2,085 new coronavirus cases, which amounts to 184 cases per 100,000 residents.
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Top 10 Locations of Cases in
Alameda County, as of 7/28/21
Oakland: 30,144
Hayward: 14,403
Fremont: 8,525
Eden MAC: 6,289
San Leandro: 5,996
Livermore: 4,623
Union City: 4,241
Berkeley: 3,910
Newark: 2,920
Castro Valley: 2,823
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Top 10 Locations of Cases in
Contra Costa County, as of 7/28/21
Richmond: 12,443
Antioch: 10,784
Concord: 8,711
Pittsburg: 7,493
San Pablo: 5,581
Brentwood: 4,273
Oakley: 3,670
Walnut Creek: 3,156
Bay Point: 2,980
San Ramon: 2,314
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About Eden Health District
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The Eden Health District Board of Directors are Chair Mariellen Faria, Vice Chair Pam Russo, Secretary/Treasurer Roxann Lewis, Gordon Galvan and Varsha Chauhan. The Chief Executive Officer is Mark Friedman.
The Eden Health District is committed to ensuring that policy makers and community members receive accurate and timely information to help make the best policy and personal choices to meet and overcome the challenges posed by the COVID-19 pandemic.
We welcome your feedback on our bulletin. Please contact editor Lisa Mahoney.
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