COVID-19
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Many Bay Area Students Still Masked As State Mandate Lifts
It was supposed to be mask-free Monday for California school kids, but you couldn’t tell from watching Willow Glen Middle School eighth grader Trish Ha as she darted off to her first class. Though San Jose Unified School District adopted the state’s new mask-optional guidance, Ha was having none of it. “I’m still going to wear my mask,” the 14-year-old said “I don’t want to take it off because people might be a bit reckless.” Ha was hardly alone. District spokeswoman Jennifer Maddox said mask-wearing has become so baked in that nine out of 10 kids opted to keep them on Monday and many of the few who showed up bare faced slipped theirs back on to avoid standing out. Willow Glen Principal Paul Slayton even stood maskless outside, where they haven’t been required, between classes to show kids it’s OK. Mercury News Read more
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San Francisco to Sponsor Event Series Later This Month To "Celebrate" Everyone Returning To Their Downtown Offices
A program of outdoor festivities at multiple locations around downtown SF is being planned for the last week of March, and city officials really hope that someone is there to attend them. Dubbed "Bloom SF," this is sort of a do-over of what the city had planned for last summer, when we last thought the world might be getting back to normal, and before the Delta surge arrived and fucked everything up again. It's not clear if the full $9.5 million was spent on last year's Downtown Recovery Plan, but there's a new plan, and it involves acrobats from Dear San Francisco, music acts, other entertainment and food. And the events will be going on between March 27 and April 2 at multiple locations: Embarcadero Center, the Ferry Building, Union Square, Westfield San Francisco Centre, Yerba Buena Gardens, The Crossing at East Cut, Salesforce Plaza, and the Transit Center rooftop park. SFist Read more
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Rush To Find Childcare As Bay Area Parents Return To Work
With many parents headed back to the office, there is rush for childcare and the demand is putting pressure on families and daycare facilities. Susie’s Daycare Academy in Livermore is at capacity. Owner Susie Holland says she gets calls two or three times a week from parents just asking if she has openings. There is a waiting list and Holland says it’s been like this for months. KPIX5 Read more
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Santa Clara County Doctor, Radiation Therapist Sue Over Vaccine Mandate
Two healthcare workers at Santa Clara County’s Valley Medical Center filed suit in federal court on Monday, alleging that their employer’s vaccine mandate from last year violates their religious beliefs and forced them out of their jobs. The plaintiffs include radiation therapist Shannon Hartman and Dr. Katie Lightfoot, who are currently on unpaid leave. In the suit, Hartman claims that the county offered a provisional exemption for her religious beliefs but was unable to accommodate her at a similar pay rate to what she was already earning, forcing her to sell her house. Lightfoot alleges that she was also granted a provisional exemption based on her religion but that the county won’t help her complete her one-year residency, which she started in June. Mercury News
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Pfizer Asks FDA To Authorize 2nd COVID Booster For People 65 And Older
Pfizer and BioNTech announced Tuesday that they asked U.S. regulators to authorize a second COVID-19 vaccine booster for people 65 and older. If the Food and Drug Administration grants authorization, the additional shot would go to a group of people who are among those with the highest risk of serious illness and death from COVID. Pfizer cited data from Israel that showed COVID infections were 2 times lower and rates of severe illness were 4 times lower among individuals who received a second booster dose of the vaccine, compared to those who received only one booster shot. NBC News Read more
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As Virus Data Mounts, The J.&J. Vaccine Holds Its Own
Roughly 17 million Americans received the Johnson & Johnson COVID vaccine, only to be told later that it was the least protective of the options available in the United States. But new data suggest that the vaccine is now preventing infections, hospitalizations and deaths at least as well as the Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna vaccines. The reasons aren’t clear, and not all experts are convinced that the vaccine has vindicated itself. But the accumulating data nonetheless offer considerable reassurance to recipients of the vaccine and, if confirmed, have broad implications for its deployment in parts of the world. NY Times Read more
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The Goal: Vaccinate 70% Of The World Against COVID. Scientists Are Proposing A Reboot
When it comes to vaccinating people in middle- and lower-income countries against COVID-19, some global health advocates say it's time for a serious re-think. "We seem to have lost perspective as to what the major goal of vaccines is and where they are going to yield the greatest public health benefit," says Shabir Madhi, a prominent vaccine researcher at South Africa's University of Witwatersrand. Specifically, Madhi argues that governments in countries that still have low vaccination rates should shift their attention to vaccinating those who are most vulnerable to severe disease from the coronavirus. That means people age 50 and above or those with health conditions that put them at particular risk. The aim, says Madhi, should be to get 90% or more of people in this category vaccinated. NPR Read more
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Should Parents Be Worried About Vaccine Effectiveness For 5- To 11-Year-Olds? An Expert Weighs In
To many parents' dismay, a new report from the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention found that the COVID-19 vaccine is less effective against the Omicron variant for children ages 5 to 11 than for older children and adults. Two doses of the Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine reduced the risk of Omicron infection by 31% among children 5 to 11 years old, compared with 59% among those 12 to 15. CNN Read more
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White House Warns Of COVID Treatment, Vaccine Cuts Without Added Funding
Biden administration officials warned that the U.S. will soon run out of funding for future COVID booster shots, new treatments and testing efforts if the spending legislation remains stuck in Congress. The federal government will be canceling plans to purchase additional monoclonal antibody treatments that it had expected to order as soon as next week after Congress failed to provide an additional $22.5 billion in COVID funding that the White House had requested, a senior administration official said.
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State/National/International News
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COVID-19 Is Fading - But Ending The Health Emergency Could Leave Us Vulnerable
As the coronavirus releases its deadly grip on the United States and pandemic rules governing daily life fall away, is it time to declare the national public health emergency over? More than one-third of Americans think so, polls show. So do dozens of Republican members of Congress who have called on President Biden to “unwind” the emergency declaration “so our country can get back to normal.” After two years that saw nearly 80 million infections in the U.S. and almost 1 million COVID-19 deaths, the desire to move on is understandable. But experts warn that ending the health emergency now would leave Americans in a vulnerable position if a new variant sparks another surge and officials lack the legal authority to respond. LA Times Read more
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Coronavirus Cases Are Rising In Europe. Is It A Warning For California?
Rising coronavirus cases in Europe are a potential warning sign that another pandemic wave is possible this spring in California and the U.S., experts say. The recent increases documented in the United Kingdom and elsewhere in Europe are in contrast to the continued declines in California and the United States. But conditions across the pond have routinely been a harbinger of things to come stateside, and experts say a close watch is warranted. “What happens in the U.K. and Europe doesn’t stay there,” Dr. Eric Topol, director of the Scripps Research Translational Institute in La Jolla said. LA Times Read more
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U.S. Sewer Data Warns Of A New Bump In COVID Cases After Lull
A wastewater network that monitors for COVID-19 trends is warning that cases are once again rising in many parts of the U.S., according to an analysis of Centers for Disease Control and Prevention data by Bloomberg. More than a third of the CDC’s wastewater sample sites across the U.S. showed rising COVID-19 trends in the period ending March 1 to March 10, though reported cases have stayed near a recent low. The number of sites with rising signals of COVID-19 cases is nearly twice what it was during the Feb. 1 to Feb. 10 period, when the wave of Omicron-variant cases was fading rapidly. Bloomberg Read more
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I Was A COVID Doctor. Here's The One Thing I Refuse To Do As We "Get Back To Normal"
I clocked out from my final COVID shift last week. For the past two years, I have done it all when it comes to the patients in our COVID inbox: screening for who gets tests when tests were rationed, triaging who should stay home when care was rationed, prioritizing who gets vaccines when vaccines were rationed, and deciding who gets treatments when treatments were rationed. Decisions made by those in power have affected every aspect of the health care we could offer, and the resultant toll on health care workers has been immeasurable. Health care workers are not OK. HuffPost Read more
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U.S. Funeral Assistance For COVID Tops $2B, More Eligible
The federal government has provided more than $2 billion to help cover funeral costs for more than 300,000 families of people who died from COVID-19, the Federal Emergency Management Agency announced Tuesday as it launches a new campaign to raise awareness about the aid to eligible families. More than 965,000 people have died in the U.S. from the virus. ABC News Read more
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Lasting Depression And Anxiety Can Follow Severe Case Of COVID
Feelings of depression and anxiety can last nearly a year and a half after a serious bout of COVID-19, according to a study released Monday. The research, published in The Lancet Public Health, is among the first to analyze long-term mental health repercussions following severe cases of Covid, which researchers described as being unable to get out of bed for at least a week. NBC News Read more
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CDC Lowers Coronavirus Warnings For Cruise Ships And Popular Caribbean Islands
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on Monday moved several popular beach destinations — as well as cruise ship travel — into categories at lower risk of spreading the coronavirus. The public health agency reassigned travel warnings for nine vacation destinations in the Caribbean and Atlantic from Level 4 — which means a “very high” level of COVID-19 — to Level 3, which means the level of the virus is merely “high.” They include Cuba, Jamaica, Saint Kitts and Nevis, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Sint Maarten, the British Virgin Islands, the Bahamas, the Dominican Republic and the Turks and Caicos. Washington Post Read more
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Costco To End Senior Hours, COVID Operating Hours For Healthcare Workers And First Responders
Costco will soon drop its senior hours after holding them for more than two years amid the coronavirus pandemic. The special operating hours will be in place until April 17 for members 60 and older, healthcare workers and first responders, the wholesale club said Monday in an update on its COVID updates webpage. The hours have also been for members with disabilities or those who are immunocompromised. "As of April 18, 2022, Costco will no longer be offering special shopping hours for members ages 60 or older, healthcare workers and first responders," Costco said in the update. USA Today Read more
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Total Confirmed Cases
Bay Area: 1,281,455
California: 9,049,938
U.S.: 79,629,053
Alameda County
Primary Vaccine Series Completed: 85%
Total Cases: 255,767
Total Deaths: 1,806
Test Positivity (7-day rate): 1.8%
Hospitalized Patients (as of 3/16): 70
ICU Beds Available (as of 3/16): 107
As of March 16, cases have decreased recently but are still high. The numbers of hospitalized COVID patients and deaths in the Alameda County area have also fallen. 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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Total Reported Deaths
Bay Area: 8,075
California: 87,689
U.S.: 967,806
Contra Costa County
Primary Vaccine Series Completed: 85.5%
Total Cases: 189,548
Total Deaths: 1,265
Test Positivity (7-day rate): 2.5%
Hospitalized Patients (as of 3/16): 29
ICU Beds Available (as of 3/16): 49
As of March 16, cases have decreased recently but are still very high. The numbers of hospitalized COVID patients and deaths in the Contra Costa County area have also fallen. 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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Diabetes & COVID-19: Scientists Explore Potential Connection
When their 11-year-old son started losing weight and drinking lots of water, Tabitha and Bryan Balcitis chalked it up to a growth spurt and advice from his health class. But unusual crankiness and lethargy raised their concern, and tests showed his blood sugar levels were off the charts. Just six months after a mild case of COVID-19, the Crown Point, Indiana, boy was diagnosed with Type 1 diabetes. His parents were floored — it didn’t run in the family, but autoimmune illness did and doctors said that could be a factor. AP 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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Over the past week, Alameda County has averaged 150 new cases and 3.7 new death per day.
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Over the past week, Contra Costa County has averaged 126 new cases and 1.3 new deaths per day.
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Top 10 Locations of Cases in
Alameda County, cumulative
as of 3/16/2022
Oakland: 74,925
Hayward: 33,366
Fremont: 26,012
San Leandro: 15,644
Eden MAC: 14,562
Berkeley: 13,122
Livermore: 12,878
Union City: 11,275
Castro Valley: 8,751
Alameda: 8,750
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Top 10 Locations of Cases in
Contra Costa County, cumulative
as of 3/16/2022
Richmond: 27,926
Antioch: 25,491
Concord: 20,458
Pittsburg: 16,488
San Pablo: 11,926
Brentwood: 11,393
Oakley: 9,543
Walnut Creek: 9,368
San Ramon: 8,070
Martinez: 6,280
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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 Ed Hernandez. 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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