COVID-19
breaking news & updates
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"Face coverings are a simple and effective tool that everyone can use to slow the spread COVID- 19. Using face masks in indoor public spaces, regardless of vaccination status, will help us protect each other and end this summer surge.”
Dr. Nicholas Moss, Alameda County Health Officer
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Marin Is The Most Vaccinated County In California, But Cases Are Surging In One Community
As the Delta variant spreads rapidly across the country, its impact is being felt unequally - with Marin City a striking example. While Marin County’s vaccination rates are among the highest in the nation, with 86.5% of eligible residents fully vaccinated, the rate is far lower in Marin City, at 59.5%, according to county data. County officials and health experts, now racing against the rampant delta variant, are working to change that - backing grassroots efforts to counter vaccine hesitancy, as well as widespread misinformation about COVID-19 vaccines. SF Chronicle Read more
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An Estimated 126,869 Eligible People In SF Aren't Vaccinated
What Do We Know About Them?
Despite the majority of San Franciscans receiving jabs in their arms, the thing that keeps city Deputy Health Director Dr. Naveena Bobba up at night is the small portion of the population who is unvaccinated. "The biggest worry right now are our cases are going up quickly in a short period of time," Bobba said. "We know 23% of people haven’t gotten vaccinated. That represents thousands of people." Young adults, 25 to 34 years old, are the age group with the highest number of unvaccinated people; they are also the largest age group in the city. SFGate Read more
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East Bay School District Confirms 15 COVID-19 Cases Days Into New School Year
An East Bay school district has confirmed at least 15 positive COVID-19 cases among its students and staff just three days into the new school year of in-person learning. The cases were found throughout all of the Brentwood Union School District’s 11 schools.
The district says this does not necessarily mean that students and staff got the virus at school. Contact tracing has shown that the people who tested positive did not get it from another person at school, officials said. KRON4 Read more
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S.F. To Allow Booster Shots For Those Who Received Johnson & Johnson Vaccine
San Francisco residents who received Johnson & Johnson's single-dose vaccine against the coronavirus are now able to get a supplemental mRNA dose at city-run clinics. Dr. Grant Colfax, the city’s health director, confirmed Tuesday that the additional shot would be an option for those who have consulted with a physician. He stressed that San Francisco’s health department does not currently recommend that people who received Johnson and Johnson’s COVID-19 vaccine get an mRNA booster - a stance in line with guidelines from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. SF Chronicle Read more
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This Is How Little California Rent Relief Programs Have Paid Out To Struggling Bay Area Tenants
From San Francisco to San Jose to outlying Solano County, some 148,000 households in the nine-county Bay Area are behind on rent, according to an estimate by the National Equity Atlas. Gov. Gavin Newsom has vowed to use $5.2 billion in emergency funding to pay 100% of pandemic rent debt from April 2020 to September 2021. But public records show that seven months after the federal government first announced the unprecedented aid effort, state and local rent relief programs in the Bay Area have paid out just $88.5 million as of mid-July. That’s about 10% of the $889 million the U.S. Treasury allocated to the region.
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Current COVID Case Data Would Put Alameda County In Purple Tier Of Old Reopening Plan
Alameda County would be in the most restrictive tier of the state's former pandemic reopening plan based on the county's current COVID-19 case data, the top county health official said Tuesday. In a briefing to the Alameda County Board of Supervisors, county Health Officer Dr. Nicholas Moss said the county's seven-day average number of new cases per day per 100,000 residents is up to 17 and likely to increase even further. The case numbers mean Alameda County would be firmly within the most restrictive purple tier of the old four-tiered reopening system, which included counties with case rates of seven or more per 100,000 residents. KTVU
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F.D.A. Aims To Give Final Approval To Pfizer Vaccine By Early Next Month
With a new surge of COVID-19 infections ripping through much of the United States, the Food and Drug Administration has accelerated its timetable to fully approve Pfizer-BioNTech’s coronavirus vaccine, aiming to complete the process by the start of next month, people involved in the effort said. President Biden said last week that he expected a fully approved vaccine in early fall. But the F.D.A.’s unofficial deadline is Labor Day or sooner, according to multiple people familiar with the plan. The agency said in a statement that its leaders recognized that approval might inspire more public confidence and had “taken an all-hands-on-deck approach” to the work. NY Times
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All 50 States Report Rising Vaccination Rates As COVID Infections Surge, Data Shows
According to an ABC News analysis of Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) data from the last three weeks, every state has reported an increase in its average number of first doses administered, with the national rate of Americans receiving their first dose up by more than 73%. Similarly, in the last week alone, vaccination rates have increased by nearly 20% in young Americans, ages 12-17, and by more than 25% in adults. ABC News Read more
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Kaiser Permanente Aims to Vaccinate All Staff Members By Sept. 30
Kaiser Permanente Monday afternoon announced that it will require all doctors, nurses and staff members that it employs to get vaccinated. Kaiser Vice President Michelle Gaskill-Hames said during a media briefing shortly after a correlating statement was released that Northern California employees and group physicians are as vaccinated, on average, as their national counterparts - approximately 78% and 95% respectively. The goal of the mandate is to increase that number to the point of a fully vaccinated workforce by Sept. 30. Mercury News Read more
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People Chasing COVID-19 Vaccine Boosters Create Headaches For The Health Care System
The entire U.S. health care system has been single-mindedly focused on getting COVID-19 vaccine shots in arms, but as the Delta variant spreads, the country’s decentralized vaccination campaign is presenting a different challenge - how to police people seeking unauthorized booster shots. The buzz around booster shots for COVID-19 vaccines has intensified in recent weeks as Pfizer has sought approval for a third shot of its vaccine regimen, and Israel, the United Kingdom, and Germany have greenlit additional shots. Federal officials in the United States say that booster shots are not needed yet. But some anxious patients are nonetheless trying to get them - either by asking a health care provider willing to prescribe an extra shot, or by lying about their earlier vaccination. STAT Read more
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U.S. Says It Has Shared 110 Million COVID-19 Vaccine Doses Overseas
President Biden’s administration has shipped more than 110 million COVID-19 vaccine doses to 65 countries, the White House said, as it works to share supply with the rest of the world following regulatory and logistical setbacks. The figures come about a month behind the White House's June goal of delivering 80 million doses overseas, part of a greater vaccine-donation drive by the U.S. in the coming months. Wall Street Journal Read more
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FDA Authorizes Antibody Treatment To Prevent COVID After Exposure
The Food and Drugs Administration has authorized a COVID antibody treatment for use as a preventative measure after exposure to the coronavirus. Though the FDA said it should not be considered a vaccine substitute, the monoclonal antibodies can protect against severe illness by overwhelming the infection before it leaves the nose and throat, according to researchers. Axios Read more
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State/National/International News |
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Breakthrough Cases Aren’t The Cause Of The U.S. COVID-19 Surge
The last week’s headlines were not comforting for Americans vaccinated for COVID-19. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention changed its guidance to recommend everyone, regardless of vaccination status, wear masks in COVID-19 hot spots. A study of an outbreak in Provincetown, Massachusetts, found around three-quarters of people infected there were vaccinated. As cases increase nationwide, it’s understandable to think that breakthrough cases (infections in vaccinated people) are now a main driver of the ongoing COVID-19 surge. But the evidence is clear: The problem is the unvaccinated population. If more people got the vaccines, the current surge wouldn’t be as big; it certainly wouldn’t lead to the levels of hospitalization and death now seen across the U.S. This was true months ago, and remains true today. Vox Read more
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Unvaccinated Adults Far Less Likely To Wear Masks/Avoid Crowds
Unvaccinated Americans believe the vaccines are more dangerous than COVID-19, while vaccinated Americans believe the Delta variant is worrisome enough that they continue to mask in public and avoid large gatherings. And even though almost 165 million people in the U.S. are fully vaccinated and the Delta variant is raging across the country, the percentage of U.S. adults who say they oppose the Covid vaccines has remained unchanged since December, according to a report from the Kaiser Family Foundation. NBC News Read more
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L.A. County Took Steps Early To Combat Delta Variant
We Should Know Soon If It Worked
When Los Angeles County last month imposed a mask requirement for indoor public settings, it seemed like an outlier. Some wondered whether officials were going too far. But the Delta variant has wreaked more havoc since then, causing COVID-19 to spread, primarily among people who have not been vaccinated. People who are vaccinated are strongly protected against contracting the coronavirus and, if they are infected, tend to get less sick. COVID-19 cases and hospitalizations are rising in the county, but remain far below the winter peak. Growth last week slowed compared to the week prior, according to county Public Health Director Barbara Ferrer. LA Times Read more
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New York City Will Require Vaccines For Entry to Restaurants And Gyms
New York City will require proof of vaccination to enter all restaurants, fitness centers and indoor entertainment venues, Mayor Bill de Blasio announced Tuesday. "If you're unvaccinated, unfortunately, you will not be able to participate in many things," de Blasio said. "If you want to participate in our society fully, you've got to get vaccinated." The policy will take effect over the next few weeks. CNN Read more
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Wuhan, Where The Virus Emerged, Will Test All Residents After Its First Outbreak In Over A Year
Wuhan, the city in central China where the pandemic first emerged, is planning to test all of its 11 million residents for the coronavirus, officials said on Tuesday, as they announced the first local transmission there since last spring. The city, the first to show the world the damage the virus could wreak, had not recorded any local cases since May of last year, after a harsh two-and-a-half month lockdown helped eradicate the virus there. But city officials said they had detected three symptomatic local cases in the previous 24 hours, as well as five asymptomatic ones. NY Times
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Surprise Dip In UK COVID Cases Baffles Researchers
Scientists are scratching their heads over the precipitous decline in daily COVID-19 infections in the United Kingdom following their rapid rise earlier in the year. Officially recorded new cases more than halved in just two weeks: from a high of 54,674 on 17 July to 22,287 on 2 August. “Nobody really knows what’s going on,” says epidemiologist John Edmunds at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine (LSHTM). In particular, it’s not clear whether this sudden trend indicates that the peak of the third wave has passed, or whether it is a blip caused by complex social factors. Nature Read more
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CDC Adds 16 Destinations To "Very High" COVID-19 Travel Risk List
The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention added 16 destinations to its "very high" COVID-19 risk level on Monday, including Greece, Ireland and the US Virgin Islands. According to the CDC, a risk designation of "Level 4: COVID-19 Very High" means people should avoid travel to these locations. Those who must travel should be fully vaccinated first. CNN
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5 Things To Know About the Delta Variant
For the first time in more than a year, we’re feeling some hope - or at least cautious optimism - that the pandemic could recede to the background. But there is still a concern that new mutations of the virus could bring it back, and it might be even stronger. A major worry right now is Delta, a highly contagious SARS-CoV-2 virus strain, which was first identified in India in December. Yale Medicine Read more
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Confirmed Cases
Bay Area: 481,183
California: 4,000,397
U.S.: 35,314,746
Alameda County
Vaccines Administered: 2,162,759
Cases: 97,925
Deaths: 1,286
Test Positivity: 5.7%
Hospitalized Patients: 230
ICU Beds Available: 99
Cases have increased recently and are very high. The numbers of hospitalized COVID patients and deaths in the Alameda County area have also risen. 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: 5,861
California: 64,640
U.S.: 614,769
Contra Costa County
Vaccines Administered: 1,510,199
Cases: 78,314
Deaths: 838
Test Positivity: 8.4%
Hospitalized Patients: 160
ICU Beds Available: 31
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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Need To Share Proof Of Vaccine? Here's How To Store Your COVID-19 Vaccination Card On Your Smartphone
As the Delta variant of the COVID-19 virus runs rampant throughout the U.S., a renewed push is being made to get more Americans vaccinated. President Joe Biden said last week he would require federal workers to verify they have been vaccinated or undergo regular testing. Similar policies have been introduced at some local governments, while some companies are requiring their employees to get the vaccine to return to the office. Of course, you could bring the COVID-19 vaccine card verifying those details with you, which brings not only the annoyance of carrying it everywhere (try fitting that into a wallet), but the fear you wind up losing it. USA Today 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 2,030 new coronavirus cases, which amounts to 124 cases per 100,000 residents. |
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Over the last seven days, Contra Costa County officials have reported 2,504 new coronavirus cases, which amounts to 221 cases per 100,000 residents. |
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Top 10 Locations of Cases in
Alameda County, as of 8/4/21
Oakland: 31,099
Hayward: 14,746
Fremont: 8,683
Eden MAC: 6,406
San Leandro: 6,169
Livermore: 4,808
Union City: 4,354
Berkeley: 4,023
Newark: 2,978
Castro Valley: 2,911
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Top 10 Locations of Cases in
Contra Costa County, as of 8/4/21
Richmond: 12,787
Antioch: 11,239
Concord: 9,023
Pittsburg: 7,736
San Pablo: 5,689
Brentwood: 4,492
Oakley: 3,802
Walnut Creek: 3,277
Bay Point: 3.088
San Ramon: 2,405
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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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