COVID-19
breaking news & updates
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"If you are six months out from your last dose of the Pfizer vaccine, you are eligible for a booster if you fall into one of three high risk groups. Number one: You are 65 or older. Number two: You have a medical condition that puts you at high risk of severe illness with COVID and these conditions include obesity, diabetes, high blood pressure, chronic kidney disease and others. And Number three: You work or live in a setting where you are at high risk of exposure to COVID. This includes health care workers, teachers, those living in shelters or prisons and grocery store workers."
U.S. Surgeon General Dr. Vivek Murthy
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COVID Test Resources
Food Pantries
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Oakland Hosts Free Vaccine Clinic
The City of Oakland is hosting a FREE vaccine clinic on Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays, from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., until October 18. Location: Frank H. Ogawa Plaza, Dalziel Building (250 FOP), Lobby.
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In-Person Hayward City Council Meetings To Resume With COVID-19 Vaccination Requirement To Attend
Hayward will resume in-person City Council meetings beginning Tuesday, Sept. 28, while continuing to offer members of the public, city staff and Council members the ability to attend and participate remotely by using the Zoom webinar platform. The new hybrid-style meetings will take place in the City Council chambers at City Hall, and proof of full vaccination against COVID-19 will be required to attend in person. Proof of a recent negative COVID-19 test result will not be accepted as an alternative to COVID-19 vaccination for admission to the chambers. City of Hayward Read more
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SF Health Officials: Exemption Won’t Allow Warriors’ Wiggins To Play If Unvaccinated
Andrew Wiggins and the Warriors are facing a decision point. If he is unvaccinated against COVID-19 by Oct. 13, he will not be allowed to play in games or practice at Chase Center until he becomes fully vaccinated. The San Francisco Department of Public Health said Friday in a statement that its vaccine mandate will bar any unvaccinated person - patron or player - over the age of 12 from attending “large or mega indoor events” like Warriors games in the 18,064-seat arena. The NBA itself denied his request for a religious exemption Friday afternoon. Mercury News
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Three Bay Area School Districts Now Mandate Student Vaccines
Others To Follow?
School districts in Oakland, Hayward and Piedmont last week became the Bay Area’s first to require eligible students to get COVID-19 vaccines in the coming weeks, and others soon may follow after California’s top health official said Thursday he’s mulling whether to issue a statewide mandate. California Health and Human Services Secretary Dr. Mark Ghaly said state officials have been closely monitoring what steps local school districts are taking to ward off the virus’ spread, which has been driven by the highly contagious Delta variant since early summer. Mercury News Read more
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Dr. Nicholas Moss, Alameda County Health Official, Provides Updated Guidance For Keeping Safe
As people continue venturing out to attend events, debate how to safely host family gatherings, or meet with friends, Oaklandside chatted with Dr. Moss to get his latest insight about how to stay safe. Oaklandside Read more
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East Bay Residents Protest COVID-19 Vaccine Mandates In Walnut Creek
A very vocal crowd gathered in Walnut Creek Friday evening to protest vaccine and mask mandates there and across Contra Costa County. The anti-mandate group called the “East Bay Freedom Lovers” started on the Telegram app just seven weeks ago. NBC Bay Area Read more
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"We Will Not Boost Our Way Out Of This Pandemic," C.D.C. Director Says As 70 Million Eligible Americans Remain Unvaccinated
Three-quarters of eligible Americans have received at least one dose of a COVID-19 vaccine and some are now able to receive an additional booster shot. But the virus still poses a great threat to more than 70 million eligible people who remain unvaccinated.
"The most vulnerable are those unvaccinated," Dr. Rochelle Walensky, the director of the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, said Friday. The C.D.C. on Friday approved a third shot of Pfizer's COVID-19 vaccine to an expanded group of Americans. CNN Read more
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California To Offer COVID Booster Shots For Teachers, Healthcare Workers, Seniors
A coalition of public health experts from California and other Western states has endorsed offering COVID-19 vaccine boosters to older and high-risk residents, marking a significant new step in the effort to armor the population against the still-potent pandemic. The completion of the review by the Western States Scientific Safety Review Workgroup - which also includes representatives from Nevada, Oregon and Washington - clears the way for California to follow federal recommendations that certain residents can receive a third dose of the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine at least six months after their initial inoculation series. LA Times Read more
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Teens Aren't Getting The COVID-19 Vaccine Even At Clinics Meant For Them
Leaders of the nonprofit Neighbor2Neighbor had high hopes for their Covid-19 Vax to School clinic in Randolph County, Georgia. Their rural town about 170 miles south of Atlanta has not fully embraced COVID-19 vaccines, but the group's clinics earlier in the year were popular. After the county schools temporarily closed due to COVID-19, they knew this one was needed. So, the bright blue and green Phoebe Putney Health System mobile COVID-19 vaccine bus made the half-hour drive from Albany this month. Nurses in scrubs that matched the logo hustled in and out of a former school building, wheeling in plastic crates of vaccine supplies. The vaccination target for this clinic was one of the most difficult to reach anywhere: teens. CNN Read more
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I Got The Moderna Vaccine. Can I Get A Pfizer Booster?
While a third shot can officially start going into arms, there is a caveat: Only people who have already been fully immunized with Pfizer-BioNTech’s two-dose COVID vaccine are eligible for a booster shot, which must also be Pfizer’s, based on the decisions made last week. The Food and Drug Administration stood by its decision to not endorse a “mix-and-match” approach to vaccination boosters - meaning a booster shot of a different vaccine than what was used for the initial vaccination - citing a lack of evidence.
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After Weeks Of Planning, U.S. Pharmacies And States Are Making Pfizer Boosters Available
On the heels of federal officials’ endorsement of booster shots of the Pfizer-BioNTech coronavirus vaccine for many fully inoculated Americans, some states announced plans for getting even more shots in arms. CVS, Rite Aid and Walgreens all said that they would begin administering boosters last Friday. In California, Gov. Gavin Newsom announced a plan that will help eligible people access boosters, mainly through pharmacies and their primary care providers. NY Times Read more
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Biden Wants To Address The COVID-19 Vaccination Disparity Between Rich And Low-Income Countries
The gulf between rich and low-income countries when it comes to the COVID-19 vaccination rate is wide and continues to be wide, data shows. An NBC News analysis of vaccination, population and the World Bank’s country income standards shows that the richer the country, the higher its vaccination rate, with the wealthiest countries having a vaccination rate 60 times that of poorer nations. NBC News
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State/National/International News |
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Average Age of Californians Dying Of COVID-19 Getting Younger
The average age of Californians dying of COVID-19 is increasingly younger in what officials say is another example of the state’s vaccination gap. Over the course of the pandemic in California, the average age of people who have died from COVID-19 is 73. But since April, the average age of COVID-19 victims is 67. And since August, the average age is 66, according to data from the California Department of Public Health.
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A Daily Pill To Treat COVID Could Be Just Months Away, Scientists Say
Within a day of testing positive for COVID-19 in June, Miranda Kelly was sick enough to be scared. At 44, with diabetes and high blood pressure, Kelly, a certified nursing assistant, was having trouble breathing, symptoms serious enough to send her to the emergency room. When her husband, Joe, 46, fell ill with the virus, too, she really got worried, especially about their five teenagers at home: “I thought, ‘I hope to God we don’t wind up on ventilators. We have children. Who’s going to raise these kids?” But the Kellys, who live in Seattle, had agreed just after their diagnoses to join a clinical trial at the nearby Fred Hutch cancer research center that’s part of an international effort to test an antiviral treatment that could halt COVID early in its course. Kaiser Health News Read more
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Idaho Morgues Are Running Out Of Space For Bodies As COVID-19 Deaths Mount
Dave Salove has watched his morgue fill with bodies. COVID-19 victims have poured into the funeral home he runs in Boise, Idaho, in recent weeks, as the state contends with an unprecedented spike in deaths driven by the Delta variant of the coronavirus. His 16-slot refrigeration room is over capacity. Other funeral homes have neared a tipping point, too. Intent on avoiding the makeshift morgues that cropped up in the Northeast during the pandemic’s first wave, Salove this week brought in a refrigerated trailer to hold the growing number of dead. By Friday, there were seven corpses inside, up from two the day before. Six more were on their way from another facility. Washington Post
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How West Virginia Became A COVID-19 Disaster
The coronavirus pandemic unfortunately has been dominated by politics. We first saw it with the pushback on mask wearing. Today, it continues with who and who will not get vaccinated. The impact of this political divide is no clearer than in West Virginia. This comes as the pandemic rips through the Mountaineer State. West Virginia had been a success story for vaccinations. Back in early March, West Virginia ranked in the top four in terms of the adult population that was vaccinated. The state and Gov. Jim Justice received widespread praise for its vaccine rollout. But now, West Virginia ranks last in the country for the percentage of the adult population that is fully vaccinated. Just 48% of adults are fully vaccinated, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. This makes West Virginia the only state in the country where less than half the adult population is fully vaccinated. CNN Read more
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"The View" Pulls Two Hosts Mid-Show After They Test Positive For The Coronavirus
A dramatic scene played out on “The View” on Friday morning when two of the show’s hosts, Ana Navarro and Sunny Hostin, were directed to leave the set live on the air after both had apparently tested positive for the coronavirus. “The View” had just returned from a commercial break about 15 minutes into the show and the four hosts of were on the verge of introducing Vice President Kamala Harris for an in-person interview. ABC News had been billing it as Ms. Harris’ first in-studio interview since taking office. Then the mayhem began. NY Times Read more
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Costco Is Limiting How Much Toilet Paper You Can Buy Again
Costco is once again placing limits on purchases of toilet paper, paper towels and cleaning supplies. The Delta variant continues to spread across the globe, sending demand for those items higher. But that’s not the only reason why Costco is limiting purchases. The warehouse store is also having trouble finding trucks, drivers and shipping containers to get the items to its stores. “The factors pressuring supply chains and inflation include port delays, container shortages, COVID disruptions, shortages on various components, raw materials and ingredients, labor cost pressures and truck and driver shortages,” said Costco CFO Richard Galanti.
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California’s Extra Sick Leave For COVID-19 Is Ending, But Is It Too Soon?
California requires employers to provide at least three days of paid sick leave each year to full-time workers. But when the pandemic hit, that wasn’t enough to cover 14-day quarantine requirements. Many workers had to either come in sick or take time off without pay. So in March 2021, Gov. Gavin Newsom signed a new law requiring companies with more than 25 employees to offer as much as 80 hours of supplemental sick leave related to COVID-19, either for quarantines or vaccine side effects. On Sept. 30, the program is set to end. CalMatters Read more
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Confirmed Cases
Bay Area: 572,778
California: 4,680,552
U.S.: 42,936,899
Alameda County
Vaccines Administered: 2,321,018
Cases: 114,239
Deaths: 1,333
Test Positivity: 1.8%
Hospitalized Patients: 178
ICU Beds Available: 102
Cases have decreased recently but are still high. The number of hospitalized COVID patients has also fallen in the Alameda County area. Deaths have remained about the same level. The test positivity rate in Alameda County is relatively low, suggesting that testing capacity is adequate for evaluating COVID spread in the area. NY Times
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Reported Deaths
Bay Area: 6,293
California: 68,599
U.S.: 688,106
Contra Costa County
Vaccines Administered: 1,645,988
Cases: 95,196
Deaths: 921
Test Positivity: 2.7%
Hospitalized Patients: 123
ICU Beds Available: 32
Cases have decreased recently but are still high. The number of hospitalized COVID patients has also fallen 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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Do I Have Fall Allergies Or COVID-19?
Fall is officially here and with it, comes seasonal allergies. From coughing, to sneezing, and even that scratchy throat, how can you tell the difference between your allergies and COVID-19? The answer might not be as simple as it seems. The easiest way to determine the difference is by getting a COVID-19 test. According to Dr. Flavia Hoyte, an allergist with National Jewish Health, “Most people who have allergies know what their allergies feel like and when they tend to peak.” KRON4 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 past week, Alameda County has averaged 180 new cases and 0.9 new deaths per day.
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Over the past week, Contra Costa County has averaged 163 new cases and 1 new death per day.
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Top 10 Locations of Cases in
Alameda County, as of 9/27/21
Oakland: 36,269
Hayward: 16,662
Fremont: 10,065
Eden MAC: 7,274
San Leandro: 7,097
Livermore: 6,123
Union City: 4,909
Berkeley: 4,853
Castro Valley: 3,515
Newark: 3,373
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Top 10 Locations of Cases in
Contra Costa County, as of 9/27/21
Richmond: 14,601
Antioch: 13,957
Concord: 10,712
Pittsburg: 9,142
San Pablo: 6,369
Brentwood: 5,912
Oakley: 4,992
Walnut Creek: 4,082
Bay Point: 3,643
San Ramon: 3,042
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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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