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Hayward Unified Switches Course Again, Resumes Classroom Instruction On Tuesday
Students will be able to return to Hayward Unified schools Tuesday for in-person instruction after switching to a week of distance learning amid a COVID-19 surge that has seen more than 200 teachers and staff catch the virus. During an emergency meeting on Friday, the school board voted 3-2 to resume classes. Students started the school year inside classrooms on Jan. 3, then switched to distance learning last week. East Bay Times Read more
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Some Bay Area Companies Urging, But Not Requiring, COVID-19 Boosters As Omicron Surges
As a sushi chef and restaurant owner who’s a former cancer researcher, Randy Musterer doesn’t take the issue of vaccines lightly. But in the midst of the Omicron surge, he said he has to balance health concerns like mandating the shots with having enough people to keep his doors open. Musterer owns Sushi Confidential restaurants in Campbell and San Jose, and throughout the pandemic he has strongly encouraged his employees to get vaccinated and boosted, but he hasn’t made it a requirement to work there. Yet, he’s already had to flirt with temporarily closing his doors during the omicron surge.
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Examining Why Bay Area COVID Testing Sites Struggle To Meet Demand
Many Bay Area residents have experienced firsthand how difficult it has become to book an appointment for a COVID test. In the South Bay, some are finding it can take days, if not weeks, to get an appointment. County testing sites are overwhelmed and there is fear not all health providers are pulling their own weight to help meet the high demand.
"It gets frustrating," said Jillian Javier, who was getting a COVID test Thursday at the Santa Clara County fairgrounds. "But a week was the soonest appointment I could get." NBC Bay Area Read more
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$7 Million Of PPE Left Outside In San Mateo County Damaged By Storms
Roughly $7 million of personal protective equipment purchased by San Mateo County last year was left outdoors and forgotten about for months. Now, much of that batch has been damaged by rain, officials said. The PPE — mostly face shields, goggles, non-medical-grade gowns and cleaning supplies — was purchased during the early days of the pandemic and stored inside a building at the San Mateo County Event Center in San Mateo. When an event in mid-September required extra space, the supplies, stored in cardboard boxes, were moved to an uncovered fenced area in the parking lot, San Mateo County Manager Mike Callagy said in a statement Friday. SF Chronicle
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COVID Surge Pushes San Jose State To Delay In-Person Classes
San Jose State University has joined a growing list of public and private colleges delaying in-person classes until next month in response to the current surge of COVID-19 cases fueled by the super-contagious Omicron variant. San Jose State will begin classes Jan. 26 “in a fully remote modality” that will continue through February 11, with in-person instruction set to resume Feb. 14. SJSU is among 17 of 23 CSU campuses delaying in-person learning.
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COVID Cases Are Rising Quickly Among S.F. Teenagers. What’s Going On?
The Omicron COVID-19 wave has overwhelmed San Franciscans of all ages. But positive cases among teenagers are outpacing the city’s overall case rate, a Chronicle analysis found. While case rates have surged dramatically for all age groups since late December, infections among children ages 5 to 17 have soared disproportionately, according to data published by the city’s health department. SF Chronicle Read more
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COVAX COVID-19 Vaccine Deliveries Hit 1 Billion Doses — And Counting
UNICEF delivered a shipment of COVID-19 vaccine doses in Rwanda on January 15, 2022, bringing the total number of doses shipped via COVAX to 1 billion, with billions more on the way. COVAX, a groundbreaking global partnership to ensure equitable access to COVID-19 vaccines worldwide, is barreling ahead on its mission. Since the rollout began in February 2021, COVAX has delivered lifesaving vaccine doses to 144 primarily low- and middle-income countries, with UNICEF leading on procurement and distribution. By the end of the year, COVAX had ramped up to more than 335 million doses delivered in December alone. Forbes Read more
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Why Cuba’s Extraordinary COVID Vaccine Success Could Provide The Best Hope For Low-Income Countries
Cuba has vaccinated a greater percentage of its population against COVID-19 than almost all of the world’s largest and richest nations. In fact, only the oil-rich United Arab Emirates boasts a stronger vaccination record. The tiny Communist-run Caribbean island has achieved this milestone by producing its own COVID vaccine, even as it struggles to keep supermarket shelves stocked amid a decades-old U.S. trade embargo. “It is an incredible feat,” Helen Yaffe, a Cuba expert and lecturer in economic and social history at the University of Glasgow, Scotland, said. CNBC Read more
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For The 36 Countries With The Lowest Vaccination Rates, Supply Isn't The Only Issue
In the United States and many other wealthy countries, you can get a free COVID vaccine at supermarkets, pharmacies and clinics. In other countries, it's a very different story. "The vaccine is not available in the North (of Yemen)," says Jasmin Lavoie with the Norwegian Refugee Council, who's based in the northern city of Sana'a. "If a person wanted to be vaccinated, that person would have to go to the south. So drive around 15 to 20 hours crossing front lines in the mountains." Even then, after such a treacherous journey through a war zone, it's not clear if doses would be available. Like many low-income countries, Yemen has struggled to get hold of vaccine. NPR Read more
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Halting Progress And Happy Accidents: How mRNA Vaccines Were Made
Thousands of miles from Dr. Barney Graham’s lab in Bethesda, Md., a frightening new coronavirus had jumped from camels to humans in the Middle East, killing one out of every three people infected. An expert on the world’s most intractable viruses, Dr. Graham had been working for months to develop a vaccine, but had gotten nowhere. Now he was terrified that the virus, Middle East Respiratory Syndrome, or MERS, had infected one of his lab’s own scientists, who was sick with a fever and a cough in the fall of 2013 after a pilgrimage to the holy city of Mecca. NY Times Read more
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Quietly And Over Some Objections, A National Digital Vaccine Card Has Emerged
Whether they realize it or not, about 200 million people in the United States now likely have access to a COVID-19 digital vaccine card. The digital pass known as the SMART Health Card is voluntary and minimal by design to protect personal information. It has a person’s name, date of birth and the dates and brands of vaccination doses, all contained within a type of scannable bar code known as a QR code. And after a relatively quiet start, it has built momentum in recent months as more states and companies have signed on, making it something of a de facto national digital vaccine card. NBCNews Read more
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Pfizer To Start Human Studies Of Omicron Vax this Month — Is It Too Late?
As Omicron sweeps the world faster than any other COVID-19 variant, Pfizer and Moderna are working to develop an Omicron-specific vaccine. Pfizer reportedly plans to begin human studies of its new vaccine before the end of January, while Moderna is working on its vaccine for the fall. But with Omicron spreading at such a rapid rate and with more positive COVID-19 infections than ever, is it too late for an Omicron-specific vaccine to be effective? A vaccine that targets the Omicron variant could prevent mild infection and severe disease, which the original vaccine has against previous strains, including Delta. Healthline Read more
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State/National/International News |
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Supreme Court Blocks Biden’s Virus Mandate For Large Employers
The Supreme Court on Thursday blocked the Biden administration from enforcing a vaccine-or-testing mandate for large employers, dealing a blow to a key element of the White House’s plan to address the pandemic as coronavirus cases resulting from the Omicron variant are on the rise. But in a modest victory for President Biden, the court allowed a more limited mandate requiring health care workers at facilities receiving federal money to be vaccinated. NY Times Read more
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Biden Says U.S. To Provide High-Quality Masks For Free To Americans
President Joe Biden on Thursday said the U.S. will give high-quality masks to Americans for free, as new infections from the COVID-19 Omicron variant soar across the country. Biden said the U.S. has more than tripled the national stockpile of highly protective N95 masks to make sure they are widely available to the general public. He said masks are a crucial tool to help control the spread of Omicron. “I know that for some Americans, the mask is not always affordable or convenient to get,” Biden said in addressing the nation from the White House. “Next week we’ll announce how we’re making high-quality masks available to the American people for free.” CNBC Read more
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The C.D.C. Conceded That Cloth Masks Do Not Protect Against The Virus As Effectively As Other Masks
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on Friday clarified its stance on various kinds of masks, acknowledging that the cloth masks frequently worn by Americans do not offer as much protection as surgical masks or respirators. While this disparity is widely known to the general public, the update marks the first time the C.D.C. has explicitly addressed the differences. The agency’s website also no longer refers to a shortage of respirators. NY Times Read more
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What's The Difference Between N95 And KN95 Masks? Expert Explains What You Need To Know
According to medical experts, medical grade masks like KN95 and N95 are the most effective in protecting you from COVID-19. "KN95's are certified in China versus N95's are certified from National Institute of Occupational Safety and Health," said Cedars-Sinai Medical Director Thomas Yadegar, adding the way they fit is slightly different as well. ABC7 News Read more
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California Hospitals Predict COVID Crisis Will Last 4-6 Weeks
California’s hospital system is in danger of collapse as skyrocketing COVID-19 cases, severely ill patients and sick staff push hospitals past their capabilities, the California Hospital Association warned today. Hospitals are expecting COVID-19-positive patients to triple by the end of the month, with admissions peaking in the next four to six weeks. The surge in infections and hospitalizations is expected to last until the end of February. “We find ourselves on the precipice of the most challenging time to date for California’s healthcare system,” Coyle said. “Our capabilities may soon be eclipsed.” CalMatters Read more
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California Allowing COVID-Positive Health Care Workers To Treat Patients
With the highly infectious omicron variant continuing to surge, California is taking an unprecedented step to try to avoid an overwhelmed health care system: allowing doctors and nurses who test positive for the virus to return to treating patients immediately, so long as they are asymptomatic and masked up. The move has drawn pushback from nurses’ unions, who staged rallies Thursday at Bay Area hospitals to demand more staffing and safer working conditions. Hospitals have said they will bring in COVID-positive workers only if absolutely necessary, and it appeared Thursday that few if any have taken that drastic step. But that time could come sooner rather than later.
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Preparing For The "Endemic" Stage Of COVID-19: What This Looks Like
There’s growing talk in the medical community that the COVID-19 pandemic may soon be entering the “endemic” phase. Governor Gavin Newsom’s administration is predicting that will happen in a month. “What an endemic phase of a viral infections means is that it’s not causing the terrible hospitalizations of the pandemic phase but that we’ll have enough immunity of a population so it’s kept down to low levels,” Dr. Monica Gandhi said. “We will likely not be masking, distancing, contact tracing, doing asymptomatic testing. KRON4 Read more
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CVS And Walgreens Temporarily Shut Some Stores As Omicron Cases Soar
CVS and Walgreens, two of the biggest pharmacy chains in the United States, are temporarily closing some stores this weekend because of staff shortages complicated by the soaring number of people infected with the Omicron variant. Mike DeAngelis, a spokesman for CVS, said the “vast majority” of stores were operating with normal hours this weekend. There are more than 9,900 CVS stores across the United States. Rebekah Pajak, a spokeswoman for Walgreens, said closures were at a “small percentage” of the company’s more than 9,000 stores and in most cases, the affected stores would be open at least one weekend day. NY Times Read more
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For Coronavirus Testing, The Nose May Not Always Be Best
Over the past two years, diagnosing a coronavirus infection has often required probing the nose. Health care workers have inserted slender swabs deep into the recesses of Americans’ nasal passages, while at-home test kits have asked us to master the shallow double-nostril twirl. “The traditional approach to diagnosing respiratory infections has been to go after the nose,” said Dr. Donald Milton, an expert on respiratory viruses at the University of Maryland. But the rapid spread of the Omicron variant, and questions about the sensitivity of at-home tests, have rekindled a debate over whether the best way to detect the virus is to sample a different site: the mouth. NY Times Read more
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New COVID Drugs Are Here — You Just Need To Find Them
Simple, easy and effective COVID-fighting pills are arriving in California’s pharmacies, offering hope as cases soar and immunity falls. But the powerful new medicines – Pfizer’s Paxlovid and Merck’s molnupiravir – are in short supply, forcing physicians to make tough choices about who will most benefit from the treatment. There’s a second challenge: The pills must be taken within five days of the start of symptoms when the virus is still reproducing. That means it’s important to find a test, pronto. “Quick is the trick,” said San Jose’s Dr. Walter Newman, medical director for the United Farmworkers Union.
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More Kids In The Hospital With COVID Renew Fears For Medically Fragile Children
Whenever someone tells Jamie Chong that COVID-19 isn’t a serious threat to children, she reminds them that the common cold can send her child to the hospital. Her son, Asher, who is nearing his third birthday, has cerebral palsy and issues with his respiratory and gastrointestinal systems, putting him at higher risk from the coronavirus. Chong has been caring for him in their Simi Valley home during the pandemic and strictly limiting who can enter. Sometimes, when cases have surged, she has even decided to turn away his home nurses. LA Times Read more
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Why COVID Disruptions At California Colleges And Universities Differ From March 2020
Another academic term at California colleges and universities has been upended by the coronavirus. At campuses across the University of California and California State University systems, in-person classes have been suspended and won’t resume until the end of the month — or later in some cases — because of a surge of COVID-19 infections brought on by the Omicron variant. For some students, the current shutdown is reminiscent of the initial suspension of in-person classes in March 2020, when campuses announced they were shutting down for just a few weeks but ultimately ended up doing so for the remainder of the academic year. EdSource Read more
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For Some Who Recently Contracted COVID, An Unexpected Emotion: Relief
When Daniel Storm found out he had COVID-19, he was shocked. He had been so careful, barely socializing and always wearing a mask whenever he left the house. His PCR test results arrived by email on Jan. 8. As he stared at the word “positive,” Storm, 52, of Wilmington, North Carolina, said he felt angry and disappointed. Then, relief washed over him. “I feel like I’ve been kind of walking on pins and needles, like Omicron is everywhere,” Storm said of the hypertransmissible COVID variant. Getting the news about his case — which ended up being an asymptomatic one that he discovered by testing on a whim — enabled Storm to isolate at home and then feel more relaxed, both for himself and for those around him. NBC News Read more
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Total Confirmed Cases
Bay Area: 898,658
California: 6,924,718
U.S.: 65,720,502
Alameda County
Total Vaccines Administered: 3,301,764
Total Cases: 177,768
Total Deaths: 1,561
Test Positivity (7-day rate): 20.1%
Hospitalized Patients (as of 1/17): 401
ICU Beds Available (as of 1/17): 76
As of January 17, cases have increased recently and are extremely high. The total reported for the past week was the highest of the pandemic. The numbers of hospitalized COVID patients and deaths in the Alameda County area have also risen. The test positivity rate in Alameda County is very high, suggesting that cases are being significantly undercounted. NY Times
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Total Reported Deaths
Bay Area: 7,058
California: 77,774
U.S.: 850,794
Contra Costa County
Total Vaccines Administered: 2,303,346
Total Cases: 147,617
Total Deaths: 1,086
Test Positivity (7-day rate): 22.5%
Hospitalized Patients (as of 1/17): 214
ICU Beds Available (as of 1/17): 30
As of January 17, cases have increased recently and are extremely high. The total reported for the past week was the highest of the pandemic. 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 very high, suggesting that cases are being significantly undercounted. NY Times
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COVID Q&A: What To Do If You’re Exposed To Omicron
Until recently, panic about the new COVID Omicron variant has outpaced actual information. But the avalanche of cases is quickly leading researchers to new insights about the ubiquitous variant’s behavior. Mercury News 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 4,348 new cases and 1 new deaths per day.
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Over the past week, Contra Costa County has averaged 2,609 new cases and 0.7 new death per day.
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Top 10 Locations of Cases in
Alameda County, cumulative
as of 1/10/2022*
Oakland: 43,884
Hayward: 19,297
Fremont: 12,748
San Leandro: 8,621
Eden MAC: 8,328
Berkeley: 7,674
Livermore: 7,610
Union City: 5,928
Castro Valley: 4,638
Newark: 4,047
*Alameda County is in the process of updating its dashboard with case counts
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Top 10 Locations of Cases in
Contra Costa County, cumulative
as of 1/17/2022
Richmond: 21,845
Antioch: 20,140
Concord: 15,827
Pittsburg: 13,010
San Pablo: 9,185
Brentwood: 9,167
Oakley: 7,441
Walnut Creek: 7,086
San Ramon: 6,075
Bay Point: 5,042
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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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