COVID-19
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Bay Area Starbucks, Chipotle Stores Closed Or Shortening Hours Due To Omicron
Even as the omicron variant’s spread is waning, those trying to get their routines “back to normal” are finding it difficult to do so, with reality setting in for some as they walk up to a Starbucks to get their caffeine fix, only to find it closed, sometimes in the morning or middle of the day. “STORE CLOSED,” a typed sign taped to the door of a Starbucks in Alameda read on a Sunday morning in late January. Others seeking a quick and easy meal at a Chipotle restaurant after a long day have discovered them to also be shuttered occasionally, because of a lack of staffing. Mercury News Read more
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COVID Vaccine Hesitancy Remains In Bay Area’s Black, Latino Families
Thousands of Bay Area school kids still don’t have their COVID-19 shots despite looming school vaccine mandates, provoking uncertainty among school leaders and fear in parents about how the requirements could impact long- and short-term learning for unvaccinated students. Despite efforts to boost vaccination numbers across the region since last fall, Black and Latino teens ages 12 and up remain less likely to be vaccinated for the virus than their White and Asian classmates, a Bay Area News Group analysis of data from local school districts and public health departments found.
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COVID Eviction Battles Have Moved To The Bay Area Suburbs
At her apartment down the street from San Pablo City Hall, Anita Mendoza wondered if the eviction lawsuit she was served last month will push her out of her home of 28 years. In downtown Palo Alto, middle school teacher Mohamed Chakmakchi worried that his 7-year-old would have to go live with family if he was forced out of his two-bedroom rental. At her Antioch kitchen table blanketed with eviction notices and anti-anxiety medication, Carmen Ponce was once again terrified of ending up living in her car with her daughter and granddaughter. SF Chronicle Read more
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Forget the Office — Salesforce Is Making a Wellness Retreat for Workers
Reinvigorating corporate culture and employee enthusiasm at Salesforce.com Inc. after nearly two years of remote work will involve the great outdoors as much as returning to an office. The software giant signed a multiyear booking agreement for a 75-acre retreat set among the redwoods in Scotts Valley, Calif., to create an employee work-and-wellness center for its nearly 70,000-person staff. Salesforce plans to use the property 70 miles south of San Francisco to onboard new hires and conduct off-site team meetings for social bonding and leadership training, said Brent Hyder, chief people officer. Wall Street Journal Read more
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San Francisco Businesses See Post-Omicron Uptick In Visitors
With Omicron COVID cases dropping rapidly in the Bay Area, shoppers and diners appeared to be roaring back to small businesses this past Valentine’s Day weekend. Huge crowds were seen in many parts of San Francisco on Saturday evening. Some small businesses owners said looking at the early preliminary weekend numbers, they were very optimistic. KPIX5 Read more
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SJSU, SFSU Campuses Reopen For In-Person Classes
With the Omicron surge waning, San Jose State and San Francisco State campuses on Monday are welcoming back students for in-person classes. At SJSU, the interim president acknowledged that the situation is still fluid, so courses are designed to be about 40% virtual. UC Berkeley, Santa Clara University and Cal State East Bay reopened in-person classes two weeks ago.
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Booster Effectiveness Wanes After 4 Months, But Showed Sturdy Protection Against Hospitalization, CDC Study Shows
Booster shots of the Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna vaccines lose substantial effectiveness after about four months — but still provided significant protection in keeping people out of the hospital during the Omicron surge according to a study published Friday by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Researchers found the booster shots remained highly effective against moderate and severe COVID-19 for about two months after a third dose. But their effectiveness declined substantially after four months, suggesting the need for additional boosters, the study said.
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A Monoclonal Antibody Drug From Eli Lilly That Has Promise Against Omicron Gets Emergency Authorization
With COVID treatments still in short supply in the United States, the Food and Drug Administration on Friday gave emergency authorization to a new monoclonal antibody drug that has been found in the laboratory to be potent against the Omicron variant of the coronavirus.The Biden administration said it would make the therapy immediately available to states free of charge. The authorization of the treatment, bebtelovimab, means that the United States now has four drugs available for high-risk COVID patients early in the course of their illness that have been found to neutralize the Omicron variant. NY Times Read more
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Sweeping New Bill Would Require Vaccine For Every California Worker
Under a sweeping new bill unveiled Friday, California would require businesses big and small to make sure all their workers, from employees to independent contractors, are vaccinated against COVID-19. The proposal, from a group of Democratic lawmakers, is part of a broader package of legislation aimed at limiting the spread of the deadly virus. “People are craving stability,” said Assemblymember Buffy Wicks, an Oakland Democrat who is one of the bill’s lead authors. “We can make that stability happen together.”
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School Principal Credits Quick Recovery To Paxlovid COVID Pill
Middle school principal Tim Farley has been extra cautious when it comes to COVID-19. The single father of four says he was vaccinated and boosted, wore masks regularly, socially distanced himself, and took all the precautions he thought he needed to take to avoid getting COVID. So it was a surprise, he says, when he tested positive.
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States Where The Most People Are Refusing The COVID-19 Vaccine
As the Omicron variant continues to spread, the national vaccination effort is as urgent as it ever has been. Still, many Americans remain hesitant. According to a recent survey conducted by the U.S. Census Bureau, 23,830,000 Americans - or 9.6% of the 18 and older population - say they will either probably or definitely not agree to receive the vaccination. The share of Americans who will likely refuse vaccination varies considerably nationwide, from as many as 20.5% of the adult population to as little as 3.6%, depending on the state. MSN Read more
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Working Out After Getting COVID-19 Vaccine Increases Antibodies, Says Study
Exercising does more than keep you fit, but also reportedly boosts antibodies after getting a COVID vaccine, according to researchers from Iowa State University. The researchers of the study, which was published in the journal Science Direct, come to the major conclusions that exercise also increases antibody response to influenza vaccines as well as COVID-19. Other reports include that exercise after taking the vaccine "does not increase side effects." The Jerusalem Post Read more
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State/National/International News
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Biden’s Free COVID Tests Plan Shortchanges Americans Of Color And Hardest-Hit Communities, Say Health Workers And Activists
When President Biden first announced plans to ship 500 million free coronavirus tests to Americans, the move was largely lauded. But some public health experts and community activists say the plan’s limit of four tests per household will force the tens of millions of Americans who live in multigenerational homes to make difficult — and risky — decisions about who gets to use them. An estimated 64 million Americans live in multigenerational households, according to the most recent data available, a disproportionate number of them people of color and many of them working in essential jobs in cities and communities where the pandemic has hit hardest. Washington Post Read more
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California Considering Bill To Create Trust Funds For COVID-19 Orphans
COVID-19 has made tens of thousands of children orphans, and, in some cases, they're left with little resources to help them with their burdens. A bill introduced in the California Legislature last month seeks to give children who are in this situation some hope for a better future, and one children welfare policy expert told ABC News this legislation could serve as a blueprint for the rest of the country. Under California state Sen. Nancy Skinner's Hope, Opportunity, Perseverance, and Empowerment (HOPE) for Children Act, children who lost a parent or caregiver to COVID-19 and are in the state's foster care system or a low-income household would be eligible for a state-funded trust fund. ABC News Read more
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New Studies Underscore The Dangers of Pregnancy Complications For Unvaccinated Women With COVID
Two new reports lay out the added difficulties that unvaccinated women with COVID have during pregnancy and childbirth, adding to research showing that they face elevated risks. One study, published Thursday in the Archives of Pathology & Laboratory Medicine, suggests that the coronavirus can invade and destroy the placenta, through which the mother passes nutrients to the fetus. The other, published this week in the Journal of the American Medical Association, found that pregnant women infected with the coronavirus are about 40 percent as likely to develop serious complications or die during pregnancy than those who aren’t infected. NY Times Read more
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The Last Pandemic Aid Anybody Wants To Need
Maybe it was because Kerri Raissian’s father had spent time in two hospitals and a nursing facility during the last 12 days of his life. Or maybe it was because he had been in the emergency room for only a few hours before he died. Either way, Covid-19 was not listed on his death certificate. Ms. Raissian has spent the last month trying to change that. At stake are thousands of dollars from a program run by the Federal Emergency Management Agency meant to ease the financial burden on grieving families that lost loved ones to the pandemic. The government will reimburse up to $9,000 in funeral expenses for people who die from the coronavirus — as long as there is proper documentation. NY Times Read more
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After COVID, Risks Of Heart Problems Remain Elevated For Up To A Year
As far as Michelle Wilson knew, she'd recovered from COVID-19. Wilson, 65, contracted the virus in November 2020. Her illness, she said, was mild, and she was feeling ready to go back to work as a nurse in St. Louis by early December. That's when her heart problems began. "I literally woke up one morning, and my heart was racing and beating erratically," Wilson recalled. "I was having intense chest pain." Fortunately, Wilson was not having a heart attack. But she did develop long-term heart problems, including high blood pressure, putting her at risk for further cardiovascular issues. NBC News
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The Cook Islands, the South Pacific nation known for its strict isolation policy, was among the last countries with no reported coronavirus cases. On Saturday, Prime Minister Mark Brown announced that a traveler who visited from New Zealand had tested positive after returning from the islands. The traveler, who is fully vaccinated, spent eight days in the Cook Islands and developed symptoms the morning of Feb. 7, before departing from the Cooks’ largest and most populous island, Rarotonga, according to a government news release issued on Saturday. NY Times Read more
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What Are Taxpayers Spending For Those "Free" COVID Tests? The Government Won’t Say
The four free COVID-19 rapid tests President Joe Biden promised in December for every American household have begun arriving in earnest in mailboxes and on doorsteps. How much is the government paying for each test? And what were the terms of the agreements? The government won’t yet say, even though, by law, this information should be available.
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Most Americans Still Support Mask Mandates As States Relax Rules
A majority of Americans still support mask mandates even as states continue to relax their rules regarding masking, according to a new poll on Sunday. Masking requirements have long been a point of contention throughout the pandemic. The relaxed rules for indoor venues and schools come as COVID-19 cases in the United States dropped significantly since peaking earlier in the winter during the Omicron surge. Newsweek Read more
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Total Confirmed Cases
Bay Area: 1,237,536
California: 8,809,229
U.S.: 77,740,239
Alameda County
Total Vaccines Administered: 3,466,522
Total Cases: 244,954
Total Deaths: 1,687
Test Positivity (7-day rate): 7.2%
Hospitalized Patients (as of 2/14): 256
ICU Beds Available (as of 2/14): 76
As of February 14, cases have decreased recently but are still extremely high. The number of hospitalized COVID patients has also fallen in the Alameda County area. Deaths have increased. 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: 7,465
California: 82,558
U.S.: 919,694
Contra Costa County
Total Vaccines Administered: 2,409,610
Total Cases: 184,063
Total Deaths: 1,158
Test Positivity (7-day rate): 10.3%
Hospitalized Patients (as of 2/14): 172
ICU Beds Available (as of 2/14): 35
As of February 14, cases have decreased recently but are still extremely high. The number of hospitalized COVID patients has remained at about the same level in the Contra Costa County area. Deaths have increased. The test positivity rate in Contra Costa County is very high, suggesting that cases are being significantly undercounted. NY Times
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I’ve Recovered From Omicron. How Long Will My Immunity Last?
Omicron cases are finally subsiding after the highly infectious variant washed over the United States, leaving millions of people with antibodies against the coronavirus. Some people who have recovered from omicron, especially those who were previously vaccinated and boosted, may feel invincible when it comes to reinfection. A recent study from researchers at the Oregon Health and Science University (OHSU) suggests that a combination of breakthrough infection and vaccine can result in a hybrid “super immunity” – regardless of whether the infection comes before or after vaccination. 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 the past week, Alameda County has averaged 943 new cases and 4.3 new death per day.
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Over the past week, Contra Costa County has averaged 650 new cases and 3.7 new deaths per day.
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Top 10 Locations of Cases in
Alameda County, cumulative
as of 2/14/2022
Oakland: 71,562
Hayward: 32,532
Fremont: 24,945
San Leandro: 15,114
Eden MAC: 14,154
Livermore: 12,522
Berkeley: 11,231
Union City: 10,912
Castro Valley: 8,412
Newark: 7,679
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Top 10 Locations of Cases in
Contra Costa County, cumulative
as of 2/14/2022
Richmond: 27,219
Antioch: 24,858
Concord: 19,892
Pittsburg: 16,127
San Pablo: 11,594
Brentwood: 11,079
Oakley: 9,303
Walnut Creek: 9,021
San Ramon: 7,787
Bay Point: 6,083
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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, and Gordon Galvan. 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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