COVID-19
breaking news & updates
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February is American Heart Month
Each February, NHLBI (National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute) and The Heart Truth® celebrate American Heart Month by motivating Americans to adopt healthy lifestyles to prevent heart disease. Know and control your heart health numbers
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COVID Test Resources
Food Pantries
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Alameda County Supervisor Richard Valle Dies
Alameda County Supervisor Richard Valle, who had represented District 2 (which includes Hayward, Union City, Newark and parts of Fremont) since 2012, passed away. Supervisor Nate Miley issued a statement about Valle's death, saying he "was an advocate for at-risk youth, job development programs, and was a steadfast champion for organized labor." CBS News Read more
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Mask Mandate Returns To Four Marin County Elementary Schools
Four elementary schools in Marin County have temporarily reinstated indoor mask mandates in individual classrooms due to COVID-19 outbreaks, officials said Monday. Dr. Matt Willis, the county’s public health officer, told the Marin Independent Journal that the county also is tracking coronavirus cases at two other elementary schools where infections are spreading. “We should expect some normal waxing and waning of transmission within the general downward trend,” Willis said. “I think that’s what we’re seeing — since our wastewater levels continue to decline.” He did not name the schools that were experiencing the outbreaks. Marin County’s public school coronavirus dashboard reported 53 cases within elementary schools last, 16 at middle schools, and 30 at high schools. SF Chronicle Read more
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End To Pandemic Assistance Leaves Bay Area Food Banks On Edge
Food banks in the Bay Area and beyond are bracing for the looming end of a pandemic-era food assistance bonus that will place a greater strain on local households experiencing food insecurity. Bay Area households receiving food assistance through California’s CalFresh program will see an average drop of $160 in monthly benefits as these emergency allotments come to a halt at the end of February. Final disbursements will arrive in March. After that, some households will receive only the $23 monthly base benefit, which is based on the federal cost of living and is unadjusted for the Bay Area’s high cost of living. SF Chronicle Read more
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Microbusiness COVID-19 Relief Grant Program For Alameda And Contra Costa Counties
The California Office of the Small Business Advocate has awarded funding to the Chabot - Las Positas Community College District for the Microbusiness COVID-19 Relief Grant Program to provide grants to microbusinesses in the counties of Alameda, Amador, Contra Costa, and El Dorado. This program will provide grants of $2,500 to microbusiness (businesses that have fewer than 5 employees and earn less than $50,000 per year) that were in operation in 2019, still in operation, and were impacted by the COVID-19 public health restrictions. See below for additional eligibility requirements. This program also provides grants to non-profit organizations that were operating in 2019 with at least $1,000 in revenue and less than $2.5 million revenue. Get details
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COVID and Flu Vaccine/Treatment News |
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Vaccine Intake Higher Among People Who Knew Someone Who Died Of COVID-19: U.S. Survey
Throughout the pandemic, public health experts have tried numerous strategies to increase vaccine uptake and combat fears surrounding COVID-19 vaccines — but according to a new U.S. survey, having a personal connection to someone who caught COVID-19 may be a greater predictor of vaccine intake than any scientific strategy. Researchers surveyed more than 1,000 Americans in 2021 regarding whether they had received at least one shot of the COVID-19 vaccine, and outlined their research in a study published in the peer-reviewed journal Vaccine in January. Participants were asked if they had any family members or friends who had been sick with or died of COVID-19. Mercury News Read more
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“Huge Jump” In Pregnant Women Hospitalized With Flu May Be Due To Lagging Vaccinations, Experts Say
Pregnant women may be at higher risk from the flu this season, but it appears to have more to do with falling vaccination rates than with the virus itself. Dr. Michelle Barron, senior director of infection prevention and control at UCHealth, said about half of the system’s female patients between the ages of 18 and 44 have been pregnant so far this year. During the 2019-2020 flu season — the last normal one before the pandemic — only about 17% were, which is more typical, she said. “Seventeen percent to 50% is a huge jump, based on historically what we’ve seen,” she said. Mercury News Read more
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State/National/International News |
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Immunocompromised Worry They're Getting Left Behind Again
The end of the COVID public health emergency is near, but that's small consolation to the estimated 7 million to 10 million immunocompromised Americans who are soldiering on with a dwindling number of tools to protect them. The immunocompromised — estimated to make up about 3% of Americans — have largely been an afterthought throughout the pandemic, patient advocacy groups say. And with masking and social distancing increasingly in the rearview, there’s a concern America is moving on without recognizing the needs of those who remain at high risk. Axios Read more
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Healthy Lifestyle Cuts Odds for Long COVID In Half
People who get COVID-19 are at risk for long-term health consequences, but a healthy lifestyle may protect against long COVID, a new study suggests. Women who maintained six healthy habits - a healthy weight, didn't smoke, exercised regularly, slept and ate well, and drank alcohol in moderation - cut their risk of long COVID by about 50%, compared with women without those healthy habits, researchers found. "If all people adhere to all six healthy lifestyle factors in our cohort, 36% of long COVID could have been avoided," said lead author Dr. Siwen Wang, a research fellow at the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health. U.S. News & World Report Read more
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"I Felt Powerless": Black Americans Suffering From Long COVID Say They Have Trouble Accessing Care
Throughout the pandemic, Black Americans have made up a disproportionate share of cases, hospitalizations and deaths compared to any other racial or ethnic group.
Now, doctors and advocates are warning the Black community is facing another barrier: access to long COVID care. According to data from the U.S. Census Bureau Household Pulse Survey, with the latest update conducted between Jan. 4 and Jan. 16, 28.7% of Black respondents said they currently have or have had long COVID. By comparison, 27.6% of white adults reporting having or having had long COVID. Hispanic adults were the only racial/ethnic group with a higher percentage reporting long COVID at 31.7%. ABC News Read more
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A Secret Weapon In Preventing The Next Pandemic: Fruit Bats
More than four dozen Jamaican fruit bats destined for a lab in Bozeman, Montana, are set to become part of an experiment with an ambitious goal: predicting the next global pandemic. Bats worldwide are primary vectors for virus transmission from animals to humans. Those viruses often are harmless to bats but can be deadly to humans. Horseshoe bats in China, for example, are cited as a likely cause of the COVID-19 outbreak. And researchers believe pressure put on bats by climate change and encroachment from human development have increased the frequency of viruses jumping from bats to people, causing what are known as zoonotic diseases.
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Zoom Thrived During The Pandemic. Now It’s Laying Off More Than 1,000 Employees
Zoom, the San Jose-based videoconferencing software company that became ubiquitous during the pandemic, said Tuesday it would lay off 1,300 employees, or around 15% of its workforce. The cuts are the latest among Bay Area tech companies large and small that have slashed staff — many after going on hiring sprees during the past few years. In a message to employees posted on the company’s site, CEO Eric Yuan said that like many other tech companies, Zoom staffed up during the pandemic to meet skyrocketing demand for its services, tripling in size. SF Chronicle Read more
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While COVID Raged, Another Deadly Threat Was On The Rise In Hospitals
As COVID-19 began to rip through California, hospitals were deluged with sickened patients. Medical staff struggled to manage the onslaught. Amid the new threat of the coronavirus, an old one was also quietly on the rise: More people have suffered severe sepsis in California hospitals in recent years — including a troubling surge in patients who got sepsis inside the hospital itself, state data show.
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More Than 600 U.S. Doctors Died Than Expected Early In COVID Pandemic
Early in the COVID-19 pandemic, 622 more U.S. physicians died than expected, but no excess deaths occurred after April 2021, when vaccines were broadly available, finds a study in JAMA Internal Medicine. Stanford University researchers led the analysis of American Medical Association monthly death data from January 2016 to February 2020 among active and nonactive physicians aged 45 to 84 years. CIDRAP Read more
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How Technology Can Help Solve Mental Health Care’s Biggest Barrier
From telehealth and TikTok to artificial intelligence and virtual reality, the mental health care industry is embracing technology — but it’s making many clinicians uneasy. From concerns about the ethics of mental health influencers to the inaccuracy of mental health advice on TikTok and to complaints about teens misdiagnosing themselves, many experts are uncomfortable about the role technology is playing in mental health support. But technology can also help solve what’s arguably the industry’s biggest issue: access. Given the ongoing mental health crisis and the fact that many people lack adequate access to quality mental health care, it’s essential to strike a balance between technological innovation, the pace of clinical validation, and high ethical and safety standards to ensure that rigorous, culturally centered mental health support is widely available at a time when it’s so desperately needed. STAT Read more
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Mindfulness Exercises Can Be As Effective As Anxiety Drugs, Study Shows
Practicing mindfulness to relieve anxiety can be just as effective as medication, new research shows. A recent study published in JAMA Psychiatry showed that people who received eight weeks of mindfulness-based interventions experienced a decrease in anxiety that matched those who were prescribed escitalopram, a common anti-anxiety medication that is often prescribed under the brand name Lexapro. A seven-point scale was used to assess anxiety among 208 participants, with a score of seven representing extreme anxiety and a score of one being normal. In both the medication and the mindfulness groups, the average score after treatment dropped from a moderate level of anxiety to a mild level of anxiety. Washington Post Read more
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Fentanyl Crisis/Drug Trends |
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Fentanyl-Plagued San Francisco Bracing For New Street Drugs
As San Francisco public health officials struggle to stem the tide of fentanyl, a new wave of deadly synthetic opioids is flooding into street drug scenes on the East Coast and Midwest. New street drugs, including Tranq and ISO, are infiltrating illegal drug markets. San Francisco leaders say it’s likely only a matter of time before these drugs reach the Bay Area, and a tragic new chapter of the city’s overdose crisis will begin. Supervisor Matt Dorsey sent a letter to the Chief Medical Examiner’s Office on Tuesday seeking to ensure public health officers are prepared to monitor and track newly emerging drugs. KRON4 Read more
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What Is Fentanyl Poisoning? These State Of The Union Guests Lost Their Son To It
Their son Zach's death was the only red flag. Laura and Chris Didier talked to their children about the dangers of drugs and thought they would see warning signs if one of their three children started to go down a bad path. Their youngest, 17-year-old Zach, didn't have a drug problem, but he died of fentanyl poisoning on Dec. 27, 2020. They don't know why he bought Percocet through a Snapchat conversation, but the Didiers say investigators told them it was the first transaction that led to his death. "Basically any child with a cellphone is at risk," Chris Didier, a pilot and Air Force veteran. USA Today Read more
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Fentanyl Seizures Rise At U.S.-Mexico Border — Here's Why
The spike in fentanyl-related overdose deaths in the U.S. has fueled a national conversation and a redoubling of the government's efforts to curb its smuggling. In 2021, 90% of some 80,000 opioid-related deaths involved fentanyl, federal statistics show. Most fentanyl is being smuggled into the U.S. along the southern border, often in vehicles driven by American citizens, as cartels and other criminal groups in Mexico have turned the production of the synthetic opioid into a clandestine industry that has become the primary source of fentanyl in the U.S., according to the Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA). CBS News Read more
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Total Confirmed Cases
Bay Area: 1,900,690
California: 12,004,743
U.S.: 102,713,822
Alameda County
Check the Dashboards Below for
the Latest Figures
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Total Reported Deaths
Bay Area: 9,719
California: 100,045
U.S.: 1,112,905
Contra Costa County
Check the Dashboards Below for
the Latest Figures
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Could You Still Have COVID-19 If You Have Symptoms But Test Negative? A Medical Analyst Weighs In
It has been over three years since COVID-19 cases were first diagnosed in the United States. And while President Joe Biden announced last week that he intends to end the state of national emergency around COVID-19, this does not mean the pandemic is over. Although much is now known about this coronavirus, many questions remain, especially as the virus continues to evolve and infect people on a large scale. There were more than 280,000 new coronavirus cases diagnosed in the last week, according to the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. This is almost certainly an undercount, given the many home tests not included as part of the official tally. CNN 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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About Eden Health District |
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The Eden Health District Board of Directors are Chair Pam Russo, Vice Chair Ed Hernandez, Secretary/Treasurer Roxann Lewis, Mariellen Faria and Surlene Grant. 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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