COVID-19
breaking news & updates
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“No Guarantee” Virus Will Become Endemic, Prominent Researcher Tells UCSF's Wachter
In a fireside chat with UCSF’s Dr. Bob Wachter last Thursday, Eric Topol of Scripps Research expressed optimism that the U.S. may be moving toward an endemic state with COVID-19 but noted there is “no guarantee” it will happen. “It’s about as good as it’s been for a long time. We got through this XBB.1.5 in this country pretty darn well. Withstanding that was a big deal because it was predicted from its functionality to be quite transmissible and potentially quite a bit of immune escape,” he said. “It looks as though our immunity wall — that is both the vaccinations, the boosters, the infections, and all their combinations — is holding up well.” SF Chronicle Read more
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Santa Clara County Supervisors Call For Continuation Of COVID-19 Vaccination Program
Santa Clara County Supervisors Joe Simitian and Otto Lee have called for the continuation of the county’s COVID-19 vaccination program to serve residents regardless of insurance, location or ability to pay. As of March 1, vaccinations are available for existing patients and the uninsured, and only at Santa Clara Valley Medical Center facilities. “With only about a third of county residents receiving the latest bivalent booster, we need to make vaccines more available,” said Lee, whose district includes Sunnyvale. Since vaccine distribution began in late 2020, the county has distributed almost two million doses at pop-ups and permanent sites throughout the county.
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San Jose Airport Passenger Activity Soars, Full COVID Recovery Is Elusive
San Jose International Airport soared to strong gains in passenger flight activity during January — but the aviation hub’s longer-term trends are stuck well below the peaks prior to the coronavirus outbreak. An estimated 866,267 air passengers traveled through San Jose airport during January, which was a big jump of 55.3% over the 557,678 passengers that the airport handled in January 2022, new statistics posted by the airport show. Over the most recent 12-month period that ended in January 2023, San Jose airport handled 11.64 million passengers. Mercury News Read more
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COVID & Beyond: A Community Meeting For People With Disabilities & Seniors
Alameda County Supervisor Keith Carson invites residents with disabilities and seniors to join him for a virtual community meeting. Now that the State and County emergency health orders have ended, there are valid concerns many have about their health and safety. Come learn about the latest COVID-19 updates and what this new phase means for Alameda County, and share your comments and concerns about issues that are important to you. The guest speaker will be Nicholas J. Moss, MD, MPH, Alameda County Health Officer. The event is scheduled for Monday, March 13, from 5-6 p.m. Register
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Vaccine/Testing/Treatment News |
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Moderna's COVID Vaccine Gambit: Hike The price, Offer Free Doses For Uninsured
The U.S. government paid around $10 billion in the early years of the pandemic to develop and purchase Moderna's COVID-19 vaccine as part of Operation Warp Speed. So far, any American who wants the shot has paid nothing out-of-pocket for it — the federal government has footed the bill. But once it's time to switch to the next version of the vaccine (expected to be tailored to whatever strain of the virus is circulating later this year), individual patients will have to pay for the shot if their health insurance doesn't cover it. The proposed price: roughly $130 per dose. NPR Read more
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We Can Overcome Vaccine Hesitancy. Just Look At The HPV Shot
Vaccines save lives like no other single health intervention, preventing millions of deaths every year. And that makes it all the more confounding that vaccine hesitancy, with all of its negative public health repercussions, has moved to the forefront of American society over the last three years. About a quarter of American adults say they won’t get the COVID-19 vaccine, according to one recent study, and experts fear that COVID vaccine skepticism could spread to other shots. The good news is that Americans have quashed vaccine apprehension before — and we did it not by dismissing vaccine deniers, but by taking their fears seriously. Nothing shows the arc of success better than one of the U.S.’s last major vaccine controversies: the human papillomavirus (HPV) shot, which can prevent both the sexually transmitted disease and multiple forms of deadly cancer that the virus can cause.Vox Read more
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State/National/International News |
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Virtual Or In Person: Which Kind Of Doctor’s Visit Is Better, And When It Matters
When the COVID-19 pandemic swept the country in early 2020 and emptied doctors’ offices nationwide, telemedicine was suddenly thrust into the spotlight. Patients and their physicians turned to virtual visits by video or phone rather than risk meeting face-to-face. During the early months of the pandemic, telehealth visits for care exploded. “It was a dramatic shift in one or two weeks that we would expect to happen in a decade,” said Dr. Ateev Mehrotra, a professor at Harvard Medical School whose research focuses on telemedicine and other health care delivery innovations. “It’s great that we served patients, but we did not accumulate the norms and (research) papers that we would normally accumulate so that we can know what works and what doesn’t work.”
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Why Some Parents Lied About Their Children's COVID Status: "I Wanted My Child's Life To Feel Normal"
Some U.S. parents were not honest about their children's coronavirus symptoms, quarantine measures and testing guidelines, potentially contributing to viral spread, according to a study published in the Journal of the American Medical Association on Monday. The study, which was conducted by researchers in the U.S. and England, aimed to examine "the prevalence of misrepresentations of and nonadherence to COVID-19–related (public health measures) by parents regarding their children, their reasons, and associations of individual characteristics with these behaviors." CBS News Read more
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How Tennis And Djokovic Are Pushing Against the U.S. COVID Vaccine Rule
Late last month, Novak Djokovic and the tight group of managers and coaches who help run the life of the world’s best male tennis player, realized they had a problem. Djokovic had recovered from the hamstring tear he suffered in January, just ahead of the Australian Open, the first Grand Slam event of the year. He won the tournament, of course, but with his injury healed he was ready to return to the ATP Tour. The next two important tournaments were in the United States, which does not allow foreigners who have not been vaccinated against COVID-19 into the country. NY Times Read more
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Indoor Air Is Full Of Flu And COVID Viruses. Will Countries Clean It Up?
Bars in Belgium could be among the healthiest places to have a drink, come July. That’s when a new law goes into effect, requiring public venues to meet air-quality targets and display real-time measurements of carbon dioxide concentrations — a proxy for how much clean air is piped in. Consumers in Belgium will get even more information in 2025, when gyms, restaurants and indoor workspaces must all show air-quality ratings given through a certification system. In the event of a future pandemic, Belgium’s rating system could determine whether or not a venue is closed. The law, enacted in July 2022, is the boldest in a string of moves that countries have taken in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic to make indoor spaces safer in the face of infectious diseases caused by viruses such as SARS-CoV-2 and influenza. Nature Read more
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Long COVID Patients More Likely To Have Gastrointestinal Problems, Study Finds
Stomach pain, constipation, diarrhea, vomiting, bloating — these are symptoms frequently reported by people with long COVID. Now, a large new study reports that Covid patients were significantly more likely to experience gastrointestinal problems a year after infection than people who were not infected. The study, published on Tuesday in the journal Nature Communications, compared medical records of 154,068 COVID patients in the Veterans Health Administration system with about 5.6 million patients of similar age and other characteristics who had not contracted the coronavirus. NY Times
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U.S. Plans To Lift COVID Testing Requirements For Travelers From China
The United States is planning to lift a COVID testing requirement for travelers from China put in place earlier this year, a source familiar with the matter told NBC News on Tuesday. The plan, first reported by the Washington Post, would nix the China-specific requirements that were implemented in early January. The U.S. began requiring a pre-departure negative COVID test for travelers ages 2 and up flying from China on Jan. 5. The policy followed a surge in coronavirus cases in China after it ended its strict COVID-zero policy. NBC News Read more
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As Conservatives Champion "Parents' Rights," California Focuses On Kids’ Autonomy When It Comes To Mental Health/Addiction
California lawmakers want to make it easier for children over 12 to access mental health treatment without a parent’s permission. They also want to let 16- and 17-year-olds get treatment for opioid addiction. As conservative political leaders champion parents’ rights to control what kids learn in schools and how they express themselves, including with a new “Parents Bill of Rights” introduced by House Republicans this week, California is focusing more on the rights of minors to make their own decisions about medical care and gender expression. SF Chronicle Read more
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Teen Mental Health Is In Crisis, Study Shows. What Can Parents Do?
Results from a recent Centers for Disease Control and Prevention survey add to the evidence that teen mental health is in crisis, with particularly concerning numbers surrounding teen girls. The survey found around 1 in 3 high school girls in the U.S. have seriously considered attempting suicide and more than half of teen girls, 57%, reported feeling "persistently sad or hopeless" — a record high. By contrast, 14% of high school boys told the 2021 survey that they had seriously considered attempting suicide, up from 13% in 2011. Among LGBQ+ students, close to 70% said they experienced persistent feelings of sadness or hopelessness during the past year, more than 50% had poor mental health during the past 30 days and almost 25% attempted suicide during the past year. CBS News Read more
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Fentanyl Crisis/Drug Trends |
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How To Spot A Fentanyl Overdose
Fentanyl has become a major crisis in San Francisco. In 2022, the drug accounted for 72 percent of the city’s 620 accidental drug overdose deaths, according to the city’s website. The problems have persisted in other regions of the Bay Area as well. In Gilroy, three people were found dead in a home in February in what officials believe were fentanyl overdoses. “A fentanyl overdose, or opioid toxicity, involves severely adverse effects and potentially life-threatening symptoms that develop after consuming too much of this substance,” the American Addiction Centers’ website said. But how do you know if someone is suffering a fentanyl overdose? KRON4 Read more
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How Can You Make The Switch To Daylight Saving Time Less Painful?
Time Switch Is This Weekend
It’s not your imagination. The transition to daylight saving time really is tough on our bodies and our minds. This Sunday, March 12, at 2:00 a.m., most of the United States will move the clock forward an hour. It’s not just the lost hour of sleep that’s difficult. The abrupt shift leads to a host of challenges, including serious health impacts for some of us. Luckily, there are some things you can do to make the transition a little less painful. UC Davis Health 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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