Monday, April 19, 2021 | California Healthline

Berkeleyside:
More Than One-Third Of Alameda County Adults Have Been Vaccinated

Under a blue tent at Madison Park in Oakland on Thursday, California Assemblymember Rob Bonta rolled up the left sleeve of his white dress shirt and looked away as Dr. Kimberly Chang, a physician with Asian Health Services, poked him with his first shot of the Moderna vaccine. “I tried not to look at the needle. It’s not because I’m afraid of needles, I just don’t like to look at the needle,” Bonta—who represents Oakland, Alameda, and San Leandro and has been nominated by Gov. Newsom for attorney general —said afterward. “It was easy. It was painless. It was quick.” (Krans, 4/16)

Bay Area News Group:
Marin Records 21 ‘Breakthrough’ Infections After COVID-19 Vaccines 

Twenty-one people in Marin County have tested positive for COVID-19 after getting vaccinated against the disease, according to county health officials. In each case, the COVID-19 diagnosis came at least two weeks after the person had been fully vaccinated, meaning two doses of the Pfizer or Moderna vaccines or one dose of the single-shot Johnson & Johnson vaccine. The majority were mild cases, said Dr. Matt Willis, the county’s public health officer. None of the 21 people died from COVID-19 or required hospitalization, he said. (Pera, 4/19)

The Bakersfield Californian:
Drop In Vaccine Uptake Could Mean Less Supply Locally

After lobbying for more vaccine doses — and getting more — Kern County’s future vaccine supply could be in jeopardy due to a slowdown in people signing up to get the vaccine even though only about one-third of the county’s eligible population has been vaccinated so far. GV Wire, an online San Joaquin Valley news outlet, reported Thursday that Fresno County Department of Public Health gave back to the state a significant portion of 43,000 doses it recently received because of low demand. Only half of all appointments for the vaccine were filled, the outlet reported. (Shepard, 4/18)

Fresno Bee:
Lack Of COVID-19 Vaccine Demand Bad News For Fresno County

Fresno County residents are a giving sort. When our neighbors are in need, we’re quick to open our hearts and wallets. Most of the time, this generosity speaks well of us as a community and works to our benefit. Right now, though, it’s a detriment. And unless we start acting in our own collective self interest, this tiresome pandemic will drag on for months longer than necessary. Time to step up for ourselves, Fresno. How? By getting vaccinated for COVID-19, and sooner rather than later. (Warszawski, 4/18)

San Francisco Chronicle:
A Phone Call, A Private Plane And A Cable Car Conductor: How S.F. Rescued 1,000 Thawed Vaccine Doses From 300 Miles Away

Dr. Mary Mercer was just coming off her emergency room shift at San Francisco General Hospital on Thursday night when the call came in: Humboldt County had a “pizza box” of Pfizer vaccine that it couldn’t use. Did San Francisco want it? A pizza box is public health slang for a flat of Pfizer vials — which is about the size of a pizza box, and contains more than a thousand doses. Mercer, who is the city’s vaccine coordinator on top of being an ER physician, said she didn’t hesitate. “Yes, we definitely want that,” Mercer said she told the caller. “Any drop we can get, we want.” (Allday, 4/17)

Capital & Main:
Selling The Vaccine Becomes Tougher In Certain Communities 

“The unfortunate events surrounding the J&J vaccine will exacerbate an already troublesome vaccine rollout,” Michelle Burton, chief strategy officer for the Social Change Institute in Los Angeles, told Capital & Main on Tuesday. Burton’s institute and its umbrella organization, Community Health Councils, work to build equitable systems for health and well-being in underserved communities in the L.A. area. She has consistently felt the pushback from community residents when it comes to trusting the medical establishment, she said, a reality that long predates COVID-19. (Kreidler, 4/15)

Bay Area News Group:
Months Into Rollout, Barriers Hinder Vaccine Access For Latino And Black Californians 

On Easter Sunday, the entire block in front of West Oakland’s 34th Street Community Church shut down. Local vendors hosted stalls while a pop-up clinic doled out vaccine doses to parishioners and neighborhood residents, including longtime pastor Dr. Lawrence VanHook’s elderly mother. But even though more than 500 people got their shots that day, VanHook was overwhelmed with mixed emotions: The clinic’s success — and the lines of people he had to turn away — reminded him just how many people in his community have yet to receive the lifesaving vaccine. (Kelliher, 4/18)

Voice of OC:
OC’s Latino Coronavirus Vaccination Rate Could Increase If Health Clinics Stay On Course

Some of Orange County’s local health clinic and community organization leaders say vaccinations to the Latino community could increase now that everyone 16 and older can get the shot. “We know that the Latino population tends to be younger. So now that the April 15 date has sort of opened up to everyone, we expect the numbers to start going up,” said Nancy Mejia, chief program officer at Latino Health Access, a Santa Ana-based community organization. (Custodio, 4/16)

Sacramento Bee:
CA Republican Proposes Law To Ban Vaccine Passports

So-called COVID-19 “vaccine passports” would be banned in California under a proposed law formally introduced this week by a Republican state lawmaker. Assemblyman Kevin Kiley’s Assembly Bill 327 would block state agencies and governments from enacting digital health documentation policies, as well as prohibit public and private entities from requiring proof of vaccination for customers. The Rocklin Republican has argued that these records — usually shown using a QR code or smart phone application — have raised concerns over privacy and civil liberty violations from a “diverse array of stakeholders.” (Wiley, 4/17)

Los Angeles Times:
California Encourages Venues To Require Vaccine ‘Passports’ — Just Don’t Call Them That

California health officials have repeatedly said they have no plans to institute COVID-19 vaccine “passports” — digital or paper passes that allow vaccinated residents or those who’ve tested negative into concerts, baseball games and other sports arenas. But this month, the state announced reopening rules for indoor live events that give businesses an incentive to demand such proof from ticket holders. Businesses can hold larger events when they verify either of the safeguards.“ (Dolan, 4/19)

Bay Area News Group:
Gov. Newsom Calls COVID Herd Immunity ‘Illusory.’ Is He Right? 

For more than a year since COVID-19 upended our lives, the concept of herd immunity has floated in our future as the goal to be reached: Once enough of us attained immunity by recovering from COVID-19 or vaccination, we could put the pandemic in the rearview mirror and return to life as we knew it. Experience with the likes of Spanish Flu and measles gave us reason to believe the virus will fade away once it can’t find enough unprotected people to infect. But even with the vaccination effort ramping up and access expanding this month to everyone 16 and older, experts and authorities are backing away from the notion that herd immunity is right around the corner, or even achievable. Not least among them is California Gov. Gavin Newsom. (Woolfolk, 4/18)

Bay Area News Group:
Flouting COVID Rules An Open Secret In California’s Last Purple County

In the end, Merced County was the last purple-tiered county standing on California’s pandemic map, an ignoble distinction that signaled coronavirus remained widespread and indoor dining and bars were supposed to stay closed. But that’s not how things rolled here in this San Joaquin Valley county, home to miles of almond orchards and headquarters of Foster Farms, which briefly shut down its poultry processing plant after a COVID-19 outbreak last summer. Many restaurant owners have been welcoming patrons inside for weeks if not months, bars have been bustling and at a pool hall on Merced’s Main Street early last week, a billiards tournament was in full swing. (Prodis Sulek, 4/17)

San Francisco Chronicle:
Marin Could Become First Bay Area County To Enter Yellow Tier

Most of the Bay Area has been stuck in the orange tier for a month, but on Tuesday one county may finally break free: Marin County is on the cusp of dropping into yellow, the least restrictive of the state’s four-tiered pandemic reopening plan. If the county’s metrics hold steady, it will be the first in the Bay Area to reach yellow since the winter surge and potentially serve as a harbinger of regional success. California announces county tier movements once a week, on Tuesdays. (Bobrowsky, 4/18)

San Diego Union-Tribune:
The Vaccine Rollout Is In Full Swing. What Does That Mean For COVID Testing? 

As more San Diegans roll up their sleeves for a coronavirus vaccine, fewer are bracing themselves for a swab up the nose or down the throat. Coronavirus testing has dropped, and public health experts say that’s not necessarily a bad thing. Current vaccines are effective at keeping you from getting sick with COVID-19 — especially at keeping you out of the hospital. And there’s growing evidence that vaccines reduce your chances of spreading the virus to others. (Wosen, 4/18)

Los Angeles Times:
L.A. County Sees Lowest Daily Test Positivity Rate Since 2020

Los Angeles County public health officials on Saturday reported 527 new coronavirus cases and 29 related deaths, noting that the daily test positivity rate of 0.9% is the lowest since the pandemic began more than a year ago. The daily positivity rate is defined as the percentage of all coronavirus tests reported that are positive, officials said. Not all individuals who have the virus get the test. (Campa, 4/17)

Los Angeles Daily News:
LA County’s Daily Test Positivity Rate Of 0.9% Is Lowest Since Pandemic’s Start 

Los Angeles County reported 527 new cases of COVID-19 and 29 additional deaths on Saturday, April 17, while the county’s daily test positivity rate of 0.9% is the lowest it’s been since the beginning of the pandemic. According to state figures — which are typically one day ahead of county figures — the number of COVID patients hospitalized in Los Angeles County dropped from 498 Friday to 486. That’s down from 512 on Thursday and 518 on Wednesday. There were 112 people in intensive care, down from 117 on Friday. The latest numbers brought the county’s totals to 1,228,564 cases and 23,626 fatalities since the pandemic began, according to the Los Angeles County Department of Public Health. (4/17)

Los Angeles Times:
L.A. County Reports 466 New Coronavirus Cases, 3 Deaths 

Los Angeles County public health officials on Sunday reported 466 new coronavirus cases and three related deaths but noted that the lower number of cases and deaths could reflect weekend reporting delays. On Saturday, officials announced that the daily test positivity rate of less than 1% was the lowest since the pandemic began more than a year ago. The daily positivity rate is defined as the percentage of all coronavirus tests reported that are positive, according to the county Department of Public Health. Not all people who have the virus get the test. (Poston, 4/18)

The Santa Rosa Press Democrat:
Sonoma County Keeping COVID-19 Variants In Check

In the battle for dominance between coronavirus variants, Sonoma County and the entire state of California apparently have come upon good fortune, after more than a year with plenty of pandemic pain. The county certainly isn’t guaranteed this positive phase will continue, so infectious disease experts say it’s imperative to keep aggressively vaccinating the local population. (Espinoza, 4/17)

San Diego Union-Tribune:
Regular Exercise Shielded COVID-19 Patients From Hospitalization, Death 

Regular exercise habits appear to be just the thing for shaking off severe COVID-19 complications, according to a new study of more than 48,000 Kaiser Permanente patients in Southern California. Kaiser members who reported that they were regularly engaging in at least 150 minutes of moderate-to-strenuous exercise per week — essentially a brisk walk or better — when they were diagnosed with COVID-19 had significantly lower odds of hospitalization, intensive care unit admission and death than those who estimated their weekly efforts at 10 minutes or less. (Sisson, 4/17)

CalMatters:
‘People Are Dying As We Wait’: Bid To Tighten California Nursing Home Oversight Sputters

An effort to fix problems with the oversight of California’s nursing homes has stalled, sparking fears that the bill is doomed — and prompting elder care advocates to warn that even a delay jeopardizes residents’ safety. “I’m incredibly frustrated,” said Democratic Assemblymember Al Muratsuchi of Torrance, author of Assembly Bill 1502. “The pandemic has clearly exposed the horrible conditions of so many of our nursing homes. “People are dying as we wait….We cannot sit around with a broken state oversight system while our most vulnerable residents continue to live in these nursing homes.” (Wiener, 4/16)

San Diego Union-Tribune:
Should San Diego Area Schools Use Desk Barriers To Prevent COVID Spread? 

Plastic shields around student desks have become a common feature in classrooms across San Diego County, but whether they improve COVID safety is still being debated, some say. The desk barriers are one safety measure that experts and some school officials have backed away from in recent months, as experts have learned more about the virus and how it is most likely to transmit in schools. (Taketa, 4/18)

CapRadio:
With Barrett On Supreme Court, California’s Church COVID Limits Are Being Overturned

That trend has slapped new restrictions on the ability of Newsom — and governors across the country — to govern by emergency executive order during the pandemic. It also signals a broader ideological shift in the federal judiciary that could provide a new, sharper check on the state’s Democratic lawmakers even after most of us are vaccinated and even if the state fully reopens as planned on June 15. Some conservative religious groups have taken heart from the new raft of rulings. On Tuesday, a legislative committee heard a bill introduced by state Sen. Brian Jones, a Republican from Santee, that would require the state to designate houses of worship “essential,” thus exempting them from blanket restrictions during public emergencies — epidemiological or otherwise. (Christopher, 4/18)

Voice of OC:
Meet The Nurses Who Have Been Battling On The Front Lines Of Covid 19 In OC

Last year the emerging threat of the coronavirus pandemic threw doctors, nurses, respiratory therapists, hospital administrators and medical workers into the unknown. Tasked with fighting a virus like none they had ever seen before – Orange County health care workers saw patients die alone, families suffer great losses and worried of infecting loved ones with a virus that doesn’t always show its symptoms. The Voice of OC has reached out to several health care professionals in the county to share their experiences following the one-year anniversary of the pandemic. In this article we highlight nurses. (Elattar, 4/17)

The Hill:
Trump Looms Over Senate’s Anti-Asian Hate Crimes Battle

Ninety-two senators voted last week to advance an Asian American hate crimes bill. But its passage likely depends on Democrats agreeing to soften language that Republicans say ties hate crimes too narrowly to the characterization of COVID-19 as the “China virus.” Even Republicans who voted to advance the hate crimes legislation sponsored by Sen. Mazie Hirono (D-Hawaii) see it as a jab at President Trump. The bill links his characterization of COVID-19 as the “China virus” to racist and hateful acts. (Bolton, 4/18)

WHNT:
Tuberville Puts Forward Amendments To COVID-19 Hate Crimes Act, Asian Americans Ask For Apology

The COVID-19 Hate Crime Bill received major bipartisan support this week, but it will see some contention next week by six Republican senators, including Alabama Senator Tommy Tuberville.Tuberville will introduce four amendments to the bill. … The first amendment to the bill wants to protect public speakers so they can continue to say COVID-19 started in China. The second adjustment wants to ensure fraudulent COVID-19 hate crime accusers can be prosecuted. Thirdly, Tuberville wants the DOJ to see if strict COVID-19 protocols and hate crimes correlate. The 4th amendment to the bill wants anyone who comes forward with a COVID-19 related hate crime to register their race, ethnicity, immigration status, and political affiliation. (Fitzgerald, 4/16)

Los Angeles Times:
Hate Crimes Against Asian Americans In L.A. More Than Double 

The Los Angeles Police Department documented 15 hate crimes against Asian Americans in 2020, more than double the previous year, according to a new study by the agency. The findings were included in a report submitted to the Police Commission this week that analyzed hate crimes and hate incidents against the Asian American and Pacific Islander community in L.A. last year. Seven hate crimes were reported against Asian Americans in 2019 and nine the previous year. (Miller, 4/17)

Los Angeles Times:
Anti-Asian Attacks Include Spitting, Punching, Racial Slurs 

A recent rash of anti-Asian hate crimes in California is continuing, with more verbal and physical assaults reported in the last week. An Asian American woman was spat on and called racist slurs in her own garage. Another woman was punched and bombarded with racial comments in a park. On a bus in Eagle Rock, an attacker apparently mistook an elderly Latina woman for Asian, calling her an anti-Chinese slur before reportedly pulling her hair and breaking her nose. (Smith, 4/15)

Orange County Register:
Laguna Woods City Council Takes A Stand Against Anti-Asian Hate 

Irene Cheng can’t forget the recent stabbing death of a 64-year-old Asian American woman who was out walking her dog in Riverside. “She doesn’t deserve to end her life like this. Imagine how her family is going to face it. Their lives suddenly changed,” said Cheng, president of the Chinese American Club of Laguna Woods. “What happened to her, it may happen to me someday. ”It was with those thoughts in mind that Cheng, 84, addressed the Laguna Woods City Council last week during a discussion of anti-Asian hate experienced across the nation. (Gosch, 4/18)

Los Angeles Times:
Listen To Asian Adoptees About Racism In America 

After the mass murder of spa employees in Atlanta last month and amid a surge in anti-Asian hate across the country, Americans of Asian descent banded together in protest and grief. Among them were some of the estimated 200,000 Americans adopted from China, South Korea and other Asian countries. Raised in many cases by white parents in largely white communities, they have a unique perspective on race and racism in America, and one that is all too often overlooked. (Mitchell, 4/16)

The Wall Street Journal:
Asian-American Professionals Push For Visibility At Work

Kaycee Lai spent years in Silicon Valley trying to avoid calling attention to his ethnic identity. Early in his career, if he left work to get bubble tea, a Taiwanese drink, he’d tell his white colleagues he was getting coffee. When co-workers made comments about his race—such as suggesting that, as an Asian male, he should be in coding rather than sales—he would laugh them off. “For the longest time, Asian-Americans have felt like you can achieve the American dream so long as you shut up and aren’t seen,” says Mr. Lai, who worked at Microsoft and software company VMware before founding his own data-analytics firm, Promethium, in 2018. (Chen, 4/19)

Voice Of America:
Canada’s Most Asian City Faces Surge In Hate Crimes

The wave of anti-Asian hate crimes sparked by the coronavirus pandemic has not spared Canada’s Pacific coast city of Vancouver, where 42% of the population is of Asian descent — the largest concentration of Asians in a major North American city. A recently released report from the Vancouver Police Department shows a 717 percent increase in hate crimes targeting the Asian community, rising from just 12 incidents in 2019 to 98 last year. … Vancouver is home to North America’s second-largest Chinatown, surpassed only by San Francisco. (McCulloch, 4/17)

Bay Area News Group:
Oakland Is Building A New Phone App For Its Homeless Residents

As Oakland contends with the human tragedy of its homelessness crisis, the city is getting an app that officials hope will make life just a little easier for people living on the streets. With a few taps on a smartphone screen, the Homelessness Resource App will connect unhoused people with shelter, mental health help, food banks and other services. It’s designed to be a more direct and tech-savvy alternative to the main way Alameda County currently offers help — the 211 phone line. (Kendall, 4/18)