Vowing to be smarter after lessons learned over the past two years, the Newsom administration on Thursday gave a glimpse of what the next few months — and potentially years — may look like in California with COVID-19 likely to stick around. Gov. Gavin Newsom’s health secretary, Dr. Mark Ghaly, said the state’s new plan […]
Ana B. Ibarra/Calmatters
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Six Things to Know About Omicron’s Risks on the Job
With 7 million Californians infected, how risky is it to work? When is it safe for omicron-infected workers to return? Look no further than your favorite restaurant, your kid’s school or your local hospital to see the effect of California’s latest bout of infections. Cases have skyrocketed since the holidays, reaching nearly 7 million people […]
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Free Tests? As COVID Surges, Rapid Results Cost Up to $300
When Rebecca Santucci of Lakewood learned that her sister, Stacy, may have been exposed to COVID-19, she set out to look for a rapid test. She needed to know quickly whether their 88-year-old father was at risk. Pharmacies had been wiped out of home test kits, and testing clinics were booked solid for at least […]
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Unboosted: California COVID-19 Booster Rate Falls Below 40% in Most Counties
Hospitals are at capacity. COVID-19 infections are at record highs. Testing lines stretch for hours. Yet even as the omicron variant batters the state, only 38 percent of vaccinated Californians have gotten a booster shot. As with initial vaccinations, acceptance of the booster shot has varied throughout California: Counties in the far north and rural […]
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California Mandates Masks Again
Starting Wednesday, Californians will once again be required to wear masks indoors in public places regardless of vaccination status, state health officials announced today. The renewed masking requirement follows a 47 percent increase in COVID-19 case rates since the Thanksgiving holiday and the arrival of new variant, said Dr. Mark Ghaly, the state’s health secretary. […]
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Another COVID Holiday: Is California in a Better Place this Year? Not in Humboldt.
The holidays are here and people are ready to gather, hug and feast. But is California in a better place this year when it comes to COVID-19? Last year, as Thanksgiving approached, infections were creeping up, culminating in a brutal winter surge, and the governor implemented an emergency curfew to slow the spread of the […]
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Young Children Can Receive COVID Vaccines Soon. Here’s What You Need to Know
California will begin vaccinating young children as soon as today, with the state expecting to receive more than a million doses of COVID-19 vaccine during the first week. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration last week authorized Pfizer’s vaccine for children ages 5 to 11 for emergency use. On Tuesday, the Centers for Disease Control […]
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Newsom Implements New Testing, Vaccine Mandate
Amid an uptick in COVID-19 cases and hospitalizations, California Gov. Gavin Newsom announced July 26 that health care workers and state employees must be vaccinated or undergo weekly testing and wear masks. Employees of hospitals, nursing homes, dentists’ and doctors’ offices and other health care settings will have to comply with the requirements by Aug. […]
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California Upends How It’s Divvying Up Scarce Vaccines; More May Land in Humboldt
Another sudden shift in state policy has triggered an array of concerns and confusion today about how California’s still-scarce COVID-19 vaccine supplies will be divvied up. Mark Ghaly, the state’s top health official, announced that 40 percent of California’s vaccine supply, starting with 2 million doses, will go to the poorest and most diverse communities. […]
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Phasing in of New State Vaccine System Set to Begin Today
State health officials announced Friday that all counties will start playing by the same rulebook today, when Blue Shield will take over distribution of vaccines in California. A patchwork of COVID-19 vaccine eligibility policies that differ from county to county has deeply frustrated Californians. So state officials hired Blue Shield, one of the state’s largest […]
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Californians Ask: Where Are Our COVID Vaccines?
With Californians growing desperate to protect themselves from COVID-19 and put the pandemic behind them, many want to know: where a re their vaccines? State officials have mostly pointed to insufficient federal supply as the culprit for a slower than expected vaccine rollout. About 4.7 million doses have been sent to the state, not including […]
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Questions Answered About the New COVID Strain
As California continues to ride its worst wave of the COVID-19 pandemic, public health officials have more unsettling news: Four cases of a worrisome, potentially more infectious new coronavirus variant have been detected in California. The new strain, first detected in the United Kingdom, also has been seen in Colorado and Florida and 33 other […]