In 2020 the state launched the adverse childhood experiences initiative, with the goal of cutting the number of those experiences in half within one generation. Today the number of doctors screening patients for adverse experiences is growing, but the state is failing to track whether patients receive the follow-up services or support they might need. […]
Elizabeth Aguilera, CALmatters
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CDC’s Move Paves Way for California to Require School COVID Vaccines — But Lawmakers Have Given Up for Now
The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s vaccination advisors voted last week to recommend all children get the COVID-19 vaccine, a move that does not change California’s list of vaccines required for children to attend school. The addition of the COVID-19 vaccine to the CDC’s recommended vaccines for kids is not a mandate for […]
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Some COVID Orphans in California Will Get Financial Help
In a small town in California’s Central Valley, a trio of siblings lost both their parents to COVID-19 within two weeks of each other in 2021. Their deaths made the oldest son a pseudo-parent to his teenage siblings overnight and forced the brothers and sister to figure out a future without their mom and dad. […]
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California Backs Away from School COVID Vaccine Mandates
Although more than three-quarters of California adults are vaccinated against COVID-19, opinions are more divided when it comes to vaccinating children. That sentiment played out Thursday when first, the author of a bill that would have mandated vaccines for all children pulled the legislation, and then again when state health officials pushed back the date […]
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End of School Mask Mandate Looms, Leaving Districts to Decide
Toddlers and preschoolers who have mostly known a school life with tiny masks may be in for a big lifestyle change after Friday, when the state mask mandate for kids ends at midnight. While wearing masks is still strongly recommended, some medical experts worry removing the state mask mandate could be risky, especially for tots. […]
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Amid Low COVID Vaccine Rates, More California Children Hospitalized in Omicron Surge
COVID-19 hospitalizations among California’s children — especially those too young to go to school — are the highest they have been since the pandemic began. Chalk it up to the highly contagious Omicron variant, kids exposed during in-person instruction at school and other public places, and infants and preschoolers being ineligible for vaccination. The state […]
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Audit Reveals Failure to Test Millions of Babies for Lead
Millions of California toddlers who should have been tested for lead exposure have not received state and federally mandated blood tests, in part because the health hazard — a particular threat to poor children — has not been prioritized by public health agencies, a recent state audit shows. In a searing review of a problem […]
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Newsom’s Move: Not Yet Health Care For All, But Health Care for More
It was way easier for candidate Gavin Newsom to endorse single-payer health care coverage for everyone than it is now for Gov. Newsom to deliver it. Yet hardcore advocates say they’re pleased with the moves he’s made thus far — even if it may take years to come to fruition. “This is a governor that is […]