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 […]
Kristen Hwang/CalMatters
Posted inNews
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 […]
Posted inNews
Supply Chain Woes Trigger Shortages of Critical Medical Devices
When Henry Genung was four months old, doctors cut a hole in his windpipe and inserted a tube to help him breathe. Born with a rare genetic mutation that blocked his upper airway, Henry, who is now 18 months old, will need the tube for several more years. For three months, Henry hasn’t had a […]
Posted inNews
Hospitals Brace for Strikes as California Workers Protest Staff Shortages
As weary health care workers across California enter the 19th month of the pandemic, thousands are walking off the job and onto the picket line, demanding more staffing. The strikes and rallies threaten to cripple hospital operations that have been inundated by the COVID-19 Delta surge as well as patients seeking long-delayed care. More than […]
Posted inNews
Rapid COVID-19 Tests in Short Supply in California
Sarah Voit likes to keep 10 to 15 rapid test kits on hand in case any of the residents of the Family Emergency Shelter Coalition in Hayward need to be tested for COVID-19. They’ve had some infection scares, and the antigen tests — which return results in minutes — have been crucial to curbing the […]
Posted inNews
‘Desperate’
In the past month, four emergency room nurses — exhausted by the onslaught of patients and emotional turmoil wrought by COVID-19 — have quit at the Eureka hospital where Matt Miele works. Miele, who has been a trauma nurse for four years, is actively looking for a less stressful nursing position and has colleagues who […]
Posted inNews
Nurse Shortages in California Reaching Crisis Point
In the past month, four emergency room nurses — exhausted by the onslaught of patients and emotional turmoil wrought by COVID-19 — have quit at the Eureka hospital where Matt Miele works. Miele, who has been a trauma nurse for four years, is actively looking for a less stressful nursing position and has colleagues who […]
Posted inNews
Record-breaking COVID Hospitalizations Hit 6 Counties, Including Humboldt
Hospitals in six rural California counties — all in remote, northern parts of the state — are now treating more COVID-19 patients than ever, breaking records by exceeding their winter surges. Driven by sharp spikes in infections and low vaccination rates, COVID-19 patients hospitalized in Del Norte, Tuolumne, Lake, Humboldt, Nevada and Mendocino counties have […]