“I knew that [mRNA] can be used for everything and I had a kind of a Cassandra feeling, that I can see the future and nobody believes me.” Katalin Karikó, winner, with Drew Weissman, of the 2023 the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine I was overjoyed when, late last year, the Nobel committee announced […]
COVID-19
Posted inNews
California COVID Cases are Increasing, Again. Here’s the Latest on Boosters and More
Another COVID-19 wave is hitting California as the summer ends and kids head back to school. It’s a familiar story by now, but one that has become perhaps more confusing with time because of changing public health recommendations, new vaccine boosters and our evolving understanding of the virus. There’s no reason to panic, state epidemiologist […]
Posted inNews
California Needs Thousands of Nurses, but Leaders Can’t Agree on How to Fill Jobs
Ashley Hooks always planned to retire at Lakewood Regional Medical Center, where she has been a nurse for 12 years. But now, Hooks said, staffing issues are so bad and burnout so severe that she’s rethinking how she wants to spend the rest of her career. Since the COVID-19 pandemic began, the number of nurses […]
Posted inNews
California Forbids Plans to Unmask Workers at In-N-Out — and Most Other Workplaces
For at least another year and a half, California employers won’t be able to follow In-N-Out’s lead in banning workers from wearing masks on the job. The state’s COVID-19 workplace rules protecting workers’ rights to decide for themselves whether to wear face coverings are locked in at least until February 2025 and could be extended. […]
Posted inNews
CA Legislature Mulls Expanding Paid Sick Leave
When the COVID-19 pandemic struck in 2020, California’s three days of paid sick leave for full-time workers was not enough to cover quarantines or vaccine side effects. Gov. Gavin Newsom signed a law requiring companies to offer as much as 80 hours of supplemental sick leave for employees. The temporary measure was restored in early […]
Posted inNews
The California Mask Mandate is Gone. Now Some Patients Fear for Their Health.
For months California disability and labor advocates have been attempting to preserve statewide masking requirements in health care settings. But with the sunset of one of the last remaining COVID-19 mandates, they say people who are the most vulnerable to severe illness now have to make an “impossible choice” — risk getting the virus at […]
Posted inNews
Humboldt Marks 170th COVID Death
Humboldt County Public Health reported today that the county has confirmed one new COVID-19 deaths, a resident in their 60s, since its last report Feb. 22. One new hospitalization was also reported and, according to a state database, two people are currently hospitalized with the virus locally. The death reported today is Humboldt County’s 170th […]
Posted inNews
Helping Homeowners: California Expands Mortgage Relief
Angela Morrow was only eight months into a new career as a flight attendant when she was laid off from her job due to the COVID-19 pandemic, putting her at risk of losing her three-bedroom, two-bathroom home in San Bernardino County. Morrow, 63, said she was able to save her home in Bloomington through the […]
Posted inNews
Public Meetings When the COVID State of Emergency Ends
California’s Brown Act requires that when decisions are being made, public agencies’ meetings must be open to the public. The traditional method of meeting this requirement was to have boards or councils meet in one physical location, which was posted in advance on agendas made available to the public. Members of the public had to […]
Posted inNews
Humboldt Sees Another COVID Death
Humboldt County Public Health reported today that the county has confirmed another new COVID-19 death, a resident in their 70s, since its last report Jan. 11. One new hospitalization was also reported and, according to a state database, nine people are currently hospitalized with the virus locally, including three receiving intensive care. The death reported […]
Posted inNews
Public Health Reports Two New COVID Deaths Amid Uptick in Hospitalizations
Humboldt County Public Health reported today that the county has confirmed two new COVID-19 deaths, both of residents over the age of 80, since its last report Jan. 4. Five new hospitalizations were also reported and, according to a state database, 11 people are currently hospitalized with the virus locally, including five receiving intensive care. […]
Posted inNews
Humboldt Marks 164th COVID Death
Humboldt County Public Health reported today that the county has confirmed one new COVID-19 death, a resident in their 80s or older, since its last report Dec. 28. One new hospitalization was reported and, according to a state database, six people are currently hospitalized with the virus locally, including one receiving intensive care. The death […]