Latest Morning Briefing Stories
Blue Shield Spent Years Cultivating a Relationship with Newsom. It Got the State Vaccine Contract.
Insurance giant Blue Shield of California has made millions in charitable and political donations to Gov. Gavin Newsom over nearly two decades, largely to his dearly held homeless initiatives. In turn, Newsom has rewarded the insurer with a $15 million no-bid contract to lead the state’s covid vaccination distribution.
‘Super-Sized’ Vaccine Clinic Offers Food Workers Some Relief
Long Beach, which has its own health department, kicked off a vaccination campaign for essential workers by inviting 3,000 food workers to a splashy vaccination event at the city’s convention center.
Role Reversal: Covid Increases Ranks of Child Caregivers
Millions of teens and preteens help care for ill parents or grandparents. The pandemic has boosted their numbers while making it harder for them to get social and emotional support outside the home.
Roles invertidos: más cuidadores juveniles por covid
Millones de adolescentes y preadolescentes ayudan a cuidar de padres o abuelos enfermos. La pandemia ha aumentado el número y ha dificultado que obtengan apoyo social y emocional fuera del hogar.
How Covid Has Changed Our Movement, as Revealed by Your Cellphone
Californians are venturing out to shop, dine and work far more now than a year ago, when state officials issued the first sweeping stay-at-home order. But we’re still sticking to home way more than before the pandemic, according to mobile phone tracking data.
Learning to Live Again: A Lazarus Tale From the Covid Front Lines
The staff at L.A. County’s public rehabilitation hospital is helping mostly Latino, low-income patients recover the basic functions of daily life robbed from them during weeks or months of critical covid illness.
New California Law Makes It Easier to Get Care for Mental Health and Substance Abuse
The measure, which took effect Jan. 1, removes loopholes that made it easy for insurers to use arcane company guidelines to avoid paying for care. Patients now have an easier way to challenge those denials.
‘It’s a Minefield’: Biden Health Pick Must Tread Carefully on Abortion and Family Planning
President Biden vowed to reverse reproductive health restrictions enacted by President Trump. His pick to run HHS, Xavier Becerra, fought the Trump efforts but must now navigate a difficult legal and political landscape.
New Single-Payer Bill Intensifies Newsom’s Political Peril
With the introduction of a single-payer bill Friday, a group of California Democratic lawmakers set the terms of the health care debate in the Capitol this year. The move puts Gov. Gavin Newsom in a delicate political position, threatening to alienate voters as he faces a likely recall election.
Companies Pan for Marketing Gold in Vaccines
Some assisted living facilities, pharmacy chains and health care providers are luring new customers with covid shots.
California Aims to Address the ‘Urgent’ Needs of Older Residents. But Will Its Plan Work?
State officials recently unveiled a “master plan” to address the needs of California’s rapidly aging population, from housing to long-term care. Kim McCoy Wade, director of the state Department of Aging, vows it will not end up on a shelf gathering dust.
Vaccines Go Mobile to Keep Seniors From Slipping Through the Cracks
A strike team of nurses and others is vaccinating Contra Costa County’s hardest-hit populations right where they live.
Schools Walk the Tightrope Between Ideal Safety and the Reality of Covid
Across the country, politics have muddied the question of when and how to reopen schools. Even though teachers continue to fear for their safety, lawmakers and parents are demanding that schools take advantage of declining infection rates to open safely and quickly.
California’s Rural Counties Endure a Deadly Covid Winter
In the past two months, covid-related infection and death rates have jumped exponentially in California’s least populated counties. The winter surge has scarred corners of the state that went largely unscathed for much of 2020.
Dispelling Vaccine Misinformation and Myths in California’s Breadbasket
Even though farmworkers are vulnerable to covid, many hesitate to get the vaccine, worried the shot could have severe side effects or signal their whereabouts to immigration officials. Immigrant advocates in the Coachella Valley and other farming regions are visiting workers to try to allay their fears.
Disipando información errónea y mitos sobre las vacunas en la región agrícola de California
Aunque los trabajadores agrícolas son vulnerables al covid, muchos dudan en recibir la vacuna, preocupados de que pueda tener efectos secundarios graves o que pueda revelar su paradero a los funcionarios de inmigración.
Long-Haul Covid Cases Cast New Light on Chronic Fatigue Sufferers
Both conditions are linked to viral infections in ways that are poorly understood. But the outpouring of sympathy — and research dollars — produced by “long covid” has given hope to those who struggled in the past to gain sympathy for their symptoms.
Head-Scratching Over Newsom’s Choice of Blue Shield to Lead Vaccination Push
Gov. Gavin Newsom’s surprising choice of Blue Shield to lead the state’s covid vaccination effort raised questions about the role politics played in the decision — and whether the insurer is up to the task.
Journalists Stay on Top of Rocky Vaccine Rollout
KHN and California Healthline staff made the rounds on national and local media this week to discuss their stories. Here’s a collection of their appearances.
Vaccination Chaos in California Fuels Push to Recall Gov. Newsom
The growing public backlash over California’s messy vaccine rollout is putting immense pressure on Gov. Gavin Newsom, a first-term Democrat facing a Republican-driven recall effort.
