Latest Morning Briefing Stories
California’s Top Hospital Lobbyist Cements Influence in Covid Crisis
Carmela Coyle, who represents California’s hospitals in the state Capitol, is a power player whose clout has grown during the pandemic. Though she hasn’t won every battle, she has helped shape the state’s response to the crisis.
CVS and Walgreens Under Fire for Slow Pace of Vaccination in Nursing Homes
A federal program that sends retail pharmacists into nursing homes to vaccinate residents and workers has been hindered by bureaucratic hurdles and scheduling woes.
Journalists Examine How Covid Polarizes Communities
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.
In Search of a Baby, I Got Covid Instead
As the pandemic raged, I made dozens of visits to a fertility clinic. Did I catch covid on one of those visits? I’ll never know, but the guilt is still there.
California Counties ‘Flying the Plane as We Build It’ in a Plodding Vaccine Rollout
In California, the largest vaccination campaign in U.S. history is run largely by the same overworked and underfunded local health departments tasked with covid-19 testing and contact tracing. It’s a daunting undertaking as the pandemic continues to surge.
California Budget Reflects ‘Pandemic-Induced Reality,’ Governor Says
California Gov. Gavin Newsom’s 2021-22 budget blueprint would direct billions in state covid assistance to schools, businesses and the state’s vaccination effort. But he didn’t propose more funding for the state’s 61 local health agencies, which have taken on increased responsibility for testing, contact tracing and enforcement of health orders.
San Francisco Wrestles With Drug Approach as Death and Chaos Engulf Tenderloin
Covid-19, distrust of police and cheap narcotics have turned parts of the wealthy city into cesspools of filth and drug overdose. City officials and residents profoundly disagree on what needs to be done.
COVID Vaccines Appear Safe and Effective, but Key Questions Remain
The federal government expects vaccinations to be available to everyone who wants them by summer — though glitches are inevitable. If enough of us get vaccinated, we could wave goodbye to the pandemic in 2021.
California’s COVID Enforcement Strategy: Education Over Citations
Gov. Gavin Newsom said in July that California would target businesses that flagrantly violate public health orders. But the state’s strategy of education over enforcement means that businesses that don’t comply face few — if any — consequences.
‘Nine Months Into It, the Adrenaline Is Gone and It’s Just Exhausting’
A UCSF emergency room physician reflects on California’s response to COVID-19 and on lessons learned — or not — as the coronavirus makes its second devastating surge.
No More ICU Beds at the Main Public Hospital in the Nation’s Largest County
As some patients linger near death, staffers at Los Angeles County+USC Medical Center seek ways to expand capacity for a surge of cases that isn’t letting up.
Pediatricians Want Kids to Be Part of COVID Vaccine Trials
Some years from now, infants and school-aged children will probably be the mainstay of a universal vaccination program against COVID-19 in the United States. But first, doctors want to be sure that newfangled vaccines won’t harm them.
High-Poverty Neighborhoods Bear the Brunt of COVID’s Scourge
COVID infection rates in California are consistently higher in low-income neighborhoods than more affluent areas, according to an analysis by ZIP code. Our findings underscore the heightened risks borne by millions of low-wage workers whose jobs are deemed essential.
Dialysis Industry Spends Millions, Emerges as Power Player in California Politics
Over the past four years, the dialysis industry has spent $233 million on both political offense and defense in California. Most of it went toward protecting its revenues against ballot initiatives, but the industry also strategically worked the corridors of the state Capitol.
In Becerra, an HHS Nominee With Political Skill But No Front-Line Health Experience
Despite his lack of front-line experience, Democrats see the California attorney general as an important ally to shepherd a progressive agenda on the Affordable Care Act, Medicaid, reproductive health services and immigration.
Xavier Becerra en sus propias palabras: “La atención de salud es un derecho”
El presidente electo Joe Biden eligió al fiscal general de California, Xavier Becerra, para dirigir el Departamento de Salud y Servicios Sociales (HHS). Como fiscal general y durante sus 24 años en el Congreso, Becerra ha sostenido posiciones progresistas en cuestiones de atención de salud, peleando contra la administración Trump sobre planificación familiar, demandando al mayor sistema de salud de California por conducta monopólica, y definiendóse como un defensor del sistema de salud de pagador único.
Xavier Becerra in His Own Words: ‘Health Care Is a Right’
California Attorney General Xavier Becerra is President-elect Joe Biden’s pick for U.S. Health and Human Services secretary. As attorney general and during his 24 years in Congress, he has staked progressive positions on health care issues, fighting the Trump administration on contraception, suing a major California health system for monopolistic behavior and calling himself a supporter of single-payer health care.
California Lawmakers to Newsom: Give All Immigrants Health Coverage
Given the pandemic’s disproportionate hit on minority communities, two Democratic lawmakers are pushing Newsom to agree to offer health care to all unauthorized immigrants. They planned to unveil legislation Monday — and a new strategy to make it happen.
California Law Banning Toxic Chemicals in Cosmetics Will Transform Industry
The law will ban the manufacture and sale in California of personal care products that contain 24 toxics, including asbestos, formaldehyde and lead, and is expected to fill a gap in federal regulation as companies sell the new formulations nationwide.
Eight months after California Healthline’s Heidi de Marco photographed LA under lockdown, she returned to the same iconic spots. Vehicle and foot traffic are up — as are coronavirus cases.
