Monday, November 15, 2021 | California Healthline

City News Service:
COVID-Related Hospitalizations Drop To 600 In LA County 

The number of coronavirus patients in Los Angeles County hospitals has dropped to an even 600, falling from 604 on Saturday, according to the latest state figures released Sunday, Nov. 14. Of those patients, 163 were in intensive care, down from 170 the previous day. County health officials reported 979 new cases of COVID-19 on Sunday and six additional deaths associated with the virus. The number of cases and deaths likely reflect reporting delays over the weekend, according to the Los Angeles County Department of Public Health. (11/14)

Bay Area News Group:
Santa Clara County Jails See Record Level Of Active COVID-19 Infections 

The Santa Clara County jails are currently experiencing their highest level of active COVID-19 cases among the in-custody population, continuing a surge that began earlier this month and has now surpassed the peak of a record string of outbreaks in January. Data reported in an online dashboard maintained by the sheriff’s office show that through Friday, there were 140 active infections in the jails, which consist of the Elmwood Correctional Complex in Milpitas and the Main Jail in San Jose. The majority of the current spike in cases is centered on the Elmwood facility, which houses people under minimum- and medium-security supervision primarily in barracks and dorm-style settings. (Salonga, 11/13)

San Francisco Chronicle:
COVID Appears Here To Stay. But What About The ‘Long’ Version Of The Disease?

Among the coronavirus pandemic’s most frightening features is that a brush with COVID-19, however mild, pushes survivors into a dangerous lottery: They recover within weeks or stay ill, perhaps for a very long time. Unpredictable to doctors and confounding to researchers, “long COVID” syndrome can saddle patients with deep fatigue, scramble their thinking and rob them of breath or the sense of smell. Those are just the most common long-term complaints. The National Institutes of Health calls the syndrome a public health priority and is pouring millions of research dollars into learning more about this medical mystery. (Asimov, 11/14)

Axios:
Breakthrough COVID Cases Are Rising — And Better Rapid Tests Can Help 

Rapid at-home COVID-19 tests that can automatically verify and report positive cases could be especially useful in the next phase of the pandemic. As breakthrough cases rise with the inevitable waning of vaccination-induced immunity, cheap, plentiful screening tests that automatically send results back to health authorities could keep infections down while allowing full reopening. (Walsh, 11/13)

Modesto Bee:
CA Restaurants Sued By County For Defying COVID Health Orders 

El Dorado County has sued two Placerville-area restaurants for ignoring COVID-19 restrictions and continuing to operate after losing their health permits. The county announced Friday that it’s suing the owners of Apple Bistro and Danette’s Brick Oven Pub, seeking a court order shutting them down until they obtain new permits from the county. (Kasler, 11/14)

Bay Area News Group:
Experts Warn Of Potential Swell In COVID-19 Cases

After months of decline, COVID-19 cases are failing to drop — and in some places are creeping up — across the Bay Area and California, worrying public health officials as the holiday season looms and prompting urgent pleas for Californians to get vaccinated or receive booster shots. Although widespread vaccinations would render a winter surge much less deadly than last year’s, the current rise in cases in some places is a preview of what California could experience as people gather indoors more frequently and travel for Thanksgiving and winter holidays. (Kelliher, 11/13)

San Francisco Chronicle:
Coronavirus Cases Are Spiking In Europe. What Does That Mean For California?

As the winter holidays approach, COVID-19 cases are skyrocketing in Europe — an unwelcome reminder even thousands of miles away here in California that the pandemic is nowhere near an end point yet, and that more hard times may lie ahead. Last week, 2 million cases were reported in the continent — the highest number of cases in a single week in the region since the pandemic started, Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, director general of the World Health Organization, said in a news briefing on Friday. Deaths also rose by 10% across the region. (Echeverria, 11/13)

The Bakersfield Californian:
Kern County COVID Hospitalizations Could Reach Highest Point In Projected Fourth Surge 

Waning immunity and relatively low vaccination rates could lead to a dramatic increase in coronavirus hospitalizations in Kern County over the next several months. According to a state model that has accurately predicted the ebbs and flows of the pandemic, the next COVID-19 surge has the potential to overwhelm the local hospital system to a degree not yet experienced locally. (Morgen, 11/13)

Los Angeles Times:
Recovered From COVID-19, Garcetti To Return To L.A. On Tuesday 

Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti, recovered from a bout of COVID-19, landed Sunday in Washington, D.C., where he plans to join President Biden at a signing ceremony for the administration’s infrastructure bill before returning to Los Angeles on Tuesday, a mayoral spokesman said. Garcetti, who is fully vaccinated, had been in Glasgow, Scotland, attending the U.N. Climate Change Conference, when he tested positive for a breakthrough infection. Garcetti had a fever and symptoms of a head cold and isolated in a Glasgow hotel room, he told his staff. (Blume, 11/13)

Los Angeles Times:
COVID Surge Fueled By Kids In U.K. A Warning For California

Unvaccinated adolescents have been the driving force behind a stubbornly persistent Delta surge in Britain, a potential warning sign for California if inoculation rates don’t improve considerably among this age group, health experts warn. Dr. George Rutherford, a UC San Francisco epidemiologist and infectious-disease expert, said unvaccinated 10- to 14-year-olds are driving the pandemic in the United Kingdom, with case rates among these ages significantly higher than any other group. (Money and Gong II, 11/14)

Bay Area News Group:
COVID-19 Anti-Viral Pills Could Be Our ‘penicillin Moment’

Until now, antiviral drug research has been a place of broken dreams and abandoned efforts, with few success stories to rival the miracle cures of antibiotics. But with the creation of pills to kill the COVID-19 virus, the field may be nearing its “penicillin moment.” Two new oral medicines made by Pfizer and Merck — convenient to take at home, for only five days — offer a remarkable 50% to 89% reduction in hospitalizations and deaths in high-risk people if given soon after infection takes hold, according to company data. (Krieger, 11/14)

Modesto Bee:
Faculty Take Issue With COVID Policy At Modesto Junior College

Faculty members at Modesto Junior College are worried about the risks of teaching classes with a mixture of students who are vaccinated and not vaccinated against COVID-19. Aishah Saleh, a humanities professor and president of the MJC Academic Senate, told Yosemite Community College District trustees Wednesday that a test-only program approved by the board Oct. 20 places “in peril the lives, livelihood and future of students, faculty, administrators and their families.” (Carlson, 11/14)

City News Service:
Los Angeles Firefighters Denied Delay On COVID Vaccine Mandate Enforcement 

A judge on Friday, Nov. 12, denied an attempt by the Los Angeles city firefighters’ union to get a temporary restraining order to delay enforcement of a mandate requiring employees to be vaccinated against COVID-19. Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Mitchell L. Beckloff instead scheduled a hearing for Dec. 2 on whether a preliminary injunction should be issued, saying that waiting another 20 days was not likely to be seriously detrimental to the United Firefighters of Los Angeles City Local 112. (11/12)

Sacramento Bee:
Leaflets Urge Sacramento Parents To Object To Vaccine Mandate

Someone is pushing back against the Sacramento City Unified School District’s COVID-19 mandate. Leaflets in both English and Spanish were distributed on cars in Sacramento last weekend urging parents to reconsider vaccinating their children against COVID-19. And some parents feel they are targeting the Latino community. “Parents you have a choice!” read the yellow leaflet. “You do not have to get the COVID-19 vaccine for your child …You can choose the personal beliefs exemption for your child.” (Morrar and Bojórquez, 11/15)

Bloomberg:
Biden’s Shot-Or-Test Mandate Dealt Another Blow By Fifth Circuit

A U.S. appeals court has extended its Nov. 6 order pausing President Joe Biden’s shot-or-test mandate for businesses with 100 or more employees. The ruling, issued today by the New Orleans-based U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit, solidifies its earlier order blocking implementation of the Occupational Safety and Health Administration’s emergency regulation. Its ruling comes ahead of a Judicial Panel on Multidistrict Litigation lottery to determine which federal appeals court will be assigned to adjudicate the many legal challenges to the measure now pending across the country. The lottery is slated for Nov. 16. (Harris, 11/12)

The Washington Post:
Americans More Critical Of Biden’s Pandemic Response, Post-ABC Poll Finds 

Americans’ approval of President Biden’s handling of the coronavirus pandemic – one of his most positive assets early in his presidency – has continued on a downward trend in recent months, a Washington Post-ABC News poll found. This tracks with the trajectory of the public health crisis that seemed to be easing this summer, but roared back to life with the spread of the more-contagious delta variant and plateauing vaccination rates in some areas. (Pannett and Timsit, 11/15)

The (Santa Rosa) Press Democrat:
Cotati Auction, Dinner Raises Money For First-Of-Its-Kind Support Center For First Responders

A live auction and dinner in Cotati on Saturday evening raised money for a new support center for area first responders. First Responders Resiliency’s fundraising goal was $2 million, according to the nonprofit organization’s Founder and Executive Director Susan Farren. “Go big or go home, girl,” she joked. (Carroll, 11/13)

CNN:
Cases Of Diabetes Are Skyrocketing Around The World, And Experts Fear Covid-19 May Make It Worse 

The year 2021 marks 100 years since the discovery of insulin, a game-changing drug in the fight against diabetes. Despite a century of advancements in treatment, education and prevention, World Diabetes Day 2021 occurs in the wake of grim statistics. One in 10 adults around the world — some 537 million people — are currently living with diabetes, according to figures recently released by the International Diabetes Federation (IDF). By 2024, the IDF predicted that the number of people with diabetes is expected to rise to 1 in 8 adults. (LaMotte, 11/14)

NBC News:
People Got Sicker During The Pandemic, Even Without Covid-19

A new study found that the number of Americans able to keep their blood pressure at healthy levels dropped significantly in 2020 —either because people avoided the doctor’s office or were unable to get care because their physicians closed their offices temporarily during the pandemic. The research, presented Saturday at an annual meeting of the American Heart Association, showed that on average, only 53.3 percent of adults in the U.S. had their blood pressure under control last year, compared to 60.5 percent in 2019. (Edwards, 11/13)

The Hill:
Trump CDC Official: No ‘Public Health Reason’ For Border Closure, Title 42

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) officials felt evidence “did not support” former President Trump’s decision to close the border and that the move “wasn’t based on a public health assessment at the time,” the CDC’s Trump-era deputy director told congressional investigators. Anne Schuchat’s comments, released Friday as part of a congressional select committee review of the U.S.’s coronavirus response, confirms reporting that CDC officials saw little public health rationale for Title 42, which allows for swift expulsion at the border and denies migrants the chance to seek asylum. (Beitsch, 11/12)

City News Service:
Fentanyl Suspected After 5 Found Unconscious In Westminster Park

Investigators suspect that five people who were found unconscious at a park in Westminster and rushed to hospitals Saturday, Nov. 13, may have overdosed on fentanyl, police said Sunday. Paramedics were initially summoned to Sigler Park, 7200 Plaza St., following reports of one person unconscious near a restroom at about 6 p.m. Saturday, Orange County Fire Authority Capt. Greg Barta said. When first-responders arrived, they found four more people nearby who were also unresponsive. (11/14)

Stat:
When FDA Rattles Its Sabre, Drug Makers And Universities Start Reporting Overdue Trial Results 

Over the past eight years, more than 90% of drug makers and universities that received preliminary warnings from U.S. regulators about overdue clinical trial results responded by quickly providing the information to a federal database, a new analysis found. Using Freedom of Information Act requests, researchers obtained 58 preliminary warnings the FDA sent to clinical trial sponsors — including 32 issued to drug makers — from 2013 through April 2021. Of these, 57 described potential missing trial results and one referred to missing information about registering a clinical trial, according to the analysis, which was published in JAMA. (Silverman, 11/12)

Southern California News Group:
2 Sentenced In Death Of 83-Year-Old Veteran At Unlicensed Senior Care Facility In Seal Beach 

Two people have been sentenced in the death of an 83-year-old veteran at an unlicensed senior care facility in Seal Beach in 2018. Ayette Loo, the owner of Regency Care, was given four years in prison for her role in the man’s death, California Attorney General Rob Bonta announced on Friday, Nov. 12. Loo had pled guilty to felony elder abuse. (Lee, 11/13)

Los Angeles Times:
Wheelchair Users Face Hefty Costs Not Covered By Insurance 

Beth Smith and other wheelchair users are suing over such insurance shortfalls, arguing that failing to effectively cover wheelchairs is discriminatory against disabled people. The federal class-action suit targets the biggest commercial health insurer in California — Kaiser Foundation Health Plan — and a state agency that sets out minimum requirements for what many health plans must cover. If Smith wins in court, it could affect not only Kaiser members but also other wheelchair users with private insurance across the state. (Alpert Reyes, 11/15)

Los Angeles Times:
L.A. County Health Center Pairs Legal Aid With Medical Care 

The glassy center on 120th Street in Willowbrook, where patients typically stop in to see doctors and get hearing tests, vaccinations and other routine care, might seem like an odd place to seek legal advice. But the L.A. County Department of Health Services, which runs this and other medical centers across the county, has offered free help from attorneys as an unconventional way to meet the broader needs of its patients. (Alpert Reyes, 11/15)

Axios:
Psilocybin Trial Reveals Drug’s Efficacy In Treating Serious Depression 

The largest-ever study of the psychedelic drug psilocybin revealed Tuesday that the drug is effective in treating serious depression, Stat News reports. The Compass Pathways study, which is the “largest randomized, controlled, double-blind trial of psilocybin,” found that patients who were given the highest dose of the drug had a significant decrease in depressive symptoms as compared to the placebo group, per Stat. (Doherty, 11/13)

Axios:
Medicare Patients Face 15% Premium Hike Next Year Due To Aduhelm, COVID Costs 

Monthly premiums that cover physician and outpatient care for Medicare patients will increase by 15% next year, the Biden administration said in a notice Friday evening. People on Medicare are getting slammed with a big hike during an election year, due largely to the big price tag from the questionable Alzheimer’s treatment, Aduhelm, and uncertainty stemming from the coronavirus. Standard Medicare Part B premiums will be $170.10 per month next year, up from $148.50 per month this year. (Herman, 11/15)

CNBC:
Medicare Standard Part B Premiums For 2022 Jump By 14.5%

The standard premium for Medicare’s outpatient care coverage will jump by 14.5% for 2022, far outpacing an earlier estimate of 6.7%, according to the government. The standard premium for Part B, which covers outpatient care and durable equipment, will be $170.10 next year, up $21.60 from $148.50 this year, said a senior official for the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services on Friday. The program’s trustees had estimated this summer that the premium would rise to $158.50.The deductible for Part B will be $233, up $30 (14.8%) from this year. (O’Brien, 11/12)

Bloomberg:
Costly Alzheimer’s Drug Fuels Record Medicare Premium Hike

The standard monthly premium for Medicare outpatient, or “Part B,” coverage, will be $170.10 in 2022, up from $148.50 in 2021, senior Biden administration officials said Friday. The $21.60 increase is the largest annual dollar-amount rate hike ever for Part B coverage, while the 14.5% increase is the third-largest percentage increase since 2007. (Pugh, 11/12)

Politico:
Dems’ Bitter Pill: Popular Health Provisions Won’t Kick In Until After The Midterms

Democrats are close to making good on long-held promises to lower prescription drug costs and make health care more affordable. The rub? Voters won’t feel much of it until after the 2022 elections. … Indeed, by the time voters see their impact, the election will have passed. Penalties on drugmakers that hike prices faster than inflation and a new $35-per-month cap on insulin won’t begin until 2023. A $2,000 cap for all out-of-pocket drug spending for seniors won’t be implemented until 2024, and the lower prices Medicare will negotiate with pharmaceutical companies for some of the most expensive drugs won’t be available until 2025 — with a full phase-in coming in 2028. Coverage of hearing aides under Medicare, another one of the provisions most popular with voters, will similarly not begin until 2024. (Miranda Ollstein and Barrón-López, 11/15)

Axios:
The Road Ahead For Biden’s FDA Nominee Robert Califf 

It’s taken about 10 months for President Biden to name a nominee for the role of permanent FDA commissioner — former FDA chief Robert Califf — and it’s unlikely his confirmation will be complete before the end of 2021. The agency has been without a Senate-approved commissioner for nearly a year, all while playing a central role in the response to the ongoing COVID pandemic. (Fernandez and Reed, 11/15)

Los Angeles Times:
Where Will Next Pandemic Begin? Amazon Rainforest Offers Clues 

From palm oil cultivation in Malaysia to mining in Africa or cattle ranching in Brazil, as people demolish forest, they not only accelerate global warming but also dramatically increase their risk of exposure to disease. Lurking in mammals and birds are about 1.6 million viruses, some of which will be deadly when they leap to humans. The stakes turn catastrophic if a virus proves transmissible between people. That’s what happened with COVID-19, which originated from close contact between humans and wild animals — whether it sprung from a natural setting or a laboratory. (Linthicum, Baumgaertner and Ionova, 11/15)

Los Angeles Times:
Mexican Forensics Teams Train At Body Farm In U.S. 

In recent years there has been a growing recognition that many of the missing may be in government custody — their bodies scattered among the tens of thousands of corpses that have passed through morgues without being identified and then buried in common graves. Mexican authorities have vowed to put names to the human remains in their care. That is why Robles and 23 other Mexican crime scene investigators, forensic archaeologists and morgue workers spent five days last month at the University of Tennessee’s Forensic Anthropology Center, a world-famous research center better known as the Body Farm. (Linthicum, 11/14)