Category: California

Vaccine Ramp-Up Squeezes Covid Testing and Tracing

The ability of California health officials to multitask in a pandemic will be severely tested as they scramble to find staff for vaccination sites while maintaining testing and contact tracing.

Trump’s Pardons Included Health Care Execs Behind Massive Frauds

Those walking away free were facing years in prison for crimes of “unbounded greed.”

California Is Overriding Its Limits on Nurse Workloads as Covid Surges

As covid patients flood California emergency rooms, hospitals are increasingly desperate to find enough staffers to care for them all. But some nurses worry hospitals will use the pandemic as an excuse to permanently roll back their hard-won nurse-patient ratios.

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.

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.

‘Peer Respites’ Provide an Alternative to Psychiatric Wards During Pandemic

A growing number of “peer respites,” nonclinical settings for psychiatric recovery, can help people in distress who mainly need to talk to people who understand their problems.

In Los Angeles and Beyond, Oxygen Is the Latest Covid Bottleneck

The oxygen delivery infrastructure is crumbling under pressure in Los Angeles and other covid hot spots, jeopardizing patients’ access to precious air and limiting hospital turnover.

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.