COVID in California: Will the Bay Area’s massive outdoor parades and protests spur outbreaks?

CDC: Paxlovid prevented 99% of hospitalizations in patients with mild-to-moderate COVID

Fewer than 1% of COVID-19 patients required hospital admissions and emergency department encounters 5-15 days after completing Paxlovid treatment, a CDC study found using data from Kaiser Permanente Southern California. “The rarity of these outcomes is consistent with evidence from recent case reports and large observational studies, which found that symptoms experienced by patients with COVID-19 rebound after treatment with Paxlovid are milder than those experienced during the primary infection” and are unlikely to lead to hospitalization, the authors wrote. However, they indicated that further research is needed to determine the cause of rare rebound infections that can occur after taking Paxlovid: “The recurrence of COVID-19 symptoms after Paxlovid treatment might also be related to other factors, including viral reinfection or the emergence of treatment-resistant mutations.”

U.S. Open champion withdraws from Wimbledon due to COVID-19

Tennis pro Marin Cilic says he is not able to play at Wimbledon because he tested positive for COVID-19. The 2014 U.S. Open champion and 2017 Wimbledon runner-up wrote on Instagram on Monday that he has been self-isolating and was hoping he would get better in time for the tournament. But he added that he is still feeling unwell.

Federal court reconsidering its OK of Biden order that federal workers be vaccinated

In a reversal for President Joe Biden, a federal appeals court in New Orleans on Monday agreed to reconsider its own April ruling that allowed the administration to require federal employees to be vaccinated against COVID-19. The new order from the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in New Orleans vacates an earlier ruling by a three-judge panel that upheld the mandate. The new order means a federal judge’s earlier block on the mandate remains in effect while the full court’s 17 judges take up the appeal. Biden on Sept. 9 ordered that more than 3.5 million federal executive branch workers undergo vaccination, with no option to get regularly tested instead without medical or religious exemptions.

Sonoma County scaling back COVID response team

Sonoma County is trimming its coronavirus task force this week, reducing a temporary workforce of about 60 staff within the county health department by a third. County health officials told the Santa Rosa Press Democrat that the shift aligns with the evolving nature of the pandemic. It comes just ahead of a June 30 deadline when millions of dollars in government pandemic funding is set to run out. They said everyone knew the pandemic response would scale back at this time, with some workers notified last week and others sooner. “Many had already resigned weeks ago, and a month ago, because they knew that come June 30, the COVID response was being demobilized,” Health Services Director Tina Rivera told the newspaper. But many temporary workers were in the dark on details, and some providers operating clinics and COVID-19 services said they didn’t know until last week whether they would continue to be part of the county’s vaccination program after June 30, the newspaper reported.

In Army National Guard, 13% of force need shots, face Thursday deadline

Up to 40,000 Army National Guard soldiers have yet to get the mandatory COVID-19 vaccine and have until Thursday to do so.That means the deadline is bearing down on about 13% of the force, with at least 14,000 of them having flatly refused, the Associated Press reports. They could be forced out of the service. According to data obtained by AP, 20% to 30% of Guard soldiers in six states are not vaccinated, and more than 10% in 43 other states still need coronavirus shots. Guard leaders say states are doing all they can to encourage soldiers to get shots by Thursday. They said they will work with the roughly 7,000 who have sought exemptions, which are almost all for religious reasons.

UCSF opens new psychiatry building aiming to “redefine mental health services”

UCSF is welcoming its first patients to one of the few buildings in the nation that combines outpatient mental health care for all ages with top programs in psychiatry and psychology training, the Nancy Friend Pritzker Psychiatry Building. UCSF said the timing of the opening coincides with the mental health crisis tied to the COVID pandemic, and the building aims to “redefine mental health services and make a bold statement against stigma.” The five-story,150,000-square-foot building is seen as a departure from traditional psychiatry facilities, with its “central location and proximity to transportation hubs, together with its light-filled atrium and interior transparency” that “signal openness to the community outside, as well as within the building itself.” Matthew W. State, chair and Oberndorf Family Distinguished Professor of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, emphasized the building’s features of light and nature aiming to integrate physical and mental health services and “healing in a low-stress environment.”

U.S. health authorities face critical decision on vaccines

Advisers to the Food and Drug Administration will debate Tuesday if it’s time to offer new COVID-19 booster shots that are modified to better match recent changes of the shape-shifting coronavirus. That decision could set the stage for similar moves by other countries. Both Moderna and Pfizer have tested updated shots against the super-contagious omicron variant. “This is science at its toughest,” FDA vaccine chief Dr. Peter Marks told The Associated Press, adding that a final decision is expected within days of the advisory panel’s recommendation. Current COVID-19 vaccines have saved millions of lives and current shots still offer strong protection against severe illness and death, especially after a booster dose. The question is whether tweaked boosters would help blunt another surge when there’s no way to predict which mutant will be the main threat.

COVID death rates for Latinos have declined, but advocates say more help is needed

The success of vaccination campaigns has narrowed disparities in COVID death rates in California, especially for the Latino community, which has been disproportionately affected with coronavirus infection during the pandemic. Since the state began tracking deaths in April 2020, more than 91,000 Californians have died from COVID-19 — approximately 230 deaths per 100,000 people — according to the Public Policy Institute of California.

Will the Bay Area’s massive outdoor parades and protests spur any outbreaks?

A spate of massive outdoor crowd events swept through the Bay Area over the past week, with the region still beset by fast-spreading offshoots of the omicron coronavirus variant. Risk of transmission is less outside than indoors, and the region is comparatively highly vaccinated, so it’s not known to if outbreaks might occur such as those tied to some crowded festivals and events elsewhere, San Francisco’s Pride parade on Sunday was estimated at 500,000 celebrants who marched and mingled along Market Street for four hours and ended up at a pulsating party at the Civic Center. That followed numerous protest gatherings with people converging in the streets after the Supreme Court overturned the Roe v. Wade ruling on abortion rights. And the week kicked off with throngs also crowding Market to celebrate the NBA championship of the Golden State Warriors. All involved people in close proximity for extended periods.

Biden administration mum on what COVID rates are at specific hospitals

The Biden administration, during the omicron wave of the coronavirus, considered public disclosure of data on how prevalent COVID-19 spread was inside individual hospitals, but ultimately chose to keep that information private, Politico reports, citing two people familiar with the discussions. The decision to withhold the names, based partly on concerns about duplicative data and partly on fears of embarrassing hospitals, denies patients the opportunity to steer clear of health systems with poor track records and allows facilities to avoid public scrutiny, patient advocates say. COVID cases and hospitalizations are much lower than they were during the winter surge but many disability-rights advocates are encouraging the government to make the information public, arguing it is necessary to make safe choices, especially for people with chronic conditions and weakened immune systems.

Albuquerque mayor says pandemic erased much progress against crime

Albuquerque Mayor Tim Keller said the coronavirus pandemic erased much of the city’s progress made against crime. He said however he believes the city’s police department has made improvements. In his first State of the City address of his second term, Keller also announced Saturday that the Albuquerque Police Department is seeking release from at least some of the federal oversight it has been under since 2015.

Global death toll stands at more than 6.3 million

The world population now has lost more than 6.3 million lives to COVID-19 since the start of the pandemic, tracking by Johns Hopkins University researchers shows. In the United States the death toll has grown to 1.016 million new mutations of the virus keep transmission alive, although the rate of deaths has dropped significantly since the advent of vaccinations. In California, at least 91,420 people have died from COVID-19, state data shows.

WHO: monkeypox not yet a global health emergency

The World Health Organization said the escalating monkeypox outbreak in more than 50 countries should be closely monitored but does not warrant being declared a global health emergency. In a statement Saturday, a WHO emergency committee said many aspects of the outbreak were “unusual” and acknowledged that monkeypox — which is endemic in some African countries — has been neglected for years. “While a few members expressed differing views, the committee resolved by consensus to advise the WHO director-general that at this stage the outbreak should be determined to not constitute” a global health emergency, WHO said in a statement.