Medical / Health

Florinda Matias Pablo receives a COVID-19 vaccination at the La Clinica de la Raza community vaccination site in Oakland on Jan. 4, 2022.

California COVID Cases are Increasing, Again. Here’s the Latest on Boosters and More

By Kristen Hwang/CalMatters on September 6, 2023 at 10:30AM

Another COVID-19 wave is hitting California as the summer ends and kids head back to school. It’s a familiar story by now, but one that has become perhaps more confusing with time because of changing public health recommendations, new vaccine boosters and our evolving understanding of the virus.

The Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta on June 22, 2023.

California Water Agency Under Investigation for Discriminating Against Tribes, People of Color

By Rachel Becker/CalMatters on August 10, 2023 at 11:16AM

The watershed is the heart of California’s water supply: Covering about 20 percent of California, it includes the Sacramento and San Joaquin river systems and is a vital source of water for 27 million Californians and 750,000 acres of farmland. The Bay-Delta is experiencing an “ecological crisis,” state water regulators have said, including a “prolonged and precipitous decline in numerous native species,” such as endangered winter-run Chinook salmon and the tiny Delta smelt.

Reverse osmosis, a step in the water purification process, eliminates more than 99 percent of all impurities at the Pure Water Southern California Demonstration Plant in Carson. On the left is the filter, and on the right are samples before and after reverse osmosis.

Don’t Call it ‘Toilet to Tap’ — California Plans to Turn Sewage into Drinking Water

By Rachel Becker/CalMatters on August 2, 2023 at 9:40AM

Heather Collins, water treatment manager for the Metropolitan Water District of Southern California, said the regulations will give the district more certainty about how to design a massive, multi-billion dollar water recycling project with the Los Angeles County Sanitation Districts. The district imports water that is provided to 19 million Southern Californians.

Kaiser Permanente health care workers strike outside a Kaiser facility in Sacramento on July 25, 2023. Workers are on the picket lines to protest patient care crisis and unsafe staffing at Kaiser hospitals.

California Needs Thousands of Nurses, but Leaders Can’t Agree on How to Fill Jobs

By Kristen Hwang/CalMatters on July 31, 2023 at 9:38AM

Ashley Hooks always planned to retire at Lakewood Regional Medical Center, where she has been a nurse for 12 years. But now, Hooks said, staffing issues are so bad and burnout so severe that she’s rethinking how she wants to spend the rest of her career.

California Forbids Plans to Unmask Workers at In-N-Out — and Most Other Workplaces

By Ana B. Ibarra/Calmatters on July 27, 2023 at 12:37PM

California employers can require masks California employers can go a step further and require workers to wear a mask, as long as they also provide flexibility for someone who can’t wear one due to medical reasons or a disability.

The county of Humboldt, home to more opioid prescriptions than people, and the city of Eureka are parties to the tentative settlement reached with Purdue Pharma in the massive opioid lawsuit that includes more than 2,000 municipalities.

Willow Creek Pharmacy Closes

By Thadeus Greenson on July 24, 2023 at 10:37AM

The Willow Creek Pharmacy has closed its doors, leaving scores of area residents worried they could be facing two hours of driving to fill their prescriptions, and that’s when the roads are open. The pharmacy closed July 14, reportedly with little notice, according to some patients and employees.

CA Legislature Mulls Expanding Paid Sick Leave

By Rya Jetha/CalMatters on July 11, 2023 at 12:43PM

When the COVID-19 pandemic struck in 2020, California’s three days of paid sick leave for full-time workers was not enough to cover quarantines or vaccine side effects. Gov. Gavin Newsom signed a law requiring companies to offer as much as 80 hours of supplemental sick leave for employees.

A senior woman walking down a corridor with the assistance of a walker. view from rear

Troubled Nursing Home Chain Owner Shlomo Rechnitz Gets New Licenses Just Before State Reforms Take Effect

By Marisa Kendall/CalMatters on June 30, 2023 at 11:03AM

“This settlement resolves longstanding issues we have had with this provider and provides our department stronger enforcement tools to ensure the provider is delivering reasonable and appropriate care to its residents,” Dr. Tomás Aragón, director of the Department of Public Health, said in an emailed statement. “With this settlement, we will continue to monitor the facilities involved with a focus on maintaining that level of care.”

The newly hatched California condor that was taken to be incubated and cared for due to concerns about the health of the father condor that was caring for the nest after his mate died of the virus

Local Condor Exams Include Tests for Deadly Avian Flu

By Kimberly Wear on May 17, 2023 at 2:17PM

Meanwhile, the United States Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) on May 16 approved the emergency use of HPAI vaccine in an attempt to prevent additional deaths at the request of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. “APHIS approved this emergency vaccination of the condors because these birds are critically endangered, closely monitored, and their population is very small, which allows close monitoring of the vaccine to ensure it is administered only to the approved population,” a release from the agency states.

Lawmakers Want More Social Media Regulation. Here are the Legal Hurdles They Could Face

By Grace Gedye/CalMatters on May 3, 2023 at 11:16AM

CalMatters reached out to Twitter, Reddit, Mastodon, TikTok and Meta, which also owns WhatsApp, for comment. Twitter’s press inbox responded automatically with a poop emoji.

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