Judge Strikes Down Part Of Aid-In-Dying Law: A federal judge says part of California’s aid-in-dying law is unconstitutional because it requires physicians, regardless of personal objections, to report a terminally ill patient’s request for life-ending medication. Read more from the San Francisco Chronicle.
In Unusual Move, EU Blocks $7B Merger Of 2 California Biotech Firms: The European Union blocked Illumina Inc.’s acquisition of cancer-test developer Grail Inc., putting a $7.1 billion merger into jeopardy just days after a U.S. judge allowed it to go forward. The EU says the deal between Illumina, headquartered in San Diego, and Grail, which is based in Menlo Park, would stifle innovation. Read more from The Wall Street Journal, AP, and STAT.
Below, check out the roundup of California Healthline’s coverage. For today’s national health news, read KHN’s Morning Briefing.
CalMatters:
Blackouts Loom As Record Heat Wave Blankets CA
Among the measures taken Tuesday, Gov. Gavin Newsom signed a bill requiring counties to ensure that local community centers are prepared to help all residents during extreme heat events and other environmental disasters and that those centers are incorporated in local emergency plans. He also signed a pile of legislation and budget trailer bills, including several dealing with energy, drought and wildfires. (Hoeven, 9/7)
Axios:
Heat Wave In California: Blackouts Possible As Excessive Heat Warnings Continue
California ISO, the state’s grid operator, on Tuesday afternoon declared a Stage 2 emergency. It raised the alert in the evening to Stage 3, warning rotating power outages were “very possible.” (Freedman, 9/7)
The Washington Post:
Historic, Unforgiving Western Heat Wave Is Peaking And Crushing Records
A historically severe September heat wave is baking the West, breaking hundreds of records, posing a danger to public health and pushing California’s power grid to the limit. Some records have been shattered by wide margins as the scorching air mass exacerbates the fire danger in the drought-stricken region. (Cappucci, Samenow and Pietsch, 9/6)
Los Angeles Daily News:
Air Quality Advisories Issued In Parts Of Inland Empire, LA County Amid Scorching Heat, Wildfires
Air quality conditions in parts of Los Angeles County and the Inland Empire were labeled Tuesday as “unhealthy” by officials as the effects of smog pollution were exacerbated by the ongoing heat wave and the Radford and Fairview wildfires that have been pouring smoke into the sky. (Antonios, 9/6)
Fresno Bee:
Air Conditioning Issues Force Fresno School To Send Students Home Amid Heat Wave
A school in Fresno Unified sent students home early Tuesday due to the dangerous combination of the current heat wave and air-conditioning failures. (Morano, 9/6)
Voice of OC:
Santa Ana’s Cooling Centers Ramp Up This Week To Help Residents Get A Break From The Heat
Cooling centers are becoming necessary for many to deal with the heat, and city officials say they will continue to operate in Santa Ana while the heat wave remains in place. (Pearson and Leopo, 9/6)
Sacramento Bee:
Workers Would Receive More Water, Shade Under Federal Heat Law
Paid breaks in cool spaces. Limits on how long a worker would have to endure excessive heat. Easy access to water. And federal muscle to enforce it all. That is the gist of congressional legislation being pushed as California and the West continue to bake in a historic heat wave. (Lightman, 9/7)
EdSource:
Bill That Would Expand School Health Clinics Faces Opposition From Anti-Abortion Groups
A bill that would double the number of health clinics on school campuses is headed to Gov. Gavin Newsom for approval amid objections from anti-abortion groups that claim the clinics would make it easier for students to end pregnancies. Assembly Bill 1940, would set aside $100 million for schools to build or expand an estimated 200 health clinics offering free medical care, dental services, mental health counseling, reproductive health care and other services for students and, in some cases, the surrounding community. (Jones, 9/7)
Sacramento Bee:
Should California Put Abortion Rights In State Constitution?
Across the country, states are staking out their places in the post-Roe v. Wade landscape. California voters will have the opportunity to weigh in this November by answering this question: Should reproductive rights be enshrined in the state constitution? Supporters of Proposition 1 say it’s a necessary firewall, even for a state with strong abortion protections already on the books. Critics, including self-identified Democrats, worry that the measure amounts to risky overkill. Conservatives call it political grandstanding that’s out of step with voters. (Plachta, 9/7)
Bloomberg:
US Startup Choix Will Sell Abortion Pills To Patients Who Aren’t Pregnant
Choix will begin selling abortion pills to people who aren’t pregnant so they can stockpile them for future use, the reproductive health-care startup announced on Wednesday. The company will only offer the service, also known as “advanced provision,” in US states where it’s licensed to operate — California, Colorado, Illinois, Maine and New Mexico — all of which currently allow abortion. (Butler, 9/7)
Reuters:
U.S. To Expand Monkeypox Vaccine, Drug Distribution Through AmerisourceBergen Contract
The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) on Tuesday said it will significantly expand the number of distribution locations for monkeypox vaccines and treatments through a new $20 million contract with AmerisourceBergen Corp. Under the new contract, HHS said it will be able to make up to 2,500 shipments per week of frozen doses of Bavarian Nordic’s Jynneos vaccine from the Strategic National Stockpile, as well as shipments of SIGA Technologies’ drug TPOXX to up to 2,500 locations. (Erman, 9/6)
Palm Springs Desert Sun:
Riverside County Surpasses 200 Likely Monkeypox Cases Since Start Of Outbreak
Riverside County reported Tuesday it has surpassed 200 likely monkeypox cases since the beginning of the current outbreak, doubling its total of infections in nearly three weeks. (Sasic, 9/6)
Sacramento Bee:
UC Davis Prepares For Monkeypox As Students Return To Class
Parents peppered student health services leaders at UC Davis with questions about how the university would manage the spread of COVID-19 as their children returned to campus back in 2020 at start of a pandemic. But with the fall 2022 quarter looming, Dr. Cindy Schorzman is fielding questions from a different UC Davis demographic since federal and California officials declared a public health emergency over the spread of monkeypox. (Anderson, 9/6)
CIDRAP:
Those With, Without HIV Have Similar Monkeypox Outcomes, Study Finds
A new study from Germany shows no major differences in the clinical picture in those with or without HIV who contract monkeypox. The study, in HIV Medicine, was based on 546 monkeypox cases in Germany, which has one of the highest monkeypox case counts in Europe. The study is published in HIV Medicine. (9/6)
Yale Daily News:
Yale Researchers Analyze Containment Strategies For Monkeypox
Monkeypox is an orthopoxvirus disease that spreads through close contact. Since May, cases in the United States have continued to climb. Proposed strategies for containing the outbreak include increasing rates of detection, contact tracing and vaccination. Melanie Chitwood GRD ’26, a graduate student in the epidemiology department at the Yale School of Public Health and the lead author of a new study, used a mathematical model to determine the rate of vaccination necessary to avoid monkeypox becoming endemic to the United States. (Nield, 9/6)
Stat:
White House Signals Most People Will Only Need Annual Covid Booster
As part of its push to encourage vaccine-weary Americans to get the updated Covid shot, the White House put forth a new selling point Tuesday: to view it as a first annual shot, akin to the annual flu shot. (Joseph, 9/6)
Fox News:
White House Wants Simultaneous COVID, Flu Shots: ‘This Is Why God Gave Us Two Arms’
The Biden administration on Tuesday encouraged all Americans to get an updated COVID shot as soon as possible, even if it means getting it the same day as an annual flu shot. “The good news is you can get both your flu shot and COVID shot at the same time. It’s actually a good idea,” said White House COVID-19 Response Coordinator Dr. Ashish Jha. “I really believe this is why God gave us two arms, one for the flu shot and the other one for the COVID shot.” (Kasperowicz, 9/6)
NBC News:
New Covid Boosters Look A Lot Like The Old Ones. Doctors Worry That Could Lead To Errors.
As updated Covid booster shots roll out across the nation, many experts are raising an eyebrow — and perhaps squinting at the label. That’s because the new doses come in capped vials that look strikingly similar to the old ones. It’s a design decision, experts say, that could result in some people mistakenly receiving the wrong dose. (Lovelace Jr., 9/6)
CNBC:
People Who Recently Caught Covid Can Wait To Get Omicron Booster
People who recently caught Covid can wait a few months to get a new omicron booster, White House Covid response coordinator Dr. Ashish Jha said on Tuesday. (Kimball, 9/6)
KQED:
Omicron Boosters: Do I Need One, And If So, When?
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is recommending updated COVID boosters, for people ages 12 and older. These newly authorized shots are reformulated versions of the Moderna and Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccines and they’re available at pharmacies, clinics and doctors’ offices around the country. (Aubrey, 9/6)
USA Today:
COVID Left 10.5M Children Without Parents Or Caregivers, Study Finds
Worldwide, an estimated 10.5 million children were either orphaned or lost a primary caregiver due to COVID-19, according to a study published Tuesday. The study, in JAMA Pediatrics, examined the World Health Organization’s data on excess mortality as of May 2022, finding that the majority of those children – 7.5 million – were orphaned while 3 million children lost a primary caregiver. (Stanton, 9/6)
Los Angeles Daily News:
School Superintendents Call For Changes To On-Campus LA County Masking Policy
A group of 24 school superintendents from districts across the Southern California region want the Los Angeles County Department of Public Health to change a portion of its on-campus masking policies — specifically as it relates to asymptomatic students and staff who have been closely exposed to a COVID-positive person. (Hutchings, 9/6)
Stat:
As Masks Are Shed, Medical Offices Pose Covid Risk For Some
In May, Sarah Fama had to get blood work done before refilling a prescription for an autoimmune disorder. Because her condition put her at high risk for Covid-19, and she lives with her parents, both in their 80s, she checked the lab’s website, which stated that masks were required inside. (Molteni, 9/7)
ABC News:
Mystery As To Why New COVID Variants Have Stalled In Growth
Throughout much of the pandemic, there has been a constant shifting in terms of which COVID-19 variants are most dominant, at a given time, in the U.S. However, for the last five weeks, federal data shows that there has been little to no growth in the different proportions of COVID-19 variants in the country. (Mitropoulos, 9/6)
AP:
EXPLAINER: Is COVID-19 Winding Down? Scientists Say No
Is the coronavirus on its way out? You might think so. New, updated booster shots are being rolled out to better protect against the variants circulating now. The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has dropped COVID-19 quarantine and distancing recommendations. And more people have thrown off their masks and returned to pre-pandemic activities. But scientists say no. They predict the scourge that’s already lasted longer than the 1918 flu pandemic will linger far into the future. (Ungar, 9/6)
CIDRAP:
Mobile App Detects COVID-19 Infection In People’s Voices
A mobile smartphone app uses artificial intelligence (AI) to accurately detect COVID-19 infections in people’s voices, according to research presented this week at the European Respiratory Society International Congress in Barcelona, Spain. The developers of the app said the program detected infections with more accuracy than lateral flow or rapid antigen tests, and is cheaper than a polymerase chain reaction (PCR) test. The app was accurate in detecting infection 89% of the time. Participants provided several audio samples, which included coughing, reading a short sentence, and breathing deeply through the mouth. (9/6)
Bay Area News Group:
Elizabeth Holmes Demands New Trial After Alleged Visit By Key Witness
Theranos founder Elizabeth Holmes, convicted of fraud in January, on Tuesday demanded a new trial, saying a key prosecution witness showed up at her home disheveled and apparently remorseful over his testimony against her. Former Theranos laboratory director Dr. Adam Rosendorff had testified that Holmes’ now-defunct Palo Alto blood-testing startup “valued PR and fundraising over patient care,” and that he felt “obligated from a moral and ethical perspective to alert the public” about inaccurate test results. In response, a lawyer for Holmes told jurors during the four-month trial in U.S. District Court in San Jose that Rosendorff’s “incompetence” was behind problems in the startup. (Baron, 9/6)
The Wall Street Journal:
Theranos Founder Elizabeth Holmes Seeks New Trial, Citing Fresh Evidence
The filing is the latest twist in a spectacle-laden criminal-fraud saga that began to play out in court a year ago and became one of the most closely watched white-collar cases in Silicon Valley history. Ms. Holmes in January was convicted on four counts of criminal fraud for deceiving investors while running a yearslong scheme at Theranos, where she was chief executive. Her one-time business and romantic partner, former Theranos president Ramesh “Sunny” Balwani, was convicted of 12 fraud counts in July. (Somerville, 9/6)
CalMatters:
Internet Privacy Law For Kids Would Prohibit Tracking
If it gets signed into law, California businesses that provide online services or products likely to be accessed by kids under 18 would have to provide greater privacy protections by default starting in July 2024. Specifically the bill would require companies to assess potential harm in how they use kids’ data in new services or features, and create a plan to reduce the risk before the feature is rolled out. (Gedye, 9/6)
KQED:
Thousands Of California Children Are Missing Vaccinations Required For School
Falling childhood vaccination rates during the pandemic meant that thousands of students were unable to start the school year on a campus because they did not have the immunizations required by the state. More than 1 in 8 California students age 4 to 6 did not have their measles, mumps and rubella vaccination — one of 10 vaccinations California requires — before school started this year, according to the California Department of Public Health. That means that there could potentially be many more students who haven’t had other required vaccinations that could put them at risk of being sent home. (Lambert, 9/6)
San Francisco Chronicle:
San Francisco’s Ambitious Plan To Tackle The Growing Drug Crisis
A trio of San Francisco supervisors revealed an ambitious citywide road map Tuesday to tackle drug overdose deaths, addiction and open-air use and dealing, urging a coordinated response that uses millions from opioid lawsuit settlements to address an unprecedented crisis. The guiding document, which includes recommendations and directs city departments to report back with solutions, follows a devastating two-and-a-half years. Since the start of 2020, the city has seen nearly 1,700 fatal overdoses, almost double the death toll of the COVID-19 pandemic. (Moench, 9/6)
CalMatters:
Medi-Cal Assisted Living Program Has A Long Wait List
Former grad school classmates Kelsey McQuaid-Craig and Chelsea Oruche have recently bonded over a similar struggle — trying to place loved ones in assisted living. McQuaid-Craig and her husband, Brandon, are looking to place his mother, Mary, 67, who has dementia and is deteriorating quickly, in a memory care program in Sacramento County. They are currently expecting their first child, and caring for Mary full time while juggling their careers has become overwhelming. (Ibarra, 9/7)
Los Angeles Times:
L.A. County’s First Street Psychiatrist Treats Patients Where They Live
Before she met Dr. Shayan Rab, Diana Silveria was the daughter of Elvis Presley, hanging out with Lynyrd Skynyrd on a skid row sidewalk. Three weeks later, Silveria, 51, was taking medication and slowly coming to reality in a room at the Russ, a single-room-occupancy hotel. (Smith, 9/7)
San Diego Union-Tribune:
Glenner Centers To Host Free Series For Those Caring For Loved Ones With Dementia
This fall, George G. Glenner Alzheimer’s Family Centers will be hosting free caregiver classes at its Town Square location in Chula Vista for those caring for loved ones with Alzheimer’s disease and dementia. (Mapp, 9/6)
San Francisco Chronicle:
California Wanted To End Homeless Shelters. Instead, COVID Reinvented Them
It was Jan. 16, 2004, and Gavin Newsom was the new mayor of San Francisco. His signature homelessness initiatives — including a 10-year plan to end it — wouldn’t come until later that year, but on this day he was already laying down an audacious marker. Standing alongside national homeless adviser Philip Mangano at a strategy session with dozens of homelessness experts at City Hall, Newsom proclaimed to applause that his dream was to someday create so much subsidized housing with services that emergency shelters would all but disappear. (Hepler, Hosseini and Fagan, 9/7)
San Francisco Chronicle:
S.F. Is Evicting Its Most Vulnerable Tenants Closer To Pre-Pandemic Levels. But Official Numbers Don’t Show Scope Of The Crisis
Evictions from San Francisco’s housing units for the formerly homeless have jumped sharply over the past year, a sign that the city’s most vulnerable residents — who typically have nowhere else to go but back to the streets — are increasingly at risk of losing their homes as the city emerges from the pandemic. At least 114 people were officially evicted from the single-room occupancy hotels, or SROs, in the fiscal year that ended June 30, a significant uptick from the prior year, when 40 people were kicked out of the city-funded and often neglected buildings, according to a Chronicle analysis of newly released data from the Department of Homelessness and Supportive Housing. The percentage of households displaced from these hotels increased from 0.7% to 1.8%. (Palomino and Thadani, 9/6)
The Bakersfield Californian:
City’s Homelessness Dashboard Created To Increase Accountability
City of Bakersfield officials said they know that homelessness is the No. 1 concern facing residents, a problem that creates health and public safety concerns for a variety of reasons. (Smith, 9/6)
San Diego Union-Tribune:
Downtown San Diego Homeless Population Hits Record High
A monthly count of homeless people living without shelter in downtown San Diego reached a record high of 1,609 in August, reports the Downtown San Diego Partnership. It is the largest number in the 10 years the organization has been conducting the count. (Warth, 9/6)
Bay Area News Group:
Homeless Population Has Nearly Doubled Since 2019 In This Contra Costa County City
While homelessness rates swelled across most Bay Area counties during the pandemic, data from the latest count reports that Richmond experienced the steepest spike. (Lauer, 9/6)
