Thursday, December 9, 2021 | California Healthline

Bay Space Information Group:
East Bay Omicron Instances Have been Vaccinated Kaiser Employees

Kaiser Permanente mentioned Wednesday that 11 of its vaccinated and boosted Oakland Medical Heart employees had been amongst a cluster of East Bay COVID-19 instances linked to the omicron variant — and that no less than 16 sufferers and different workers members had been uncovered to them earlier than the invention. All 11 of the Kaiser workers had attended a marriage in Wisconsin that’s believed to be liable for the outbreak, the biggest identified Bay Space cluster of infections attributed to the worrisome new variant that has touched off a worldwide dash to find out its risks and include its unfold. (Woolfolk, 12/8)

San Francisco Chronicle:
New East Bay Omicron Outbreak Particulars: Absolutely Vaccinated, Boosted Kaiser Employees Acquired COVID After Out-Of-State Marriage ceremony

Eleven of the 12 confirmed COVID-19 instances tied to an omicron outbreak within the East Bay final week are amongst absolutely vaccinated and boosted workers members at Kaiser Permanente’s Oakland Medical Heart, based on a spokesperson for the hospital. The preliminary case was reported to the Alameda County Public Well being Division by Kaiser on Nov. 30. 4 days later, the division introduced a dozen whole suspected instances of the omicron coronavirus variant. (Vaziri and Allday, 12/08)

San Diego Union-Tribune:
San Diego Officers Urge COVID Vaccine Boosters As Omicron Looms 

Native officers have but to identify the Omicron variant of the coronavirus in San Diego County, however the brand new pressure gave recent urgency to calls on Wednesday for absolutely vaccinated residents to get booster pictures. In a day announcement, county officers referred to as on San Diegans who bought their Johnson & Johnson shot no less than two months in the past or their second Pfizer or Moderna dose six or extra months in the past to return for a booster. Greater than 528,000 folks have already accomplished so, based on information posted on the area’s vaccine dashboard. (Wosen, 12/8)

AP:
The AP Interview: CDC Chief Says Omicron Principally Gentle So Far 

Greater than 40 folks within the U.S. have been discovered to be contaminated with the omicron variant to this point, and greater than three-quarters of them had been vaccinated, the chief of the CDC mentioned Wednesday. However she mentioned almost all of them had been solely mildly in poor health. In an interview with The Related Press, Dr. Rochelle Walensky, director of the Facilities for Illness Management and Prevention, mentioned the info could be very restricted and the company is engaged on a extra detailed evaluation of what the brand new mutant type of the coronavirus would possibly maintain for the U.S. (Stobbe, 12/9)

The Washington Publish:
Early Research Recommend Omicron Is Formidable — However Not Unstoppable

The necessity to perceive omicron’s true risk is so pressing that information is leapfrogging the same old channels. Papers are being shared even earlier than they’re made accessible on preprint servers, with analysis findings posted on laboratories’ web sites or on Twitter. The laboratory experiments provide an early glimpse of how omicron behaves. However such analysis has limitations. Scientists are exposing the virus, or in some instances a “pseudovirus” that has the superficial options of the virus, to blood samples from folks with totally different ranges of vaccination and antibodies. That doesn’t predict, essentially, how the virus will unfold within the basic inhabitants. (Johnson and Achenbach, 12/8)

AP:
WHO: Omicron Might Unfold Sooner However It is Nonetheless Not Sure

The World Well being Group says early proof suggests the omicron variant could also be spreading sooner than the extremely transmissible delta variant however brings with it much less extreme coronavirus illness -– although it’s too early to make agency conclusions. The feedback come amongst swirling issues concerning the new variant that first emerged in southern Africa final month, prompting some nations to close their borders and rattling inventory markets petrified of the long-term impression of a attainable new variant of the virus that has already contaminated no less than 267 million folks and killed greater than 5.2 million. (12/8)

The Wall Road Journal:
How Blood Samples Are Serving to Scientists Check Covid-19 Vaccines In opposition to Omicron 

Human blood samples and the substance that makes fireflies glow are among the many instruments that scientists are utilizing for early clues about whether or not Covid-19 vaccines retain their effectiveness in opposition to the brand new Omicron virus variant. (Loftus, 12/8)

The Washington Publish:
Omicron Might Require Fourth Vaccine Dose, Pfizer Says

The brand new omicron variant might improve the chance that folks will want a fourth coronavirus vaccine dose sooner than anticipated, executives at pharmaceutical big Pfizer mentioned Wednesday. Boosters are possible to assist management the variant, based on the corporate, which mentioned early lab experiments counsel the usual two-dose routine nonetheless gives some safety in opposition to extreme sickness from the variant. Albert Bourla, Pfizer’s chief govt, had projected {that a} fourth dose is perhaps wanted 12 months after a 3rd shot. However he mentioned on CNBC’s “Squawk Field” that the timeline would possibly must be moved up. One of many firm’s prime scientists just lately mentioned a fourth shot — presumably one concentrating on omicron — is prone to be crucial. (Jeong and Suliman, 12/9)

AP:
Vaccine Makers Racing To Replace COVID Pictures, Simply In Case

Vaccine makers are racing to replace their COVID-19 pictures in opposition to the most recent coronavirus risk even earlier than it’s clear a change is required, simply in case. Consultants doubt immediately’s pictures will turn into ineffective however say it’s important to see how briskly firms might produce a reformulated dose and show it really works — as a result of no matter occurs with omicron, this latest mutant gained’t be the final. Omicron “is pulling the hearth alarm. Whether or not it seems to be a false alarm, it will be actually good to know if we are able to truly do that — get a brand new vaccine rolled out and be prepared,” mentioned immunologist E. John Wherry of the College of Pennsylvania. (Neergaard, 12/9)

Modesto Bee:
Time Of Day You Get COVID Vaccine Might Have an effect on Antibody Ranges

Every cell in your physique can inform what time of day it’s and modify its behaviors accordingly, comparable to producing hormones at night time that make you sleepy and telling your mind you’re hungry round midday. Many years of analysis have demonstrated your immune system follows your physique’s 24-hour inner clock, formally referred to as your circadian rhythm, in ways in which might have an effect on the way you reply to drugs, publicity to viruses and vaccinations. Now, new analysis suggests the time of day you obtain your COVID-19 shot could affect how a lot safety your physique builds. (Camero, 12/08)

The Hill:
Pediatric COVID Vaccination Has Slowed Throughout The US: Evaluation

The speed of COVID-19 vaccinations amongst youngsters ages 5 to 11 has slowed significantly nationwide, based on a brand new evaluation from the Kaiser Household Basis. The evaluation reveals that a bit greater than a month because the Meals and Drug Administration (FDA) signed off on pediatric COVID-19 vaccines, the speed of improve has leveled off. The drop-off started earlier than Thanksgiving, and has continued since. (Weixel, 12/8)

NBC Information:
Pfizer Boosters Dominate The U.S. See A State-By-State Breakdown.

The Pfizer-BioNTech Covid vaccine booster, which the businesses say gives higher safety in opposition to the brand new variant than an preliminary one or two-dose sequence,  accounts for about 55 p.c of all booster pictures within the U.S., based on an NBC Information evaluation of vaccine information from the Facilities for Illness Management and Prevention. A number of states have exceeded the nationwide common. In Hawaii, 70 p.c of boosters had been from Pfizer, and Pfizer pictures accounted for about 60 p.c of boosters in states comparable to Utah, Missouri and Indiana. Just below 25 p.c of individuals within the U.S. have acquired a booster, the CDC says. (Ramos, 12/8)

AP:
COVID Instances Spike Even As US Hits 200M Vaccine Milestone

The variety of Individuals absolutely vaccinated in opposition to COVID-19 reached 200 million Wednesday amid a dispiriting holiday-season spike in instances and hospitalizations that has hit even New England, some of the extremely inoculated corners of the nation. New instances within the U.S. climbed from a median of almost 95,000 a day on Nov. 22 to nearly 119,000 a day this week, and hospitalizations are up 25% from a month in the past. The will increase are due nearly totally to the delta variant, although the omicron mutation has been detected in about 20 states and is bound to unfold much more. (Tareen and McDermott, 12/8)

The Bakersfield Californian:
Native Dentist Provides Up 1000’s Of PPEs As Provides Stay Tight 

The PPE panic could also be over, however private protecting gear stays a sizzling commodity 20½ months into the pandemic, evident within the reception a Bakersfield dentist bought this week when he opened up his stock of coveralls, face shields and robes. Crediting a robust provide community he has shared entry to because the begin of the disaster, the proprietor of SDDS Dental on Ming Avenue on Tuesday provided up 3,000 coveralls, 1,000 face shields and 500 isolation robes to Kern County organizations. (Cox, 12/8)

Sacramento Bee:
CA Medical Board Head Says She Was Stalked By Anti-Vax Group 

The top of the California Medical Board says members of an anti-vaccine group identified to unfold misinformation about COVID-19 therapies focused her at her dwelling and office in Walnut Creek on Monday. Kristina Lawson, president of the state company that licenses and disciplines medical docs, first shared the “terrifying expertise” on Twitter Wednesday. (Korte, 12/08)

AP:
New COVID-19 Antibody Drug OK’d To Defend Most Susceptible

Federal well being officers on Wednesday licensed a brand new COVID-19 antibody drug for folks with severe well being issues or allergy symptoms who can’t get satisfactory safety from vaccination. Antibody medicine have been a typical therapy for treating COVID-19 infections for over a 12 months. However the AstraZeneca antibody drug cleared by the Meals and Drug Administration is totally different. It’s the primary meant for long-term prevention in opposition to COVID-19 an infection, somewhat than a short-term therapy. (Perrone, 12/8)

The Wall Road Journal:
AstraZeneca Covid-19 Antibody Approved By FDA As Novel Device To Forestall Symptomatic Illness 

The U.S. Meals and Drug Administration licensed a preventive antibody mixture from AstraZeneca AZN 0.68% PLC that has proven robust efficacy in lowering threat of symptomatic Covid-19, providing a first-of-its-kind different for a minority of individuals for whom vaccines are thought of much less efficient. The antibody cocktail, referred to as Evusheld, is aimed primarily to be used in a minority of adolescents and adults age 12 and older with reasonable to severely compromised immune techniques. That could be as a result of they’ve most cancers or one other sickness or take drugs or bear therapies comparable to chemotherapy that inhibit an immune response to Covid-19 vaccines, the FDA mentioned in a press release. (Strasburg and Walker, 12/8)

The New York Instances:
The Coronavirus Assaults Fats Tissue, Scientists Discover 

From the beginning of the pandemic, the coronavirus appeared to focus on folks carrying additional kilos. Sufferers who had been obese or overweight had been extra prone to develop extreme Covid-19 and extra prone to die. Although these sufferers typically have well being situations like diabetes that compound their threat, scientists have turn into more and more satisfied that their vulnerability has one thing to do with weight problems itself. Now researchers have discovered that the coronavirus infects each fats cells and sure immune cells inside physique fats, prompting a harmful defensive response within the physique. (Rabin, 12/8)

The New York Instances:
As Covid Deaths Rise, Lingering Grief Will get A New Identify 

Ms. Garza Tulip, 41, had endured so many losses — two miscarriages, and the virus taking her mom, uncle and great-aunt. It additionally debilitated her father. “I feel the one factor I miss essentially the most is feeling something,” she mentioned just lately of life after the sequence of tragedies. She had thought the dearth of emotion meant she was not grieving, unaware that numbness generally is a symptom of grief. When a therapist identified her with extended grief dysfunction, or P.G.D., a newly acknowledged situation, Ms. Garza Tulip, who lives in New Jersey, was relieved that what she suffered had a reputation. Just lately added to the upcoming revision of the Diagnostic and Statistical Handbook of Psychological Problems, or D.S.M., it’s a syndrome wherein folks really feel caught in an limitless cycle of mourning that may final for years and even a long time, severely impairing their every day life, relationships and job efficiency. (MacKeen, 12/8)

Politico:
Senate Points Rebuke Of Biden’s Office Vaccine Mandate

The Senate issued a high-profile rebuke of President Joe Biden’s vaccine mandate on massive companies Wednesday night time, in a largely symbolic vote to eliminate a key part of the administration’s Covid-19 response. Democrats Joe Manchin (W.Va.) and Jon Tester (Mont.) joined all of the Republicans current within the 52-48 vote after critics assailed the mandate for example of federal overreach and dismissed its possibility of weekly testing for employees who refuse to get pictures as an inadequate lodging. (Ollstein, 12/8)

San Gabriel Valley Tribune:
Metropolis Of Hope Shopping for Most cancers Remedy Facilities For $390 Million

Metropolis of Hope, the most cancers therapy and analysis middle in Duarte, has reached a deal to accumulate Most cancers Remedy Facilities of America for $390 million. The acquisition is anticipated to shut in early 2022, topic to regulatory approvals. It would advance the missions of each organizations and construct a nationwide, built-in most cancers analysis and therapy system, Metropolis of Hope mentioned Wednesday. (Smith, 12/8)

Fierce Healthcare:
Metropolis Of Hope To Purchase Most cancers Remedy Facilities Of America For A Reported $390M 

The organizations mentioned the mixed entity might be one of many largest most cancers analysis and therapy organizations within the nation with one of many largest geographic footprints, serving roughly 115,000 sufferers annually. Collectively, Metropolis of Hope and CTCA will comprise about 11,000 workers, together with 575 physicians throughout 4 states. Metropolis of Hope at present serves sufferers in Southern California, and the acquisition will increase its attain throughout a community of areas in California—together with a brand new campus in Irvine opening in summer season 2022—in addition to Arizona, Illinois and Georgia. (Gliadkovskaya, 12/8)

ABC Information:
Head Of Instagram Grilled By Senate Panel Over Impression On Younger Customers 

Lawmakers on Wednesday grilled Adam Mosseri, the top of Instagram, in a wide-ranging listening to on the potential harms of social media use for younger folks. The senators pledged that the age of “self-regulation” for Large Tech is over and bipartisan laws to guard youngsters on-line is imminent. Mosseri claimed loads of the problems raised by the lawmakers aren’t distinctive to Instagram however are an “industry-wide problem” that requires “industry-wide options and industry-wide requirements.” (Thorbecke, 12/8)

The Wall Road Journal:
Instagram, Different Social-Media Apps Want Stricter Regulation, Senators Say

Instagram’s prime govt clashed Wednesday with senators over the photo-sharing app’s impression on younger customers, throughout a contentious listening to the place lawmakers in each events argued for stricter authorities oversight of social-media apps. Adam Mosseri, head of Meta Platforms Inc.’s Instagram, asserted that many younger customers discover Instagram makes their lives higher. “I’m pleased with our work to assist hold younger folks protected, to assist younger people who find themselves struggling, and to empower mother and father with instruments to assist their youngsters develop wholesome and protected on-line habits,” mentioned Mr. Mosseri, whose guardian firm Meta additionally owns Fb. (Tracy and McKinnon, 12/8)

CBS Information:
Instagram CEO Says It is “Crucial” To Have Multi-Platform Youth Security Guidelines 

Instagram CEO Adam Mosseri instructed a Senate subcommittee investigating the dangerous results of the picture sharing app on youngsters that “retaining younger folks protected on-line isn’t just about one firm” and referred to as for industry-wide options. “With teenagers utilizing a number of platforms, it’s important that we deal with youth on-line security as an {industry} problem and develop industry-wide options and requirements,” Mosseri instructed lawmakers. He referred to as for age verification instruments on the cellphone degree and mentioned the social media platforms want an {industry} physique to find out methods to confirm the age of minors, methods to design particular experiences, and how much parental controls are wanted. (Bidar, 12/8)

The Washington Publish:
‘Child Steps’ Gained’t Repair Instagram, Lawmakers Say In First Listening to With Social Community Head

Lawmakers had been unimpressed with the proposals that Adam Mosseri, the top of Instagram, made Wednesday to handle revelations concerning the social community’s probably detrimental results on youngsters and youths throughout his first congressional testimony. With political stress from each events mounting in opposition to the photo-sharing firm, Mosseri got here armed for the listening to with a sequence of proposals to reply to criticism. He referred to as for a brand new {industry} physique to create requirements for age verification, age-appropriate expertise and on-line parental controls. The physique would obtain enter from civil society and oldsters, and a few of tech firms’ authorized protections could possibly be contingent on compliance with the board units, he mentioned. (Zakrzewski, Lima and Oremus, 12/8)

The Wall Road Journal:
The Elizabeth Holmes Trial: The Protection Rests Its Case 

Elizabeth Holmes’s legal professionals rested their case Wednesday in her criminal-fraud trial, after the founding father of blood-testing startup Theranos Inc. gave testimony over seven days wherein she acknowledged regrets but additionally positioned blame on her former deputy and boyfriend. She asserted she by no means defrauded anybody. Among the many closing questions from her legal professional on Wednesday, Ms. Holmes was requested whether or not she ever tried to mislead traders. “By no means,” she mentioned. (Somerville and Randazzo, 12/8)

Bay Space Information Group:
Elizabeth Holmes Trial: Psychologist Who Analyzed Holmes Will not Testify

Theranos founder Elizabeth Holmes’ seven days on the witness stand in her prison fraud trial ended Wednesday — and with that, abruptly and surprisingly, her 10-lawyer protection workforce rested its case. In her lengthy hours on the stand, Holmes took the jury on a rollercoaster trip that noticed her smiling and confidently answering questions earlier than tearfully alleging that her former lover and Theranos chief working officer Sunny Balwani abused and managed her. In response to many questions on occasions central to the case, she mentioned she couldn’t recall. She admitted errors. She expressed religion in her know-how. (Baron, 12/08)

AP:
Protection Workforce Rests In Elizabeth Holmes Fraud Trial 

Fallen entrepreneur Elizabeth Holmes has completed her try to influence a jury that she suffered lapses in enterprise judgment however by no means engaged in fraud whereas operating blood-testing startup Theranos. Her protection legal professionals rested their case Wednesday shortly after she walked off the witness stand. That gave Holmes the ultimate say among the many greater than 30 witnesses who testified in a high-profile trial that started three months in the past i n the center of Silicon Valley. It’s the identical locale the place Holmes turned a media sensation earlier than Theranos collapsed in ruins amid proof that its ballyhooed blood-testing know-how was dangerously flawed. (Liedtke, 12/8)

AP:
What Elizabeth Holmes Had To Say At Her Trial: 5 Takeaways

As soon as-lionized entrepreneur Elizabeth Holmes wrapped up seven days of testimony in her prison fraud trial Wednesday, having largely used the time to defend her actions as CEO of the startup Theranos. The corporate she based had soared on the promise of modern blood-testing know-how solely to crash in a sordid show of failure and alleged deceit. Holmes alternately took duty for her missteps as CEO and solid herself because the abused sufferer of her former lover and enterprise associate Sunny Balwani. She additionally repeatedly mentioned she couldn’t recall her actions at key factors even when confronted with inner paperwork together with her personal emails. (Liedtke, 12/9)

AP:
Nobels For Medication, Economics Given In California Ceremony 

The 2021 Nobel Prize laureates for drugs and economics acquired their awards in Southern California on Wednesday throughout a scaled-down ceremony tailored for pandemic instances. Swedish Ambassador Karin Olofsdotter was available in Irvine, south of Los Angeles, to award the Nobel for physiology or drugs to David Julius and Ardem Patapoutian and the prize for financial sciences to David Card, Joshua D. Angrist and Guido W. Imbens. Julius, a professor of physiology on the College of California, San Francisco, and Patapoutian, a molecular biologist at Scripps Analysis in La Jolla, California, had been honored for independently discovering key mechanisms of how people sense warmth, chilly and different stimuli. (12/9)

Los Angeles Instances:
L.A. County To Pay $2.75 Million In Deputy Beating Of Man 

The Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors on Tuesday agreed to pay $2.75 million to a mentally disabled man who was crushed by Los Angeles County sheriff’s deputies. The payout settles a lawsuit filed by the person, Barry Montgomery, who was confronted in a Willowbrook park in July 2014 by deputies from the division’s Compton station. (Tchekmedyian, 12/8)

Metropolis Information Service:
‘Digital Opioid Meeting’ For College students Scheduled As Fentanyl Deaths Spike In San Diego County 

Authorities will maintain a “digital meeting” subsequent week for native center and highschool college students to handle the hazards of fentanyl following an uptick in fentanyl-related overdose deaths throughout San Diego County. Faculties countywide are invited to participate within the summit, which is able to function testimonials from overdose survivors and a keynote speech from former NBA participant Chris Herren, who struggled with an opioid habit for a lot of his profession. (12/7)