Health

Health care worker dies after second dose of COVID vaccine, investigations underway

Tim Zook’s last post on Facebook brimmed with optimism. “Never been so excited to get a shot before,” he wrote on Jan. 5, above a photo of the Band-Aid on his arm and his COVID-19 vaccination card. “I am now fully vaccinated after receiving my 2nd Pfizer dose.” Zook, 60, was an X-ray technologist at South Coast Global Medical Center in Santa Ana. A couple of hours later, he had an upset stomach and trouble breathing. By 3:30 p.m. it was so bad his colleagues at work walked him to the emergency r...
Tags: Health, Facebook, Florida, News, California, Cdc, Los Angeles, Sport, Public Health, Soccer, United States, Healthcare, John F Kennedy, Fda, Lincoln, Pfizer

Biden administration to boost vaccine supply amid shortages

The Biden administration is boosting purchases of coronavirus vaccines to deliver enough to protect 300 million Americans by the end of the summer, as it surges deliveries to states for the next three weeks following complaints of shortages and inconsistent supplies. President Joe Biden was set to announce the surge in deliveries to states Tuesday afternoon, along with the news that the federal government is purchasing an additional 100 million doses each of the two approved coronavirus vaccines...
Tags: Health, News, Colorado, California, Cdc, White House, West Virginia, Eu, Sport, European Union, Joe Biden, Soccer, Army, Belgium, New Orleans, Astrazeneca

California reveals data used to lift stay-at-home order

SACRAMENTO — California’s health department on Monday released to the public previously secret projections for future hospital intensive care unit capacity throughout the state, the key metric for lifting the coronavirus stay-at-home order. However, state officials did not explain how regional per capita virus cases and transmission rates that also were released might influence how much ICU space will be available in four weeks. Last week, state health officials told The Associated Press they we...
Tags: Health, Science, News, California, California News, Sacramento, Sport, Soccer, San Diego, Associated Press, Lausd, Gavin Newsom, Southern California, San Francisco Bay Area, Northern California, State

LA County touts improved vaccine signup site as coronavirus numbers continue to decline

With coronavirus statistics continuing to budge downward and a reimagined vaccination signup website to show off on Monday, Jan. 25,  Los Angeles County health officials expressed guarded optimism that the pandemic was started to ease up at last — with fingers crossed that they would get enough vaccines soon to make a bigger dent in the mammoth task of inoculating 10 million county residents. After state health officials today lifted all regional stay-at-home orders, including in the 11-county S...
Tags: Health, Business, News, Education, California, Government, Sport, Soccer, Long Beach, Community, Lausd, Pasadena, Local News, Southern California, Los Angeles County, South Coast Air Quality Management District

Newsom explains lifting of coronavirus stay-at-home order, sees ‘light at the end of the tunnel’

Improving numbers on the coronavirus’s spread and intensive care capacity allow the state to loosen its restrictions and let some businesses reopen, Gov. Gavin Newsom said in a Monday afternoon, Jan. 25, briefing. “Today we can lay claim to starting to see some real light at the end of the tunnel as it relates to case numbers,” Newsom said. The state lifted statewide stay-at-home orders and curfew orders effective Monday, returning the state to the color-coded tier system that had been in place ...
Tags: Health, News, California, Sport, Public Health, Soccer, Gavin Newsom, Southern California, San Francisco Bay Area, San Joaquin Valley, San Bernardino County, Newsom, Top Stories LADN, Top Stories OCR, Top Stories PE, Top Stories IVDB

California lifts coronavirus stay-at-home orders, curfew statewide

SACRAMENTO — California lifted regional stay-at-home orders across the state Monday in response to improving coronavirus conditions, returning the state to a system of county-by-county restrictions, state health officials announced. The order had been in place in the San Francisco Bay Area, San Joaquin Valley and Southern California, covering the majority of the state’s counties. The change will allow businesses such as restaurants to resume outdoor operations in many areas, though local officia...
Tags: Health, News, California, California News, Sacramento, Sport, Soccer, Gavin Newsom, Southern California, San Francisco Bay Area, Northern California, San Joaquin Valley, LA County, Newsom, Top Stories LADN, Top Stories OCR

LA County: More coronavirus vaccination appointments available this week

Los Angeles County officials said Sunday, Jan. 24, that appointments are available this week at the county’s five large coronavirus vaccination centers at Magic Mountain, the Pomona Fairplex, Cal State Northridge, the Forum in Inglewood and the County Office of Education in Downey. Appointments can be booked at www.publichealth.lacounty.gov/media/Coronavirus/vaccine/index.htm. Residents who receive their first dose of the vaccine at a county-run large capacity vaccination site will be provided t...
Tags: Health, Business, News, Education, Government, India, Paul Simon, Sport, Soccer, United States, Community, Compton, Simon, Inglewood, Los Angeles County, Clippers

‘On the cusp of great things’: Dozens of other COVID vaccines working their way to public

Move over, Pfizer and Moderna. You won’t be the only games in town too much longer. COVID-19 has existed for barely more than a year, but 64 vaccines are in clinical development and another 173 in preclinical development worldwide nonetheless, according to the World Health Organization. Dozens of hopefuls are in clinical trials in the U.S., including several by California researchers. But the two inching closest to the finish line here — by Oxford-AstraZeneca and Johnson & Johnson — could win em...
Tags: Health, Usa, Science, News, Maryland, California, Los Angeles, Sport, Britain, Soccer, United Kingdom, Healthcare, Oxford, San Diego, Belgium, Astrazeneca

L.A. County surpasses 15,000 coronavirus deaths

Los Angeles County eclipsed the sad milestone of 15,000 coronavirus deaths on Saturday, Jan. 23, as another 269 fatalities pushed the county’s death toll to 15,162 since the pandemic began. As the current surge continued to rage, the county has endured more than 5,000 deaths since Dec. 30, officials said. The news arrived, however, amid recent glimmers of hope, as deaths, new cases and hospitalizations have begun to show signs of inching downward, though still at levels that overtax healthcare t...
Tags: Health, Business, News, Education, California, Government, Uncategorized, Paul Simon, Sport, Public Health, Soccer, Community, Compton, Los Angeles County, Department of Public Health, Ferrer

LA County officials vow improvements in coronavirus vaccination system

Los Angeles County health officials were hopeful on Friday, Jan. 22, that a new statewide website for booking coronavirus appointments will make the process a whole lot easier than it was this week, when the process was marred by technical hiccups and too few slots to meet the epic demand. Meanwhile, public health officials  reported 256 deaths on Friday along with 9,277 new cases, for pandemic-long totals of 14,894 and 1,054,802, respectively. Signs were still indicating that transmission of th...
Tags: Health, Business, News, Education, California, Cdc, Government, Paul Simon, Sport, Soccer, Long Beach, Community, Mlb, Johnson, Disneyland, Pasadena

Study: Half of adults not wearing masks during close contact with others

Three out of 10 Los Angeles County residents and nearly half of adults in the U.S. don’t wear protective face masks when they are in close contact with people who live outside their households, according to findings of an ongoing study by researchers at USC. The USC Dornsife Understanding Coronavirus in America Study found that 67% of Los Angeles County residents are likely to wear face masks when in contact with people from other households, and that 63% wear face masks while exercising outside...
Tags: Health, Business, News, Education, Government, America, Sport, Soccer, Community, Usc, Los Angeles County, Arie Kapteyn, Top Stories LADN, Top Stories IVDB, Top Stories Breeze, Top Stories LBPT

California Supreme Court won’t compel LAUSD to offer in-person services to high-needs students

The California Supreme Court has denied a petition seeking to force the Los Angeles Unified School District to provide instruction and other services in person to students who have been most harmed by distance learning. The petition was filed last month on behalf of two Los Angeles-based children’s advocacy groups, the Alliance for Children’s Rights and the Learning Rights Law Center. In it, the petitioners argued that students with disabilities, English learners and others who struggle with onl...
Tags: Health, News, Education, Government, Los Angeles, Sport, Soccer, Community, Courts, Lausd, Biden, California Supreme Court, Los Angeles Times, District, Austin Beutner, Newsom

LAUSD students discuss political climate as Biden becomes president

Seeing a new administration take over the White House brings with it a feeling of excitement for Emely Cortez. At the same time, she struggles to remain hopeful that President Joe Biden will be able to get as much accomplished as she would like, given how fractured the country is. “In the last four years, when I’ve actually gotten into politics and I started paying attention, I’ve only seen a lot of bad stuff,” said Cortez, an 11th grader at Cesar E. Chavez Social Justice Humanitas Academy in Sa...
Tags: Health, News, Education, Obama, Government, White House, Sport, Joe Biden, Soccer, Community, Lausd, Biden, Local News, Donald Trump, Cortez, Trump

Can employers mandate the COVID-19 vaccine?

Want to keep your job in 2021? That may depend on whether you’re willing to be vaccinated against COVID-19. Employment attorneys Peter Brown and Alex Volberding Liebert of the Los Angeles-based law firm Liebert Cassidy Whitmore say an employer can legally mandate the vaccine under the Americans with Disabilities Act and Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. But there are exceptions. “Employees with disabilities who can demonstrate that they cannot take the vaccine and employees with sincere...
Tags: Health, Business, Law, Labor, California, Cdc, La, Religion, US, Los Angeles, Sport, Soccer, Vaccinations, Ada, Brown, San Fernando Valley

Government leaders, houses of worship pause to honor victims of pandemic

Beth Gramling rings a bell during a vigil in remembrance of all who have died from COVID and all families who have suffered from loss at Altadena Community Church in Altadena on Tuesday, January 19, 2021. (Photo by Libby Cline-Birmingham, Contributing Photographer) Church members join in the vigil in from a safe distance in their car during a vigil in remembrance of all who have died from COVID and all families who have suffered from loss at Altadena Community Church in Altadena on Tuesday, J...
Tags: Health, News, Education, Government, Religion, Sport, Soccer, Community, City Council, Biden, Pasadena, Los Angeles City Council, Los Angeles County, Martinez, Altadena, City News Service

FAQ: Here’s what you need to know now about getting a coronavirus vaccine in LA County

With all the developments arising this week in Los Angeles County, there’s a pretty good chance you are confused about whether you are eligible to get a coronavirus vaccine, how you sign up and where you should go to get your shot. We’ll try to answer your questions. 1. I am 65 years old and I live in Los Angeles County. Can I get a vaccine? Appointments will be available for L.A. County residents 65 years old and older starting Tuesday afternoon at VaccinateLACounty.com. The first appointment...
Tags: Health, News, Education, California, Washington, Kaiser Permanente, Government, Sport, Soccer, Long Beach, Community, Pfizer, Pasadena, Gavin Newsom, Southern California, Los Angeles County

U.S. coronavirus deaths top 400,000 as Trump leaves office

As President Donald Trump entered the final year of his term last January, the U.S. recorded its first confirmed case of COVID-19. Not to worry, Trump insisted, his administration had the virus “totally under control.” Now, in his final hours in office, after a year of presidential denials of reality and responsibility, the pandemic’s U.S. death toll has eclipsed 400,000. And the loss of lives is accelerating. WASHINGTON, DC – OCTOBER 05: U.S. President Donald Trump gives a thumbs up upon retu...
Tags: Health, News, Minnesota, California, Cdc, Washington, White House, New York City, Los Angeles, Sport, Joe Biden, Ap, Soccer, Arizona, Columbia University, Michigan

A new COVID-19 challenge: Mutations rise along with cases

The race against the virus that causes COVID-19 has taken a new turn: Mutations are rapidly popping up, and the longer it takes to vaccinate people, the more likely it is that a variant that can elude current tests, treatments and vaccines could emerge. The coronavirus is becoming more genetically diverse, and health officials say the high rate of new cases is the main reason. Each new infection gives the virus a chance to mutate as it makes copies of itself, threatening to undo the progress mad...
Tags: Health, England, Science, News, Nbc, Cdc, China, Los Angeles, Sport, Joe Biden, Britain, Soccer, United States, South Africa, Harvard University, United Kingdom

LAX offers 30-minute COVID-19 tests for $80

LOS ANGELES — Los Angeles International Airport is now offering COVID-19 test results in as little as 30 minutes with the addition of rapid antigen tests at the airport’s on-site laboratory, officials said Tuesday. The lab opened in late December, offering rapid Polymerase Chain Reaction nasal swab tests with results available in 3 to 5 hours for tests collected at the lab across from Terminal 6, and results in less than 24 hour for samples collected at the Terminal 2 and Tom Bradley Internation...
Tags: Health, Business, News, California News, Los Angeles, Sport, Joe Biden, Ap, Soccer, Healthcare, Biden, Disneyland, Trump, Lax, Los Angeles International Airport, Tom Bradley

5 vaccination mega-centers open in L.A. County today – but are there enough doses to stock them?

Fueled by an increasingly uncertain supply of much-coveted coronavirus vaccines, Los Angeles County aimed to roll out five new large-scale vaccination centers, all at high-profile settings around the region, on Tuesday, Jan. 19. The array of new vaccination centers will be in addition to the giant parking-lot clinic at Dodger Stadium — perhaps the largest vaccination site in the nation — and 75 smaller sites the county is already operating. Though all the sites are quite recognizable to Southlan...
Tags: Health, News, Education, California, Washington, Government, Sacramento, Los Angeles, Sport, Public Health, Soccer, San Diego, Community, San Diego County, Eric Garcetti, Valencia

New local coronavirus strain may be contributing to surge, Cedars-Sinai says

More than one-third of COVID-19 cases in Los Angeles may have been caused by a new, locally-distinct strain of the coronavirus, researchers from Cedars-Sinai said on Monday, Jan. 18. They believe it may have contributed to the virus’ devastating resurgence in recent weeks, but don’t yet know for sure. Researchers designated the strain CAL.20C, a Monday evening news release said. Their “findings did not indicate whether the strain is more deadly than current forms of the coronavirus.” Los Angeles...
Tags: Health, News, Education, California, Government, Los Angeles, Sport, Britain, Soccer, United States, Community, Oceania, Southern California, San Bernardino, Los Angeles County, LA County

Southern California health providers scramble to isolate Moderna vaccine tied to bad reactions

Hundreds of health providers all over the state, including some in Southern California, have received doses from a specific lot of Moderna vaccine tied to about six serious reactions in San Diego last week. On the Martin Luther King Jr. holiday, hospitals were scanning their records to determine if they had received doses from the batch tied to those reactions, and, if so, how many doses were already in people’s arms and how many had to be pulled from inventory until more is understood about wha...
Tags: Health, News, California, Cdc, Kaiser Permanente, Los Angeles, Sport, Public Health, Soccer, Healthcare, San Diego, Kaiser, Pasadena, Riverside County, Martin Luther King Jr, Southern California

11,366 new cases reported as L.A. County battles new coronavirus strain

Officials urged residents to adhere to Los Angeles County’s “Safer at Home” orders a day after public health officials confirmed that the swifter spreading B.1.1.7 variant of coronavirus was present in the county. Health officials reported 11,366 new cases of COVID-19 and 108 additional deaths on Sunday, Jan. 17, bringing the county’s totals to 1,014,662 cases and 13,848 fatalities. County health officials said, however, that the number of new cases reported Sunday reflects an undercount because...
Tags: Health, Business, UK, News, Education, Washington, Oregon, Government, Paul Simon, Sport, Public Health, Soccer, United Kingdom, Long Beach, Community, Associated Press

Children are the next frontier for COVID vaccine clinical trials

Twelve-year-olds are tween-agers, staring down puberty and middle school, surprisingly mature one minute and tortured by angst the next. Some also are scientific pioneers, volunteering for clinical trials to test COVID vaccines in children. Slowly and gingerly, researchers are testing COVID-19 vaccines in younger and younger kids — even as millions of doses are pushed into the arms of their parents — with an eye toward FDA approval in the next year or two. Stephanie Chao, director of pharmacy...
Tags: Health, News, Medicine, California, Cdc, Stanford, China, India, Los Angeles, Sport, Public Health, Soccer, Healthcare, Vaccinations, Fda, Berkeley

Children the next frontier for COVID vaccine clinical trials

Twelve-year-olds are tween-agers, staring down puberty and middle school, surprisingly mature one minute and tortured by angst the next. Some also are scientific pioneers, volunteering for clinical trials to test COVID vaccines in children. Slowly and gingerly, researchers are testing COVID-19 vaccines in younger and younger kids — even as millions of doses are pushed into the arms of their parents — with an eye toward FDA approval in the next year or two. Stephanie Chao, director of pharmacy...
Tags: Health, News, Medicine, California, Cdc, Stanford, China, India, Los Angeles, Sport, Public Health, Soccer, Healthcare, Vaccinations, Fda, Berkeley

First case of COVID-19 UK variant confirmed in Los Angeles County

Public Health officials on Saturday, Jan. 16 confirmed the faster-spreading UK variant of COVID-19 has reached Los Angeles. An infected person, only described as “male,” recently “spent time” in Los Angeles County before traveling to Oregon, where he is currently isolated. The variant was confirmed by Quest Laboratories in Washington state. No other information on where the man was in the LA area was immediately available. Although it is the first confirmed case of the variant in Los Angeles Cou...
Tags: Health, Business, UK, News, Education, California, Cdc, Washington, Oregon, La, Government, Paul Simon, Los Angeles, Sport, Joe Biden, Public Health

Coronavirus vaccine shipments unpredictable, says LA County’s chief science officer

Los Angeles County health officials said on Friday, Jan. 15, their vaccination efforts have been stymied by a short supply of doses and an unpredictable shipment schedule that’s making it tough to plan. Within the state’s most populous county, about 219,000 healthcare workers have received their first vaccine doses while about 60,000 have had their second dose, according to Dr. Paul Simon, chief science officer for the county Department of Public Health. Simon anticipates 200,000 more healthcare...
Tags: Health, Business, England, News, California, Washington Post, Cdc, Government, Paul Simon, Los Angeles, Sport, Britain, Soccer, Long Beach, Michigan, Eric Garcetti

With hundreds of healthcare workers in line, Dodger Stadium becomes massive vaccination site

Dodger Stadium transformed into a massive vaccination center on Friday, Jan. 15, amid concerns that shortfalls in anticipated supplies are slowing the rollout of the vaccine. Lines of cars showed up early Friday morning along the Academy Road entrance, where members of CORE and L.A. City Fire Department  personnel directed eager healthcare workers — from pharmacists to nurses — into the stadium, where they would wait in another long line to be inoculated. Among them was Kanwar Ali, a pharmacist,...
Tags: Health, Facebook, Business, News, Congress, Government, Los Angeles, Sport, Joe Biden, Soccer, Community, Lausd, Biden, Eric Garcetti, Trump, Ortiz

LA County schools chief recovering from COVID-19

Los Angeles County Superintendent of Schools Debra Duardo, who has been quarantining since last week after contracting the coronavirus, gave a positive update about her recovery on Thursday, Jan. 14. “It’s been a difficult 10 days, but I’m happy to say that I am finally seeing major improvements in my health,” Duardo tweeted. “I have an incredibly strong team and I am grateful for the outpouring of support I’ve received. Thank you for all the well wishes. Stay safe & be well.” The schools chief ...
Tags: Health, News, Education, Walmart, Sport, Soccer, Long Beach, Community, Lausd, Local News, Los Angeles County, LA County, Newsom, Top Stories LADN, Top Stories IVDB, Top Stories Breeze

L.A. County strives to step up vaccines, but seniors told they’ll have to wait until February

Public health officials worked to clarify Los Angeles County’s coronavirus timetable on Thursday, Jan. 14, as many seniors found themselves confused over when exactly they could sign up for a vaccine — and why they must wait, likely for another month, for those  shots — after Gov. Gavin Newsom said on Wednesday they could get them immediately. Another 287 people, meanwhile, lost their lives to the outbreak, officials announced. Despite the governor’s announcement on widening vaccine delivery, th...
Tags: Health, Business, News, Education, La, Government, Walmart, Sport, Soccer, Long Beach, Community, Lausd, Disneyland, Pasadena, Orange County, Major League Baseball