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"content": "\u003cp>\u003ca href=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2022/01/rapid_010322_final.png\">\u003cimg class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-11900654\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2022/01/rapid_010322_final.png\" alt=\"Cartoon: a corporate Uncle Sam type character saying "we'll have more rapid covid tests available soon" over the course of three years.\" width=\"1920\" height=\"1370\" srcset=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2022/01/rapid_010322_final.png 1920w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2022/01/rapid_010322_final-800x571.png 800w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2022/01/rapid_010322_final-1020x728.png 1020w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2022/01/rapid_010322_final-160x114.png 160w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2022/01/rapid_010322_final-1536x1096.png 1536w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1920px) 100vw, 1920px\">\u003c/a>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Amid a surge of breakthrough COVID-19 infections, testing remains crucial to ending the pandemic.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ca href=\"https://bit.ly/fiorecovidtesting\">Here is a handy guide detailing where you can get tested in the Bay Area\u003c/a>, despite the national \u003ca href=\"https://www.vox.com/recode/2021/12/21/22848286/omicron-rapid-test-covid-19-antigen\">shortage of rapid antigen tests\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>You would think we would have figured out testing going into the third year of this damn pandemic.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>On the bright side, \u003ca href=\"https://edsource.org/updates/california-to-provide-every-k-12-student-with-a-take-home-covid-test\">California is beginning to distribute free tests to students in elementary and high schools\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cp>\u003ca href=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2022/01/rapid_010322_final.png\">\u003cimg class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-11900654\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2022/01/rapid_010322_final.png\" alt=\"Cartoon: a corporate Uncle Sam type character saying "we'll have more rapid covid tests available soon" over the course of three years.\" width=\"1920\" height=\"1370\" srcset=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2022/01/rapid_010322_final.png 1920w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2022/01/rapid_010322_final-800x571.png 800w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2022/01/rapid_010322_final-1020x728.png 1020w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2022/01/rapid_010322_final-160x114.png 160w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2022/01/rapid_010322_final-1536x1096.png 1536w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1920px) 100vw, 1920px\">\u003c/a>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Amid a surge of breakthrough COVID-19 infections, testing remains crucial to ending the pandemic.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ca href=\"https://bit.ly/fiorecovidtesting\">Here is a handy guide detailing where you can get tested in the Bay Area\u003c/a>, despite the national \u003ca href=\"https://www.vox.com/recode/2021/12/21/22848286/omicron-rapid-test-covid-19-antigen\">shortage of rapid antigen tests\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>You would think we would have figured out testing going into the third year of this damn pandemic.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>On the bright side, \u003ca href=\"https://edsource.org/updates/california-to-provide-every-k-12-student-with-a-take-home-covid-test\">California is beginning to distribute free tests to students in elementary and high schools\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cp>With a new and more infectious coronavirus variant sweeping California, attorneys representing incarcerated people say violations of health orders by prison staff risk a repeat of the outbreaks that killed dozens in the first year of the pandemic.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Gov. Gavin Newsom’s administration is fighting a federal judge’s order that all \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/11897498/court-blocks-covid-19-vaccine-mandate-for-california-prisons\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">California prison workers must be vaccinated\u003c/a> against the coronavirus or have a religious or medical exemption. The administration argues in part that frequent testing can help limit the virus’s spread.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But large percentages of employees who are required to be tested twice weekly aren’t doing so, “and most of those workers face no consequences,” attorneys said in a recent court filing, citing figures that officials now say are suspect.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The concern comes as new cases soar across California and state models predict a gradual increase in hospitalizations and intensive care admissions over the next month.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>More than 5,100 people were hospitalized and more than 1,100 are in the ICU statewide, numbers expected to climb above 7,300 and 1,300 by the end of January.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Corrections officials temporarily shut off new admissions to the reception center at Wasco State Prison in the San Joaquin Valley, the site of California’s worst current prison outbreak with more than 150 new infections in the past two weeks.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>They also are restricting movement for incarcerated people, programs and visitation at institutions with outbreaks.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>And starting Monday, incarcerated people statewide must be fully vaccinated to have in-person or family visits, unless they have approved religious or medical exemptions.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The twice-weekly testing requirement applies to about 10,000 unvaccinated corrections employees, nearly a third of whom weren’t complying from mid-October through mid-November, according to the most recent data provided by corrections officials.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Yet the state’s figures show that fewer than 20 employees were disciplined during the same time frame, though corrections officials said those numbers are misleading, “partly because fully vaccinated staff who are not subject to the testing requirement may show as noncompliant with testing.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The prisons had nearly 350 active coronavirus cases among those incarcerated Thursday, up from fewer than 190 just two days earlier, with nearly half the total at the Wasco prison. There were lesser outbreaks at prisons near Norco, Corcoran, San Diego, Folsom and Chino.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>There were nearly 400 new infections among prison employees statewide.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Prison officials said they have not seen an increase in hospitalizations, which have remained between one and three over the past two months statewide.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“The prisons lag behind the communities,” said Steve Fama, an attorney with the nonprofit Prison Law Office, which represents incarcerated people. “The virus has to skip into the prisons, literally leap into — it’s got to get over the wall, and that just takes time.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The cases are a fraction of the system’s nearly 100,000 incarcerated people and nothing like the outbreaks last year, including one that sickened 75% of the people incarcerated at San Quentin State Prison north of San Francisco, killing 28 of them and a correctional officer.[aside tag=\"san-quentin\" label=\"More Related Stories\"]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Since the start of the pandemic, 245 incarcerated people and 49 corrections staff have died statewide.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Corrections officials said they “continue to enforce a mask mandate for all staff, and require unvaccinated workers to wear N95 masks and submit to twice-weekly testing — twice the frequency required” by the California Department of Public Health.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>They also said in a statement they are “diligently resolving discrepancies in the staff COVID-19 vaccination and testing data” but can’t yet provide updated statistics.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>A related review by corrections officials of staff at two prisons that house the sickest people reduced the percentage of those initially listed as not complying with health rules from more than 10% to just 2% at the California Medical Facility in Vacaville and from more than 8% to about 5% at the California Health Care Facility in Stockton.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Meanwhile, vaccinations are lagging among contractors at those prisons, the attorneys of people incarcerated say, despite a separate requirement that all employees there be inoculated. Again there are few consequences, according to court documents, because contractors “cannot be disciplined for failing to comply.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Contractors are not state employees, but “are supposed to comply and they should not be working in the institution if they are not vaccinated,” Paul Mello, an attorney for the corrections department, said in response at a recent court hearing.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Contractors including medical providers make up about a quarter of employees at the Vacaville prison, but only 37% are vaccinated as required.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>They make up nearly 1 in 5 employees at the prison in Stockton, with 61% vaccinated. That compares to about 80% of permanent employees vaccinated at the two prisons.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>State Public Health Officer Dr. Tomás Aragón last week expanded on the vaccination order for all paid and unpaid individuals who are regularly assigned to provide health care to incarcerated people or work in prison medical settings or in local jails.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>They were supposed to be vaccinated by mid-October, and his order now requires them to get booster shots by Feb. 1.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Citing the new omicron variant that he said may be two to four times as infectious as the delta variant, Aragón warned that “even a moderate surge in cases and hospitalizations could materially impact California’s health care delivery system within certain regions of the state.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The federal court-appointed receiver who controls medical care in California prisons said officials are working to get boosters in all eligible incarcerated people by year’s end. Of about 70,000 eligible people, nearly three-quarters had received one by mid-December.\u003c/p>\n\n",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Since the start of the pandemic, 245 incarcerated people and 49 corrections staff have died statewide.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Corrections officials said they “continue to enforce a mask mandate for all staff, and require unvaccinated workers to wear N95 masks and submit to twice-weekly testing — twice the frequency required” by the California Department of Public Health.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>They also said in a statement they are “diligently resolving discrepancies in the staff COVID-19 vaccination and testing data” but can’t yet provide updated statistics.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>A related review by corrections officials of staff at two prisons that house the sickest people reduced the percentage of those initially listed as not complying with health rules from more than 10% to just 2% at the California Medical Facility in Vacaville and from more than 8% to about 5% at the California Health Care Facility in Stockton.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Meanwhile, vaccinations are lagging among contractors at those prisons, the attorneys of people incarcerated say, despite a separate requirement that all employees there be inoculated. Again there are few consequences, according to court documents, because contractors “cannot be disciplined for failing to comply.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Contractors are not state employees, but “are supposed to comply and they should not be working in the institution if they are not vaccinated,” Paul Mello, an attorney for the corrections department, said in response at a recent court hearing.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Contractors including medical providers make up about a quarter of employees at the Vacaville prison, but only 37% are vaccinated as required.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>They make up nearly 1 in 5 employees at the prison in Stockton, with 61% vaccinated. That compares to about 80% of permanent employees vaccinated at the two prisons.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>State Public Health Officer Dr. Tomás Aragón last week expanded on the vaccination order for all paid and unpaid individuals who are regularly assigned to provide health care to incarcerated people or work in prison medical settings or in local jails.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>They were supposed to be vaccinated by mid-October, and his order now requires them to get booster shots by Feb. 1.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Citing the new omicron variant that he said may be two to four times as infectious as the delta variant, Aragón warned that “even a moderate surge in cases and hospitalizations could materially impact California’s health care delivery system within certain regions of the state.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The federal court-appointed receiver who controls medical care in California prisons said officials are working to get boosters in all eligible incarcerated people by year’s end. Of about 70,000 eligible people, nearly three-quarters had received one by mid-December.\u003c/p>\n\n\u003c/div>\u003c/p>",
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"disqusTitle": "CDC Recommends Shorter COVID Isolation and Quarantine Periods",
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"content": "\u003cp>\u003cem>Don't have time to read the whole guide? Here's a quick breakdown. Click the links below to skip to a specific section\u003c/em>:\u003c/p>\n\u003cul>\n\u003cli>\u003ca href=\"#new\">\u003cstrong>Breaking down the new isolation rules\u003c/strong>\u003c/a>\u003c/li>\n\u003cli>\u003ca href=\"#apply\">\u003cstrong>Breaking down the new quarantine rules\u003c/strong>\u003c/a>\u003c/li>\n\u003cli>\u003ca href=\"#risk\">\u003cstrong>Is there still a risk of infection after five days?\u003c/strong>\u003c/a>\u003c/li>\n\u003c/ul>\n\u003cp>U.S. health officials on Monday cut isolation restrictions for Americans who catch the coronavirus from 10 days down to five days, and similarly shortened the time that close contacts need to quarantine.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Centers for Disease Control and Prevention officials said the guidance is in keeping with growing evidence that people with the coronavirus are most infectious in the two days before and three days after symptoms develop.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The decision also was driven by a recent surge in COVID-19 cases, propelled by the omicron variant.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Early research suggests omicron may cause milder illness than earlier variants of the coronavirus. But the sheer number of people becoming infected — and therefore having to isolate or quarantine — threatens to crush the ability of hospitals, airlines and other businesses to stay open, experts say.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[aside postID=\"news_11900053\" hero=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2021/12/GettyImages-1237257420-1020x680.jpg\"]CDC Director Rochelle Walensky said the country is about to see a lot of omicron cases.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Not all of those cases are going to be severe. In fact many are going to be asymptomatic,” she told The Associated Press on Monday. “We want to make sure there is a mechanism by which we can safely continue to keep society functioning while following the science.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But beleaguered businesses also are amping up the pressure: Airlines have called on the Biden administration to shorten the guidelines for the isolation period for vaccinated workers who get COVID-19, to ease staffing shortages. The union for flight attendants has pushed back against that, saying the isolation period should remain 10 days.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[aside postID=\"news_11896107\" hero=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2021/11/GettyImages-1234850823-1020x680.jpg\"]Last week, the CDC loosened rules that previously called on health care workers to stay out of work for 10 days if they test positive. The new recommendations say workers could go back to work after seven days if they test negative and don’t have symptoms. And the agency said isolation time could be cut to five days, or even fewer, if there are severe staffing shortages.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Now, the CDC is changing the isolation and quarantine guidance for the general public to be even less stringent.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The guidance is not a mandate; it’s a recommendation to employers and state and local officials. Last week, New York state said it would expand on the CDC’s guidance for health care workers to include employees who have other critical jobs that are facing a severe staffing shortage.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>It’s possible other states will seek to shorten their isolation and quarantine policies, and the CDC is trying to get out ahead of the shift. “It would be helpful to have uniform CDC guidance” that others could draw from, rather than a mishmash of policies, Walensky said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The CDC’s guidance on isolation and quarantine has seemed confusing to the public, and the new recommendations are “happening at a time when more people are testing positive for the first time and looking for guidance,” said Lindsay Wiley, an American University public health law expert.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Nevertheless, the guidance continues to be complex.\u003cbr>\n[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003ch3>\u003ca id=\"new\">\u003c/a>Breaking down the new isolation rules\u003c/h3>\n\u003cp>The isolation rules are for people who are infected. They are the same for people who are unvaccinated, partly vaccinated, fully vaccinated or boosted. They say:\u003c/p>\n\u003cul>\n\u003cli>The clock starts the day you test positive.\u003c/li>\n\u003cli>An infected person should go into isolation for five days, instead of the previously recommended 10.\u003c/li>\n\u003cli>At the end of five days, if you have no symptoms, you can return to normal activities but must wear a mask everywhere — even at home around others — for at least five more days.\u003c/li>\n\u003cli>If you still have symptoms after isolating for five days, stay home until you feel better and then start your five days of wearing a mask at all times.\u003c/li>\n\u003c/ul>\n\u003ch3>\u003ca id=\"apply\">\u003c/a>Breaking down the new quarantine rules\u003c/h3>\n\u003cp>The quarantine rules are for people \u003cem>who were in close contact\u003c/em> with an infected person but not infected themselves. They say:\u003c/p>\n\u003cul>\n\u003cli>For quarantine, the clock starts the day someone is alerted they may have been exposed to the virus.\u003c/li>\n\u003cli>People who are vaccinated but not boosted, people who are partly vaccinated and those who are not vaccinated at all can stop quarantine after five days if they wear masks in all settings for five days afterward.\u003c/li>\n\u003cli>People who got booster shots can skip quarantine if they wear masks in all settings for at least 10 days.\u003c/li>\n\u003c/ul>\n\u003cp>That’s a change. Previously, the CDC said people who are not fully vaccinated and who came in close contact with an infected person should stay home for at least 10 days. Also previously, people who were fully vaccinated — which the CDC has defined as having two doses of the Pfizer or Moderna vaccines, or one dose of the Johnson & Johnson vaccine — could be exempt from quarantine. Now only people who've had booster shots are exempt.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch3>\u003ca id=\"risk\">\u003c/a>Is there still a risk of infection after five days?\u003c/h3>\n\u003cp>Suspending both isolation and quarantine after five days is not without risk.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>A lot of people get tested when they first feel symptoms, but many Americans get tested for others reasons, like to see whether they can visit family or for work. That means a positive test result may not reveal exactly when a person was infected or give a clear picture of when they are most contagious, experts say.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>When people get infected, the risk of spread drops substantially after five days, but it does not disappear for everyone, said Dr. Aaron Glatt, a New York physician and spokesperson for the Infectious Diseases Society of America.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“If you decrease it to five days, you’re still going to have a small but significant number of people who are contagious,” he said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>That’s why wearing masks is a critical part of the CDC guidance, Walensky said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad floatright]\u003c/p>\n",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cp>\u003cem>Don't have time to read the whole guide? Here's a quick breakdown. Click the links below to skip to a specific section\u003c/em>:\u003c/p>\n\u003cul>\n\u003cli>\u003ca href=\"#new\">\u003cstrong>Breaking down the new isolation rules\u003c/strong>\u003c/a>\u003c/li>\n\u003cli>\u003ca href=\"#apply\">\u003cstrong>Breaking down the new quarantine rules\u003c/strong>\u003c/a>\u003c/li>\n\u003cli>\u003ca href=\"#risk\">\u003cstrong>Is there still a risk of infection after five days?\u003c/strong>\u003c/a>\u003c/li>\n\u003c/ul>\n\u003cp>U.S. health officials on Monday cut isolation restrictions for Americans who catch the coronavirus from 10 days down to five days, and similarly shortened the time that close contacts need to quarantine.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Centers for Disease Control and Prevention officials said the guidance is in keeping with growing evidence that people with the coronavirus are most infectious in the two days before and three days after symptoms develop.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The decision also was driven by a recent surge in COVID-19 cases, propelled by the omicron variant.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Early research suggests omicron may cause milder illness than earlier variants of the coronavirus. But the sheer number of people becoming infected — and therefore having to isolate or quarantine — threatens to crush the ability of hospitals, airlines and other businesses to stay open, experts say.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>CDC Director Rochelle Walensky said the country is about to see a lot of omicron cases.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Not all of those cases are going to be severe. In fact many are going to be asymptomatic,” she told The Associated Press on Monday. “We want to make sure there is a mechanism by which we can safely continue to keep society functioning while following the science.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But beleaguered businesses also are amping up the pressure: Airlines have called on the Biden administration to shorten the guidelines for the isolation period for vaccinated workers who get COVID-19, to ease staffing shortages. The union for flight attendants has pushed back against that, saying the isolation period should remain 10 days.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>Last week, the CDC loosened rules that previously called on health care workers to stay out of work for 10 days if they test positive. The new recommendations say workers could go back to work after seven days if they test negative and don’t have symptoms. And the agency said isolation time could be cut to five days, or even fewer, if there are severe staffing shortages.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Now, the CDC is changing the isolation and quarantine guidance for the general public to be even less stringent.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The guidance is not a mandate; it’s a recommendation to employers and state and local officials. Last week, New York state said it would expand on the CDC’s guidance for health care workers to include employees who have other critical jobs that are facing a severe staffing shortage.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>It’s possible other states will seek to shorten their isolation and quarantine policies, and the CDC is trying to get out ahead of the shift. “It would be helpful to have uniform CDC guidance” that others could draw from, rather than a mishmash of policies, Walensky said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The CDC’s guidance on isolation and quarantine has seemed confusing to the public, and the new recommendations are “happening at a time when more people are testing positive for the first time and looking for guidance,” said Lindsay Wiley, an American University public health law expert.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Nevertheless, the guidance continues to be complex.\u003cbr>\n\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003ch3>\u003ca id=\"new\">\u003c/a>Breaking down the new isolation rules\u003c/h3>\n\u003cp>The isolation rules are for people who are infected. They are the same for people who are unvaccinated, partly vaccinated, fully vaccinated or boosted. They say:\u003c/p>\n\u003cul>\n\u003cli>The clock starts the day you test positive.\u003c/li>\n\u003cli>An infected person should go into isolation for five days, instead of the previously recommended 10.\u003c/li>\n\u003cli>At the end of five days, if you have no symptoms, you can return to normal activities but must wear a mask everywhere — even at home around others — for at least five more days.\u003c/li>\n\u003cli>If you still have symptoms after isolating for five days, stay home until you feel better and then start your five days of wearing a mask at all times.\u003c/li>\n\u003c/ul>\n\u003ch3>\u003ca id=\"apply\">\u003c/a>Breaking down the new quarantine rules\u003c/h3>\n\u003cp>The quarantine rules are for people \u003cem>who were in close contact\u003c/em> with an infected person but not infected themselves. They say:\u003c/p>\n\u003cul>\n\u003cli>For quarantine, the clock starts the day someone is alerted they may have been exposed to the virus.\u003c/li>\n\u003cli>People who are vaccinated but not boosted, people who are partly vaccinated and those who are not vaccinated at all can stop quarantine after five days if they wear masks in all settings for five days afterward.\u003c/li>\n\u003cli>People who got booster shots can skip quarantine if they wear masks in all settings for at least 10 days.\u003c/li>\n\u003c/ul>\n\u003cp>That’s a change. Previously, the CDC said people who are not fully vaccinated and who came in close contact with an infected person should stay home for at least 10 days. Also previously, people who were fully vaccinated — which the CDC has defined as having two doses of the Pfizer or Moderna vaccines, or one dose of the Johnson & Johnson vaccine — could be exempt from quarantine. Now only people who've had booster shots are exempt.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch3>\u003ca id=\"risk\">\u003c/a>Is there still a risk of infection after five days?\u003c/h3>\n\u003cp>Suspending both isolation and quarantine after five days is not without risk.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>A lot of people get tested when they first feel symptoms, but many Americans get tested for others reasons, like to see whether they can visit family or for work. That means a positive test result may not reveal exactly when a person was infected or give a clear picture of when they are most contagious, experts say.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>When people get infected, the risk of spread drops substantially after five days, but it does not disappear for everyone, said Dr. Aaron Glatt, a New York physician and spokesperson for the Infectious Diseases Society of America.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“If you decrease it to five days, you’re still going to have a small but significant number of people who are contagious,” he said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>That’s why wearing masks is a critical part of the CDC guidance, Walensky said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"disqusTitle": "Choosing the Right Mask Is Key to Protecting Yourself Against Omicron",
"title": "Choosing the Right Mask Is Key to Protecting Yourself Against Omicron",
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"content": "\u003cp>With another coronavirus variant racing across the U.S., once again health authorities are urging people to mask up indoors. Yes, you've heard it all before. But given how contagious omicron is, experts say, it's seriously time to upgrade to an N95 or similar high-filtration respirator when you're in public indoor spaces.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\"Cloth masks are not going to cut it with omicron,\" says \u003ca href=\"https://sites.google.com/vt.edu/air/\">Linsey Marr\u003c/a>, a researcher at Virginia Tech who studies how viruses transmit in the air.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Omicron is so much more transmissible than coronavirus variants that have come before it. It spreads at least three times faster than delta. One person is infecting at least three others at a time on average, based on data from other countries.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\"It's very contagious,\" says Dr. \u003ca href=\"https://profiles.ucsf.edu/robert.wachter\">Bob Wachter\u003c/a>, chair of the Department of Medicine at the University of California, San Francisco. \"And the kind of encounter that you could have had with prior versions of the virus that would have left you uninfected, there's now a good chance you will get infected from it.\"[pullquote size=\"medium\" align=\"right\" citation=\"Linsey Marr, a researcher at Virginia Tech\"]'Cloth masks are not going to cut it with omicron.’[/pullquote]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>True, a cloth mask can be a \"marginally OK to maybe a decent filter,\" Marr says. But with something as highly transmissible as omicron, just \"OK\" isn't good enough.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Marr notes that preliminary data from scientists at the University of Hong Kong has shown that omicron \u003ca href=\"https://www.npr.org/sections/goatsandsoda/2021/12/15/1064597592/a-tantalizing-clue-to-why-omicron-is-spreading-so-quickly\">multiplies 70 times faster\u003c/a> inside human respiratory tract tissue than the delta variant does. That study also found that omicron reaches higher levels in respiratory tract tissue 48 hours after infection, compared with delta.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\"That would suggest to me that maybe it reaches higher levels and then we spew out more [virus particles] if we're infected,\" Marr says. And while it's too soon to tell, she says it's conceivable that omicron is so good at infecting us, we just need to breathe in fewer viral particles of omicron to get infected.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>And virus particles from an infectious person can linger in the air indoors for minutes or even hours after they leave a room in some situations, says \u003ca href=\"https://profiles.stanford.edu/abraar-karan\">Dr. Abraar Karan\u003c/a>, an infectious disease physician at Stanford University. \"I think that people need to realize that transmission here can happen even when you're not near somebody,\" he says.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch3>Why high-filtration respirators are better and how to find a legitimate one\u003c/h3>\n\u003cp>Given all this, you want a mask that means business when it comes to blocking viral particles. Unlike cloth masks, N95, KN95 and \u003ca href=\"https://www.npr.org/sections/goatsandsoda/2021/01/22/959683338/coronavirus-faq-why-am-i-suddenly-hearing-so-much-about-kf94-masks\">KF94\u003c/a> respirators are all made out of material with an electrostatic charge, which \"actually pulls these particles in as they're floating around and prevents you from inhaling those particles,\" Karan notes. \"And that really is key\" — because if you don't inhale virus particles, they can't multiply in your respiratory tract.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The material in surgical masks also has an electrostatic charge. But surgical masks tend to fit loosely, and a snug fit — with no gaps around nose, cheeks or chin — \"really makes a big difference,\" says Marr, who has studied mask efficacy.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>KN95s tend to be a bit more comfortable than N95s, but counterfeits continue to be a problem. For safer shopping, check out a site like\u003ca href=\"https://www.projectn95.org/\"> Project N95\u003c/a>, a nonprofit that helps consumers find legitimate personal protective equipment. Or check the CDC's site for advice on \u003ca href=\"https://www.cdc.gov/niosh/npptl/usernotices/counterfeitResp.html\">how to spot a counterfeit\u003c/a> and a list of\u003ca href=\"https://www.cdc.gov/niosh/npptl/topics/respirators/disp_part/respsource3surgicaln95.html\"> trusted sources for surgical N95s\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>For maximum protection, make sure your N95 fits snugly as well, creating a seal around your mouth and nose. The CDC explains \u003ca href=\"https://blogs.cdc.gov/niosh-science-blog/2020/03/16/n95-preparedness/\">what makes a good fit\u003c/a> and how to test that \u003ca href=\"https://www.cdc.gov/niosh/docs/2018-130/pdfs/2018-130.pdf?id=10.26616/NIOSHPUB2018130\">yours is sealing well.\u003c/a>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Still, surgical masks are cheaper than respirators. And if cost is a factor for you, at a minimum consider topping a surgical mask with a cloth mask to ensure a tighter fit, or get a mask fitter — a frame that fits over your surgical mask to make it more snug. While these options won't offer as much protection as an N95, they're a big improvement over a cloth mask alone, Karan and Marr say.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch3>When to mask up\u003c/h3>\n\u003cp>As to when to wear a mask, you want to cover up when you're using public transit, including airports and airplanes, and when you're indoors in grocery stores or other public places, as with previous surges. Check to see whether where you live has a lot of cases — \u003ca href=\"https://www.npr.org/1021795290\">most places do right now\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Wachter says he's also covering up indoors with small groups of friends and family unless everyone is vaccinated and boosted. If they're not boosted, he says, \"I consider them to be somewhere between vaccinated and unvaccinated, and I act appropriately if I'm going to be around them.\"\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>That means he either has everyone mask up, or he has everyone take a rapid test to make sure no one is infectious at that moment. \"One or the other.\" This is especially important if anyone attending is high-risk.[aside postID=\"news_11900014,news_11900164,news_11899939\" label=\"Related Posts\"]Marr says that with omicron surging, she'd have kids wear respirators if possible when they're indoors in public spaces. Parents searching for good respirator options for their children can check out the work of\u003ca href=\"https://twitter.com/masknerd\"> Aaron Collins\u003c/a>, aka \"Mask Nerd,\" a mechanical engineer with a background in aerosol science. He's been testing the filtration efficiencies of hundreds of masks and respirators on the market. You can find his reviews on his\u003ca href=\"https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC3fF_rzkmZD0ufN685YE7lg\"> YouTube channel\u003c/a>. (\u003ca href=\"https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1i06OAItoOwIUaMjElr8mhh0Rw-it6WL-ODIQMZUOQxE/edit#gid=0\">This spreadsheet\u003c/a> on kids' masks may also be helpful.)\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Combined with getting vaccinated and boosted, upgrading to a high-filtration mask will be key to enjoying a safer holiday season without having to hibernate, experts say.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\"I have a lot of confidence in the vaccines, if you're boosted, in protecting against severe outcomes,\" Marr says, \"and I have a lot of confidence in an N95 and similar types of respirators. And I think that with those two things, you can still go about a lot of your normal activities.\"\u003c/p>\n\u003cdiv class=\"fullattribution\">Copyright 2021 NPR. To see more, visit \u003ca href=\"https://www.npr.org\">https://www.npr.org\u003c/a>.\u003cimg src=\"https://www.google-analytics.com/__utm.gif?utmac=UA-5828686-4&utmdt=With+omicron%2C+you+need+a+mask+that+means+business&utme=8(APIKey)9(MDAxOTAwOTE4MDEyMTkxMDAzNjczZDljZA004)\">\u003c/div>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad floatright]\u003c/p>\n",
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"excerpt": "To block a variant this transmissible, scientists say you need an N95 or other high-filtration mask. Here's how to find a good one and when to wear it.",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cp>With another coronavirus variant racing across the U.S., once again health authorities are urging people to mask up indoors. Yes, you've heard it all before. But given how contagious omicron is, experts say, it's seriously time to upgrade to an N95 or similar high-filtration respirator when you're in public indoor spaces.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\"Cloth masks are not going to cut it with omicron,\" says \u003ca href=\"https://sites.google.com/vt.edu/air/\">Linsey Marr\u003c/a>, a researcher at Virginia Tech who studies how viruses transmit in the air.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Omicron is so much more transmissible than coronavirus variants that have come before it. It spreads at least three times faster than delta. One person is infecting at least three others at a time on average, based on data from other countries.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\"It's very contagious,\" says Dr. \u003ca href=\"https://profiles.ucsf.edu/robert.wachter\">Bob Wachter\u003c/a>, chair of the Department of Medicine at the University of California, San Francisco. \"And the kind of encounter that you could have had with prior versions of the virus that would have left you uninfected, there's now a good chance you will get infected from it.\"\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>True, a cloth mask can be a \"marginally OK to maybe a decent filter,\" Marr says. But with something as highly transmissible as omicron, just \"OK\" isn't good enough.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Marr notes that preliminary data from scientists at the University of Hong Kong has shown that omicron \u003ca href=\"https://www.npr.org/sections/goatsandsoda/2021/12/15/1064597592/a-tantalizing-clue-to-why-omicron-is-spreading-so-quickly\">multiplies 70 times faster\u003c/a> inside human respiratory tract tissue than the delta variant does. That study also found that omicron reaches higher levels in respiratory tract tissue 48 hours after infection, compared with delta.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\"That would suggest to me that maybe it reaches higher levels and then we spew out more [virus particles] if we're infected,\" Marr says. And while it's too soon to tell, she says it's conceivable that omicron is so good at infecting us, we just need to breathe in fewer viral particles of omicron to get infected.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>And virus particles from an infectious person can linger in the air indoors for minutes or even hours after they leave a room in some situations, says \u003ca href=\"https://profiles.stanford.edu/abraar-karan\">Dr. Abraar Karan\u003c/a>, an infectious disease physician at Stanford University. \"I think that people need to realize that transmission here can happen even when you're not near somebody,\" he says.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch3>Why high-filtration respirators are better and how to find a legitimate one\u003c/h3>\n\u003cp>Given all this, you want a mask that means business when it comes to blocking viral particles. Unlike cloth masks, N95, KN95 and \u003ca href=\"https://www.npr.org/sections/goatsandsoda/2021/01/22/959683338/coronavirus-faq-why-am-i-suddenly-hearing-so-much-about-kf94-masks\">KF94\u003c/a> respirators are all made out of material with an electrostatic charge, which \"actually pulls these particles in as they're floating around and prevents you from inhaling those particles,\" Karan notes. \"And that really is key\" — because if you don't inhale virus particles, they can't multiply in your respiratory tract.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The material in surgical masks also has an electrostatic charge. But surgical masks tend to fit loosely, and a snug fit — with no gaps around nose, cheeks or chin — \"really makes a big difference,\" says Marr, who has studied mask efficacy.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>KN95s tend to be a bit more comfortable than N95s, but counterfeits continue to be a problem. For safer shopping, check out a site like\u003ca href=\"https://www.projectn95.org/\"> Project N95\u003c/a>, a nonprofit that helps consumers find legitimate personal protective equipment. Or check the CDC's site for advice on \u003ca href=\"https://www.cdc.gov/niosh/npptl/usernotices/counterfeitResp.html\">how to spot a counterfeit\u003c/a> and a list of\u003ca href=\"https://www.cdc.gov/niosh/npptl/topics/respirators/disp_part/respsource3surgicaln95.html\"> trusted sources for surgical N95s\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>For maximum protection, make sure your N95 fits snugly as well, creating a seal around your mouth and nose. The CDC explains \u003ca href=\"https://blogs.cdc.gov/niosh-science-blog/2020/03/16/n95-preparedness/\">what makes a good fit\u003c/a> and how to test that \u003ca href=\"https://www.cdc.gov/niosh/docs/2018-130/pdfs/2018-130.pdf?id=10.26616/NIOSHPUB2018130\">yours is sealing well.\u003c/a>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Still, surgical masks are cheaper than respirators. And if cost is a factor for you, at a minimum consider topping a surgical mask with a cloth mask to ensure a tighter fit, or get a mask fitter — a frame that fits over your surgical mask to make it more snug. While these options won't offer as much protection as an N95, they're a big improvement over a cloth mask alone, Karan and Marr say.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch3>When to mask up\u003c/h3>\n\u003cp>As to when to wear a mask, you want to cover up when you're using public transit, including airports and airplanes, and when you're indoors in grocery stores or other public places, as with previous surges. Check to see whether where you live has a lot of cases — \u003ca href=\"https://www.npr.org/1021795290\">most places do right now\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Wachter says he's also covering up indoors with small groups of friends and family unless everyone is vaccinated and boosted. If they're not boosted, he says, \"I consider them to be somewhere between vaccinated and unvaccinated, and I act appropriately if I'm going to be around them.\"\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>That means he either has everyone mask up, or he has everyone take a rapid test to make sure no one is infectious at that moment. \"One or the other.\" This is especially important if anyone attending is high-risk.\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>Marr says that with omicron surging, she'd have kids wear respirators if possible when they're indoors in public spaces. Parents searching for good respirator options for their children can check out the work of\u003ca href=\"https://twitter.com/masknerd\"> Aaron Collins\u003c/a>, aka \"Mask Nerd,\" a mechanical engineer with a background in aerosol science. He's been testing the filtration efficiencies of hundreds of masks and respirators on the market. You can find his reviews on his\u003ca href=\"https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC3fF_rzkmZD0ufN685YE7lg\"> YouTube channel\u003c/a>. (\u003ca href=\"https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1i06OAItoOwIUaMjElr8mhh0Rw-it6WL-ODIQMZUOQxE/edit#gid=0\">This spreadsheet\u003c/a> on kids' masks may also be helpful.)\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Combined with getting vaccinated and boosted, upgrading to a high-filtration mask will be key to enjoying a safer holiday season without having to hibernate, experts say.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\"I have a lot of confidence in the vaccines, if you're boosted, in protecting against severe outcomes,\" Marr says, \"and I have a lot of confidence in an N95 and similar types of respirators. And I think that with those two things, you can still go about a lot of your normal activities.\"\u003c/p>\n\u003cdiv class=\"fullattribution\">Copyright 2021 NPR. To see more, visit \u003ca href=\"https://www.npr.org\">https://www.npr.org\u003c/a>.\u003cimg src=\"https://www.google-analytics.com/__utm.gif?utmac=UA-5828686-4&utmdt=With+omicron%2C+you+need+a+mask+that+means+business&utme=8(APIKey)9(MDAxOTAwOTE4MDEyMTkxMDAzNjczZDljZA004)\">\u003c/div>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"slug": "omicron-cases-are-on-the-rise-but-booster-shots-are-the-best-defense-we-have",
"title": "Omicron Cases Are on the Rise. But Booster Shots Are Still the Best Defense We Have",
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"headTitle": "Omicron Cases Are on the Rise. But Booster Shots Are Still the Best Defense We Have | KQED",
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"content": "\u003cp>Several nights ago, my husband texted me questions while traveling.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Does my vaccine not work anymore?\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Should I get a booster even though it’s been only four months since my second shot?\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[aside postID=\"news_11896107\" hero=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2021/11/GettyImages-1234850823-1020x680.jpg\"]“Excellent questions,” I thought. One thing is crystal clear about the highly mutated omicron variant of the coronavirus: It has a huge ability to bypass immune protection and cause breakthrough infections.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Here’s what you need to know about how well the vaccines are working in the face of the omicron variant and the best timing for getting your booster shot.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>Don’t have time to read the whole guide? Here’s a quick breakdown. Click on the links below to skip to a specific section:\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cul>\n\u003cli>\u003ca href=\"#still\">\u003cstrong>Does my COVID-19 vaccine not work anymore?\u003c/strong>\u003c/a>\u003c/li>\n\u003cli>\u003ca href=\"#much\">How much does a booster shot help?\u003c/a>\u003c/li>\n\u003cli>\u003ca href=\"#wait\">\u003cstrong>Do I have to wait six months from my original vaccine to get a booster shot?\u003c/strong>\u003c/a>\u003c/li>\n\u003cli>\u003ca href=\"#work\">How does a booster work against omicron?\u003c/a>\u003c/li>\n\u003cli>\u003ca href=\"#fast\">\u003cstrong>How fast will the booster work?\u003c/strong>\u003c/a>\u003c/li>\n\u003cli>\u003ca href=\"#donde\">How long will the protection from the booster last?\u003c/a>\u003c/li>\n\u003c/ul>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003ch3>\u003ca id=\"still\">\u003c/a>Does my COVID-19 vaccine not work anymore?\u003c/h3>\n\u003cp>Yes and no.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Two shots of a vaccine — whether it’s Pfizer or Moderna — do still offer protection against severe disease, researchers in South Africa have found. In a study with about 78,000 omicron cases, getting two shots of Pfizer cut a person’s risk of hospitalization by about 70% across all age groups. That’s compared with a 90% reduction of risk with the delta variant, but it does indicate that the vaccines are still working really well to keep people out of the hospital. The effectiveness against omicron seems to hold up in older people as well, although it declines a bit, to about 60%.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But when it comes to stopping an infection, two shots isn’t enough, the researchers found. The vaccine’s effectiveness against an infection with omicron was only about 30%, which means breakthrough infections will be extremely common with this new variant.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_11900064\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\" style=\"max-width: 2560px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-11900064\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2021/12/GettyImages-1237257297-scaled.jpg\" alt='A small glass vial on a table with a label that reads, \"Moderna OCVID-19 Vaccine.\"' width=\"2560\" height=\"1707\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2021/12/GettyImages-1237257297-scaled.jpg 2560w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2021/12/GettyImages-1237257297-800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2021/12/GettyImages-1237257297-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2021/12/GettyImages-1237257297-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2021/12/GettyImages-1237257297-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2021/12/GettyImages-1237257297-2048x1365.jpg 2048w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2021/12/GettyImages-1237257297-1920x1280.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2560px) 100vw, 2560px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">A dose of the Moderna COVID-19 vaccine awaits administration at a vaccination clinic in Los Angeles on December 15, 2021. \u003ccite>(Frederic J. Brown/AFP via Getty Images)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003ch3>\u003ca id=\"much\">\u003c/a>How much does the booster help?\u003c/h3>\n\u003cp>Probably a lot — against infection.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The problem with only two shots of the vaccine is that most of the antibodies your body generates don’t have the potency to neutralize omicron when it first attacks your upper respiratory tract. That means you could easily get a breakthrough infection. (The good news is that for most people, the immune system does kick in to fight off severe disease once memory cells activate.)\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Laboratory studies have shown that antibodies, after only two shots, are 40 to 50 times less potent against omicron than against previous variants.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[aside postID=\"news_11900014\" hero=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2021/12/GettyImages-1236892674-1020x601.jpg\"]“We found that only 32% of people who received Moderna, even if it was recently, had detectable neutralization ability against omicron,” says immunologist \u003ca href=\"https://connects.catalyst.harvard.edu/Profiles/display/Person/89685\">Wilfredo Garcia Beltran\u003c/a>, who’s a fellow at the Ragon Institute of Massachusetts General Hospital.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But after the booster shot, that percentage goes up dramatically, he says: “If you boost everyone, the numbers look amazing.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>After the booster shot, the amount of neutralization potency against omicron rose to a level close to what Garcia Beltran observed against the delta variant. “I think this finding is suggestive that we’re inducing really good neutralization against omicron with a booster,” he says.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>And those laboratory findings fit with what health officials have observed in the U.K.: “Moderate to high vaccine effectiveness of 70 to 75% is seen in the early period after a booster dose,” the U.K. Health Security Agency reported two weeks ago.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Altogether, these studies show that a third dose gives you the best chance of preventing an omicron infection this winter. For some young and healthy people, catching a mild case of omicron might not be that big of a burden, but a booster still reduces your risk of spreading it to older loved ones or other vulnerable people.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We definitely need to give this to everyone if we want to prevent omicron from spreading like wildfire — or at least, curtail its spread,” Garcia Beltran says.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_11900060\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\" style=\"max-width: 2560px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-11900060\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2021/12/GettyImages-1234768450-scaled.jpg\" alt=\"A small piece of paper with dates of vaccinations, held by a hand with a pen.\" width=\"2560\" height=\"1704\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2021/12/GettyImages-1234768450-scaled.jpg 2560w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2021/12/GettyImages-1234768450-800x532.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2021/12/GettyImages-1234768450-1020x679.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2021/12/GettyImages-1234768450-160x106.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2021/12/GettyImages-1234768450-1536x1022.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2021/12/GettyImages-1234768450-2048x1363.jpg 2048w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2021/12/GettyImages-1234768450-1920x1278.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2560px) 100vw, 2560px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">A nurse marks a vaccination card with a booster dose at a vaccine clinic on August 19, 2021 at Tournament House in Pasadena. \u003ccite>(Robyn Beck/AFP via Getty Images)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003ch3>\u003ca id=\"wait\">\u003c/a>I got my primary dose four months ago and was told to wait until six months for a booster. Do I have to wait, or can I get a booster now?\u003c/h3>\n\u003cp>Officially, adults are eligible for a booster two months after the J&J vaccine and six months after your second dose of Pfizer or Moderna. Right now, that’s still the official recommendation.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>However, because two shots provide such little protection against infection with omicron, doctors and scientists are shifting their recommendation a bit about the timing of the booster after the mRNA vaccines.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“In the setting of a new variant — and wanting a higher degree of protection for the holidays, then I do think that clinical judgment could involve boosting a bit earlier,” says \u003ca href=\"https://www.bidmc.org/research/research-by-department/medicine/center-for-virology-and-vaccine-research/barouch-laboratory\">Dr. Daniel Barouch\u003c/a>, who runs the Center for Virology and Vaccine Research at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center in Boston.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The original six-month recommendation is based on “the ideal spacing between three-dose vaccine regimens,” Dr. Monica Gandhi, an infectious disease specialist at UCSF, writes in an email to NPR. “Zero, one and six months is what we use for so many three-dose vaccines.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But with omicron about to surge, she says, getting a boost in antibodies earlier might be worth it.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“There is probably no harm in speeding up to boost antibodies,” she writes, just as long as you wait at least three months from the second shot.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>This is especially true for people who are at high risk for severe disease or live with someone who is.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In fact, Germany’s vaccine authority recently recommended that Germans get their boosters after three months in light of omicron.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But Barouch cautions against speeding up the booster too much.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I wouldn’t boost too much earlier,” he says. “For example, I wouldn’t boost a month or two after the initial vaccine or vaccines. But if somebody is in the second half of the six-month time frame, and if they really feel like they would benefit from a higher level of protection, then I don’t see a downside in getting boosted a bit earlier.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_11900062\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\" style=\"max-width: 2560px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-11900062\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2021/12/GettyImages-1234838497-scaled.jpg\" alt=\"A person wears a face mask and glove as they handle the vial and syringe.\" width=\"2560\" height=\"1710\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2021/12/GettyImages-1234838497-scaled.jpg 2560w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2021/12/GettyImages-1234838497-800x534.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2021/12/GettyImages-1234838497-1020x681.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2021/12/GettyImages-1234838497-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2021/12/GettyImages-1234838497-1536x1026.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2021/12/GettyImages-1234838497-2048x1368.jpg 2048w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2021/12/GettyImages-1234838497-1920x1283.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2560px) 100vw, 2560px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">A nurse fills a syringe with a Pfize COVID-19 vaccine at a pop up clinic in Los Angeles, August 23, 2021. \u003ccite>(Robyn Beck/AFP via Getty Images)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003ch3>\u003ca id=\"work\">\u003c/a>How does a booster work to improve protection against a new variant like omicron? And why do we have to wait several months to get one?\u003c/h3>\n\u003cp>Improved immunity is not just about having more antibodies; it’s also about having the kind of antibodies that can actually take down omicron. For your body to generate those specific antibodies, it takes time — at least three months after the first two shots.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>You see, right after your first two shots of the vaccine, your immune system rushes and makes a burst of antibodies. But these antibodies aren’t so great. They especially aren’t good at fighting off new coronavirus variants, says immunologist Ali Ellebedy at the Washington University School of Medicine. “That initial group isn’t very well trained.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[aside postID=\"news_11890031\" hero=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2021/09/RS52115_GettyImages-1344323369-qut.jpg\"]The level of these antibodies starts to go down after about a month, and then your body gets to work to “train” these antibodies, Ellebedy says. Special immune cells, called B cells, go into your lymph nodes and start to improve the potency of the antibodies. Eventually, over time, through a process called B cell maturation, these B cells develop new antibodies that not only can recognize and neutralize the original variant of virus (which it saw in the vaccine) but also future variants, such as omicron.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“To protect you from future exposures, you want to have the best, well-equipped ‘soldiers,’ and the way our immune system does this is through this process of refinement in our lymph nodes,” Ellebedy says.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“This process takes time. It can take months.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But if you get a booster before this process is finished, the shot will essentially amplify the “untrained” antibodies.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>So if you wait at least three months, the third dose of the vaccine will amplify the “well-trained” antibodies, which are potent against not just omicron, but also possibly the next variant after that.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“There are studies that do show that the longer the period between vaccinations, the more robust the response to second immunization and that makes sense immunologically,” Ellebedy writes in an email to NPR.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“However, that does not mean that an earlier immunization will not be beneficial or harmful in any way. Actually, in the middle of a pandemic one can argue that a three-month or four-month booster makes more sense,” she adds. “Getting that before being exposed to the real virus is always a plus.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_11900059\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\" style=\"max-width: 2560px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-11900059\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2021/12/GettyImages-1234732715-scaled.jpg\" alt=\"A nurse vaccinates a person who is sitting down on a chair, while two other people sit on chairs, looking on.\" width=\"2560\" height=\"1556\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2021/12/GettyImages-1234732715-scaled.jpg 2560w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2021/12/GettyImages-1234732715-800x486.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2021/12/GettyImages-1234732715-1020x620.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2021/12/GettyImages-1234732715-160x97.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2021/12/GettyImages-1234732715-1536x934.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2021/12/GettyImages-1234732715-2048x1245.jpg 2048w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2021/12/GettyImages-1234732715-1920x1167.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2560px) 100vw, 2560px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Just vaccinated people sit and wait for 15 minutes of monitoring at a vaccination clinic in Los Angeles on August 17, 2021. \u003ccite>(Frederic J. Brown/AFP via Getty Images)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003ch3>\u003ca id=\"fast\">\u003c/a>How fast will the booster work?\u003c/h3>\n\u003cp>The boosters work a bit faster than the original course of the vaccine because your body isn’t starting from scratch, says \u003ca href=\"https://www.southshorehealth.org/find-a-doctor/simone-s-wildes\">Dr. Simone Wildes\u003c/a>, who’s an infectious disease doctor at South Shore Health in Massachusetts.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“You already have some antibodies,” she says. “So I would anticipate that within a week or so after the booster, you’re going to have pretty significant levels of antibodies, but you’re not going to get to the maximum levels until the 14-day mark.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>So if you go get vaccinated today, you will have some antibody protection by New Year’s.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch3>\u003ca id=\"long\">\u003c/a>How long will the protection from the booster last?\u003c/h3>\n\u003cp>Nobody knows how long protection from infection will last. One preliminary study suggests it will start to wane about three months after the booster shot, as has been the case with the delta variant.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>There’s no information about how long protection against severe disease will last after a booster, but given the durability observed with only two shots, it’s likely to be quite durable — much more than protection against infection.\u003cbr>\n[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad floatright]\u003c/p>\n",
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"excerpt": "Our guide has answers to questions like: How does a COVID-19 booster shot work against omicron? How fast will the booster work? When should I get a booster shot? How can boosters protect us against coronavirus variants?",
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"title": "Omicron Cases Are on the Rise. But Booster Shots Are Still the Best Defense We Have | KQED",
"description": "Our guide has answers to questions like: How does a COVID-19 booster shot work against omicron? How fast will the booster work? When should I get a booster shot? How can boosters protect us against coronavirus variants?",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cp>Several nights ago, my husband texted me questions while traveling.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Does my vaccine not work anymore?\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Should I get a booster even though it’s been only four months since my second shot?\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>“Excellent questions,” I thought. One thing is crystal clear about the highly mutated omicron variant of the coronavirus: It has a huge ability to bypass immune protection and cause breakthrough infections.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Here’s what you need to know about how well the vaccines are working in the face of the omicron variant and the best timing for getting your booster shot.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>Don’t have time to read the whole guide? Here’s a quick breakdown. Click on the links below to skip to a specific section:\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cul>\n\u003cli>\u003ca href=\"#still\">\u003cstrong>Does my COVID-19 vaccine not work anymore?\u003c/strong>\u003c/a>\u003c/li>\n\u003cli>\u003ca href=\"#much\">How much does a booster shot help?\u003c/a>\u003c/li>\n\u003cli>\u003ca href=\"#wait\">\u003cstrong>Do I have to wait six months from my original vaccine to get a booster shot?\u003c/strong>\u003c/a>\u003c/li>\n\u003cli>\u003ca href=\"#work\">How does a booster work against omicron?\u003c/a>\u003c/li>\n\u003cli>\u003ca href=\"#fast\">\u003cstrong>How fast will the booster work?\u003c/strong>\u003c/a>\u003c/li>\n\u003cli>\u003ca href=\"#donde\">How long will the protection from the booster last?\u003c/a>\u003c/li>\n\u003c/ul>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003ch3>\u003ca id=\"still\">\u003c/a>Does my COVID-19 vaccine not work anymore?\u003c/h3>\n\u003cp>Yes and no.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Two shots of a vaccine — whether it’s Pfizer or Moderna — do still offer protection against severe disease, researchers in South Africa have found. In a study with about 78,000 omicron cases, getting two shots of Pfizer cut a person’s risk of hospitalization by about 70% across all age groups. That’s compared with a 90% reduction of risk with the delta variant, but it does indicate that the vaccines are still working really well to keep people out of the hospital. The effectiveness against omicron seems to hold up in older people as well, although it declines a bit, to about 60%.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But when it comes to stopping an infection, two shots isn’t enough, the researchers found. The vaccine’s effectiveness against an infection with omicron was only about 30%, which means breakthrough infections will be extremely common with this new variant.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_11900064\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\" style=\"max-width: 2560px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-11900064\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2021/12/GettyImages-1237257297-scaled.jpg\" alt='A small glass vial on a table with a label that reads, \"Moderna OCVID-19 Vaccine.\"' width=\"2560\" height=\"1707\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2021/12/GettyImages-1237257297-scaled.jpg 2560w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2021/12/GettyImages-1237257297-800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2021/12/GettyImages-1237257297-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2021/12/GettyImages-1237257297-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2021/12/GettyImages-1237257297-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2021/12/GettyImages-1237257297-2048x1365.jpg 2048w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2021/12/GettyImages-1237257297-1920x1280.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2560px) 100vw, 2560px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">A dose of the Moderna COVID-19 vaccine awaits administration at a vaccination clinic in Los Angeles on December 15, 2021. \u003ccite>(Frederic J. Brown/AFP via Getty Images)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003ch3>\u003ca id=\"much\">\u003c/a>How much does the booster help?\u003c/h3>\n\u003cp>Probably a lot — against infection.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The problem with only two shots of the vaccine is that most of the antibodies your body generates don’t have the potency to neutralize omicron when it first attacks your upper respiratory tract. That means you could easily get a breakthrough infection. (The good news is that for most people, the immune system does kick in to fight off severe disease once memory cells activate.)\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Laboratory studies have shown that antibodies, after only two shots, are 40 to 50 times less potent against omicron than against previous variants.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>“We found that only 32% of people who received Moderna, even if it was recently, had detectable neutralization ability against omicron,” says immunologist \u003ca href=\"https://connects.catalyst.harvard.edu/Profiles/display/Person/89685\">Wilfredo Garcia Beltran\u003c/a>, who’s a fellow at the Ragon Institute of Massachusetts General Hospital.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But after the booster shot, that percentage goes up dramatically, he says: “If you boost everyone, the numbers look amazing.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>After the booster shot, the amount of neutralization potency against omicron rose to a level close to what Garcia Beltran observed against the delta variant. “I think this finding is suggestive that we’re inducing really good neutralization against omicron with a booster,” he says.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>And those laboratory findings fit with what health officials have observed in the U.K.: “Moderate to high vaccine effectiveness of 70 to 75% is seen in the early period after a booster dose,” the U.K. Health Security Agency reported two weeks ago.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Altogether, these studies show that a third dose gives you the best chance of preventing an omicron infection this winter. For some young and healthy people, catching a mild case of omicron might not be that big of a burden, but a booster still reduces your risk of spreading it to older loved ones or other vulnerable people.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We definitely need to give this to everyone if we want to prevent omicron from spreading like wildfire — or at least, curtail its spread,” Garcia Beltran says.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_11900060\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\" style=\"max-width: 2560px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-11900060\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2021/12/GettyImages-1234768450-scaled.jpg\" alt=\"A small piece of paper with dates of vaccinations, held by a hand with a pen.\" width=\"2560\" height=\"1704\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2021/12/GettyImages-1234768450-scaled.jpg 2560w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2021/12/GettyImages-1234768450-800x532.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2021/12/GettyImages-1234768450-1020x679.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2021/12/GettyImages-1234768450-160x106.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2021/12/GettyImages-1234768450-1536x1022.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2021/12/GettyImages-1234768450-2048x1363.jpg 2048w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2021/12/GettyImages-1234768450-1920x1278.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2560px) 100vw, 2560px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">A nurse marks a vaccination card with a booster dose at a vaccine clinic on August 19, 2021 at Tournament House in Pasadena. \u003ccite>(Robyn Beck/AFP via Getty Images)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003ch3>\u003ca id=\"wait\">\u003c/a>I got my primary dose four months ago and was told to wait until six months for a booster. Do I have to wait, or can I get a booster now?\u003c/h3>\n\u003cp>Officially, adults are eligible for a booster two months after the J&J vaccine and six months after your second dose of Pfizer or Moderna. Right now, that’s still the official recommendation.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>However, because two shots provide such little protection against infection with omicron, doctors and scientists are shifting their recommendation a bit about the timing of the booster after the mRNA vaccines.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“In the setting of a new variant — and wanting a higher degree of protection for the holidays, then I do think that clinical judgment could involve boosting a bit earlier,” says \u003ca href=\"https://www.bidmc.org/research/research-by-department/medicine/center-for-virology-and-vaccine-research/barouch-laboratory\">Dr. Daniel Barouch\u003c/a>, who runs the Center for Virology and Vaccine Research at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center in Boston.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The original six-month recommendation is based on “the ideal spacing between three-dose vaccine regimens,” Dr. Monica Gandhi, an infectious disease specialist at UCSF, writes in an email to NPR. “Zero, one and six months is what we use for so many three-dose vaccines.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But with omicron about to surge, she says, getting a boost in antibodies earlier might be worth it.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“There is probably no harm in speeding up to boost antibodies,” she writes, just as long as you wait at least three months from the second shot.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>This is especially true for people who are at high risk for severe disease or live with someone who is.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In fact, Germany’s vaccine authority recently recommended that Germans get their boosters after three months in light of omicron.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But Barouch cautions against speeding up the booster too much.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I wouldn’t boost too much earlier,” he says. “For example, I wouldn’t boost a month or two after the initial vaccine or vaccines. But if somebody is in the second half of the six-month time frame, and if they really feel like they would benefit from a higher level of protection, then I don’t see a downside in getting boosted a bit earlier.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_11900062\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\" style=\"max-width: 2560px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-11900062\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2021/12/GettyImages-1234838497-scaled.jpg\" alt=\"A person wears a face mask and glove as they handle the vial and syringe.\" width=\"2560\" height=\"1710\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2021/12/GettyImages-1234838497-scaled.jpg 2560w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2021/12/GettyImages-1234838497-800x534.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2021/12/GettyImages-1234838497-1020x681.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2021/12/GettyImages-1234838497-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2021/12/GettyImages-1234838497-1536x1026.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2021/12/GettyImages-1234838497-2048x1368.jpg 2048w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2021/12/GettyImages-1234838497-1920x1283.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2560px) 100vw, 2560px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">A nurse fills a syringe with a Pfize COVID-19 vaccine at a pop up clinic in Los Angeles, August 23, 2021. \u003ccite>(Robyn Beck/AFP via Getty Images)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003ch3>\u003ca id=\"work\">\u003c/a>How does a booster work to improve protection against a new variant like omicron? And why do we have to wait several months to get one?\u003c/h3>\n\u003cp>Improved immunity is not just about having more antibodies; it’s also about having the kind of antibodies that can actually take down omicron. For your body to generate those specific antibodies, it takes time — at least three months after the first two shots.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>You see, right after your first two shots of the vaccine, your immune system rushes and makes a burst of antibodies. But these antibodies aren’t so great. They especially aren’t good at fighting off new coronavirus variants, says immunologist Ali Ellebedy at the Washington University School of Medicine. “That initial group isn’t very well trained.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>The level of these antibodies starts to go down after about a month, and then your body gets to work to “train” these antibodies, Ellebedy says. Special immune cells, called B cells, go into your lymph nodes and start to improve the potency of the antibodies. Eventually, over time, through a process called B cell maturation, these B cells develop new antibodies that not only can recognize and neutralize the original variant of virus (which it saw in the vaccine) but also future variants, such as omicron.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“To protect you from future exposures, you want to have the best, well-equipped ‘soldiers,’ and the way our immune system does this is through this process of refinement in our lymph nodes,” Ellebedy says.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“This process takes time. It can take months.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But if you get a booster before this process is finished, the shot will essentially amplify the “untrained” antibodies.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>So if you wait at least three months, the third dose of the vaccine will amplify the “well-trained” antibodies, which are potent against not just omicron, but also possibly the next variant after that.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“There are studies that do show that the longer the period between vaccinations, the more robust the response to second immunization and that makes sense immunologically,” Ellebedy writes in an email to NPR.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“However, that does not mean that an earlier immunization will not be beneficial or harmful in any way. Actually, in the middle of a pandemic one can argue that a three-month or four-month booster makes more sense,” she adds. “Getting that before being exposed to the real virus is always a plus.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_11900059\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\" style=\"max-width: 2560px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-11900059\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2021/12/GettyImages-1234732715-scaled.jpg\" alt=\"A nurse vaccinates a person who is sitting down on a chair, while two other people sit on chairs, looking on.\" width=\"2560\" height=\"1556\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2021/12/GettyImages-1234732715-scaled.jpg 2560w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2021/12/GettyImages-1234732715-800x486.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2021/12/GettyImages-1234732715-1020x620.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2021/12/GettyImages-1234732715-160x97.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2021/12/GettyImages-1234732715-1536x934.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2021/12/GettyImages-1234732715-2048x1245.jpg 2048w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2021/12/GettyImages-1234732715-1920x1167.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2560px) 100vw, 2560px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Just vaccinated people sit and wait for 15 minutes of monitoring at a vaccination clinic in Los Angeles on August 17, 2021. \u003ccite>(Frederic J. Brown/AFP via Getty Images)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003ch3>\u003ca id=\"fast\">\u003c/a>How fast will the booster work?\u003c/h3>\n\u003cp>The boosters work a bit faster than the original course of the vaccine because your body isn’t starting from scratch, says \u003ca href=\"https://www.southshorehealth.org/find-a-doctor/simone-s-wildes\">Dr. Simone Wildes\u003c/a>, who’s an infectious disease doctor at South Shore Health in Massachusetts.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“You already have some antibodies,” she says. “So I would anticipate that within a week or so after the booster, you’re going to have pretty significant levels of antibodies, but you’re not going to get to the maximum levels until the 14-day mark.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>So if you go get vaccinated today, you will have some antibody protection by New Year’s.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch3>\u003ca id=\"long\">\u003c/a>How long will the protection from the booster last?\u003c/h3>\n\u003cp>Nobody knows how long protection from infection will last. One preliminary study suggests it will start to wane about three months after the booster shot, as has been the case with the delta variant.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>There’s no information about how long protection against severe disease will last after a booster, but given the durability observed with only two shots, it’s likely to be quite durable — much more than protection against infection.\u003cbr>\n\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"disqusTitle": "California to Require Booster Shots for Health Care Workers Amid Omicron Spread",
"title": "California to Require Booster Shots for Health Care Workers Amid Omicron Spread",
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"content": "\u003cp>Nearly all of California's roughly 2.5 million frontline health care workers must receive a COVID-19 booster shot by Feb. 1, Gov. Gavin Newsom announced Wednesday, a measure he said would help prepare hospitals across the state for a surge in new cases brought on by the omicron variant.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>During a press briefing at the Native American Health Center in Oakland, Newsom said it was imperative for health care workers to be fully protected against the new highly infectious variant and prevent further staffing shortages due to illness.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We recognize now just being fully vaccinated is not enough with this new variant,” Newsom said, noting that “well north of 50%” of new cases in California are the omicron variant — now the dominant variant in the country.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We believe it’s important to extend this requirement to getting that third dose, to getting boosted,” he added. “I think it is a smart move, a wise move in this context that we need to make sure we don’t have staffing shortages.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Like the previous vaccine mandate, \u003ca href=\"https://www.gov.ca.gov/wp-content/uploads/2021/12/Governor-Newsom-Announces-New-Actions-to-Protect-Californians-from-COVID-19.pdf\">the new requirement\u003c/a> applies to health care workers at hospitals and doctor’s offices, home health workers, and those working in skilled nursing facilities and other congregate care settings, hospice centers and dialysis centers. Those who are not boosted will have to get tested twice weekly until they receive the third jab.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Also this week, two of the nation's largest public university systems — \u003ca href=\"https://www.latimes.com/california/story/2021-12-22/cal-state-mandates-covid-19-boosters-amid-worsening-omicron\">California State University and the University of California\u003c/a> — announced students on campus must have a booster shot for the spring semester.[aside label=\"related coverage\" tag=\"booster-shots\"]Additionally, the governor said California would provide up to two free rapid COVID-19 tests for each of the state's more than 6.1 million public K-12 students to take before returning to school in January. Hours will also be extended at the state's nearly 6,300 state-run testing centers.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Newsom said booster shots provide more protection against omicron, and was encouraged that more than 8.8 million Californians had gotten one so far.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We need to increase that number if we're going to hold the line and decrease the growth for hospitals,” he said\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>California, Newsom said, is doing a lot better than most states in terms of the virus' spread, with a 3.3% positivity rate — the lowest in the country — and 13.6 new cases for every 100,000 people over the last seven days, the sixth-lowest rate in the country. It also has one of the lowest death rates per capita.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But, he cautioned, with cases again on the rise again, albeit at a rate much slower than last winter, “we can’t take anything for granted.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>California also requires other groups to either be vaccinated or submit to weekly testing, including state workers and, eventually, teachers and students. But Newsom said Wednesday there is no plan to require those other groups to get a booster shot — although he urged everyone eligible who hasn’t gotten one yet to schedule an appointment on the state’s \u003ca href=\"https://myturn.ca.gov\">My Turn\u003c/a> site.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Newsom, however, said rules about booster shots could change.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Hopefully we won't have to consider that if all of our interventions are successful,” he said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>California already requires health care workers to be vaccinated against the coronavirus, a directive that took effect in September, and one that most workers have complied with. Thousands of holdouts, though, have either lost their jobs or been suspended, sparking concerns that the newest rule could further exacerbate staffing shortages.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The California Hospital Association, however, was quick to back the order.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“While we don't yet know enough about omicron to determine its precise impact on the need for hospital care, we do know that booster shots offer an additional layer of protection — something that will be vital to ensuring care for all in need as California and the nation as a whole continue to face a persistent shortage of health care workers,” California Hospital Association President and CEO Carmela Coyle said in a statement.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Newsom, who in March 2020 imposed the nation’s first statewide shutdown order, initially announced this latest mandate — among the first of its kind in the country — \u003ca href=\"https://twitter.com/GavinNewsom/status/1473471786423504898\">on his personal Twitter account on Tuesday evening\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>It comes as coronavirus-related hospitalizations have been rising slowly in California. As of Tuesday, there were 3,589 coronavirus patients hospitalized across the state, a 12% increase since Dec. 1. But that's far less than the peak of last winter's surge, when the state had nearly 22,000 coronavirus patients before vaccines were widely available. Now, more than 70% of the state's nearly 40 million residents have been fully vaccinated.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But while hospitals overall have fewer patients than last winter, many have fewer workers to treat the patients they do have. The staffing shortage comes as businesses, including hospitals, are having trouble finding workers. \u003ca href=\"https://www.ucsf.edu/news/2021/09/421366/california-faces-short-term-nursing-shortage-covid-19-retirements\">A recent UCSF study\u003c/a> estimated the state’s nursing shortage could persist until 2026.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“The staffing shortages we are experiencing are worse than ever,” Kiyomi Burchill, group vice president for policy for the California Hospital Association, said in an interview Tuesday before Newsom made his announcement about booster shots.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>California is poised for a surge in new infections amid holiday parties and family gatherings forced indoors by a series of winter storms.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But experts say the nation's most populous state is likely to avoid the worst scenario — spikes in hospitalizations and deaths — because most Californians have either been vaccinated or already been infected. That gives a higher level of protection against the omicron variant that, while not guaranteeing people won't get sick, means they are less likely to need to go to the hospital.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“It's a highly transmissible respiratory virus and people are going to get it. And they are going to get it every winter,” said Dr. Monica Gandhi, a professor of infectious diseases at UCSF. “We have to go toward measuring our true success with a disease, which is how we're doing with hospitalizations.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Much about omicron remains unknown. Scientists say it spreads more easily than other coronavirus strains, including delta, and, in initial studies, appears to generally cause less severe illness. Early research suggests those who are fully vaccinated will need a booster shot for the best chance at preventing infection, but even without the extra dose, vaccination should still offer strong protection against severe illness and death.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ca href=\"https://calcat.covid19.ca.gov/cacovidmodels/\">Computer models\u003c/a> used by state officials to forecast the virus say hospitalizations will stay steady through the holidays and dip slightly in mid-January.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I'm on the fence a little bit about how horrible this is,” said Dr. Brad Pollock, associate dean for public health sciences at UC Davis School of Medicine. “We’re going to have more people infected because of the more transmissible variant. It may be a little less virulent, which means it causes less symptoms.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]Last week, Newsom, warning that cases would likely rise, \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/11898949/california-brings-back-temporary-statewide-indoor-mask-mandate-as-omicron-cases-rise\">reimposed a rule\u003c/a> requiring residents in most counties to wear masks at public indoor gatherings.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The California Department of Public Health says people who are not vaccinated are seven times more likely to get infected, nearly 13 times more likely to be hospitalized and nearly 16 times more likely to die from the coronavirus.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Places in California with lower vaccination rates, including \u003ca href=\"https://www.pe.com/2021/12/20/covid-19-hospitalizations-rise-30-in-two-weeks-in-riverside-county-hitting-317/\">Riverside\u003c/a> and \u003ca href=\"https://www.sbsun.com/2021/12/20/covid-19-hospitalizations-top-400-in-san-bernardino-county-most-since-late-september/\">San Bernardino\u003c/a> counties, have seen recent jumps in hospitalizations.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“The problem is there are counties in California, particularly in central California and eastern California, where they have had neither high vaccination coverage or a lot of prior infections,” said Dr. Jeffrey Klausner, a professor of infectious diseases at the University of Southern California's Keck School of Medicine. “We can expect in those communities that there may be an increase in hospitalizations for people at high risk for severe consequences.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>This post includes reporting from KQED's Spencer Whitney and Matthew Green, as well as Adam Beam of The Associated Press.\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad floatright]\u003c/p>\n",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cp>Nearly all of California's roughly 2.5 million frontline health care workers must receive a COVID-19 booster shot by Feb. 1, Gov. Gavin Newsom announced Wednesday, a measure he said would help prepare hospitals across the state for a surge in new cases brought on by the omicron variant.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>During a press briefing at the Native American Health Center in Oakland, Newsom said it was imperative for health care workers to be fully protected against the new highly infectious variant and prevent further staffing shortages due to illness.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We recognize now just being fully vaccinated is not enough with this new variant,” Newsom said, noting that “well north of 50%” of new cases in California are the omicron variant — now the dominant variant in the country.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We believe it’s important to extend this requirement to getting that third dose, to getting boosted,” he added. “I think it is a smart move, a wise move in this context that we need to make sure we don’t have staffing shortages.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Like the previous vaccine mandate, \u003ca href=\"https://www.gov.ca.gov/wp-content/uploads/2021/12/Governor-Newsom-Announces-New-Actions-to-Protect-Californians-from-COVID-19.pdf\">the new requirement\u003c/a> applies to health care workers at hospitals and doctor’s offices, home health workers, and those working in skilled nursing facilities and other congregate care settings, hospice centers and dialysis centers. Those who are not boosted will have to get tested twice weekly until they receive the third jab.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Also this week, two of the nation's largest public university systems — \u003ca href=\"https://www.latimes.com/california/story/2021-12-22/cal-state-mandates-covid-19-boosters-amid-worsening-omicron\">California State University and the University of California\u003c/a> — announced students on campus must have a booster shot for the spring semester.\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>Additionally, the governor said California would provide up to two free rapid COVID-19 tests for each of the state's more than 6.1 million public K-12 students to take before returning to school in January. Hours will also be extended at the state's nearly 6,300 state-run testing centers.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Newsom said booster shots provide more protection against omicron, and was encouraged that more than 8.8 million Californians had gotten one so far.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We need to increase that number if we're going to hold the line and decrease the growth for hospitals,” he said\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>California, Newsom said, is doing a lot better than most states in terms of the virus' spread, with a 3.3% positivity rate — the lowest in the country — and 13.6 new cases for every 100,000 people over the last seven days, the sixth-lowest rate in the country. It also has one of the lowest death rates per capita.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But, he cautioned, with cases again on the rise again, albeit at a rate much slower than last winter, “we can’t take anything for granted.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>California also requires other groups to either be vaccinated or submit to weekly testing, including state workers and, eventually, teachers and students. But Newsom said Wednesday there is no plan to require those other groups to get a booster shot — although he urged everyone eligible who hasn’t gotten one yet to schedule an appointment on the state’s \u003ca href=\"https://myturn.ca.gov\">My Turn\u003c/a> site.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Newsom, however, said rules about booster shots could change.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Hopefully we won't have to consider that if all of our interventions are successful,” he said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>California already requires health care workers to be vaccinated against the coronavirus, a directive that took effect in September, and one that most workers have complied with. Thousands of holdouts, though, have either lost their jobs or been suspended, sparking concerns that the newest rule could further exacerbate staffing shortages.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The California Hospital Association, however, was quick to back the order.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“While we don't yet know enough about omicron to determine its precise impact on the need for hospital care, we do know that booster shots offer an additional layer of protection — something that will be vital to ensuring care for all in need as California and the nation as a whole continue to face a persistent shortage of health care workers,” California Hospital Association President and CEO Carmela Coyle said in a statement.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Newsom, who in March 2020 imposed the nation’s first statewide shutdown order, initially announced this latest mandate — among the first of its kind in the country — \u003ca href=\"https://twitter.com/GavinNewsom/status/1473471786423504898\">on his personal Twitter account on Tuesday evening\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>It comes as coronavirus-related hospitalizations have been rising slowly in California. As of Tuesday, there were 3,589 coronavirus patients hospitalized across the state, a 12% increase since Dec. 1. But that's far less than the peak of last winter's surge, when the state had nearly 22,000 coronavirus patients before vaccines were widely available. Now, more than 70% of the state's nearly 40 million residents have been fully vaccinated.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But while hospitals overall have fewer patients than last winter, many have fewer workers to treat the patients they do have. The staffing shortage comes as businesses, including hospitals, are having trouble finding workers. \u003ca href=\"https://www.ucsf.edu/news/2021/09/421366/california-faces-short-term-nursing-shortage-covid-19-retirements\">A recent UCSF study\u003c/a> estimated the state’s nursing shortage could persist until 2026.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“The staffing shortages we are experiencing are worse than ever,” Kiyomi Burchill, group vice president for policy for the California Hospital Association, said in an interview Tuesday before Newsom made his announcement about booster shots.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>California is poised for a surge in new infections amid holiday parties and family gatherings forced indoors by a series of winter storms.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But experts say the nation's most populous state is likely to avoid the worst scenario — spikes in hospitalizations and deaths — because most Californians have either been vaccinated or already been infected. That gives a higher level of protection against the omicron variant that, while not guaranteeing people won't get sick, means they are less likely to need to go to the hospital.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“It's a highly transmissible respiratory virus and people are going to get it. And they are going to get it every winter,” said Dr. Monica Gandhi, a professor of infectious diseases at UCSF. “We have to go toward measuring our true success with a disease, which is how we're doing with hospitalizations.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Much about omicron remains unknown. Scientists say it spreads more easily than other coronavirus strains, including delta, and, in initial studies, appears to generally cause less severe illness. Early research suggests those who are fully vaccinated will need a booster shot for the best chance at preventing infection, but even without the extra dose, vaccination should still offer strong protection against severe illness and death.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ca href=\"https://calcat.covid19.ca.gov/cacovidmodels/\">Computer models\u003c/a> used by state officials to forecast the virus say hospitalizations will stay steady through the holidays and dip slightly in mid-January.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I'm on the fence a little bit about how horrible this is,” said Dr. Brad Pollock, associate dean for public health sciences at UC Davis School of Medicine. “We’re going to have more people infected because of the more transmissible variant. It may be a little less virulent, which means it causes less symptoms.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>Last week, Newsom, warning that cases would likely rise, \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/11898949/california-brings-back-temporary-statewide-indoor-mask-mandate-as-omicron-cases-rise\">reimposed a rule\u003c/a> requiring residents in most counties to wear masks at public indoor gatherings.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The California Department of Public Health says people who are not vaccinated are seven times more likely to get infected, nearly 13 times more likely to be hospitalized and nearly 16 times more likely to die from the coronavirus.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Places in California with lower vaccination rates, including \u003ca href=\"https://www.pe.com/2021/12/20/covid-19-hospitalizations-rise-30-in-two-weeks-in-riverside-county-hitting-317/\">Riverside\u003c/a> and \u003ca href=\"https://www.sbsun.com/2021/12/20/covid-19-hospitalizations-top-400-in-san-bernardino-county-most-since-late-september/\">San Bernardino\u003c/a> counties, have seen recent jumps in hospitalizations.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“The problem is there are counties in California, particularly in central California and eastern California, where they have had neither high vaccination coverage or a lot of prior infections,” said Dr. Jeffrey Klausner, a professor of infectious diseases at the University of Southern California's Keck School of Medicine. “We can expect in those communities that there may be an increase in hospitalizations for people at high risk for severe consequences.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>This post includes reporting from KQED's Spencer Whitney and Matthew Green, as well as Adam Beam of The Associated Press.\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cp>With COVID-19 again surging in the U.S. because of the omicron variant, President Biden announced several new steps to address the risks posed by the highly contagious variant.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Saying he understands “how tired, worried and frustrated you are,” Biden outlined his administration’s latest approach to deal with the virus that has taken some 800,000 lives in the U.S.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Most notably, the government plans to buy a half-billion at-home COVID test kits and mail them to people who want them, with deliveries beginning in January.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[aside postID=\"news_11898455\" hero=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2021/12/RS52826_GettyImages-1227768883-qut.jpg\"]It’s a major step to tackling problems Americans have faced in easily accessing free at-home COVID tests throughout the pandemic.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Biden sought to assure Americans who are vaccinated and boosted that they have a high degree of protection against severe illness. But he also made it clear that it will not be unusual for vaccinated people to get COVID-19, because of the new variant and that they will likely experience no symptoms or mild symptoms.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“They should feel comfortable celebrating Christmas and the holidays as they planned,” the administration official said, noting people should take regular precautions like wearing masks during travel.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Biden will not announce new restrictions on schools or businesses, White House press secretary Jen Psaki said Monday.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“This is not a speech about locking the country down. This is a speech outlining and being direct and clear with the American people about the benefits of being vaccinated, the steps we’re going to take to increase access and to increase testing, and the risks posed to unvaccinated individuals,” she said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003ch3>Access to free tests, a major new step\u003c/h3>\n\u003cp>On Monday, the omicron variant became the most dominant version of the coronavirus in the U.S. and cases continued to rise as many Americans prepared for Christmas holidays later this week.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But with so many new cases, Americans faced problems in accessing affordable COVID-19 tests.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>New Yorkers hit the streets over the weekend trying to get tested but encountered long lines in the cold. The wait at a city-run testing and vaccination center in Times Square on Saturday afternoon was reportedly about three hours.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[pullquote align=\"right\" size=\"medium\" citation=\"Dr. Robert M. Wachter, UCSF\"]‘[Testing] just needs to be freely available in the same way that vaccines have been.’[/pullquote]The U.S. government wants to change that.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The federal government will announce new federal testing sites across the country, including one in New York City that will open before Christmas.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In January, the government will also start a website where people can order at-home tests to be delivered for free. This will augment plans announced earlier this month to require private insurance companies to reimburse people for the tests.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Biden will also continue using the Defense Production Act and other powers to make sure the U.S. is producing as many tests as quickly as possible.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>These are all steps the administration should have made a while ago, said Dr. Robert M. Wachter, a professor and chairman of the Department of Medicine at UCSF.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Testing will only become more important as the U.S. continues to power through this surge, Wachter told NPR.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“It just needs to be freely available in the same way that vaccines have been,” he said of COVID-19 tests. “So that part is great. But because they are just starting now, it’s going to be a little bit late.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Wachter said it will take some time for the government to gear up production and mail them out.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Omicron is going to peak by mid-January, so it may miss a fair amount of this surge,” he said. “But better late than never. We have no idea how long this surge will last. This surge could go on for a couple of months.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Dr. Carlos del Rio, the executive associate dean of the Emory School of Medicine & Grady Health System, calls the move “a step in the right direction,” but warns that it falls short.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>He also insists that the U.S. needs a nationwide mask mandate.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Like other physicians contacted by NPR, Dr. Leana Wen doesn’t think 500 million tests will be enough.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Half a billion, though impressive-sounding, does not come even close to what’s needed,” she says.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Wen, an emergency physician and professor of health policy and management at George Washington University, says the Biden administration needs to provide enough tests “for all American families to be able to test twice a week, every week.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“It needs to become the norm to test before going to school and work, and before families and friends have dinner together,” she says.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch3>\u003cstrong>More aid to boost vaccines and help hospitals\u003c/strong>\u003c/h3>\n\u003cp>As part of this multipronged effort, the Federal Emergency Management Agency is deploying planning officials to assess needs across the country and preposition supplies like masks, gloves and ventilators.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The president announced that FEMA is standing up new pop-up vaccination clinics across the country. There are plans so far for a new mobile unit in Washington, D.C., and four new mobile units across New Mexico. FEMA will help set up additional sites in areas of high demand over the coming weeks.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Biden will also announce plans to beef up support for hospitals seeing high numbers of unvaccinated people who get sick from COVID.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The government will send ambulances and EMS workers to hot spots to help move people to places where there are open beds. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin will mobilize 1,000 doctors, nurses, medics and other military medical personnel to deploy to hospitals in January and February.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>For Wachter, this number of medical personnel feels like a “drop in the bucket.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[aside label ='Related Coverage' tag='coronavirus']“Starting with that number will be fine, but if it turns out to be woefully inaccurate, then everyone will be scrambling,” he said. “It’s going to be a bit of a free-for-all to figure out how we staff hospitals. If this hits hard, I doubt this will suffice.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The U.S.’s hard-hit areas will get a proper sense of what is needed in terms of additional medical personnel in a week or two, Wachter said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“It may be that number will need to be 5,000 to 10,000,” he said. “The question is whether the number will be there.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>NPR health correspondent Rob Stein contributed to this report.\u003c/em>\u003cbr>\n[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad floatright]\u003c/p>\n",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>It’s a major step to tackling problems Americans have faced in easily accessing free at-home COVID tests throughout the pandemic.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Biden sought to assure Americans who are vaccinated and boosted that they have a high degree of protection against severe illness. But he also made it clear that it will not be unusual for vaccinated people to get COVID-19, because of the new variant and that they will likely experience no symptoms or mild symptoms.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“They should feel comfortable celebrating Christmas and the holidays as they planned,” the administration official said, noting people should take regular precautions like wearing masks during travel.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Biden will not announce new restrictions on schools or businesses, White House press secretary Jen Psaki said Monday.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“This is not a speech about locking the country down. This is a speech outlining and being direct and clear with the American people about the benefits of being vaccinated, the steps we’re going to take to increase access and to increase testing, and the risks posed to unvaccinated individuals,” she said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>The U.S. government wants to change that.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The federal government will announce new federal testing sites across the country, including one in New York City that will open before Christmas.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In January, the government will also start a website where people can order at-home tests to be delivered for free. This will augment plans announced earlier this month to require private insurance companies to reimburse people for the tests.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Biden will also continue using the Defense Production Act and other powers to make sure the U.S. is producing as many tests as quickly as possible.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>These are all steps the administration should have made a while ago, said Dr. Robert M. Wachter, a professor and chairman of the Department of Medicine at UCSF.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Testing will only become more important as the U.S. continues to power through this surge, Wachter told NPR.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“It just needs to be freely available in the same way that vaccines have been,” he said of COVID-19 tests. “So that part is great. But because they are just starting now, it’s going to be a little bit late.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Wachter said it will take some time for the government to gear up production and mail them out.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Omicron is going to peak by mid-January, so it may miss a fair amount of this surge,” he said. “But better late than never. We have no idea how long this surge will last. This surge could go on for a couple of months.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Dr. Carlos del Rio, the executive associate dean of the Emory School of Medicine & Grady Health System, calls the move “a step in the right direction,” but warns that it falls short.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>He also insists that the U.S. needs a nationwide mask mandate.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Like other physicians contacted by NPR, Dr. Leana Wen doesn’t think 500 million tests will be enough.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Half a billion, though impressive-sounding, does not come even close to what’s needed,” she says.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Wen, an emergency physician and professor of health policy and management at George Washington University, says the Biden administration needs to provide enough tests “for all American families to be able to test twice a week, every week.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“It needs to become the norm to test before going to school and work, and before families and friends have dinner together,” she says.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch3>\u003cstrong>More aid to boost vaccines and help hospitals\u003c/strong>\u003c/h3>\n\u003cp>As part of this multipronged effort, the Federal Emergency Management Agency is deploying planning officials to assess needs across the country and preposition supplies like masks, gloves and ventilators.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The president announced that FEMA is standing up new pop-up vaccination clinics across the country. There are plans so far for a new mobile unit in Washington, D.C., and four new mobile units across New Mexico. FEMA will help set up additional sites in areas of high demand over the coming weeks.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Biden will also announce plans to beef up support for hospitals seeing high numbers of unvaccinated people who get sick from COVID.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The government will send ambulances and EMS workers to hot spots to help move people to places where there are open beds. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin will mobilize 1,000 doctors, nurses, medics and other military medical personnel to deploy to hospitals in January and February.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>For Wachter, this number of medical personnel feels like a “drop in the bucket.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>“Starting with that number will be fine, but if it turns out to be woefully inaccurate, then everyone will be scrambling,” he said. “It’s going to be a bit of a free-for-all to figure out how we staff hospitals. If this hits hard, I doubt this will suffice.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The U.S.’s hard-hit areas will get a proper sense of what is needed in terms of additional medical personnel in a week or two, Wachter said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“It may be that number will need to be 5,000 to 10,000,” he said. “The question is whether the number will be there.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>NPR health correspondent Rob Stein contributed to this report.\u003c/em>\u003cbr>\n\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"title": "Expecting 'Deluge of Omicron,' Santa Clara County Health Officials Urge Booster Shots, Masking",
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"content": "\u003cp>Santa Clara County public health officials on Thursday urged residents to get COVID-19 vaccine booster shots ahead of what they fear may be a widespread surge of new infections due to the omicron variant.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“When I look around the corner ahead, what I see is a deluge of omicron,” said Dr. Sara Cody, the county’s director of public health, in an afternoon press conference. “What I see is perhaps one of the most challenging moments we’ve had yet in the pandemic.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>While Cody said the county has recorded only 10 cases of the omicron variant — none of which required hospitalization — she pointed to two factors that portend a surge in infections.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>For one, omicron has now been detected in all four sewer sheds that county officials monitor, Cody said, indicating that the variant is present to some degree across most of the county’s population. Cody also pointed to the recent sharp spike in infection rates in highly vaccinated European countries, such as Norway and Denmark.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Recent studies indicate that both the Pfizer and Moderna vaccines are less effective against omicron than they have been against other strains of the virus. But tests also show that the heightened levels of antibodies in the blood of patients who received a booster shot of either vaccine have \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/11899272/omicron-evades-pfizer-and-moderna-vaccines-new-studies-suggest-but-boosters-help\">largely \u003c/a>\u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/11899272/omicron-evades-pfizer-and-moderna-vaccines-new-studies-suggest-but-boosters-help\">been \u003c/a>\u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/11899272/omicron-evades-pfizer-and-moderna-vaccines-new-studies-suggest-but-boosters-help\">successful in blocking the variant\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[aside postID=news_11896107 hero='https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2021/11/GettyImages-1234850823-1020x680.jpg']“We recommend booster shots for everybody who is eligible,” Cody said. “What’s really, really important to understand is that it’s the booster that increases your protection again, and makes it much less likely that you’ll go to the hospital or die, and much less likely that you’ll spread the infection to someone who is at greater risk.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But she also emphasized that boosters alone are not enough.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“This is about layers of prevention,” Cody said. “No single strategy works. We have to combine them. So in addition to vaccination and boosting, it’s so important to mask.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Santa Clara County was not among the \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/11899150/california-mask-mandate-update-these-bay-area-counties-are-exempt-state-now-says\">five Bay Area counties granted an exemption\u003c/a> this week to California’s new indoor mask mandate, meaning that people in the county must wear masks in most indoor public settings, regardless of vaccination status.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>With an eye to the upcoming holidays, Cody also recommended getting a rapid test before gathering indoors with others, and only gathering with those who also have been vaccinated and boosted.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Marty Fenstersheib, the county’s COVID-19 vaccine officer, said 80% of the county’s entire population has now been fully vaccinated. But as for boosters, “[we’re] not doing as well,” he said, noting that only 44% of eligible county residents 18 and older have received one so far.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Fenstersheib also noted the stark disparity in booster shot rates among the county’s Black and Latino residents as compared to Asian and white people. Roughly 50% of eligible Asian and white residents have received boosters, he said, compared to only 35% of eligible Black and Latino residents.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We have much work to be done in reaching out to communities in Santa Clara County, especially Latino and African American communities,” he said.[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cp>Santa Clara County public health officials on Thursday urged residents to get COVID-19 vaccine booster shots ahead of what they fear may be a widespread surge of new infections due to the omicron variant.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“When I look around the corner ahead, what I see is a deluge of omicron,” said Dr. Sara Cody, the county’s director of public health, in an afternoon press conference. “What I see is perhaps one of the most challenging moments we’ve had yet in the pandemic.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>While Cody said the county has recorded only 10 cases of the omicron variant — none of which required hospitalization — she pointed to two factors that portend a surge in infections.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>For one, omicron has now been detected in all four sewer sheds that county officials monitor, Cody said, indicating that the variant is present to some degree across most of the county’s population. Cody also pointed to the recent sharp spike in infection rates in highly vaccinated European countries, such as Norway and Denmark.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Recent studies indicate that both the Pfizer and Moderna vaccines are less effective against omicron than they have been against other strains of the virus. But tests also show that the heightened levels of antibodies in the blood of patients who received a booster shot of either vaccine have \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/11899272/omicron-evades-pfizer-and-moderna-vaccines-new-studies-suggest-but-boosters-help\">largely \u003c/a>\u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/11899272/omicron-evades-pfizer-and-moderna-vaccines-new-studies-suggest-but-boosters-help\">been \u003c/a>\u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/11899272/omicron-evades-pfizer-and-moderna-vaccines-new-studies-suggest-but-boosters-help\">successful in blocking the variant\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>“We recommend booster shots for everybody who is eligible,” Cody said. “What’s really, really important to understand is that it’s the booster that increases your protection again, and makes it much less likely that you’ll go to the hospital or die, and much less likely that you’ll spread the infection to someone who is at greater risk.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But she also emphasized that boosters alone are not enough.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“This is about layers of prevention,” Cody said. “No single strategy works. We have to combine them. So in addition to vaccination and boosting, it’s so important to mask.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Santa Clara County was not among the \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/11899150/california-mask-mandate-update-these-bay-area-counties-are-exempt-state-now-says\">five Bay Area counties granted an exemption\u003c/a> this week to California’s new indoor mask mandate, meaning that people in the county must wear masks in most indoor public settings, regardless of vaccination status.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>With an eye to the upcoming holidays, Cody also recommended getting a rapid test before gathering indoors with others, and only gathering with those who also have been vaccinated and boosted.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Marty Fenstersheib, the county’s COVID-19 vaccine officer, said 80% of the county’s entire population has now been fully vaccinated. But as for boosters, “[we’re] not doing as well,” he said, noting that only 44% of eligible county residents 18 and older have received one so far.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Fenstersheib also noted the stark disparity in booster shot rates among the county’s Black and Latino residents as compared to Asian and white people. Roughly 50% of eligible Asian and white residents have received boosters, he said, compared to only 35% of eligible Black and Latino residents.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We have much work to be done in reaching out to communities in Santa Clara County, especially Latino and African American communities,” he said.\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"disqusTitle": "California Spent $1.7 Billion on a COVID Testing Contract. Was It Worth It?",
"title": "California Spent $1.7 Billion on a COVID Testing Contract. Was It Worth It?",
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"content": "\u003cp>A patient sample that wasn’t processed for more than 30 days. A test used without proper validation of its accuracy. Patient results changed without notification. Safety and disinfection procedures called into question.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>These are just a few of the myriad problems at the Valencia Branch Laboratory — a public/private COVID-19 testing lab operated by \u003ca href=\"https://www.perkinelmer.com/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">PerkinElmer\u003c/a> in the Valencia neighborhood of Santa Clarita, a city north of Los Angeles — that the California Department of Public Health hired in a no-bid, \u003ca href=\"https://files.covid19.ca.gov/pdf/Perkinelmer-health-sciences-inc-CDPH.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">$1.7 billion annual contract\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>An inspection report released last month by the health department outlines \u003ca href=\"https://www.cdph.ca.gov/Programs/OSPHLD/LFS/Pages/VBL-issue-brief.aspx\">major problems\u003c/a> dating back further than a year ago, raising new questions about how the state is spending taxpayer dollars to combat the pandemic. The report shows the lab has routinely underperformed, failing to meet the contract’s goals for turnaround times and numbers of processed tests. But the state \u003ca href=\"https://calmatters.org/newsletters/whatmatters/2021/11/california-covid-testing-valencia-lab/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">auto-renewed the yearlong contract at the end of October\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Gov. Gavin Newsom and state health officials say the laboratory has been crucial to expanding the state’s testing capacity for schools and underserved communities.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But California’s two largest school districts — Los Angeles Unified and San Diego Unified — aren’t relying on the lab because it was unavailable when they needed it.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>A CalMatters analysis shows each test at the PerkinElmer Valencia lab costs the state more than three times the amount Los Angeles Unified pays a Bay Area start-up, SummerBio, for a test.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Already, the state has paid more than twice as much to PerkinElmer for 5.5 million tests as LA Unified’s total projected $350 million cost for the entire school year. The school year is less than half complete, but LA Unified already has administered 7.4 million COVID tests while never using the state’s PerkinElmer lab.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In the 10 months following its October 2020 opening, the lab processed between 1% and 8% of all COVID-19 tests administered in California each week, according to available data archived by CalMatters. During the first week of December, the lab processed roughly 8.5% of California’s tests, according to the most recently available data.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>PerkinElmer, a global testing diagnostic company, did not respond to a request for comment about the cost of the testing and the reported problems at the lab. [pullquote size=\"medium\" align=\"right\" citation=\"State Senator Scott Wilk, R-Santa Clarita\"]'CDPH probably should have canceled [the contract] because honestly, there's other vendors out there. They're doing it for a lot less money more efficiently.'[/pullquote]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>State health department officials, in an unsigned statement in response to questions, said the PerkinElmer contract was renewed because of the potential for a winter surge and continued need for testing.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But the health department’s report, which was released eight months after officials indicated it would be completed, revealed that inspectors from \u003ca href=\"https://testing.covid19.ca.gov/wp-content/uploads/sites/332/2021/02/Valencia-Branch-Laboratory-Inspection-FAQs-2.pdf?utm_source=CalMatters+Newsletters&utm_campaign=b8aff27a15-WHATMATTERS&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_faa7be558d-b8aff27a15-151559768&mc_cid=b8aff27a15&mc_eid=bf2b5333ad\">the state’s Laboratory Field Services threatened sanctions for major deficiencies\u003c/a> just 10 days before the contract was renewed.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The state public health department “probably should have canceled [the contract] because honestly, there’s other vendors out there. They’re doing it for a lot less money more efficiently,” Republican Senate Minority Leader Scott Wilk, who represents the area surrounding Valencia, told CalMatters.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Wilk has been the most \u003ca href=\"https://cssrc.us/content/wilk-halt-auto-renew-no-bid-covid-testing-lab-contract\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">outspoken critic\u003c/a> of the contract, repeatedly calling on the Newsom administration and the health department to halt the autorenewal. Wilk said his office is working on a proposal to reform the no-bid contracting powers that the Legislature granted Newsom at the beginning of the pandemic.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I think there have been abuses there,” Wilk said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c!-- iframe plugin v.4.3 wordpress.org/plugins/iframe/ -->\u003cbr>\n\u003ciframe src=\"https://flo.uri.sh/visualisation/8144310/embed?auto=1\" width=\"800\" height=\"650\" scrolling=\"yes\" class=\"iframe-class\" frameborder=\"0\">\u003c/iframe>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Public health experts and advocates say despite the lab’s troubles, it provides critical testing for smaller school districts, rural counties and underserved communities. Roughly \u003ca href=\"https://www.cdph.ca.gov/Programs/OSPHLD/LFS/Pages/VBL-issue-brief.aspx\">62% of tests processed at the lab are from communities of color\u003c/a>, with about a third from the state’s most underserved neighborhoods, based on the \u003ca href=\"https://healthyplacesindex.org/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">California Healthy Places Index\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In Madera County, for instance, the lab allowed the county and its partners to ramp up testing in a speedier time frame.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Valencia has been a net positive for Madera County. Residents would have been at a significant disadvantage without the combination of the Valencia lab and state contracts like the one with OptumServe,” said Sara Bosse, Madera County’s public health director.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch3>Could the state have gotten a better deal?\u003c/h3>\n\u003cp>The state currently pays PerkinElmer $37.78 per test, according to a \u003ca href=\"https://dof.ca.gov/budget/COVID-19/COVID-19_Allocations/documents/8-27-2020_COVID-19_Direct_Response_Update-Diagnostic_Testing.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Department of Finance analysis\u003c/a>, and charges schools $21 and community organizations $55 per test.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>That compares to $12 per test that LA Unified pays SummerBio.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>When the state contract was announced, it was hailed by local governments and health organizations as a \u003ca href=\"https://www.counties.org/press-release/counties-applaud-governor-doubling-testing-capacity-and-reducing-costs\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">cost-saving measure\u003c/a>. But as \u003ca href=\"https://sacramento.cbslocal.com/2021/02/08/whistleblower-allegations-california-covid-testing-lab/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">whistleblower reports\u003c/a> about lab failings emerged and vendors with more competitive pricing came online, many questioned why the state didn’t try to renegotiate a better price, which is allowed under the contract.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Compared to SummerBio’s pricing for LA Unified, \u003ca href=\"https://testing.covid19.ca.gov/wp-content/uploads/sites/332/2021/11/20211118_TAT_dashboard.pdf\">the state could have paid approximately $4.6 million less\u003c/a> for testing during the first week of December, the most recent week the lab’s testing numbers are available. (CalMatters calculated that amount by multiplying the number of tests conducted by the state by the rate charged by PerkinElmer versus the rate SummerBio charges LA Unified, and figuring the difference.)\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>LA Unified tests a dizzying half a million students and employees weekly and has been held up by proponents of testing and critics of the state government as a model for COVID-19 surveillance.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Former Superintendent Austin Beutner, who spearheaded the search for a cost-effective COVID-19 testing company at the time, said the district knew early on routine testing would be critical to bringing students back to school.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We said it’s got to be accurate, quick, high-volume and then the fourth piece was the price,” Beutner said. “In most cases, we were looking at north of 100 bucks. You do the math — 100 times half a million each week. That’s a lot of money.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[pullquote]The state has paid PerkinElmer about $740 million. In contrast, LA Unified will spend $350 million for the whole school year and tests far more people.[/pullquote] According to district documents, \u003ca href=\"https://s3.documentcloud.org/documents/7220891/LAUSD-Contract-With-COVID-19-Test-Provider.pdf\">22 companies were evaluated\u003c/a> through an expedited bidding process, and SummerBio offered the lowest price by far, between $38 and $166 less than other diagnostics companies, including major players like Curative and Fulgent.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The state has paid PerkinElmer about $740 million for testing in the past year. Most of the cost is recouped through federal funds and health insurance payments, according to the state health department. In contrast, LA Unified is projected to spend $350 million for the entire school year, and tests far more people per week than the Valencia lab. The district also will recoup the costs through federal school reopening grants and federal emergency funds.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Cost comparisons from laboratory to laboratory are difficult because a laboratory’s testing arrangements vary due to differences in the scope of their contracts and the set-up of each laboratory,” health officials said in an emailed statement.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The health department did not answer questions about whether other vendors were considered or whether the department has tried to negotiate a lower rate with PerkinElmer.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>SummerBio representatives declined to comment about the Valencia lab but said the company has been in contact with state officials.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Beutner said he notified the governor’s office about LA Unified’s plans as a courtesy, months before the PerkinElmer contract was announced. As the largest district in the state — and second largest in the nation — LA Unified’s contracts are often piggybacked by other districts and government organizations.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“The simplest way to put it is, they [state health officials] weren’t particularly responsive or interested,” Beutner said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>By the time the state laboratory opened in October 2020, LA Unified was well on its way to developing its own internal testing infrastructure. And the state test — which was $55 for schools at the time — was still far more expensive.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch3>Too little, too late — or a lifeline for schools?\u003c/h3>\n\u003cp>Like LA Unified, San Diego Unified School District began developing its testing plans well before the state’s PerkinElmer lab was a resource. The district tests around 25,000 students per week, which is approximately a quarter of its student population.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Just speaking from our experience, our district, we have always had to move quickly and establish our strategies because, you know, waiting for the state would just have taken too long,” Board President Richard Barrera said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>San Diego Unified conducts a limited amount of pooled testing through the state lab at no cost, but the bulk of its testing is done through a private vendor.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The district initially contracted with UC San Diego to offer tests to students and staff at around $40 per test before moving to another vendor, which charges about $60 per test, when the university could no longer handle its testing needs. At the time, there was little guidance from the state for school testing, which caused headaches for school administrators.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The state was charging schools $55, which made the district’s contract with UC San Diego cheaper. Now, although the school district is paying a private vendor much more than the state’s reduced price of $21, Barrera said it’s too late for the district to switch. The district has already built up capacity through a private vendor and established procedures for getting parental consent, notifying them of test results, training staff and contact tracing.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“The last thing we would want to do now that we’re finally able to scale with private vendors would be to then move away and do something with the state and then have the state’s program end,” he said. “Then we’re back to ramping up from scratch.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>State officials say the laboratory is needed to reach communities with few resources. Barrera said for smaller districts, the state support is likely crucial to keeping kids in classrooms.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Most school testing has been funded by the state through federal grants.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Long Beach Unified has been using the state’s PerkinElmer Valencia lab. But after January, Long Beach administrators say the district will be responsible for paying for testing. At the peak of its efforts, which averaged between 6,000 to 12,000 tests per day, Long Beach officials said other vendors couldn’t handle the volume, although there were some early issues concerning slow results from the state. At the now-reduced cost of $21 for school districts, Long Beach officials said the state laboratory is one of the cheaper testing options.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>South of Modesto, in Ceres Unified School District, administrators say they have worked closely with the state’s Valencia lab for molecular PCR testing. Several months ago they had issues with false positives from the laboratory.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We were informed by the lab that a few tests were positive, but when they retested with another organization they were negative,” said Edith Narayan, the district’s coordinator of student services. There have been no recent issues.[pullquote size=\"medium\" align=\"right\" citation=\"California Department of Public Health\"]'There are few companies that control the entirety of the supply chain … PerkinElmer was uniquely able.'[/pullquote] Officials in San Juan Unified School District, northeast of Sacramento, said supply chain shortages played a part in their decision to use the state testing program, which seemed like the most reliable “comprehensive, accessible and affordable” option. They have had one instance of delayed test processing and are generally satisfied with the program.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>State health department officials said in their statement that control of the supply chain was one of the reasons PerkinElmer was awarded the contract. “There are very few companies that control the entirety of the supply chain meaning that they not only build their own laboratory machines, they also produce all the necessary reagents and testing kits … PerkinElmer was uniquely able to address this particular testing constraint,” they said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Like smaller school districts, some rural counties have relied heavily on the PerkinElmer lab. In Tulare County, at least 23 public testing locations — both community sites and schools — send COVID testing samples to the state lab. In addition, local pharmacies and clinics contract with the state on their own, according to Tulare County Public Health.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In the past two decades, \u003ca href=\"https://calmatters.org/health/coronavirus/2021/06/california-counties-health-funds/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">11 public health labs have closed\u003c/a>, leaving the state with the same number of laboratory resources that it had in 1950 despite having more than three times the population.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“They need to keep funding [the Valencia lab],” said Kat DeBurgh, executive director of the Health Officers Association of California. The issues that came with opening a laboratory in a hurry would have been avoidable if local public health infrastructure had been funded adequately to begin with, she said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I hope after the pandemic, our state lawmakers and the people in charge of the budget recognize that we can’t be in this state where we spend a lot of money on immediate solutions that are necessary and then let the infrastructure dwindle until the next emergency,” DeBurgh said.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch3>Lab didn't live up to promised capacity\u003c/h3>\n\u003cp>\u003ca href=\"https://calmatters.org/health/coronavirus/2020/10/newsom-pledges-more-covid-19-testing-capacity-with-new-lab/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">When the lab opened\u003c/a> in October 2020, it was built with the \u003ca href=\"https://calmatters.org/health/coronavirus/2020/10/newsom-pledges-more-covid-19-testing-capacity-with-new-lab/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">promise to process 150,000 tests per day\u003c/a>, doubling the state’s capacity at a time when local public health departments, commercial labs and health systems were straining to keep up. However, commercial labs and health systems have simultaneously ramped up capacity and accounted for the bulk of testing throughout California.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The lab processes a daily average of 40,000 tests, according to state health officials.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But the PerkinElmer Valencia lab has routinely processed far fewer results than its commercial counterparts, at times less than 4% of the state’s total tests during the summer of 2021, according to available data archived by CalMatters.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The state \u003ca href=\"https://testing.covid19.ca.gov/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Testing Task Force\u003c/a> posts the number of tests processed online weekly but deletes the previous week’s records, so CalMatters used a web scraper to compile historical data between August 2020 and December 2021, after a public records request to the health department yielded minimal documents.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Demand for testing dropped statewide during the summer, so the lab processed on average 75,000 samples and as few as 28,000 samples per week — a small fraction of the daily capacity of 150,000 tests promised by the Newsom administration.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c!-- iframe plugin v.4.3 wordpress.org/plugins/iframe/ -->\u003cbr>\n\u003ciframe src=\"https://public.flourish.studio/visualisation/8144785/embed?auto=1\" width=\"800\" height=\"650\" scrolling=\"yes\" class=\"iframe-class\" frameborder=\"0\">\u003c/iframe>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In their anonymous statement, health department officials said the lab has the capacity but has never been asked to ramp up to the maximum. However, in mid-September, the lab had to send overflow samples to another lab even though it hadn’t reached the contract’s 150,000 capacity, according to the health department.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>It wasn’t until schools opened in August that the lab began processing more than 10% of the state’s tests. In contrast, commercial labs have accounted for 60% to 70% of all tests, while medical centers account for roughly 20%.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>At times, SummerBio alone has processed a greater proportion of tests than all public health labs combined, reaching nearly 20% in mid-September.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>At the state’s PerkinElmer lab, aside from capacity concerns, the state’s report from April highlighted \u003ca href=\"https://www.cdph.ca.gov/Programs/OSPHLD/LFS/CDPH%20Document%20Library/VBL/Complaint/State2567%20Complaint%20Investigation%20CDPH%20Branch%20Lab%2004222021%20(002)_Redacted.pdf\">four instances between Nov. 14 and Dec. 1 of last year where groups of test results were “corrected” or “amended,”\u003c/a> but there was no evidence that patients were promptly notified, meaning they may have inaccurately thought they tested positive or negative. Inspectors also reported that when the lab lost tests, instead of reporting them as lost, it labeled the samples “unsatisfactory.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>State health officials said the problems found in the inspection reports have since been resolved.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>DeBurgh, the director of the Health Officers Association, said the state has a responsibility to ensure testing is available to everyone regardless of cost or insurance status. Because commercial labs won’t be around forever, the state needs the Valencia lab for long-term public health beyond the pandemic, she said. “Right now, it’s profitable to give COVID-19 tests. That’s not going to be true forever. And yet we are still going to need the tests,” she said. [aside tag=\"covid, testing\" label=\"More Related Stories\"]Elaine Howle, who is stepping down this month after leading the State Auditor office for 21 years, \u003ca href=\"https://calmatters.org/politics/2021/11/california-state-auditor-exit-interview/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">said in a November CalMatters interview\u003c/a> that auto-renewal of contracts like the PerkinElmer one “may be something that’s particularly concerning, particularly if, as you say, there were some reporting requirements and those weren’t met.” Her office has reviewed use of federal money but has not reviewed no-bid contracts.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I’m aware that there are no-bid contracts out there,” she said. “I wasn’t aware of a contract that size that auto-renewed.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Sacramento-based public contract lawyer Jennifer Dauer said it’s not uncommon for government’s competitive bidding requirements to be suspended or autorenewal of contracts to occur during emergencies like the pandemic or wildfires.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>She said there tends to be little oversight once a contract is signed, particularly during states of emergency. The courts tend to side with public entities, leaving the public to serve as the watchdog.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“There is extreme deference to what public entities who are dealing with emergencies do in their contracting,” said Dauer, who has worked with companies pursuing local, state and federal contracts. “The traffic cop is the public, and it’s an uphill battle.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Wilk said as the pandemic evolved, and once issues at the laboratory became apparent, the state should have, at minimum, renegotiated the contract rather than renew it on the same terms.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad floatright]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Renegotiate and get a better deal for the taxpayers,” he said.\u003c/p>\n\n",
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"excerpt": "The Valencia lab, a public/private venture between the state and PerkinElmer, processed only 1% to 8% of all of California's COVID tests in the first 10 months of the contract. And the lab was riddled with dozens of problems, according to an inspection report.",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cp>A patient sample that wasn’t processed for more than 30 days. A test used without proper validation of its accuracy. Patient results changed without notification. Safety and disinfection procedures called into question.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>These are just a few of the myriad problems at the Valencia Branch Laboratory — a public/private COVID-19 testing lab operated by \u003ca href=\"https://www.perkinelmer.com/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">PerkinElmer\u003c/a> in the Valencia neighborhood of Santa Clarita, a city north of Los Angeles — that the California Department of Public Health hired in a no-bid, \u003ca href=\"https://files.covid19.ca.gov/pdf/Perkinelmer-health-sciences-inc-CDPH.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">$1.7 billion annual contract\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>An inspection report released last month by the health department outlines \u003ca href=\"https://www.cdph.ca.gov/Programs/OSPHLD/LFS/Pages/VBL-issue-brief.aspx\">major problems\u003c/a> dating back further than a year ago, raising new questions about how the state is spending taxpayer dollars to combat the pandemic. The report shows the lab has routinely underperformed, failing to meet the contract’s goals for turnaround times and numbers of processed tests. But the state \u003ca href=\"https://calmatters.org/newsletters/whatmatters/2021/11/california-covid-testing-valencia-lab/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">auto-renewed the yearlong contract at the end of October\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Gov. Gavin Newsom and state health officials say the laboratory has been crucial to expanding the state’s testing capacity for schools and underserved communities.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But California’s two largest school districts — Los Angeles Unified and San Diego Unified — aren’t relying on the lab because it was unavailable when they needed it.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>A CalMatters analysis shows each test at the PerkinElmer Valencia lab costs the state more than three times the amount Los Angeles Unified pays a Bay Area start-up, SummerBio, for a test.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Already, the state has paid more than twice as much to PerkinElmer for 5.5 million tests as LA Unified’s total projected $350 million cost for the entire school year. The school year is less than half complete, but LA Unified already has administered 7.4 million COVID tests while never using the state’s PerkinElmer lab.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In the 10 months following its October 2020 opening, the lab processed between 1% and 8% of all COVID-19 tests administered in California each week, according to available data archived by CalMatters. During the first week of December, the lab processed roughly 8.5% of California’s tests, according to the most recently available data.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>PerkinElmer, a global testing diagnostic company, did not respond to a request for comment about the cost of the testing and the reported problems at the lab. \u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "'CDPH probably should have canceled [the contract] because honestly, there's other vendors out there. They're doing it for a lot less money more efficiently.'",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>State health department officials, in an unsigned statement in response to questions, said the PerkinElmer contract was renewed because of the potential for a winter surge and continued need for testing.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But the health department’s report, which was released eight months after officials indicated it would be completed, revealed that inspectors from \u003ca href=\"https://testing.covid19.ca.gov/wp-content/uploads/sites/332/2021/02/Valencia-Branch-Laboratory-Inspection-FAQs-2.pdf?utm_source=CalMatters+Newsletters&utm_campaign=b8aff27a15-WHATMATTERS&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_faa7be558d-b8aff27a15-151559768&mc_cid=b8aff27a15&mc_eid=bf2b5333ad\">the state’s Laboratory Field Services threatened sanctions for major deficiencies\u003c/a> just 10 days before the contract was renewed.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The state public health department “probably should have canceled [the contract] because honestly, there’s other vendors out there. They’re doing it for a lot less money more efficiently,” Republican Senate Minority Leader Scott Wilk, who represents the area surrounding Valencia, told CalMatters.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Wilk has been the most \u003ca href=\"https://cssrc.us/content/wilk-halt-auto-renew-no-bid-covid-testing-lab-contract\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">outspoken critic\u003c/a> of the contract, repeatedly calling on the Newsom administration and the health department to halt the autorenewal. Wilk said his office is working on a proposal to reform the no-bid contracting powers that the Legislature granted Newsom at the beginning of the pandemic.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I think there have been abuses there,” Wilk said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c!-- iframe plugin v.4.3 wordpress.org/plugins/iframe/ -->\u003cbr>\n\u003ciframe src=\"https://flo.uri.sh/visualisation/8144310/embed?auto=1\" width=\"800\" height=\"650\" scrolling=\"yes\" class=\"iframe-class\" frameborder=\"0\">\u003c/iframe>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Public health experts and advocates say despite the lab’s troubles, it provides critical testing for smaller school districts, rural counties and underserved communities. Roughly \u003ca href=\"https://www.cdph.ca.gov/Programs/OSPHLD/LFS/Pages/VBL-issue-brief.aspx\">62% of tests processed at the lab are from communities of color\u003c/a>, with about a third from the state’s most underserved neighborhoods, based on the \u003ca href=\"https://healthyplacesindex.org/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">California Healthy Places Index\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In Madera County, for instance, the lab allowed the county and its partners to ramp up testing in a speedier time frame.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Valencia has been a net positive for Madera County. Residents would have been at a significant disadvantage without the combination of the Valencia lab and state contracts like the one with OptumServe,” said Sara Bosse, Madera County’s public health director.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch3>Could the state have gotten a better deal?\u003c/h3>\n\u003cp>The state currently pays PerkinElmer $37.78 per test, according to a \u003ca href=\"https://dof.ca.gov/budget/COVID-19/COVID-19_Allocations/documents/8-27-2020_COVID-19_Direct_Response_Update-Diagnostic_Testing.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Department of Finance analysis\u003c/a>, and charges schools $21 and community organizations $55 per test.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>That compares to $12 per test that LA Unified pays SummerBio.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>When the state contract was announced, it was hailed by local governments and health organizations as a \u003ca href=\"https://www.counties.org/press-release/counties-applaud-governor-doubling-testing-capacity-and-reducing-costs\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">cost-saving measure\u003c/a>. But as \u003ca href=\"https://sacramento.cbslocal.com/2021/02/08/whistleblower-allegations-california-covid-testing-lab/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">whistleblower reports\u003c/a> about lab failings emerged and vendors with more competitive pricing came online, many questioned why the state didn’t try to renegotiate a better price, which is allowed under the contract.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Compared to SummerBio’s pricing for LA Unified, \u003ca href=\"https://testing.covid19.ca.gov/wp-content/uploads/sites/332/2021/11/20211118_TAT_dashboard.pdf\">the state could have paid approximately $4.6 million less\u003c/a> for testing during the first week of December, the most recent week the lab’s testing numbers are available. (CalMatters calculated that amount by multiplying the number of tests conducted by the state by the rate charged by PerkinElmer versus the rate SummerBio charges LA Unified, and figuring the difference.)\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>LA Unified tests a dizzying half a million students and employees weekly and has been held up by proponents of testing and critics of the state government as a model for COVID-19 surveillance.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Former Superintendent Austin Beutner, who spearheaded the search for a cost-effective COVID-19 testing company at the time, said the district knew early on routine testing would be critical to bringing students back to school.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We said it’s got to be accurate, quick, high-volume and then the fourth piece was the price,” Beutner said. “In most cases, we were looking at north of 100 bucks. You do the math — 100 times half a million each week. That’s a lot of money.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "The state has paid PerkinElmer about $740 million. In contrast, LA Unified will spend $350 million for the whole school year and tests far more people.",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp> According to district documents, \u003ca href=\"https://s3.documentcloud.org/documents/7220891/LAUSD-Contract-With-COVID-19-Test-Provider.pdf\">22 companies were evaluated\u003c/a> through an expedited bidding process, and SummerBio offered the lowest price by far, between $38 and $166 less than other diagnostics companies, including major players like Curative and Fulgent.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The state has paid PerkinElmer about $740 million for testing in the past year. Most of the cost is recouped through federal funds and health insurance payments, according to the state health department. In contrast, LA Unified is projected to spend $350 million for the entire school year, and tests far more people per week than the Valencia lab. The district also will recoup the costs through federal school reopening grants and federal emergency funds.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Cost comparisons from laboratory to laboratory are difficult because a laboratory’s testing arrangements vary due to differences in the scope of their contracts and the set-up of each laboratory,” health officials said in an emailed statement.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The health department did not answer questions about whether other vendors were considered or whether the department has tried to negotiate a lower rate with PerkinElmer.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>SummerBio representatives declined to comment about the Valencia lab but said the company has been in contact with state officials.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Beutner said he notified the governor’s office about LA Unified’s plans as a courtesy, months before the PerkinElmer contract was announced. As the largest district in the state — and second largest in the nation — LA Unified’s contracts are often piggybacked by other districts and government organizations.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“The simplest way to put it is, they [state health officials] weren’t particularly responsive or interested,” Beutner said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>By the time the state laboratory opened in October 2020, LA Unified was well on its way to developing its own internal testing infrastructure. And the state test — which was $55 for schools at the time — was still far more expensive.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch3>Too little, too late — or a lifeline for schools?\u003c/h3>\n\u003cp>Like LA Unified, San Diego Unified School District began developing its testing plans well before the state’s PerkinElmer lab was a resource. The district tests around 25,000 students per week, which is approximately a quarter of its student population.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Just speaking from our experience, our district, we have always had to move quickly and establish our strategies because, you know, waiting for the state would just have taken too long,” Board President Richard Barrera said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>San Diego Unified conducts a limited amount of pooled testing through the state lab at no cost, but the bulk of its testing is done through a private vendor.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The district initially contracted with UC San Diego to offer tests to students and staff at around $40 per test before moving to another vendor, which charges about $60 per test, when the university could no longer handle its testing needs. At the time, there was little guidance from the state for school testing, which caused headaches for school administrators.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The state was charging schools $55, which made the district’s contract with UC San Diego cheaper. Now, although the school district is paying a private vendor much more than the state’s reduced price of $21, Barrera said it’s too late for the district to switch. The district has already built up capacity through a private vendor and established procedures for getting parental consent, notifying them of test results, training staff and contact tracing.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“The last thing we would want to do now that we’re finally able to scale with private vendors would be to then move away and do something with the state and then have the state’s program end,” he said. “Then we’re back to ramping up from scratch.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>State officials say the laboratory is needed to reach communities with few resources. Barrera said for smaller districts, the state support is likely crucial to keeping kids in classrooms.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Most school testing has been funded by the state through federal grants.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Long Beach Unified has been using the state’s PerkinElmer Valencia lab. But after January, Long Beach administrators say the district will be responsible for paying for testing. At the peak of its efforts, which averaged between 6,000 to 12,000 tests per day, Long Beach officials said other vendors couldn’t handle the volume, although there were some early issues concerning slow results from the state. At the now-reduced cost of $21 for school districts, Long Beach officials said the state laboratory is one of the cheaper testing options.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>South of Modesto, in Ceres Unified School District, administrators say they have worked closely with the state’s Valencia lab for molecular PCR testing. Several months ago they had issues with false positives from the laboratory.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We were informed by the lab that a few tests were positive, but when they retested with another organization they were negative,” said Edith Narayan, the district’s coordinator of student services. There have been no recent issues.\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "'There are few companies that control the entirety of the supply chain … PerkinElmer was uniquely able.'",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp> Officials in San Juan Unified School District, northeast of Sacramento, said supply chain shortages played a part in their decision to use the state testing program, which seemed like the most reliable “comprehensive, accessible and affordable” option. They have had one instance of delayed test processing and are generally satisfied with the program.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>State health department officials said in their statement that control of the supply chain was one of the reasons PerkinElmer was awarded the contract. “There are very few companies that control the entirety of the supply chain meaning that they not only build their own laboratory machines, they also produce all the necessary reagents and testing kits … PerkinElmer was uniquely able to address this particular testing constraint,” they said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Like smaller school districts, some rural counties have relied heavily on the PerkinElmer lab. In Tulare County, at least 23 public testing locations — both community sites and schools — send COVID testing samples to the state lab. In addition, local pharmacies and clinics contract with the state on their own, according to Tulare County Public Health.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In the past two decades, \u003ca href=\"https://calmatters.org/health/coronavirus/2021/06/california-counties-health-funds/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">11 public health labs have closed\u003c/a>, leaving the state with the same number of laboratory resources that it had in 1950 despite having more than three times the population.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“They need to keep funding [the Valencia lab],” said Kat DeBurgh, executive director of the Health Officers Association of California. The issues that came with opening a laboratory in a hurry would have been avoidable if local public health infrastructure had been funded adequately to begin with, she said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I hope after the pandemic, our state lawmakers and the people in charge of the budget recognize that we can’t be in this state where we spend a lot of money on immediate solutions that are necessary and then let the infrastructure dwindle until the next emergency,” DeBurgh said.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch3>Lab didn't live up to promised capacity\u003c/h3>\n\u003cp>\u003ca href=\"https://calmatters.org/health/coronavirus/2020/10/newsom-pledges-more-covid-19-testing-capacity-with-new-lab/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">When the lab opened\u003c/a> in October 2020, it was built with the \u003ca href=\"https://calmatters.org/health/coronavirus/2020/10/newsom-pledges-more-covid-19-testing-capacity-with-new-lab/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">promise to process 150,000 tests per day\u003c/a>, doubling the state’s capacity at a time when local public health departments, commercial labs and health systems were straining to keep up. However, commercial labs and health systems have simultaneously ramped up capacity and accounted for the bulk of testing throughout California.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The lab processes a daily average of 40,000 tests, according to state health officials.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But the PerkinElmer Valencia lab has routinely processed far fewer results than its commercial counterparts, at times less than 4% of the state’s total tests during the summer of 2021, according to available data archived by CalMatters.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The state \u003ca href=\"https://testing.covid19.ca.gov/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Testing Task Force\u003c/a> posts the number of tests processed online weekly but deletes the previous week’s records, so CalMatters used a web scraper to compile historical data between August 2020 and December 2021, after a public records request to the health department yielded minimal documents.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Demand for testing dropped statewide during the summer, so the lab processed on average 75,000 samples and as few as 28,000 samples per week — a small fraction of the daily capacity of 150,000 tests promised by the Newsom administration.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c!-- iframe plugin v.4.3 wordpress.org/plugins/iframe/ -->\u003cbr>\n\u003ciframe src=\"https://public.flourish.studio/visualisation/8144785/embed?auto=1\" width=\"800\" height=\"650\" scrolling=\"yes\" class=\"iframe-class\" frameborder=\"0\">\u003c/iframe>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In their anonymous statement, health department officials said the lab has the capacity but has never been asked to ramp up to the maximum. However, in mid-September, the lab had to send overflow samples to another lab even though it hadn’t reached the contract’s 150,000 capacity, according to the health department.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>It wasn’t until schools opened in August that the lab began processing more than 10% of the state’s tests. In contrast, commercial labs have accounted for 60% to 70% of all tests, while medical centers account for roughly 20%.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>At times, SummerBio alone has processed a greater proportion of tests than all public health labs combined, reaching nearly 20% in mid-September.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>At the state’s PerkinElmer lab, aside from capacity concerns, the state’s report from April highlighted \u003ca href=\"https://www.cdph.ca.gov/Programs/OSPHLD/LFS/CDPH%20Document%20Library/VBL/Complaint/State2567%20Complaint%20Investigation%20CDPH%20Branch%20Lab%2004222021%20(002)_Redacted.pdf\">four instances between Nov. 14 and Dec. 1 of last year where groups of test results were “corrected” or “amended,”\u003c/a> but there was no evidence that patients were promptly notified, meaning they may have inaccurately thought they tested positive or negative. Inspectors also reported that when the lab lost tests, instead of reporting them as lost, it labeled the samples “unsatisfactory.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>State health officials said the problems found in the inspection reports have since been resolved.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>DeBurgh, the director of the Health Officers Association, said the state has a responsibility to ensure testing is available to everyone regardless of cost or insurance status. Because commercial labs won’t be around forever, the state needs the Valencia lab for long-term public health beyond the pandemic, she said. “Right now, it’s profitable to give COVID-19 tests. That’s not going to be true forever. And yet we are still going to need the tests,” she said. \u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>Elaine Howle, who is stepping down this month after leading the State Auditor office for 21 years, \u003ca href=\"https://calmatters.org/politics/2021/11/california-state-auditor-exit-interview/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">said in a November CalMatters interview\u003c/a> that auto-renewal of contracts like the PerkinElmer one “may be something that’s particularly concerning, particularly if, as you say, there were some reporting requirements and those weren’t met.” Her office has reviewed use of federal money but has not reviewed no-bid contracts.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I’m aware that there are no-bid contracts out there,” she said. “I wasn’t aware of a contract that size that auto-renewed.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Sacramento-based public contract lawyer Jennifer Dauer said it’s not uncommon for government’s competitive bidding requirements to be suspended or autorenewal of contracts to occur during emergencies like the pandemic or wildfires.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>She said there tends to be little oversight once a contract is signed, particularly during states of emergency. The courts tend to side with public entities, leaving the public to serve as the watchdog.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“There is extreme deference to what public entities who are dealing with emergencies do in their contracting,” said Dauer, who has worked with companies pursuing local, state and federal contracts. “The traffic cop is the public, and it’s an uphill battle.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Wilk said as the pandemic evolved, and once issues at the laboratory became apparent, the state should have, at minimum, renegotiated the contract rather than renew it on the same terms.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Renegotiate and get a better deal for the taxpayers,” he said.\u003c/p>\n\n\u003c/div>\u003c/p>",
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"disqusTitle": "California Regulators Extend COVID-19 Workplace Safety Rules, With Some Key Revisions",
"title": "California Regulators Extend COVID-19 Workplace Safety Rules, With Some Key Revisions",
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"content": "\u003cp>California workplace regulators on Thursday extended the state's coronavirus pandemic regulations into next year, with some revisions that business groups say could worsen the labor shortage.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The revised temporary rules from the California Occupational Safety and Health Standards Board erase current distinctions between vaccinated and unvaccinated employees.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Both will be prohibited from the workplace if they come in close contact with someone infected with the virus, under rules that will be in effect from Jan. 14 through April 14.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The \u003ca href=\"https://www.dir.ca.gov/dosh/DoshReg/covid-19-emergency-standards/Proposed-second-readoption.pdf\">revised temporary rules \u003c/a>require that exposed vaccinated workers with no symptoms stay home for 14 days even if they test negative or, if they return to work, wear masks and stay 6 feet away from others for two weeks.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The rules apply to almost every workplace in the state, including offices, factories and retail locations.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The seven-member safety board is the policymaking arm of what is known as Cal/OSHA. It adopted the revised rules without discussion on a 6-1 vote, with only management representative Kate Crawford opposed.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The California Chamber of Commerce opposes the revisions, said Rob Moutrie, a policy advocate for the group.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Treating vaccinated and unvaccinated people similarly really denies the scientific value of the vaccine and disincentivizes vaccination,” he said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But groups representing workers support the change. Mitch Steiger, a legislative advocate for the California Labor Federation, said regulators were foolish to loosen the restrictions in June, under pressure from employers, and are smart to tighten them now.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[aside label=\"Related Stories\" postID=\"news_11892838,news_11848307,news_11878490\"]“It’s good that we’re realizing that vaccines aren’t the silver bullet to get us out of this,” Steiger said. “There’s never a good time to start disarming against COVID-19.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The safety board’s adoption of the revised rules comes a day after California reinstituted a temporary indoor masking mandate for vaccinated and unvaccinated people — \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/11899150/california-mask-mandate-update-these-bay-area-counties-are-exempt-state-now-says\">with plenty of exemptions\u003c/a> — in a bid to slow the spread of the virus as people prepare to travel and gather for the holidays.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The proposed California workplace rule changes recognize \"the science that vaccinated people can transmit the virus, and early reports show that to be especially true with omicron,” said Saskia Kim, regulatory policy specialist with the California Nurses Association.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Under the state's current workplace rules, vaccinated employees can keep working even if they've been exposed, unless they show symptoms — under the assumption that the vaccine generally will protect them.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Other states besides California that adopted emergency COVID-19 workplace safety measures include Michigan, Oregon and Virginia.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The Biden administration has ordered all U.S. employers with more than 100 workers to require their employees to be vaccinated, to be tested regularly or to wear masks at work, starting Jan. 4. But the order is stalled amid court challenges from Republican-led states and fears among employers that the rules could make the labor shortage worse.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The California Chamber of Commerce led a coalition of about 60 business groups arguing in a letter to the state safety board that vaccinations are still largely effective and usually prevent serious illness and death even if there are breakthrough infections.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The new rules that require testing, even of vaccinated workers with no symptoms, could also strain the availability of rapid tests and boost employers’ costs, said the groups, which include agribusiness, retailers, home builders, restaurateurs and manufacturers, along with some cities and counties.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The stricter safeguards “will only worsen the present labor shortage affecting California workplaces,” Moutrie predicted. “Moreover, reinstituting social distancing on a per-person basis is just not feasible in many workplaces” that would have to physically move workstations or equipment.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Motion Picture Association of America Vice President and Senior Counsel Melissa Patack told the board that the rules aren’t feasible for filming movies, television shows or commercials because “actors cannot wear masks while performing.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>She added that workers doing hair and makeup for actors can't stay 6 feet apart, adding that proposed rules “could result in the shutdown of many productions.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The safety board conformed its \u003ca href=\"https://www.dir.ca.gov/oshsb/COVID-19-Prevention-Emergency.html\">current regulations\u003c/a> to general statewide standards imposed by Gov. Gavin Newsom in June, after weeks of intrigue during which the board first postponed, then rejected, then adopted, then rescinded earlier proposed rules that would have conflicted with Newsom’s broader directive.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Labor groups generally have not objected to the latest changes.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But they are upset that other \u003ca href=\"https://www.dir.ca.gov/dosh/DoshReg/covid-19-emergency-standards/COVID-19_Prevention-Regulatory-Language-Discussion-DRAFT-AF.pdf\">proposed rules that the board plans to consider\u003c/a> in March 2022 would eliminate employer-paid sick leave for workers who are exposed to or contract the virus.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>If the proposed elimination stands, “workers will be forced to make the impossible decision of going to work while sick or staying home without pay,\" Stephen Knight, executive director of the labor advocacy group \u003ca href=\"https://worksafe.org/\">Worksafe\u003c/a>, said in an \u003ca href=\"https://actionnetwork.org/petitions/reinstate-exclusion-pay-support-frontline-essential-workers-today\">online petition\u003c/a> to the Cal/OSHA board.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The board on Thursday also hosted a panel discussion on how it should handle future pandemic regulations, prompted by a proposal last month by the Western Steel Council.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The group suggested in \u003ca href=\"https://www.dir.ca.gov/oshsb/documents/petition-594.pdf\">a letter to the board\u003c/a> that the whole regulatory process has become so complicated, and the nature of the pandemic is so ever-changing, that the board should stop trying to set its own workplace rules, and instead simply instruct businesses to follow the state Department of Public Health’s evolving guidelines.\u003c/p>\n\n",
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"excerpt": "Under the revised temporary rules, in effect from Jan. 14 through April 14, both vaccinated and unvaccinated workers who have come in close contact with someone infected with the virus have to either stay home for two weeks or wear a mask and keep 6 feet apart from others.",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cp>California workplace regulators on Thursday extended the state's coronavirus pandemic regulations into next year, with some revisions that business groups say could worsen the labor shortage.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The revised temporary rules from the California Occupational Safety and Health Standards Board erase current distinctions between vaccinated and unvaccinated employees.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Both will be prohibited from the workplace if they come in close contact with someone infected with the virus, under rules that will be in effect from Jan. 14 through April 14.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The \u003ca href=\"https://www.dir.ca.gov/dosh/DoshReg/covid-19-emergency-standards/Proposed-second-readoption.pdf\">revised temporary rules \u003c/a>require that exposed vaccinated workers with no symptoms stay home for 14 days even if they test negative or, if they return to work, wear masks and stay 6 feet away from others for two weeks.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The rules apply to almost every workplace in the state, including offices, factories and retail locations.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The seven-member safety board is the policymaking arm of what is known as Cal/OSHA. It adopted the revised rules without discussion on a 6-1 vote, with only management representative Kate Crawford opposed.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The California Chamber of Commerce opposes the revisions, said Rob Moutrie, a policy advocate for the group.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Treating vaccinated and unvaccinated people similarly really denies the scientific value of the vaccine and disincentivizes vaccination,” he said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But groups representing workers support the change. Mitch Steiger, a legislative advocate for the California Labor Federation, said regulators were foolish to loosen the restrictions in June, under pressure from employers, and are smart to tighten them now.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>“It’s good that we’re realizing that vaccines aren’t the silver bullet to get us out of this,” Steiger said. “There’s never a good time to start disarming against COVID-19.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The safety board’s adoption of the revised rules comes a day after California reinstituted a temporary indoor masking mandate for vaccinated and unvaccinated people — \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/11899150/california-mask-mandate-update-these-bay-area-counties-are-exempt-state-now-says\">with plenty of exemptions\u003c/a> — in a bid to slow the spread of the virus as people prepare to travel and gather for the holidays.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The proposed California workplace rule changes recognize \"the science that vaccinated people can transmit the virus, and early reports show that to be especially true with omicron,” said Saskia Kim, regulatory policy specialist with the California Nurses Association.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Under the state's current workplace rules, vaccinated employees can keep working even if they've been exposed, unless they show symptoms — under the assumption that the vaccine generally will protect them.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Other states besides California that adopted emergency COVID-19 workplace safety measures include Michigan, Oregon and Virginia.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The Biden administration has ordered all U.S. employers with more than 100 workers to require their employees to be vaccinated, to be tested regularly or to wear masks at work, starting Jan. 4. But the order is stalled amid court challenges from Republican-led states and fears among employers that the rules could make the labor shortage worse.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The California Chamber of Commerce led a coalition of about 60 business groups arguing in a letter to the state safety board that vaccinations are still largely effective and usually prevent serious illness and death even if there are breakthrough infections.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The new rules that require testing, even of vaccinated workers with no symptoms, could also strain the availability of rapid tests and boost employers’ costs, said the groups, which include agribusiness, retailers, home builders, restaurateurs and manufacturers, along with some cities and counties.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The stricter safeguards “will only worsen the present labor shortage affecting California workplaces,” Moutrie predicted. “Moreover, reinstituting social distancing on a per-person basis is just not feasible in many workplaces” that would have to physically move workstations or equipment.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Motion Picture Association of America Vice President and Senior Counsel Melissa Patack told the board that the rules aren’t feasible for filming movies, television shows or commercials because “actors cannot wear masks while performing.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>She added that workers doing hair and makeup for actors can't stay 6 feet apart, adding that proposed rules “could result in the shutdown of many productions.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The safety board conformed its \u003ca href=\"https://www.dir.ca.gov/oshsb/COVID-19-Prevention-Emergency.html\">current regulations\u003c/a> to general statewide standards imposed by Gov. Gavin Newsom in June, after weeks of intrigue during which the board first postponed, then rejected, then adopted, then rescinded earlier proposed rules that would have conflicted with Newsom’s broader directive.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Labor groups generally have not objected to the latest changes.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But they are upset that other \u003ca href=\"https://www.dir.ca.gov/dosh/DoshReg/covid-19-emergency-standards/COVID-19_Prevention-Regulatory-Language-Discussion-DRAFT-AF.pdf\">proposed rules that the board plans to consider\u003c/a> in March 2022 would eliminate employer-paid sick leave for workers who are exposed to or contract the virus.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>If the proposed elimination stands, “workers will be forced to make the impossible decision of going to work while sick or staying home without pay,\" Stephen Knight, executive director of the labor advocacy group \u003ca href=\"https://worksafe.org/\">Worksafe\u003c/a>, said in an \u003ca href=\"https://actionnetwork.org/petitions/reinstate-exclusion-pay-support-frontline-essential-workers-today\">online petition\u003c/a> to the Cal/OSHA board.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The board on Thursday also hosted a panel discussion on how it should handle future pandemic regulations, prompted by a proposal last month by the Western Steel Council.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The group suggested in \u003ca href=\"https://www.dir.ca.gov/oshsb/documents/petition-594.pdf\">a letter to the board\u003c/a> that the whole regulatory process has become so complicated, and the nature of the pandemic is so ever-changing, that the board should stop trying to set its own workplace rules, and instead simply instruct businesses to follow the state Department of Public Health’s evolving guidelines.\u003c/p>\n\n\u003c/div>\u003c/p>",
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"content": "\u003cp>\u003cem>Updated 2:00 p.m. Wednesday\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>There’s more mixed news about the power of vaccines to protect people against the omicron variant — this time about the Moderna vaccine.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>A preliminary study made public Wednesday studied blood samples in the lab from 30 people who had gotten two Moderna shots, and it found that the antibodies in their blood are at least about 50 times less effective at neutralizing the omicron variant of the coronavirus.[pullquote size=\"medium\" align=\"right\" citation=\"David Montefiori, a virologist at Duke University School of Medicine\"]‘What these results are telling us is that if omicron becomes a dominant variant, it’s going to become even more important that people get their boost.’[/pullquote]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Previous research had indicated the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine also is less protective against omicron.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“The antibodies that people make after they get the standard two inoculations of the Moderna mRNA vaccine are 50 times less effective against omicron than they are against the original form of the virus,” says \u003ca href=\"https://dhvi.duke.edu/montefiori-david-charles\">David Montefiori\u003c/a>, a virologist at Duke University School of Medicine, who helped conduct the study.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But there is good news. too. An additional 17 people in the study had received a Moderna booster. And the antibodies in their blood were highly effective at blocking the omicron variant — essentially about as effective as they are at blocking the delta variant, Montefiori says.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“What these results are telling us is that if omicron becomes a dominant variant, it’s going to become even more important that people get their boost,” Montefiori says.[aside postID=\"news_11897696,news_11898949,forum_2010101886902\" label=\"Related Posts\"] That would be especially important for older people and people with health problems that put them at increased risk, he says.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>These\u003ca href=\"https://www.npr.org/sections/goatsandsoda/2021/12/08/1062352212/studies-suggest-sharp-drop-in-vaccine-protection-v-omicron-yet-cause-for-optimis\"> findings are similar \u003c/a>to those of studies done in labs on the blood of people who had gotten the Pfizer vaccine. Those also showed that people’s antibodies were markedly less potent against omicron.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The \u003ca href=\"https://medrxiv.org/cgi/content/short/2021.12.15.21267805v1\">latest study\u003c/a>, which has been released on a preprint server but has not yet been reviewed by other scientists, involved testing antibodies in the blood of vaccinated people against a “pseudovirus,” which is a virus created in a lab to mimic the mutations found in the omicron variant.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Based on the findings, Montefiori says, a new vaccine specifically targeting omicron probably won’t be needed. During a White House briefing Wednesday, Dr. Anthony Fauci of the National Institutes of Health echoed that sentiment, both for the Pfizer and Moderna vaccines.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Our booster vaccine regimens work against omicron. At this point, there is no need for a variant-specific booster,” Fauci said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Scientists are doing similar experiments testing the Johnson & Johnson vaccine alone, as well as the J&J vaccine with a Pfizer booster, and expect to have some results by early next week.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Public health experts are alarmed by the omicron variant because it has more mutations than any previous SARS-CoV-2 mutants and appears to be the most contagious variant yet.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Originally spotted in South Africa, the variant is spreading quickly around the globe. It already has been detected in at least 33 U.S. states and appears to be spreading fast. The \u003ca href=\"https://covid.cdc.gov/covid-data-tracker/#variant-proportions\">latest estimate\u003c/a> from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is that omicron already accounts for about 3% of the samples the agency has analyzed, which is about a sevenfold jump from a week earlier.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The variant is already far more common than that in some parts of the country, such as in the New York and New Jersey area, where it’s showing up in 13% of cases, according to the CDC.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Omicron spreads so fast that it’s on track to overtake delta and become the dominant variant in the U.S. within weeks, raising fears it could accelerate the delta surge already underway.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We could be facing very severe surges, very severe strains on our health care systems under the worst-case scenarios,” says \u003ca href=\"http://www.bio.utexas.edu/research/meyers/LaurenM/index.html\">Lauren Ancel Meyers\u003c/a> of the University of Texas at Austin, who has been modeling the possible impact of omicron on the United States.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I’m worried,” she says. “We don’t want to be caught unprepared.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Data coming out of South Africa and the U.K. indicates that vaccinated people can still catch the omicron variant and can still end up in the hospital, but may not get as sick. But there are many questions about whether that would be the case in the U.S., where there aren’t necessarily as many people who have added protection from natural exposure to the virus.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Nevertheless, the variant could still overwhelm the health system.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“While as a public health community we are still learning about the severity of cases caused by the omicron variant, modeling shows that even if it is less severe, the sheer number of cases that could come from a variant with the level of transmissibility that we are seeing in other countries could overrun our health care system resources, especially if it coincides with the current delta wave and flu season,” says \u003ca href=\"https://www.naco.org/people/adriane-casalotti\">Adriane Casalotti\u003c/a> of the National Association of County and City Health Officials.\u003c/p>\n\u003cdiv class=\"fullattribution\">Copyright 2021 NPR. To see more, visit npr.org.\u003cimg decoding=\"async\" src=\"https://www.google-analytics.com/__utm.gif?utmac=UA-5828686-4&utmdt=Omicron+evades+Moderna+vaccine+too%2C+study+suggests%2C+but+boosters+help&utme=8(APIKey)9(MDAxOTAwOTE4MDEyMTkxMDAzNjczZDljZA004)\">\u003c/div>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cp>\u003cem>Updated 2:00 p.m. Wednesday\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>There’s more mixed news about the power of vaccines to protect people against the omicron variant — this time about the Moderna vaccine.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>A preliminary study made public Wednesday studied blood samples in the lab from 30 people who had gotten two Moderna shots, and it found that the antibodies in their blood are at least about 50 times less effective at neutralizing the omicron variant of the coronavirus.\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Previous research had indicated the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine also is less protective against omicron.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“The antibodies that people make after they get the standard two inoculations of the Moderna mRNA vaccine are 50 times less effective against omicron than they are against the original form of the virus,” says \u003ca href=\"https://dhvi.duke.edu/montefiori-david-charles\">David Montefiori\u003c/a>, a virologist at Duke University School of Medicine, who helped conduct the study.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But there is good news. too. An additional 17 people in the study had received a Moderna booster. And the antibodies in their blood were highly effective at blocking the omicron variant — essentially about as effective as they are at blocking the delta variant, Montefiori says.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“What these results are telling us is that if omicron becomes a dominant variant, it’s going to become even more important that people get their boost,” Montefiori says.\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp> That would be especially important for older people and people with health problems that put them at increased risk, he says.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>These\u003ca href=\"https://www.npr.org/sections/goatsandsoda/2021/12/08/1062352212/studies-suggest-sharp-drop-in-vaccine-protection-v-omicron-yet-cause-for-optimis\"> findings are similar \u003c/a>to those of studies done in labs on the blood of people who had gotten the Pfizer vaccine. Those also showed that people’s antibodies were markedly less potent against omicron.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The \u003ca href=\"https://medrxiv.org/cgi/content/short/2021.12.15.21267805v1\">latest study\u003c/a>, which has been released on a preprint server but has not yet been reviewed by other scientists, involved testing antibodies in the blood of vaccinated people against a “pseudovirus,” which is a virus created in a lab to mimic the mutations found in the omicron variant.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Based on the findings, Montefiori says, a new vaccine specifically targeting omicron probably won’t be needed. During a White House briefing Wednesday, Dr. Anthony Fauci of the National Institutes of Health echoed that sentiment, both for the Pfizer and Moderna vaccines.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Our booster vaccine regimens work against omicron. At this point, there is no need for a variant-specific booster,” Fauci said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Scientists are doing similar experiments testing the Johnson & Johnson vaccine alone, as well as the J&J vaccine with a Pfizer booster, and expect to have some results by early next week.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Public health experts are alarmed by the omicron variant because it has more mutations than any previous SARS-CoV-2 mutants and appears to be the most contagious variant yet.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Originally spotted in South Africa, the variant is spreading quickly around the globe. It already has been detected in at least 33 U.S. states and appears to be spreading fast. The \u003ca href=\"https://covid.cdc.gov/covid-data-tracker/#variant-proportions\">latest estimate\u003c/a> from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is that omicron already accounts for about 3% of the samples the agency has analyzed, which is about a sevenfold jump from a week earlier.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The variant is already far more common than that in some parts of the country, such as in the New York and New Jersey area, where it’s showing up in 13% of cases, according to the CDC.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Omicron spreads so fast that it’s on track to overtake delta and become the dominant variant in the U.S. within weeks, raising fears it could accelerate the delta surge already underway.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We could be facing very severe surges, very severe strains on our health care systems under the worst-case scenarios,” says \u003ca href=\"http://www.bio.utexas.edu/research/meyers/LaurenM/index.html\">Lauren Ancel Meyers\u003c/a> of the University of Texas at Austin, who has been modeling the possible impact of omicron on the United States.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I’m worried,” she says. “We don’t want to be caught unprepared.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Data coming out of South Africa and the U.K. indicates that vaccinated people can still catch the omicron variant and can still end up in the hospital, but may not get as sick. But there are many questions about whether that would be the case in the U.S., where there aren’t necessarily as many people who have added protection from natural exposure to the virus.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Nevertheless, the variant could still overwhelm the health system.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“While as a public health community we are still learning about the severity of cases caused by the omicron variant, modeling shows that even if it is less severe, the sheer number of cases that could come from a variant with the level of transmissibility that we are seeing in other countries could overrun our health care system resources, especially if it coincides with the current delta wave and flu season,” says \u003ca href=\"https://www.naco.org/people/adriane-casalotti\">Adriane Casalotti\u003c/a> of the National Association of County and City Health Officials.\u003c/p>\n\u003cdiv class=\"fullattribution\">Copyright 2021 NPR. To see more, visit npr.org.\u003cimg decoding=\"async\" src=\"https://www.google-analytics.com/__utm.gif?utmac=UA-5828686-4&utmdt=Omicron+evades+Moderna+vaccine+too%2C+study+suggests%2C+but+boosters+help&utme=8(APIKey)9(MDAxOTAwOTE4MDEyMTkxMDAzNjczZDljZA004)\">\u003c/div>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"disqusTitle": "California Brings Back Temporary Statewide Indoor Mask Mandate as Omicron Cases Rise",
"title": "California Brings Back Temporary Statewide Indoor Mask Mandate as Omicron Cases Rise",
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"content": "\u003cp>Starting Wednesday, California is bringing back a rule requiring everyone — vaccinated or unvaccinated — to wear a mask indoors, a move aimed at containing the new highly infectious omicron variant of the coronavirus as people gather with family and friends during the holidays.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The new mandate will last until Jan. 15, Gov. Gavin Newsom’s administration announced Monday. The order comes as the per capita rate of new COVID-19 cases in California \u003ca href=\"https://covid19.ca.gov/state-dashboard/#todays-update\">has jumped 47% in the past two weeks\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We know people are tired and hungry for normalcy. Frankly, I am, too,” California Health and Human Services Secretary Dr. Mark Ghaly said Monday. “That said, this is a critical time where we have a tool that we know has worked and can work.\"\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Ghaly noted that \u003cspan data-pm-slice='1 1 [\"paragraph-wrapper\",{},\"paragraph\",{\"id\":\"p0-0\"}]'>even a 10% increase in indoor masking can reduce case transmission significantly and encouraged better ventilation indoors.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>California lifted its statewide mask mandate for vaccinated people on June 15, a date Newsom heralded as the state's grand reopening. But since then, a number of county governments representing about half the state's population — including most of the Bay Area — have imposed their own indoor mask mandates as case rates surged with new variants.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But even in a number those counties, the new state mandate will temporarily roll back rules in certain settings where mask requirements have largely been lifted, including most offices where everyone is vaccinated in San Francisco, Alameda and Contra Costa counties, and most public settings in Marin County, where vaccination rates are among the highest in the country.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The new mask mandate will cover people everywhere else in the state, but state officials on Monday were unclear about how it would be enforced. Ghaly said enforcement would likely be stronger in some places than others, but he urged Californians to heed the warnings and wear masks.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We know that there's going to be people who don't necessarily agree with this, who are tired, who aren't going to mask,” Ghaly said. “We hope that those are few and far between, that most people see the purpose of doing this over the next month as something to protect them and their communities during a very tough time.”[aside label=\"related coverage\" tag=\"covid-19\"]California also is tightening existing testing requirements by ordering unvaccinated people attending indoor events of 1,000 people or more to have a negative test taken within the past one or two days, depending on the type of test. Additionally, the state is recommending travelers who visit or return to California to get tested within five days of their arrival.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Since the start of the pandemic some 20 months ago, the governor has issued a slew of coronavirus-related mandates, including requiring \u003ca href=\"https://apnews.com/article/government-and-politics-health-california-coronavirus-pandemic-c2c3dbfcf66e41ef77f3f0dbb15ca12f\">state employees\u003c/a>, \u003ca href=\"https://apnews.com/article/business-health-california-coronavirus-pandemic-cf83723c62ef658c9f5837beb9f85910\">health care workers\u003c/a> and now \u003ca href=\"https://apnews.com/article/coronavirus-pandemic-health-education-california-gavin-newsom-575ef3be2c5c2600664fa48c08041abd\">public school students and teachers\u003c/a> to be vaccinated. Newsom's authority to do so exists under the emergency declaration he issued at the beginning of the pandemic, one that will remain in place until either he lifts it or the state Legislature votes to end it.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>State Assemblymember Kevin Kiley, a Republican representing the Sacramento suburbs who ran against Newsom for governor during an unsuccessful recall election earlier this year, has routinely tried and failed to get the Democratic-dominated Legislature to end the state’s emergency declaration.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I think that people are incredibly frustrated with this notion that these choices should be made by one person rather than in the way that our country and state are supposed to work, which is all of us together having a say and having the freedom to make choices for ourselves,” Kiley said. “Gavin Newsom is taking actions that go far beyond what any other governor or any other state has done.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>California joins other states with similar indoor mask mandates, including Washington, Oregon, Illinois, New Mexico, Nevada, Hawaii and New York. But other Democratic governors have resisted new restrictions, including Gov. Jared Polis of Colorado, who told \u003ca href=\"https://www.cpr.org/2021/12/10/interview-gov-jared-polis-mask-mandates-covid/\">Colorado Public Radio\u003c/a> last week that “the emergency is over” and “public health [officials] don’t get to tell people what to wear.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>State officials are afraid of a repeat of last winter, when the state averaged more than 100 cases per 100,000 people during a monster winter surge of the virus, and nearly 20,000 people died over eight weeks.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But that surge was before vaccines were available. Today, more than 70% of California's residents who are eligible have been fully vaccinated against the coronavirus. Even with the recent increase in cases, the state is averaging a little more than 14 cases per day per 100,000 people.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Even so, Ghaly said hospitals in several counties with low vaccination rates are still struggling with lots of patients; those counties include Riverside, San Bernardino, Mono and Inyo. And, he warned, coronavirus hospitalizations often increase in the weeks following a jump in new cases.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We are proactively putting this tool of universal indoor masking in public settings in place to ensure we get through a time of joy and hope without a darker cloud of concern and despair,” Ghaly said. “Californians have done this before, and we of course believe we can do it again.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n",
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"excerpt": "The indoor mask mandate will resume on Wednesday and last until Jan. 15. The order comes as the per capita rate of new coronavirus cases in California has jumped 47% in the past two weeks. ",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cp>Starting Wednesday, California is bringing back a rule requiring everyone — vaccinated or unvaccinated — to wear a mask indoors, a move aimed at containing the new highly infectious omicron variant of the coronavirus as people gather with family and friends during the holidays.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The new mandate will last until Jan. 15, Gov. Gavin Newsom’s administration announced Monday. The order comes as the per capita rate of new COVID-19 cases in California \u003ca href=\"https://covid19.ca.gov/state-dashboard/#todays-update\">has jumped 47% in the past two weeks\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We know people are tired and hungry for normalcy. Frankly, I am, too,” California Health and Human Services Secretary Dr. Mark Ghaly said Monday. “That said, this is a critical time where we have a tool that we know has worked and can work.\"\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Ghaly noted that \u003cspan data-pm-slice='1 1 [\"paragraph-wrapper\",{},\"paragraph\",{\"id\":\"p0-0\"}]'>even a 10% increase in indoor masking can reduce case transmission significantly and encouraged better ventilation indoors.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>California lifted its statewide mask mandate for vaccinated people on June 15, a date Newsom heralded as the state's grand reopening. But since then, a number of county governments representing about half the state's population — including most of the Bay Area — have imposed their own indoor mask mandates as case rates surged with new variants.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But even in a number those counties, the new state mandate will temporarily roll back rules in certain settings where mask requirements have largely been lifted, including most offices where everyone is vaccinated in San Francisco, Alameda and Contra Costa counties, and most public settings in Marin County, where vaccination rates are among the highest in the country.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The new mask mandate will cover people everywhere else in the state, but state officials on Monday were unclear about how it would be enforced. Ghaly said enforcement would likely be stronger in some places than others, but he urged Californians to heed the warnings and wear masks.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We know that there's going to be people who don't necessarily agree with this, who are tired, who aren't going to mask,” Ghaly said. “We hope that those are few and far between, that most people see the purpose of doing this over the next month as something to protect them and their communities during a very tough time.”\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>California also is tightening existing testing requirements by ordering unvaccinated people attending indoor events of 1,000 people or more to have a negative test taken within the past one or two days, depending on the type of test. Additionally, the state is recommending travelers who visit or return to California to get tested within five days of their arrival.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Since the start of the pandemic some 20 months ago, the governor has issued a slew of coronavirus-related mandates, including requiring \u003ca href=\"https://apnews.com/article/government-and-politics-health-california-coronavirus-pandemic-c2c3dbfcf66e41ef77f3f0dbb15ca12f\">state employees\u003c/a>, \u003ca href=\"https://apnews.com/article/business-health-california-coronavirus-pandemic-cf83723c62ef658c9f5837beb9f85910\">health care workers\u003c/a> and now \u003ca href=\"https://apnews.com/article/coronavirus-pandemic-health-education-california-gavin-newsom-575ef3be2c5c2600664fa48c08041abd\">public school students and teachers\u003c/a> to be vaccinated. Newsom's authority to do so exists under the emergency declaration he issued at the beginning of the pandemic, one that will remain in place until either he lifts it or the state Legislature votes to end it.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>State Assemblymember Kevin Kiley, a Republican representing the Sacramento suburbs who ran against Newsom for governor during an unsuccessful recall election earlier this year, has routinely tried and failed to get the Democratic-dominated Legislature to end the state’s emergency declaration.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I think that people are incredibly frustrated with this notion that these choices should be made by one person rather than in the way that our country and state are supposed to work, which is all of us together having a say and having the freedom to make choices for ourselves,” Kiley said. “Gavin Newsom is taking actions that go far beyond what any other governor or any other state has done.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>California joins other states with similar indoor mask mandates, including Washington, Oregon, Illinois, New Mexico, Nevada, Hawaii and New York. But other Democratic governors have resisted new restrictions, including Gov. Jared Polis of Colorado, who told \u003ca href=\"https://www.cpr.org/2021/12/10/interview-gov-jared-polis-mask-mandates-covid/\">Colorado Public Radio\u003c/a> last week that “the emergency is over” and “public health [officials] don’t get to tell people what to wear.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>State officials are afraid of a repeat of last winter, when the state averaged more than 100 cases per 100,000 people during a monster winter surge of the virus, and nearly 20,000 people died over eight weeks.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But that surge was before vaccines were available. Today, more than 70% of California's residents who are eligible have been fully vaccinated against the coronavirus. Even with the recent increase in cases, the state is averaging a little more than 14 cases per day per 100,000 people.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Even so, Ghaly said hospitals in several counties with low vaccination rates are still struggling with lots of patients; those counties include Riverside, San Bernardino, Mono and Inyo. And, he warned, coronavirus hospitalizations often increase in the weeks following a jump in new cases.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We are proactively putting this tool of universal indoor masking in public settings in place to ensure we get through a time of joy and hope without a darker cloud of concern and despair,” Ghaly said. “Californians have done this before, and we of course believe we can do it again.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"info": "What kind of no sabo word is Hyphenación? For us, it’s about living within a hyphenation. Like being a third-gen Mexican-American from the Texas border now living that Bay Area Chicano life. Like Xorje! Each week we bring together a couple of hyphenated Latinos to talk all about personal life choices: family, careers, relationships, belonging … everything is on the table. ",
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"info": "Our flagship program, helmed by Kai Ryssdal, examines what the day in money delivered, through stories, conversations, newsworthy numbers and more. Updated Monday through Friday at about 3:30 p.m. PT.",
"airtime": "MON-FRI 4pm-4:30pm, MON-WED 6:30pm-7pm",
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"masters-of-scale": {
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},
"mindshift": {
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"info": "The MindShift podcast explores the innovations in education that are shaping how kids learn. Hosts Ki Sung and Katrina Schwartz introduce listeners to educators, researchers, parents and students who are developing effective ways to improve how kids learn. We cover topics like how fed-up administrators are developing surprising tactics to deal with classroom disruptions; how listening to podcasts are helping kids develop reading skills; the consequences of overparenting; and why interdisciplinary learning can engage students on all ends of the traditional achievement spectrum. This podcast is part of the MindShift education site, a division of KQED News. KQED is an NPR/PBS member station based in San Francisco. You can also visit the MindShift website for episodes and supplemental blog posts or tweet us \u003ca href=\"https://twitter.com/MindShiftKQED\">@MindShiftKQED\u003c/a> or visit us at \u003ca href=\"/mindshift\">MindShift.KQED.org\u003c/a>",
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"order": 12
},
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"google": "https://podcasts.google.com/feed/aHR0cHM6Ly9mZWVkcy5tZWdhcGhvbmUuZm0vS1FJTkM1NzY0NjAwNDI5",
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"tagline": "Deeply-reported investigative journalism",
"info": "For decades, the process for how police police themselves has been inconsistent – if not opaque. In some states, like California, these proceedings were completely hidden. After a new police transparency law unsealed scores of internal affairs files, our reporters set out to examine these cases and the shadow world of police discipline. On Our Watch brings listeners into the rooms where officers are questioned and witnesses are interrogated to find out who this system is really protecting. Is it the officers, or the public they've sworn to serve?",
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"on-the-media": {
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"title": "On The Media",
"info": "Our weekly podcast explores how the media 'sausage' is made, casts an incisive eye on fluctuations in the marketplace of ideas, and examines threats to the freedom of information and expression in America and abroad. For one hour a week, the show tries to lift the veil from the process of \"making media,\" especially news media, because it's through that lens that we see the world and the world sees us",
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},
"pbs-newshour": {
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},
"perspectives": {
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"order": 14
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"info": "The economy explained. Imagine you could call up a friend and say, Meet me at the bar and tell me what's going on with the economy. Now imagine that's actually a fun evening.",
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"imageSrc": "https://ww2.kqed.org/radio/wp-content/uploads/sites/50/2018/04/planetmoney.jpg",
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},
"link": "/radio/program/planet-money",
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},
"politicalbreakdown": {
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"title": "Political Breakdown",
"tagline": "Politics from a personal perspective",
"info": "Political Breakdown is a new series that explores the political intersection of California and the nation. Each week hosts Scott Shafer and Marisa Lagos are joined with a new special guest to unpack politics -- with personality — and offer an insider’s glimpse at how politics happens.",
"airtime": "THU 6:30pm-7pm",
"imageSrc": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/Political-Breakdown-2024-Podcast-Tile-703x703-1.jpg",
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"order": 5
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"possible": {
"id": "possible",
"title": "Possible",
"info": "Possible is hosted by entrepreneur Reid Hoffman and writer Aria Finger. Together in Possible, Hoffman and Finger lead enlightening discussions about building a brighter collective future. The show features interviews with visionary guests like Trevor Noah, Sam Altman and Janette Sadik-Khan. Possible paints an optimistic portrait of the world we can create through science, policy, business, art and our shared humanity. It asks: What if everything goes right for once? How can we get there? Each episode also includes a short fiction story generated by advanced AI GPT-4, serving as a thought-provoking springboard to speculate how humanity could leverage technology for good.",
"airtime": "SUN 2pm",
"imageSrc": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/Possible-Podcast-Tile-360x360-1.jpg",
"officialWebsiteLink": "https://www.possible.fm/",
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"source": "Possible"
},
"link": "/radio/program/possible",
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"spotify": "https://open.spotify.com/show/730YpdUSNlMyPQwNnyjp4k"
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},
"pri-the-world": {
"id": "pri-the-world",
"title": "PRI's The World: Latest Edition",
"info": "Each weekday, host Marco Werman and his team of producers bring you the world's most interesting stories in an hour of radio that reminds us just how small our planet really is.",
"airtime": "MON-FRI 2pm-3pm",
"imageSrc": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/The-World-Podcast-Tile-360x360-1.jpg",
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},
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},
"radiolab": {
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