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"content": "\u003cp>An attempt by San Francisco leaders to hold an outdoor question-and-answer session about the city’s drug crisis was thwarted Tuesday afternoon after protesters at United Nations Plaza shouted over Mayor London Breed and Board of Supervisors President Aaron Peskin.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>After retreating to City Hall, Breed and Peskin — who had requested the special off-site location for the full Board of Supervisors meeting to put a spotlight on problems in the area — continued to discuss how the city is addressing ongoing problems with open-air drug dealing, drug use and dangerous street conditions, all of which UN Plaza has come to symbolize.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Breed touted many of the mental health services and programs the city has under her leadership and praised efforts to prioritize treatment over punitive approaches. But she also said accountability has been lacking, and suggested that the city’s public health-based approaches have reached their limits of efficacy in tackling the current crisis.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Force is going to have to be a part of it, whether people like it or not. We’re going to have to do more,” Breed told the Board of Supervisors inside City Hall, in response to a question from Peskin about whether she intended to clear outdoor drug dealing and potentially reignite emergency orders, such as the one she \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/11899726/sf-mayor-breed-declares-state-of-emergency-in-tenderloin\">declared in 2021 for the Tenderloin neighborhood\u003c/a>; for 90 days, the order galvanized multiple city departments to address challenges in the area.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“At the end of the day, we can’t just keep throwing up our hands and think all of a sudden what we are doing is working,” she said. “Compassion is killing people. And we have to push forth some tough love to change what’s happening on the streets of San Francisco.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Although Breed did not specifically comment on a potential new emergency order, she highlighted the San Francisco Police Department’s new partnership with the California Highway Patrol and the California Army National Guard, or CalGuard — \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/11948062/newsom-taps-chp-national-guard-to-fight-san-franciscos-fentanyl-crisis\">announced by Gov. Gavin Newsom at the end of April\u003c/a> — targeting drug trafficking and dealing in the city.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We can’t force the state and the feds to come to the table, but finally they are coming to the table in a way that’s not necessarily traditional,” Breed said. “They are invited to work with us even to the point where if they want to oversee the operation … we will follow direction. Whatever it takes. I am willing to humble the city to do whatever is necessary to get to a better place.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Breed also asked the board to pass her upcoming budget without any reductions and to “support the arrests for those who are struggling with addiction, especially when they break the law, to get them into drug treatment court and the support they so desperately need.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Supervisor Dean Preston, whose district includes the Tenderloin, compared the approach to tough-on-crime drug policies known collectively as the war on drugs, which began in the ’70s under President Richard Nixon and was greatly expanded in the ’80s under President Ronald Reagan. Black men in particular were vastly overrepresented in the increased arrests during the crack and heroin epidemics.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“What she’s proposing is arresting people for drug use. And that is a key part of the war on drugs, and it does nothing other than get people off the streets temporarily — and then in the end, increased drug use and increased overdoses,” Preston told KQED. “The only thing that this accomplishes is getting people out of sight for a few hours at a very high price to the city.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In a press release, Preston later added: “If the Mayor, Supervisors, and other City leaders care about the Tenderloin, they should make sure the Tenderloin gets the investments the community needs in the budget process, support our $10 million emergency Tenderloin public safety supplemental, deliver the long promised Tenderloin wellness hub without further delay, house people who are unhoused, and make treatment on demand a reality.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_11950525\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 1920px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-11950525\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2023/05/RS65801_010_KQED_LondonBreedQA_05232023-qut.jpg\" alt=\"A middle-aged Black man stands behind a camera, in a crowd, shouting.\" width=\"1920\" height=\"1280\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/05/RS65801_010_KQED_LondonBreedQA_05232023-qut.jpg 1920w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/05/RS65801_010_KQED_LondonBreedQA_05232023-qut-800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/05/RS65801_010_KQED_LondonBreedQA_05232023-qut-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/05/RS65801_010_KQED_LondonBreedQA_05232023-qut-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/05/RS65801_010_KQED_LondonBreedQA_05232023-qut-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1920px) 100vw, 1920px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">A protester shouts during an unusual public Q&A session with San Francisco Mayor London Breed and Board of Supervisors President Aaron Peskin. \u003ccite>(Beth LaBerge/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>The city is currently developing a pilot program to address when someone on the street is “so far under the influence of drugs that they may pose a danger to themselves or others,” according to a spokesperson for the city’s Department of Emergency Management.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The program, which could involve enforcing public intoxication laws, will be included in the mayor’s upcoming budget proposal.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“The uncomfortable conversations have to happen. I get that people have an issue that we are getting more aggressive to people with addiction,” Breed told the board. “I’m one of those people. I lost a sister to drug overdose.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But while Breed’s sister struggled to access treatment services years ago, Breed said, many more facilities and beds have become available under her leadership, and the wait time for treatment has since dropped.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Public health and addiction advocates, however, stress that there are still not enough resources to meet the need San Francisco is facing due to fentanyl, an opioid 50 times more potent than heroin that has led to a spike in overdose deaths in the city in recent years.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>And they point to research that has shown that more incarceration could lead to higher overdose rates among offenders shortly after their release.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[aside label=\"related coverage\" tag=\"fentanyl\"]Located in the heart of San Francisco a short walk from City Hall, the historic UN Plaza is flanked by the Orpheum Theater to the west and Market Street to the south. On Wednesdays, it hosts one of the city’s largest farmers markets. But the plaza has also become ground zero for debates over policing the drug use and sales that frequently occur there.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Around 100 people gathered in the plaza Tuesday for the unusual, short-lived Board of Supervisors meeting, which \u003ca href=\"https://sfstandard.com/politics/political-theater-mayor-london-breed-drug-crisis-united-nations-plaza-aaron-peskin/\">cost more than $4,000 to stage, according to The San Francisco Standard\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>One protester allegedly threw a brick toward the speaking area after Supervisor Peskin recessed the outdoor hearing and moved it back to City Hall.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Other demonstrators held signs and demanded justice for Banko Brown, a 24-year-old Black trans man who was shot and killed by a Walgreens security guard last month. \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/11949558/district-attorney-releases-video-of-banko-brown-shooting-at-walgreens-wont-files-charges-against-security-gaurd\">District Attorney Brooke Jenkins recently declined to prosecute the guard.\u003c/a>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Mayor London Breed needs to step down. She could not handle it,” said Charie Pittman, one of the protesters, who said she works at a shelter in the Bayview. “It is over her head. She has too much piled up on her plate, starting from COVID, chemical warfare, racism and religion.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>KQED’s Joe Fitzgerald Rodriguez contributed to this story.\u003c/em>\u003cbr>\n\u003cem>This story has been updated.\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad floatright]\u003c/p>\n",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cp>An attempt by San Francisco leaders to hold an outdoor question-and-answer session about the city’s drug crisis was thwarted Tuesday afternoon after protesters at United Nations Plaza shouted over Mayor London Breed and Board of Supervisors President Aaron Peskin.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>After retreating to City Hall, Breed and Peskin — who had requested the special off-site location for the full Board of Supervisors meeting to put a spotlight on problems in the area — continued to discuss how the city is addressing ongoing problems with open-air drug dealing, drug use and dangerous street conditions, all of which UN Plaza has come to symbolize.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Breed touted many of the mental health services and programs the city has under her leadership and praised efforts to prioritize treatment over punitive approaches. But she also said accountability has been lacking, and suggested that the city’s public health-based approaches have reached their limits of efficacy in tackling the current crisis.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Force is going to have to be a part of it, whether people like it or not. We’re going to have to do more,” Breed told the Board of Supervisors inside City Hall, in response to a question from Peskin about whether she intended to clear outdoor drug dealing and potentially reignite emergency orders, such as the one she \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/11899726/sf-mayor-breed-declares-state-of-emergency-in-tenderloin\">declared in 2021 for the Tenderloin neighborhood\u003c/a>; for 90 days, the order galvanized multiple city departments to address challenges in the area.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“At the end of the day, we can’t just keep throwing up our hands and think all of a sudden what we are doing is working,” she said. “Compassion is killing people. And we have to push forth some tough love to change what’s happening on the streets of San Francisco.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Although Breed did not specifically comment on a potential new emergency order, she highlighted the San Francisco Police Department’s new partnership with the California Highway Patrol and the California Army National Guard, or CalGuard — \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/11948062/newsom-taps-chp-national-guard-to-fight-san-franciscos-fentanyl-crisis\">announced by Gov. Gavin Newsom at the end of April\u003c/a> — targeting drug trafficking and dealing in the city.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We can’t force the state and the feds to come to the table, but finally they are coming to the table in a way that’s not necessarily traditional,” Breed said. “They are invited to work with us even to the point where if they want to oversee the operation … we will follow direction. Whatever it takes. I am willing to humble the city to do whatever is necessary to get to a better place.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Breed also asked the board to pass her upcoming budget without any reductions and to “support the arrests for those who are struggling with addiction, especially when they break the law, to get them into drug treatment court and the support they so desperately need.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Supervisor Dean Preston, whose district includes the Tenderloin, compared the approach to tough-on-crime drug policies known collectively as the war on drugs, which began in the ’70s under President Richard Nixon and was greatly expanded in the ’80s under President Ronald Reagan. Black men in particular were vastly overrepresented in the increased arrests during the crack and heroin epidemics.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“What she’s proposing is arresting people for drug use. And that is a key part of the war on drugs, and it does nothing other than get people off the streets temporarily — and then in the end, increased drug use and increased overdoses,” Preston told KQED. “The only thing that this accomplishes is getting people out of sight for a few hours at a very high price to the city.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In a press release, Preston later added: “If the Mayor, Supervisors, and other City leaders care about the Tenderloin, they should make sure the Tenderloin gets the investments the community needs in the budget process, support our $10 million emergency Tenderloin public safety supplemental, deliver the long promised Tenderloin wellness hub without further delay, house people who are unhoused, and make treatment on demand a reality.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_11950525\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 1920px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-11950525\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2023/05/RS65801_010_KQED_LondonBreedQA_05232023-qut.jpg\" alt=\"A middle-aged Black man stands behind a camera, in a crowd, shouting.\" width=\"1920\" height=\"1280\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/05/RS65801_010_KQED_LondonBreedQA_05232023-qut.jpg 1920w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/05/RS65801_010_KQED_LondonBreedQA_05232023-qut-800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/05/RS65801_010_KQED_LondonBreedQA_05232023-qut-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/05/RS65801_010_KQED_LondonBreedQA_05232023-qut-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/05/RS65801_010_KQED_LondonBreedQA_05232023-qut-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1920px) 100vw, 1920px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">A protester shouts during an unusual public Q&A session with San Francisco Mayor London Breed and Board of Supervisors President Aaron Peskin. \u003ccite>(Beth LaBerge/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>The city is currently developing a pilot program to address when someone on the street is “so far under the influence of drugs that they may pose a danger to themselves or others,” according to a spokesperson for the city’s Department of Emergency Management.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The program, which could involve enforcing public intoxication laws, will be included in the mayor’s upcoming budget proposal.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“The uncomfortable conversations have to happen. I get that people have an issue that we are getting more aggressive to people with addiction,” Breed told the board. “I’m one of those people. I lost a sister to drug overdose.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But while Breed’s sister struggled to access treatment services years ago, Breed said, many more facilities and beds have become available under her leadership, and the wait time for treatment has since dropped.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Public health and addiction advocates, however, stress that there are still not enough resources to meet the need San Francisco is facing due to fentanyl, an opioid 50 times more potent than heroin that has led to a spike in overdose deaths in the city in recent years.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>And they point to research that has shown that more incarceration could lead to higher overdose rates among offenders shortly after their release.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>Located in the heart of San Francisco a short walk from City Hall, the historic UN Plaza is flanked by the Orpheum Theater to the west and Market Street to the south. On Wednesdays, it hosts one of the city’s largest farmers markets. But the plaza has also become ground zero for debates over policing the drug use and sales that frequently occur there.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Around 100 people gathered in the plaza Tuesday for the unusual, short-lived Board of Supervisors meeting, which \u003ca href=\"https://sfstandard.com/politics/political-theater-mayor-london-breed-drug-crisis-united-nations-plaza-aaron-peskin/\">cost more than $4,000 to stage, according to The San Francisco Standard\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>One protester allegedly threw a brick toward the speaking area after Supervisor Peskin recessed the outdoor hearing and moved it back to City Hall.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Other demonstrators held signs and demanded justice for Banko Brown, a 24-year-old Black trans man who was shot and killed by a Walgreens security guard last month. \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/11949558/district-attorney-releases-video-of-banko-brown-shooting-at-walgreens-wont-files-charges-against-security-gaurd\">District Attorney Brooke Jenkins recently declined to prosecute the guard.\u003c/a>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Mayor London Breed needs to step down. She could not handle it,” said Charie Pittman, one of the protesters, who said she works at a shelter in the Bayview. “It is over her head. She has too much piled up on her plate, starting from COVID, chemical warfare, racism and religion.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>KQED’s Joe Fitzgerald Rodriguez contributed to this story.\u003c/em>\u003cbr>\n\u003cem>This story has been updated.\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"title": "Drug Overdoses Driven by Fentanyl Have Gotten Worse in California",
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"content": "\u003cp>California has allocated \u003ca href=\"https://www.gov.ca.gov/wp-content/uploads/2023/03/Fentanyl-Opioids-Glossy-Plan_3.20.23.pdf?emrc=86c07e\">more than $1 billion (PDF)\u003c/a> in recent years to combating its opioid crisis. Much of the money has been used to distribute fentanyl test strips and the overdose-reversal drug naloxone, as well as to deliver medical care to unhoused people. The state has an \u003ca href=\"https://californiamat.org/matproject/youth-opioid-education-and-awareness-and-fentanyl-education-and-awareness-campaign/\">opioid awareness campaign\u003c/a> tailored to youth and recently \u003ca href=\"https://www.gov.ca.gov/2023/04/28/sf-fentanyl-operation/\">called on the National Guard\u003c/a> to help detect drug traffickers.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Yet the problem keeps getting worse.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[pullquote size=\"medium\" align=\"right\" citation=\"Keith Humphreys, professor of psychiatry and behavioral sciences, Stanford University\"]‘Even if we do a lot of things right in policy, we’re going to have a fair amount of deaths in the coming years.’[/pullquote]Driven largely by the prevalence of fentanyl, a synthetic opioid up to 100 times stronger than morphine, \u003ca href=\"https://calhps.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/04/2023-04_CalHPS_CA_Overdose_Report_Final.pdf\">drug overdoses in California now kill more than twice as many people as car accidents (PDF)\u003c/a>, more than four times as many as homicides, and more than either diabetes or lung cancer, according to California Health Policy Strategies, a Sacramento consulting group. And the state’s overdose surveillance dashboard indicates \u003ca href=\"https://skylab.cdph.ca.gov/ODdash/?tab=Home\">most opioid overdose deaths involve fentanyl\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Provisional data for last year from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention shows \u003ca href=\"https://www.cdc.gov/nchs/nvss/vsrr/drug-overdose-data.htm\">a small annual increase in overdose deaths in California, to nearly 12,000\u003c/a>. Across the U.S., overdose deaths again topped 100,000.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“As a parent, it scares the hell out of me. As a governor, I see it, I recognize the nature of what’s occurred on the streets,” Gov. Gavin Newsom said May 12 in announcing more funding for \u003ca href=\"https://ebudget.ca.gov/2023-24/pdf/Revised/BudgetSummary/HealthandHumanServices.pdf\">California to produce its own naloxone (PDF)\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[aside tag=\"fentanyl\" label=\"Related Posts\"]Despite all the state is doing to reduce drug overdose deaths, public health policy experts say there are no easy or clear answers. Drug policy experts applaud California’s effort to make naloxone as commonly available as fire extinguishers \u003ca href=\"https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/billNavClient.xhtml?bill_id=202320240SB10\">in schools\u003c/a>, \u003ca href=\"https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/billNavClient.xhtml?bill_id=202320240AB24\">bars, libraries and gas stations\u003c/a>, but they also recommend diverting more offenders from prisons and jails into treatment and encourage ramping up the use of anti-addiction medication.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Even if we do a lot of things right in policy, we’re going to have a fair amount of deaths in the coming years,” said Keith Humphreys, professor of psychiatry and behavioral sciences at Stanford University and a drug policy expert.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>He said lawmakers should examine the underlying, complex causes of addiction if they want to make lasting change. Lawmakers have created a \u003ca href=\"https://www.assembly.ca.gov/committees/select-select-committee-on-fentanyl%2C-opioid-addiction%2C-and-overdose-prevention-regular-session\">Select Committee on Fentanyl, Opioid Addiction and Overdose Prevention\u003c/a> and are advancing a bill to create a \u003ca href=\"https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/billTextClient.xhtml?bill_id=202320240AB33\">Fentanyl Addiction and Overdose Prevention Task Force\u003c/a>. The bill would require the task force to start meeting next year and submit an interim report by January 2025 and recommendations by July 2025.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“It really is something, like COVID, that we have to focus on and make some permanent structural changes, like to health care, mental health care and funding to deal with addiction,” Humphreys said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Newsom acknowledged as much, saying, “We have a lot more work to do.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The Democratic governor was joined last month by Attorney General Rob Bonta in calling on the California National Guard, California Highway Patrol and state Department of Justice to crack down on fentanyl dealing in San Francisco, where fatal overdoses jumped more than 40% in the first three months of this year over 2022.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The move was criticized as “a law enforcement-first approach to matters of public health” in a joint statement from 28 organizations including the American Civil Liberties Union of Northern California and the San Francisco Public Defender’s Office.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>While the governor has focused on fentanyl trafficking and making naloxone more readily available, state lawmakers have recently been debating whether and how to stiffen punishments for dealers, many of whom also use fentanyl.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Several proposals have already stalled, such as one to send \u003ca href=\"https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/billNavClient.xhtml?bill_id=202320240AB955\">dealers to jail for up to nine years\u003c/a> if they sell fentanyl on a social media platform and another warning \u003ca href=\"https://sd34.senate.ca.gov/sb-44\">dealers they could be charged with murder\u003c/a> if someone dies taking their drugs. Lawmakers kept alive two bills to boost punishments for \u003ca href=\"https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/billTextClient.xhtml?bill_id=202320240AB701\">dealers of large volumes of fentanyl\u003c/a> and those who \u003ca href=\"https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/billNavClient.xhtml?bill_id=202320240AB675\">carry a gun\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Democrats who control the Legislature’s public safety committees are reluctant to support tougher penalties for fear of sparking a new war on drugs or reprising the steep penalties around crack cocaine that criminalized Black people disproportionately.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Black and Latino Californians experienced an increase in overdose deaths of more than 200% between 2017 and 2021, according to Konrad Franco, who conducted the research for California Health Policy Strategies. Black people make up 6% of California’s population but accounted for 13% of its overdose deaths in 2021.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We cannot go backwards and fill our prisons with kids of color,” said Assemblymember Liz Ortega, a Democrat from San Leandro, during a special hearing last month on fentanyl-related bills.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Georges Benjamin, executive director of the American Public Health Association, questioned the effectiveness of increased penalties for people who are largely controlled by their addictions.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Benjamin said lawmakers should instead support drug courts that promote treatment programs over incarceration, though he said incarceration may be needed to protect the public mostly from violent offenders who refuse treatment and harm others.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Humphreys pointed to the \u003ca href=\"https://nij.ojp.gov/topics/articles/hopeful-approach-understanding-implications-hope-program\">Honest Opportunity Probation With Enforcement\u003c/a> and \u003ca href=\"https://wesavelives.org/solve-the-problem/247-sobriety-program/\">24/7 Sobriety\u003c/a> programs as models. They combine regularly testing offenders for drugs and alcohol, with short penalties for violations.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“You use the criminal justice system in a way that in the long run actually reduces incarceration rather than increasing it,” Humphreys said of the approach.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Yet, Tanya Tilghman, a Black woman from San Francisco, supports tougher penalties for fentanyl dealers and said the issue crosses racial lines. She became an activist with \u003ca href=\"https://madaad.org/who-we-are\">Mothers Against Drug Addiction and Deaths\u003c/a> after her son became addicted to methamphetamine and more recently to fentanyl.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“When people are doing drugs, it doesn’t see color or racial boundaries,” she said. “It’s killing a lot more people and it’s killing a lot of Black people.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Daniel Ciccarone, a drug policy expert at UCSF, said enforcement efforts may be popular with the public but “simply don’t work as well as we want them to.” At minimum, he said, any crackdown should be coupled with an equal public health approach.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We’ve thrown tens of billions of dollars at the war on drugs over two generations, almost three generations now, and believe it or not, drugs across category — from marijuana to cocaine to heroin/fentanyl — drugs are ever more pure and ever cheaper despite impressive levels of effort,” Ciccarone said. “The most honest answer is there’s no clear answer as to what to do about the fentanyl crisis.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>He recommended California allow supervised consumption sites where opioid users could legally use drugs, \u003ca href=\"https://apnews.com/article/covid-health-los-angeles-san-francisco-gavin-newsom-51414d98c6d41caed29373e147ca146f\">an idea Newsom vetoed last fall\u003c/a> but that Ciccarone said can ease people into treatment. Other harm-reduction strategies, including expanding the use of test strips and other chemical analyses to check drugs for contamination with fentanyl, can also save lives, he said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Humphreys led \u003ca href=\"https://opioids.stanford.edu/commission-recommendations\">a 17-member commission that examined the opioid crisis and made recommendations\u003c/a> including expanding the availability of prescription drugs such as buprenorphine, naltrexone and methadone to ease drug cravings and withdrawal symptoms.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Still, some parents of children who have experienced opioid addiction say tougher penalties must be part of the response.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“What they don’t understand is that fentanyl has changed the drug landscape like no other drug has in the history of the United States of America,” said Jaime Puerta, whose only son, Daniel, died from fentanyl in 2020 at age 16.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad floatright]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ci>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">California Healthline is a service of the California Health Care Foundation produced by Kaiser Health News.\u003c/span>\u003c/i>\u003c/p>\n\n",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cp>California has allocated \u003ca href=\"https://www.gov.ca.gov/wp-content/uploads/2023/03/Fentanyl-Opioids-Glossy-Plan_3.20.23.pdf?emrc=86c07e\">more than $1 billion (PDF)\u003c/a> in recent years to combating its opioid crisis. Much of the money has been used to distribute fentanyl test strips and the overdose-reversal drug naloxone, as well as to deliver medical care to unhoused people. The state has an \u003ca href=\"https://californiamat.org/matproject/youth-opioid-education-and-awareness-and-fentanyl-education-and-awareness-campaign/\">opioid awareness campaign\u003c/a> tailored to youth and recently \u003ca href=\"https://www.gov.ca.gov/2023/04/28/sf-fentanyl-operation/\">called on the National Guard\u003c/a> to help detect drug traffickers.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Yet the problem keeps getting worse.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>Driven largely by the prevalence of fentanyl, a synthetic opioid up to 100 times stronger than morphine, \u003ca href=\"https://calhps.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/04/2023-04_CalHPS_CA_Overdose_Report_Final.pdf\">drug overdoses in California now kill more than twice as many people as car accidents (PDF)\u003c/a>, more than four times as many as homicides, and more than either diabetes or lung cancer, according to California Health Policy Strategies, a Sacramento consulting group. And the state’s overdose surveillance dashboard indicates \u003ca href=\"https://skylab.cdph.ca.gov/ODdash/?tab=Home\">most opioid overdose deaths involve fentanyl\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Provisional data for last year from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention shows \u003ca href=\"https://www.cdc.gov/nchs/nvss/vsrr/drug-overdose-data.htm\">a small annual increase in overdose deaths in California, to nearly 12,000\u003c/a>. Across the U.S., overdose deaths again topped 100,000.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“As a parent, it scares the hell out of me. As a governor, I see it, I recognize the nature of what’s occurred on the streets,” Gov. Gavin Newsom said May 12 in announcing more funding for \u003ca href=\"https://ebudget.ca.gov/2023-24/pdf/Revised/BudgetSummary/HealthandHumanServices.pdf\">California to produce its own naloxone (PDF)\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>Despite all the state is doing to reduce drug overdose deaths, public health policy experts say there are no easy or clear answers. Drug policy experts applaud California’s effort to make naloxone as commonly available as fire extinguishers \u003ca href=\"https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/billNavClient.xhtml?bill_id=202320240SB10\">in schools\u003c/a>, \u003ca href=\"https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/billNavClient.xhtml?bill_id=202320240AB24\">bars, libraries and gas stations\u003c/a>, but they also recommend diverting more offenders from prisons and jails into treatment and encourage ramping up the use of anti-addiction medication.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Even if we do a lot of things right in policy, we’re going to have a fair amount of deaths in the coming years,” said Keith Humphreys, professor of psychiatry and behavioral sciences at Stanford University and a drug policy expert.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>He said lawmakers should examine the underlying, complex causes of addiction if they want to make lasting change. Lawmakers have created a \u003ca href=\"https://www.assembly.ca.gov/committees/select-select-committee-on-fentanyl%2C-opioid-addiction%2C-and-overdose-prevention-regular-session\">Select Committee on Fentanyl, Opioid Addiction and Overdose Prevention\u003c/a> and are advancing a bill to create a \u003ca href=\"https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/billTextClient.xhtml?bill_id=202320240AB33\">Fentanyl Addiction and Overdose Prevention Task Force\u003c/a>. The bill would require the task force to start meeting next year and submit an interim report by January 2025 and recommendations by July 2025.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“It really is something, like COVID, that we have to focus on and make some permanent structural changes, like to health care, mental health care and funding to deal with addiction,” Humphreys said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Newsom acknowledged as much, saying, “We have a lot more work to do.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The Democratic governor was joined last month by Attorney General Rob Bonta in calling on the California National Guard, California Highway Patrol and state Department of Justice to crack down on fentanyl dealing in San Francisco, where fatal overdoses jumped more than 40% in the first three months of this year over 2022.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The move was criticized as “a law enforcement-first approach to matters of public health” in a joint statement from 28 organizations including the American Civil Liberties Union of Northern California and the San Francisco Public Defender’s Office.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>While the governor has focused on fentanyl trafficking and making naloxone more readily available, state lawmakers have recently been debating whether and how to stiffen punishments for dealers, many of whom also use fentanyl.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Several proposals have already stalled, such as one to send \u003ca href=\"https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/billNavClient.xhtml?bill_id=202320240AB955\">dealers to jail for up to nine years\u003c/a> if they sell fentanyl on a social media platform and another warning \u003ca href=\"https://sd34.senate.ca.gov/sb-44\">dealers they could be charged with murder\u003c/a> if someone dies taking their drugs. Lawmakers kept alive two bills to boost punishments for \u003ca href=\"https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/billTextClient.xhtml?bill_id=202320240AB701\">dealers of large volumes of fentanyl\u003c/a> and those who \u003ca href=\"https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/billNavClient.xhtml?bill_id=202320240AB675\">carry a gun\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Democrats who control the Legislature’s public safety committees are reluctant to support tougher penalties for fear of sparking a new war on drugs or reprising the steep penalties around crack cocaine that criminalized Black people disproportionately.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Black and Latino Californians experienced an increase in overdose deaths of more than 200% between 2017 and 2021, according to Konrad Franco, who conducted the research for California Health Policy Strategies. Black people make up 6% of California’s population but accounted for 13% of its overdose deaths in 2021.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We cannot go backwards and fill our prisons with kids of color,” said Assemblymember Liz Ortega, a Democrat from San Leandro, during a special hearing last month on fentanyl-related bills.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Georges Benjamin, executive director of the American Public Health Association, questioned the effectiveness of increased penalties for people who are largely controlled by their addictions.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Benjamin said lawmakers should instead support drug courts that promote treatment programs over incarceration, though he said incarceration may be needed to protect the public mostly from violent offenders who refuse treatment and harm others.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Humphreys pointed to the \u003ca href=\"https://nij.ojp.gov/topics/articles/hopeful-approach-understanding-implications-hope-program\">Honest Opportunity Probation With Enforcement\u003c/a> and \u003ca href=\"https://wesavelives.org/solve-the-problem/247-sobriety-program/\">24/7 Sobriety\u003c/a> programs as models. They combine regularly testing offenders for drugs and alcohol, with short penalties for violations.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“You use the criminal justice system in a way that in the long run actually reduces incarceration rather than increasing it,” Humphreys said of the approach.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Yet, Tanya Tilghman, a Black woman from San Francisco, supports tougher penalties for fentanyl dealers and said the issue crosses racial lines. She became an activist with \u003ca href=\"https://madaad.org/who-we-are\">Mothers Against Drug Addiction and Deaths\u003c/a> after her son became addicted to methamphetamine and more recently to fentanyl.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“When people are doing drugs, it doesn’t see color or racial boundaries,” she said. “It’s killing a lot more people and it’s killing a lot of Black people.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Daniel Ciccarone, a drug policy expert at UCSF, said enforcement efforts may be popular with the public but “simply don’t work as well as we want them to.” At minimum, he said, any crackdown should be coupled with an equal public health approach.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We’ve thrown tens of billions of dollars at the war on drugs over two generations, almost three generations now, and believe it or not, drugs across category — from marijuana to cocaine to heroin/fentanyl — drugs are ever more pure and ever cheaper despite impressive levels of effort,” Ciccarone said. “The most honest answer is there’s no clear answer as to what to do about the fentanyl crisis.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>He recommended California allow supervised consumption sites where opioid users could legally use drugs, \u003ca href=\"https://apnews.com/article/covid-health-los-angeles-san-francisco-gavin-newsom-51414d98c6d41caed29373e147ca146f\">an idea Newsom vetoed last fall\u003c/a> but that Ciccarone said can ease people into treatment. Other harm-reduction strategies, including expanding the use of test strips and other chemical analyses to check drugs for contamination with fentanyl, can also save lives, he said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Humphreys led \u003ca href=\"https://opioids.stanford.edu/commission-recommendations\">a 17-member commission that examined the opioid crisis and made recommendations\u003c/a> including expanding the availability of prescription drugs such as buprenorphine, naltrexone and methadone to ease drug cravings and withdrawal symptoms.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Still, some parents of children who have experienced opioid addiction say tougher penalties must be part of the response.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“What they don’t understand is that fentanyl has changed the drug landscape like no other drug has in the history of the United States of America,” said Jaime Puerta, whose only son, Daniel, died from fentanyl in 2020 at age 16.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"slug": "at-home-covid-tests-are-still-effective-in-2023-and-you-can-still-get-them-for-free",
"title": "Free At-Home COVID Tests Remain Effective in 2023",
"publishDate": 1684867720,
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"headTitle": "Free At-Home COVID Tests Remain Effective in 2023 | KQED",
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"content": "\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Update, June 20: As of June 1, you can no longer \u003ca href=\"https://covidtests.gov/\">order free COVID-19 tests from the federal government and USPS\u003c/a>. A message on the \u003ca href=\"https://covidtests.gov/\">covidtests.gov site\u003c/a> says that ordering has “been suspended to preserve remaining supply.” \u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>As a new COVID-19 variant rapidly emerges, many are wondering how tools such as at-home testing will fare against the latest virus evolutions.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The good news is that testing, along with vaccines and post-infection treatments, are still readily available, and infectious disease experts say these remain some of our best defenses against the spread of COVID-19.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>Do at-home antigen tests work with the latest COVID-19 variant?\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>Yes! There is little evidence showing that at-home COVID-19 antigen tests work any differently with the newer strains of the virus, including XBB.1.16, also known as arcturus.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“The FDA data suggests the antigen tests currently in use are as effective in detecting arcturus as they are with other subvariants of omicron,” said Dr. John Swartzberg, clinical professor emeritus of the Infectious Diseases and Vaccinology division at UC Berkeley.[pullquote align=\"right\" size=\"medium\" citation=\"Dr. John Swartzberg, clinical professor emeritus, UC Berkeley\"]‘The FDA data suggests the antigen tests currently in use are as effective in detecting arcturus as they are with other subvariants of omicron.’[/pullquote]In general, rapid antigen tests are less sensitive and therefore less likely to detect an infection compared with polymerase chain reaction (PCR) tests. PCR tests look for viral genetic material, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, whereas antigen tests detect proteins on the surface of the virus.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>When (and how) should I use an antigen rapid test to get the most accurate result?\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>If you were exposed to someone with COVID-19, but are not experiencing symptoms, or your symptoms are mild, one rule of thumb is to test five days after the exposure, according to Dr. Peter Chin-Hong, an infectious disease expert and professor at UCSF.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>If you’re looking to test before a large event or before visiting someone who may be particularly vulnerable to COVID-19, test right before the visit to get the most accurate read.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Test just before the visit if you’re going to check before seeing Grandma,” Chin-Hong said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>And, if you have COVID symptoms and test negative, “take precautions as if you have COVID and repeat the test every one to two days,” Swartzberg said.\u003cbr>\n[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>What about false positives or negatives?\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>Overall, hospitalizations and deaths stemming from COVID-19 are near their lowest since the start of the pandemic. During lulls like this, there is a higher likelihood that an antigen test could yield a false positive.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“The lower it is in the community, the higher the chance you might get a false positive. If you get a positive out of the blue, try to track down a PCR,” said Chin-Hong.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>However, false positives are still quite rare. “If the antigen test is positive, it is very likely you have COVID,” said Swartzberg. “If it is negative, you cannot feel confident you do not have COVID,” he added, saying that many tests will show up negative in the early stages of infection.[aside label='More Guides from KQED' tag='layoffs']Improving your sample collection for at-home tests will also improve your chances of getting an accurate result. For example, when swabbing the nostril, scrape the inner lining of the nose rather than just the snot and boogers hanging about. That’s why antigen tests generally recommend you blow your nose before swabbing.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Make sure you’re not just swabbing snot but you’re swabbing the cells in your nose. You have to swab relatively hard,” Chin-Hong said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Some but not all doctors recommend swabbing the inside of the throat also, especially if a sore throat is presenting as a symptom.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Also important when buying at-home tests is to make sure the tests have not expired (more on that below) and that they are not counterfeit. Most major pharmacies carry only FDA-approved antigen tests. If you’re not sure, check for a few indicators like misspellings or lack of an expiration date.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ca href=\"https://www.fda.gov/medical-devices/coronavirus-covid-19-and-medical-devices/home-otc-covid-19-diagnostic-tests\">A full list of FDA-approved tests can be found here.\u003c/a>\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>Can I still get free antigen tests anywhere?\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>There’s no getting around this fact: In 2023, finding free or low-cost antigen COVID tests is much harder than in previous years of the pandemic. And certainly, the days when packs of antigen COVID tests were given out for free are gone.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Here’s how to keep getting free or low-cost antigen tests:\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Order your (last) four free tests from the White House via USPS\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The White House website \u003ca href=\"https://www.covid.gov/tests\">covid.gov/tests\u003c/a> has been offering separate orders of free COVID antigen tests for each household during the pandemic. This program looks to be continuing after the federal public health emergency ended on May 11, but it’s unclear how much longer it’ll last. So if your household hasn’t ordered any free tests since Dec. 15, 2022, consider placing your order for another four free COVID tests ASAP — in case the program ends abruptly.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>If you have health insurance, get eight antigen tests reimbursed per month\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In other states, the recent end of the federal public health emergency for COVID means insurers no longer have to keep covering the costs of up to eight over-the-counter antigen tests a month.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But California has enacted laws that \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/11948759/how-to-access-covid-care-in-california-as-u-s-public-health-emergency-ends\">force insurers to keep reimbursing their members for the costs of eight tests each month (as well as Paxlovid)\u003c/a>. This also applies to people on Medi-Cal, but this is \u003ca href=\"https://www.latimes.com/california/story/2023-02-07/with-covid-emergency-ending-will-i-have-to-pay-for-tests\">only in effect until Nov. 11\u003c/a>. Read about \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/11902122/at-home-covid-test-reimbursement-from-blue-shield-to-kaiser-how-to-get-your-health-insurance-to-pay-you-back\">how to get reimbursed for COVID tests by your insurer\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>If you’re on Medicare Part B (medical insurance), \u003ca href=\"https://www.medicare.gov/medicare-coronavirus\">you can keep getting eight free over-the-counter COVID tests after May 11\u003c/a>. However, people on Medicare Part A (hospital insurance) have lost access to those free tests.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>For free testing, consider getting a PCR test instead\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>PCR testing is more accurate than an antigen test — because it’s more sensitive at picking up traces of the coronavirus in your body — but it may take longer to get your results than with an at-home test, which could affect your ability to source a prescription for Paxlovid quickly (see below).\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Currently, there are still some sites offering free COVID testing around the state; go to \u003ca href=\"https://myturn.ca.gov/testing.html\">myturn.ca.gov/testing\u003c/a> and apply the “Free Sites” filter from the drop-down menu. It’s not yet clear how many of these sites will continue operating in the coming months after the end of the federal public health emergency. If you have health insurance, you may be able to get a PCR test ordered by your health care provider with the costs covered.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/11940562/how-to-find-a-free-covid-test-near-you-in-2023-because-its-getting-harder\">For more ideas on how to find a free or low-cost COVID test near you, see the KQED guide.\u003c/a>\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>Another key use for antigen tests: Getting Paxlovid in time\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>As of Feb. 2023, you no longer need proof of a positive COVID test \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/11942172/should-everyone-be-trying-to-get-paxlovid-for-covid-now-yes-basically\">to get a prescription for Paxlovid, the powerful antiviral COVID treatment\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But for it to be effective, health officials recommend starting a course of Paxlovid within five days of a positive test. This means it is still very important to take a test as soon as you suspect you have COVID — and a big part of that is having swift access to a test. Now that there’s no shortage of Paxlovid, the drug is no longer reserved for people most at risk of severe illness from COVID, and everyone is encouraged to contact a health care provider to see whether they qualify.[aside postID=\"news_11942172\" hero=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2023/03/RS63490_GettyImages-1407371840-qut-1038x576.jpg\"]Since results from PCR tests can take longer, and some testing sites may not be available at certain times you need the test — like evenings and weekends — consider using the methods listed above to make sure you have access to at least one antigen test available at home if you begin to feel the symptoms of COVID.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>How to check whether your antigen tests have expired — or had their shelf life extended\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>You may be lucky enough to have an existing supply of antigen tests from a while back — but it’s important to check that using those tests will still give you an accurate COVID test result.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Check the expiration date on the box, but don’t panic if it’s passed. Before you toss the box, \u003ca href=\"https://www.fda.gov/medical-devices/coronavirus-covid-19-and-medical-devices/home-otc-covid-19-diagnostic-tests#list\">check the FDA’s list of antigen test types to see whether the one you’re holding has had its shelf life extended by the manufacturer\u003c/a>. The FDA says that if a test’s shelf life has been extended, it’s because the manufacturer has given the agency enough “data showing that the shelf-life is longer than was known when the test was first authorized.” In other words, it’s still OK to use that test.\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>\u003cstrong>Update, June 20: As of June 1, you can no longer \u003ca href=\"https://covidtests.gov/\">order free COVID-19 tests from the federal government and USPS\u003c/a>. A message on the \u003ca href=\"https://covidtests.gov/\">covidtests.gov site\u003c/a> says that ordering has “been suspended to preserve remaining supply.” \u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>As a new COVID-19 variant rapidly emerges, many are wondering how tools such as at-home testing will fare against the latest virus evolutions.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The good news is that testing, along with vaccines and post-infection treatments, are still readily available, and infectious disease experts say these remain some of our best defenses against the spread of COVID-19.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>Do at-home antigen tests work with the latest COVID-19 variant?\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>Yes! There is little evidence showing that at-home COVID-19 antigen tests work any differently with the newer strains of the virus, including XBB.1.16, also known as arcturus.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“The FDA data suggests the antigen tests currently in use are as effective in detecting arcturus as they are with other subvariants of omicron,” said Dr. John Swartzberg, clinical professor emeritus of the Infectious Diseases and Vaccinology division at UC Berkeley.\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>In general, rapid antigen tests are less sensitive and therefore less likely to detect an infection compared with polymerase chain reaction (PCR) tests. PCR tests look for viral genetic material, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, whereas antigen tests detect proteins on the surface of the virus.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>When (and how) should I use an antigen rapid test to get the most accurate result?\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>If you were exposed to someone with COVID-19, but are not experiencing symptoms, or your symptoms are mild, one rule of thumb is to test five days after the exposure, according to Dr. Peter Chin-Hong, an infectious disease expert and professor at UCSF.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>If you’re looking to test before a large event or before visiting someone who may be particularly vulnerable to COVID-19, test right before the visit to get the most accurate read.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Test just before the visit if you’re going to check before seeing Grandma,” Chin-Hong said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>And, if you have COVID symptoms and test negative, “take precautions as if you have COVID and repeat the test every one to two days,” Swartzberg said.\u003cbr>\n\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>What about false positives or negatives?\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>Overall, hospitalizations and deaths stemming from COVID-19 are near their lowest since the start of the pandemic. During lulls like this, there is a higher likelihood that an antigen test could yield a false positive.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“The lower it is in the community, the higher the chance you might get a false positive. If you get a positive out of the blue, try to track down a PCR,” said Chin-Hong.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>However, false positives are still quite rare. “If the antigen test is positive, it is very likely you have COVID,” said Swartzberg. “If it is negative, you cannot feel confident you do not have COVID,” he added, saying that many tests will show up negative in the early stages of infection.\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>Improving your sample collection for at-home tests will also improve your chances of getting an accurate result. For example, when swabbing the nostril, scrape the inner lining of the nose rather than just the snot and boogers hanging about. That’s why antigen tests generally recommend you blow your nose before swabbing.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Make sure you’re not just swabbing snot but you’re swabbing the cells in your nose. You have to swab relatively hard,” Chin-Hong said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Some but not all doctors recommend swabbing the inside of the throat also, especially if a sore throat is presenting as a symptom.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Also important when buying at-home tests is to make sure the tests have not expired (more on that below) and that they are not counterfeit. Most major pharmacies carry only FDA-approved antigen tests. If you’re not sure, check for a few indicators like misspellings or lack of an expiration date.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ca href=\"https://www.fda.gov/medical-devices/coronavirus-covid-19-and-medical-devices/home-otc-covid-19-diagnostic-tests\">A full list of FDA-approved tests can be found here.\u003c/a>\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>Can I still get free antigen tests anywhere?\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>There’s no getting around this fact: In 2023, finding free or low-cost antigen COVID tests is much harder than in previous years of the pandemic. And certainly, the days when packs of antigen COVID tests were given out for free are gone.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Here’s how to keep getting free or low-cost antigen tests:\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Order your (last) four free tests from the White House via USPS\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The White House website \u003ca href=\"https://www.covid.gov/tests\">covid.gov/tests\u003c/a> has been offering separate orders of free COVID antigen tests for each household during the pandemic. This program looks to be continuing after the federal public health emergency ended on May 11, but it’s unclear how much longer it’ll last. So if your household hasn’t ordered any free tests since Dec. 15, 2022, consider placing your order for another four free COVID tests ASAP — in case the program ends abruptly.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>If you have health insurance, get eight antigen tests reimbursed per month\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In other states, the recent end of the federal public health emergency for COVID means insurers no longer have to keep covering the costs of up to eight over-the-counter antigen tests a month.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But California has enacted laws that \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/11948759/how-to-access-covid-care-in-california-as-u-s-public-health-emergency-ends\">force insurers to keep reimbursing their members for the costs of eight tests each month (as well as Paxlovid)\u003c/a>. This also applies to people on Medi-Cal, but this is \u003ca href=\"https://www.latimes.com/california/story/2023-02-07/with-covid-emergency-ending-will-i-have-to-pay-for-tests\">only in effect until Nov. 11\u003c/a>. Read about \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/11902122/at-home-covid-test-reimbursement-from-blue-shield-to-kaiser-how-to-get-your-health-insurance-to-pay-you-back\">how to get reimbursed for COVID tests by your insurer\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>If you’re on Medicare Part B (medical insurance), \u003ca href=\"https://www.medicare.gov/medicare-coronavirus\">you can keep getting eight free over-the-counter COVID tests after May 11\u003c/a>. However, people on Medicare Part A (hospital insurance) have lost access to those free tests.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>For free testing, consider getting a PCR test instead\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>PCR testing is more accurate than an antigen test — because it’s more sensitive at picking up traces of the coronavirus in your body — but it may take longer to get your results than with an at-home test, which could affect your ability to source a prescription for Paxlovid quickly (see below).\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Currently, there are still some sites offering free COVID testing around the state; go to \u003ca href=\"https://myturn.ca.gov/testing.html\">myturn.ca.gov/testing\u003c/a> and apply the “Free Sites” filter from the drop-down menu. It’s not yet clear how many of these sites will continue operating in the coming months after the end of the federal public health emergency. If you have health insurance, you may be able to get a PCR test ordered by your health care provider with the costs covered.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/11940562/how-to-find-a-free-covid-test-near-you-in-2023-because-its-getting-harder\">For more ideas on how to find a free or low-cost COVID test near you, see the KQED guide.\u003c/a>\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>Another key use for antigen tests: Getting Paxlovid in time\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>As of Feb. 2023, you no longer need proof of a positive COVID test \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/11942172/should-everyone-be-trying-to-get-paxlovid-for-covid-now-yes-basically\">to get a prescription for Paxlovid, the powerful antiviral COVID treatment\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But for it to be effective, health officials recommend starting a course of Paxlovid within five days of a positive test. This means it is still very important to take a test as soon as you suspect you have COVID — and a big part of that is having swift access to a test. Now that there’s no shortage of Paxlovid, the drug is no longer reserved for people most at risk of severe illness from COVID, and everyone is encouraged to contact a health care provider to see whether they qualify.\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>Since results from PCR tests can take longer, and some testing sites may not be available at certain times you need the test — like evenings and weekends — consider using the methods listed above to make sure you have access to at least one antigen test available at home if you begin to feel the symptoms of COVID.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>How to check whether your antigen tests have expired — or had their shelf life extended\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>You may be lucky enough to have an existing supply of antigen tests from a while back — but it’s important to check that using those tests will still give you an accurate COVID test result.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Check the expiration date on the box, but don’t panic if it’s passed. Before you toss the box, \u003ca href=\"https://www.fda.gov/medical-devices/coronavirus-covid-19-and-medical-devices/home-otc-covid-19-diagnostic-tests#list\">check the FDA’s list of antigen test types to see whether the one you’re holding has had its shelf life extended by the manufacturer\u003c/a>. The FDA says that if a test’s shelf life has been extended, it’s because the manufacturer has given the agency enough “data showing that the shelf-life is longer than was known when the test was first authorized.” In other words, it’s still OK to use that test.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cp>A new father drove home from the hospital in downtown Modesto, scared — not by having a newborn baby, but by smoke-filled, “apocalyptic-looking skies.” Tom Helme couldn’t see past the next stoplight on the flat, straight road ahead. On that fall day in 2017, it was dark, he said, “like if a nuclear bomb went off, or something blocked the sun.” The San Joaquin Valley was already years into what regulators now say is a downward slide in air quality, choked by smoke from frequent wildfires.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In a recent report, the U.S. Government Accountability Office, the investigative arm of Congress, concluded that the Environmental Protection Agency’s response to wildfire smoke is “ad hoc,” poorly resourced and muddled by a lack of coordination with other agencies.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Jump straight to:\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cul>\n\u003cli>\u003cstrong>\u003ca href=\"#howwildfiresmokeimpactsyou\">How has wildfire smoke impacted your life? Let us know\u003c/a>\u003c/strong>\u003c/li>\n\u003c/ul>\n\u003cp>[pullquote size=\"medium\" align=\"right\" citation=\"Meredith Bauer, assistant director for the air and radiation division, Environmental Protection Agency\"]‘If pollution is created by people and it’s controllable, that’s what we want to manage.’[/pullquote]“You could ask anybody working on wildfire smoke and the answer is no, we’re not doing enough,” said Meredith Bauer, assistant director for the air and radiation division in EPA Region 9, which includes California. “Not yet. Not yet.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Over the last three decades, \u003ca href=\"https://github.com/MuckRock/gao-wildfire-exceptions\">the number of acres burned by wildfire\u003c/a> has grown, spewing smoke across California and the country. The new GAO report highlights how a loophole in the Clean Air Act permits the EPA to erase pollution — not from the sky, but from the record.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The tool for erasing some of the worst air-pollution days is called the “exceptional events” rule — a legal pathway that allows local regulators to make a case that air pollution from “natural” wildfires shouldn’t count against their federal air quality goals.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Local regulators who seek to designate wildfires as exceptional events say doing so sets off a complex, burdensome process that is nonetheless essential to avoid slipping further away from meeting air quality standards — even if removing wildfire smoke from the record doesn’t actually clean up the air. According to the GAO, federal \u003ca href=\"https://github.com/MuckRock/gao-wildfire-exceptions\">regulators have granted such requests more often\u003c/a> over the last decade.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In Modesto, Helme first heard about exceptional events more than a year before his son’s birth, as a member of an environmental justice advisory group that meets with regulators. Officials at the San Joaquin Valley Air Pollution Control District had explained to the group that federal law permitted communities to avoid tighter regulation when pollution is “outside the control of the region.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Helme says that at that meeting, he wondered out loud whether smoke from fires was going to become the norm. “Do you picture a time when it’s not going to be considered exceptional because it happens every single year?” he asked. “And what are our options with that?”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c!-- iframe plugin v.4.3 wordpress.org/plugins/iframe/ -->\u003cbr>\n\u003ciframe loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https://felt.com/embed/map/Wildfires-by-decade-1980-2021-QBFznerjRpK6BWnGzY9BRYC?lat=40.428019&lon=-101.796478&zoom=4.24\" width=\"800\" height=\"600\" scrolling=\"yes\" class=\"iframe-class\" frameborder=\"0\">\u003c/iframe>\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>Erasing dangerous smoke from the data\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>[aside postID=\"science_1982166,science_1982448,science_1982494\" label=\"Related Posts\"]Wildfire smoke is one of the fastest-growing sources of air pollution in the United States. Particulate pollution from fires drives health risks that are significant to pregnant people, children, outdoor workers, residents of leaky buildings and anyone with heart or lung ailments. Ozone produced by wildfires can cause irritation and inflammation of the lungs; even short-term exposure above certain levels raises the risk of premature death.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Yet, the 1970 Clean Air Act gives regulators little ability to take actions that could limit wildfire smoke. That’s because the landmark law focused on soot spewing from smokestacks and tailpipes. Policymakers viewed human-made pollution as the primary threat to public health, said University of Colorado at Boulder geographer Katie Clifford. “Ultimately the thinking about pollution was not about natural risks,” she said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In contrast, the EPA, which enforces the Clean Air Act, has treated some wildfires, dust storms and volcanic eruptions as naturally occurring outliers.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“If pollution is created by people and it’s controllable, that’s what we want to manage,” said the EPA’s Meredith Bauer. “It’s everything that’s outside of that that we would call an exceptional event.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The exceptional events rule, added to the Clean Air Act in 2005, has enabled regulators to ignore pollution data from some events when deciding whether a particular region must do more to improve its air quality. The closer that regions come to meeting federal air quality standards, the fewer restrictions local businesses and other polluters face. Forgiving wildfire pollution helps them meet those standards — and it has been happening more frequently over the last decade, according to the new GAO analysis, which named California, Colorado, Rhode Island and Texas as places that have sought to have wildfire pollution data excused.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c!-- iframe plugin v.4.3 wordpress.org/plugins/iframe/ -->\u003cbr>\n\u003ciframe loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https://datawrapper.dwcdn.net/534YN/6/\" width=\"1000\" height=\"350\" scrolling=\"yes\" class=\"iframe-class\" frameborder=\"0\">\u003c/iframe>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Michael Wara, a Stanford Law School professor who directs the Climate and Energy Policy Program at the Stanford Woods Institute for the Environment, says the GAO’s findings are concerning.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“The whole point of the Clean Air Act is to protect people,” he said. “If a part of the law that was seldom used becomes frequently used, then the entire purposes of the act are being undermined.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The GAO report makes it clear that the exceptional events rule is one of the few tools the EPA has to respond to the problem.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“There’s very little legal or regulatory language defining EPA’s role in smoke management other than our exceptional events program,” said Anna Mebust, an atmospheric scientist at the Environmental Protection Agency who works on exceptional events.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Wildfire smoke is “not something that the law was written to handle,” added Wara.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>Hundreds of hours, hundreds of thousands of dollars\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>The GAO’s investigation also found that proving an exceptional event is burdensome. The EPA told the watchdog that “providing guidance for and reviewing the analyses demand a significant resource investment” for its regional offices. Local regulators described the process as overly cumbersome and convoluted.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“It is literally hundreds of hours of work” to prove that smoke pollution is an exceptional event, said Mark Loutzenhiser, who manages monitoring, programs and rules for the Sacramento Metropolitan Air Quality Management District.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Exceptional event demonstrations can run to hundreds of pages, just to write off smoke pollution for a day or two. Successful arguments help local communities avoid having to enforce stricter pollution controls.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“You have to show where the wildfire is. Was the wind actually blowing it there? Do you have satellite proof?” Loutzenhiser said. The EPA “look[s] at all of the pollutants. They look at all the weather conditions and they check to see, what do we think the pollution should have been, versus what did we actually measure? And you have to do this for every day of these exceptional events.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Julie Hunter, interim air pollution control officer for the Northern Sierra Air Quality Management District, says preparing for a future exceptional event designation also means extra work tracking public health advisories and media reports about fire severity — even while it’s still burning.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>All that effort during and after wildfires is costly. The GAO says some local and state regulators hire consultants to help, including government scientists at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. In public documents, states estimate it can cost from $50,000 to $150,000 to prepare a filing.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>As \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/science/1982166/the-epa-wants-cleaner-air-but-fire-experts-worry-new-rule-risks-making-it-worse\">the EPA considers tightening the national standard for fine particulates\u003c/a>, and as conditions for wildfires are worsening with climate change, regulators say they may see more requests to excuse that pollution.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We do need some help here. If the EPA will be constantly asking us for these large, resource-intensive packages … can we not streamline that, with EPA assisting us, saying, yes, we know that there was this giant wildfire?” Hunter said. “That’s our plea to EPA: Please help us streamline this process.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c!-- iframe plugin v.4.3 wordpress.org/plugins/iframe/ -->\u003cbr>\n\u003ciframe loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https://datawrapper.dwcdn.net/EjL0r/2/\" width=\"800\" height=\"800\" scrolling=\"yes\" class=\"iframe-class\" frameborder=\"0\">\u003c/iframe>\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>Health risks grow, resources don’t\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>Even as smoke pollutes our air, the GAO reports that the EPA “does not have a coordinated agency-wide program or dedicated staff and resources for the agency’s work related to helping communities prepare for and respond to wildfire smoke.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>According to the report, work on wildfire smoke by the EPA is “done in addition to employees’ regular job duties.” Working on wildfire pollution is “like our Cinderella project — you know, after you’ve cleaned everything, you can go to the ball,” said EPA’s Bauer. “We work on this out of a passion for helping people.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“It’s very difficult to tap resources when we don’t have a mandate,” said the EPA’s Mebust. “I think our federal partners, their roles are more clearly defined.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The GAO report makes a number of recommendations for the EPA to begin to better address pollution caused by wildfires. They include coordinating with other agencies to communicate risk and looking for ways to help reduce the likelihood of future smoke events.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In its response, EPA officials told the GAO that the programs that would accomplish these goals are underfunded and that it is “limited by its resources in its ability to respond to this growing threat.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Meanwhile, exceptional events for wildfires are becoming less and less exceptional. “The data demonstrates that,” said Wara. “And we should be concerned.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The federal Office of Management and Budget estimates \u003ca href=\"https://www.whitehouse.gov/wp-content/uploads/2022/04/OMB_Climate_Risk_Exposure_2022.pdf\">wildfire smoke exposure could increase federal health care expenditures by $128 million (PDF)\u003c/a> to $226 million each year by the end of the century.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In the San Joaquin Valley, Tom Helme’s son, now 5, struggles with asthma.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Helme knows there are always going to be wildfires in California. But he’s not satisfied with the response of officials to those fires. “I don’t think they’re completely outside our control,” he said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>\u003ca id=\"howwildfiresmokeimpactsyou\">\u003c/a>How has wildfire smoke impacted your life? Let us know\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c!-- iframe plugin v.4.3 wordpress.org/plugins/iframe/ -->\u003cbr>\n\u003ciframe loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https://airtable.com/embed/shrtUxclfxepSjs9C?backgroundColor=purple\" width=\"800\" height=\"800\" scrolling=\"yes\" class=\"iframe-class\" frameborder=\"0\">\u003c/iframe>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>The California Newsroom is a collaboration of California public radio stations. MuckRock is a nonprofit, collaborative platform and newsroom that brings together journalists, researchers and the public to request, analyze and share primary source data and documents in the public interest.\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad floatright]\u003c/p>\n",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cp>A new father drove home from the hospital in downtown Modesto, scared — not by having a newborn baby, but by smoke-filled, “apocalyptic-looking skies.” Tom Helme couldn’t see past the next stoplight on the flat, straight road ahead. On that fall day in 2017, it was dark, he said, “like if a nuclear bomb went off, or something blocked the sun.” The San Joaquin Valley was already years into what regulators now say is a downward slide in air quality, choked by smoke from frequent wildfires.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In a recent report, the U.S. Government Accountability Office, the investigative arm of Congress, concluded that the Environmental Protection Agency’s response to wildfire smoke is “ad hoc,” poorly resourced and muddled by a lack of coordination with other agencies.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Jump straight to:\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cul>\n\u003cli>\u003cstrong>\u003ca href=\"#howwildfiresmokeimpactsyou\">How has wildfire smoke impacted your life? Let us know\u003c/a>\u003c/strong>\u003c/li>\n\u003c/ul>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>“You could ask anybody working on wildfire smoke and the answer is no, we’re not doing enough,” said Meredith Bauer, assistant director for the air and radiation division in EPA Region 9, which includes California. “Not yet. Not yet.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Over the last three decades, \u003ca href=\"https://github.com/MuckRock/gao-wildfire-exceptions\">the number of acres burned by wildfire\u003c/a> has grown, spewing smoke across California and the country. The new GAO report highlights how a loophole in the Clean Air Act permits the EPA to erase pollution — not from the sky, but from the record.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The tool for erasing some of the worst air-pollution days is called the “exceptional events” rule — a legal pathway that allows local regulators to make a case that air pollution from “natural” wildfires shouldn’t count against their federal air quality goals.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Local regulators who seek to designate wildfires as exceptional events say doing so sets off a complex, burdensome process that is nonetheless essential to avoid slipping further away from meeting air quality standards — even if removing wildfire smoke from the record doesn’t actually clean up the air. According to the GAO, federal \u003ca href=\"https://github.com/MuckRock/gao-wildfire-exceptions\">regulators have granted such requests more often\u003c/a> over the last decade.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In Modesto, Helme first heard about exceptional events more than a year before his son’s birth, as a member of an environmental justice advisory group that meets with regulators. Officials at the San Joaquin Valley Air Pollution Control District had explained to the group that federal law permitted communities to avoid tighter regulation when pollution is “outside the control of the region.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Helme says that at that meeting, he wondered out loud whether smoke from fires was going to become the norm. “Do you picture a time when it’s not going to be considered exceptional because it happens every single year?” he asked. “And what are our options with that?”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c!-- iframe plugin v.4.3 wordpress.org/plugins/iframe/ -->\u003cbr>\n\u003ciframe loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https://felt.com/embed/map/Wildfires-by-decade-1980-2021-QBFznerjRpK6BWnGzY9BRYC?lat=40.428019&lon=-101.796478&zoom=4.24\" width=\"800\" height=\"600\" scrolling=\"yes\" class=\"iframe-class\" frameborder=\"0\">\u003c/iframe>\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>Erasing dangerous smoke from the data\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>Wildfire smoke is one of the fastest-growing sources of air pollution in the United States. Particulate pollution from fires drives health risks that are significant to pregnant people, children, outdoor workers, residents of leaky buildings and anyone with heart or lung ailments. Ozone produced by wildfires can cause irritation and inflammation of the lungs; even short-term exposure above certain levels raises the risk of premature death.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Yet, the 1970 Clean Air Act gives regulators little ability to take actions that could limit wildfire smoke. That’s because the landmark law focused on soot spewing from smokestacks and tailpipes. Policymakers viewed human-made pollution as the primary threat to public health, said University of Colorado at Boulder geographer Katie Clifford. “Ultimately the thinking about pollution was not about natural risks,” she said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In contrast, the EPA, which enforces the Clean Air Act, has treated some wildfires, dust storms and volcanic eruptions as naturally occurring outliers.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“If pollution is created by people and it’s controllable, that’s what we want to manage,” said the EPA’s Meredith Bauer. “It’s everything that’s outside of that that we would call an exceptional event.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The exceptional events rule, added to the Clean Air Act in 2005, has enabled regulators to ignore pollution data from some events when deciding whether a particular region must do more to improve its air quality. The closer that regions come to meeting federal air quality standards, the fewer restrictions local businesses and other polluters face. Forgiving wildfire pollution helps them meet those standards — and it has been happening more frequently over the last decade, according to the new GAO analysis, which named California, Colorado, Rhode Island and Texas as places that have sought to have wildfire pollution data excused.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c!-- iframe plugin v.4.3 wordpress.org/plugins/iframe/ -->\u003cbr>\n\u003ciframe loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https://datawrapper.dwcdn.net/534YN/6/\" width=\"1000\" height=\"350\" scrolling=\"yes\" class=\"iframe-class\" frameborder=\"0\">\u003c/iframe>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Michael Wara, a Stanford Law School professor who directs the Climate and Energy Policy Program at the Stanford Woods Institute for the Environment, says the GAO’s findings are concerning.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“The whole point of the Clean Air Act is to protect people,” he said. “If a part of the law that was seldom used becomes frequently used, then the entire purposes of the act are being undermined.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The GAO report makes it clear that the exceptional events rule is one of the few tools the EPA has to respond to the problem.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“There’s very little legal or regulatory language defining EPA’s role in smoke management other than our exceptional events program,” said Anna Mebust, an atmospheric scientist at the Environmental Protection Agency who works on exceptional events.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Wildfire smoke is “not something that the law was written to handle,” added Wara.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>Hundreds of hours, hundreds of thousands of dollars\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>The GAO’s investigation also found that proving an exceptional event is burdensome. The EPA told the watchdog that “providing guidance for and reviewing the analyses demand a significant resource investment” for its regional offices. Local regulators described the process as overly cumbersome and convoluted.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“It is literally hundreds of hours of work” to prove that smoke pollution is an exceptional event, said Mark Loutzenhiser, who manages monitoring, programs and rules for the Sacramento Metropolitan Air Quality Management District.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Exceptional event demonstrations can run to hundreds of pages, just to write off smoke pollution for a day or two. Successful arguments help local communities avoid having to enforce stricter pollution controls.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“You have to show where the wildfire is. Was the wind actually blowing it there? Do you have satellite proof?” Loutzenhiser said. The EPA “look[s] at all of the pollutants. They look at all the weather conditions and they check to see, what do we think the pollution should have been, versus what did we actually measure? And you have to do this for every day of these exceptional events.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Julie Hunter, interim air pollution control officer for the Northern Sierra Air Quality Management District, says preparing for a future exceptional event designation also means extra work tracking public health advisories and media reports about fire severity — even while it’s still burning.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>All that effort during and after wildfires is costly. The GAO says some local and state regulators hire consultants to help, including government scientists at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. In public documents, states estimate it can cost from $50,000 to $150,000 to prepare a filing.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>As \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/science/1982166/the-epa-wants-cleaner-air-but-fire-experts-worry-new-rule-risks-making-it-worse\">the EPA considers tightening the national standard for fine particulates\u003c/a>, and as conditions for wildfires are worsening with climate change, regulators say they may see more requests to excuse that pollution.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We do need some help here. If the EPA will be constantly asking us for these large, resource-intensive packages … can we not streamline that, with EPA assisting us, saying, yes, we know that there was this giant wildfire?” Hunter said. “That’s our plea to EPA: Please help us streamline this process.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c!-- iframe plugin v.4.3 wordpress.org/plugins/iframe/ -->\u003cbr>\n\u003ciframe loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https://datawrapper.dwcdn.net/EjL0r/2/\" width=\"800\" height=\"800\" scrolling=\"yes\" class=\"iframe-class\" frameborder=\"0\">\u003c/iframe>\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>Health risks grow, resources don’t\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>Even as smoke pollutes our air, the GAO reports that the EPA “does not have a coordinated agency-wide program or dedicated staff and resources for the agency’s work related to helping communities prepare for and respond to wildfire smoke.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>According to the report, work on wildfire smoke by the EPA is “done in addition to employees’ regular job duties.” Working on wildfire pollution is “like our Cinderella project — you know, after you’ve cleaned everything, you can go to the ball,” said EPA’s Bauer. “We work on this out of a passion for helping people.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“It’s very difficult to tap resources when we don’t have a mandate,” said the EPA’s Mebust. “I think our federal partners, their roles are more clearly defined.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The GAO report makes a number of recommendations for the EPA to begin to better address pollution caused by wildfires. They include coordinating with other agencies to communicate risk and looking for ways to help reduce the likelihood of future smoke events.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In its response, EPA officials told the GAO that the programs that would accomplish these goals are underfunded and that it is “limited by its resources in its ability to respond to this growing threat.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Meanwhile, exceptional events for wildfires are becoming less and less exceptional. “The data demonstrates that,” said Wara. “And we should be concerned.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The federal Office of Management and Budget estimates \u003ca href=\"https://www.whitehouse.gov/wp-content/uploads/2022/04/OMB_Climate_Risk_Exposure_2022.pdf\">wildfire smoke exposure could increase federal health care expenditures by $128 million (PDF)\u003c/a> to $226 million each year by the end of the century.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In the San Joaquin Valley, Tom Helme’s son, now 5, struggles with asthma.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Helme knows there are always going to be wildfires in California. But he’s not satisfied with the response of officials to those fires. “I don’t think they’re completely outside our control,” he said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>\u003ca id=\"howwildfiresmokeimpactsyou\">\u003c/a>How has wildfire smoke impacted your life? Let us know\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c!-- iframe plugin v.4.3 wordpress.org/plugins/iframe/ -->\u003cbr>\n\u003ciframe loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https://airtable.com/embed/shrtUxclfxepSjs9C?backgroundColor=purple\" width=\"800\" height=\"800\" scrolling=\"yes\" class=\"iframe-class\" frameborder=\"0\">\u003c/iframe>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>The California Newsroom is a collaboration of California public radio stations. MuckRock is a nonprofit, collaborative platform and newsroom that brings together journalists, researchers and the public to request, analyze and share primary source data and documents in the public interest.\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cp>\u003ca href=\"#anchor\">\u003cem>This report contains corrections.\u003c/em>\u003c/a>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>California lawmakers blocked two big environmental bills Thursday: one that would have ramped up the state’s emissions targets, and another that would have made oil companies liable for the health problems of people who live close to oil wells.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>They are among the hundreds of bills that did not survive the Legislature’s suspense file, a mysterious process where lawmakers decide — with no explanation — which bills will get a chance to become law later this year and which should not move forward.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Last year, Gov. Gavin Newsom signed a law that bans drilling new oil wells within 3,200 feet of sensitive areas like homes and schools. But the law hasn’t taken effect because \u003ca href=\"https://apnews.com/article/los-angeles-gavin-newsom-california-business-climate-and-environment-f4bb3c242252ebf0a0c8cf5c3f55f637\">the oil industry qualified a referendum\u003c/a> on the 2024 ballot asking voters to overturn it.[pullquote align=\"right\" size=\"medium\" citation=\"Sen. Lena Gonzalez (D-Long Beach)\"]‘Today, we missed a key opportunity to advance legislation that would hold polluters accountable and prevent further harm to families who are just trying to stay healthy and have a better quality of life.’[/pullquote]That referendum angered environmental and health advocates; they decided if the oil industry wanted to block that law, then they would try to pass another law to let people who get sick from living too close to wells sue the oil companies responsible for them. The bill, authored by Sen. Lena Gonzalez (D-Long Beach), would have required oil companies to pay up to $1 million to people who have cancer or other health problems associated with the wells.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Today, we missed a key opportunity to advance legislation that would hold polluters accountable and prevent further harm to families who are just trying to stay healthy and have a better quality of life,” Gonzalez said in a statement.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The Senate Appropriations Committee stopped the bill from getting a vote by the full Senate, meaning it is not likely to become law this year. Jamie Court, president of the advocacy group Consumer Watchdog, blamed committee chair Sen. Anthony Portantino, a Democrat from Burbank who is also running for Congress.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“A bill like this should get a hearing by the full Senate and not be shoved in a drawer by one politician when we have millions of people living within a half-mile of oil wells whose lives and health are at threat every damn day,” Court said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Portantino’s office did not respond to an email seeking comment about why the bill was held.[aside postID=news_11940704 hero='https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2023/02/RS62774_GettyImages-941954046-qut-1020x680.jpg']Kara Greene, spokesperson for the Western States Petroleum Association, which opposed the bill, said it would have been unfair to oil and gas companies and done more harm than good.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“The billions of dollars and the fiscal mess that this bill would have caused to the State and local governments from their own liabilities, the fiscal responsibility of inherited wells, and the cost to the court system, would be substantial,” Greene said in a statement.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>State Sen. Henry Stern, a Los Angeles Democrat, introduced another bill this year that would have required the state to reduce its planet-warming emissions to 55% below the 1990 level by the end of 2030. The state has already set out to reduce those emissions by 40% by that same deadline.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“The bill dying was a reflection of the impasse I worry we’re heading towards on climate in California,” Stern said in a statement. “As the world races ahead, we may get stuck debating pathways forward.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>A similar bill introduced last year didn’t make it to the governor’s desk.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>California is also aiming to achieve \u003ca href=\"https://apnews.com/article/california-agriculture-climate-and-environment-2591f7c60f1a143e08b599610dc49fce#:~:text=The%20plan%20sets%20out%20to,86%25%20within%20that%20time%20frame.\">carbon neutrality\u003c/a>, meaning the state would remove as many carbon emissions as it released, by 2045. The state Air Resources Board has approved rules to limit pollution from \u003ca href=\"https://apnews.com/article/technology-california-air-resources-board-climate-and-environment-dc75c11280f85a8ab134cf392497be68\">cars\u003c/a>, \u003ca href=\"https://apnews.com/article/california-truck-drayage-emissions-climate-change-ab703c7f6274e35d408e020c7a1a823e\">trucks\u003c/a>, \u003ca href=\"https://apnews.com/article/business-gavin-newsom-california-pollution-environment-and-nature-a0110d773785d920558134c0009ba694\">lawn mowers\u003c/a> and \u003ca href=\"https://apnews.com/article/california-rail-train-emissions-climate-change-1b3e39ea4731422bc630a07c08c6a826\">trains\u003c/a>.[pullquote align=\"right\" size=\"medium\" citation=\"Jamie Court, president, Consumer Watchdog\"]‘A bill like this should get a hearing by the full Senate and not be shoved in a drawer by one politician when we have millions of people living within a half-mile of oil wells whose lives and health are at threat every damn day.’[/pullquote]Bills that were held in the Senate and Assembly appropriations committees are not likely to pass this year, with a June 2 deadline looming for legislation to advance from one chamber.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Other bills that failed included a plan to allow people struggling with suicidal thoughts to voluntarily register themselves on a “do not sell” list for firearms, and a proposal to ban people under 21 years old from using mobile phones, even hands-free, while driving. A bill that would require the Department of Justice to investigate all police use-of-force incidents that result in the death of civilians also didn’t make it through Thursday, nor did legislation that would have expanded access to mental health treatment for incarcerated people.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Some proposals, including legislation to create a mental health hotline for California State University students system and a bill to stock government bathrooms with free menstrual products, were designated as two-year bills, meaning they won’t be voted on before January.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Once bills are voted on in the Senate or Assembly, those that passed will move on to the other chamber. The Legislature has until mid-September to pass bills, and then Newsom has about a month to reject them or sign them into law.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>\u003ca id=\"anchor\">\u003c/a>The Associated Press erroneously reported that Sen. Henry Stern is from Malibu. He is from Los Angeles. The AP also incorrectly described legislation as allowing people who live near oil wells to sue the oil companies over health issues. Oil companies can already be sued but the legislation would make them liable for those health issues under certain conditions.\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>That referendum angered environmental and health advocates; they decided if the oil industry wanted to block that law, then they would try to pass another law to let people who get sick from living too close to wells sue the oil companies responsible for them. The bill, authored by Sen. Lena Gonzalez (D-Long Beach), would have required oil companies to pay up to $1 million to people who have cancer or other health problems associated with the wells.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Today, we missed a key opportunity to advance legislation that would hold polluters accountable and prevent further harm to families who are just trying to stay healthy and have a better quality of life,” Gonzalez said in a statement.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The Senate Appropriations Committee stopped the bill from getting a vote by the full Senate, meaning it is not likely to become law this year. Jamie Court, president of the advocacy group Consumer Watchdog, blamed committee chair Sen. Anthony Portantino, a Democrat from Burbank who is also running for Congress.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“A bill like this should get a hearing by the full Senate and not be shoved in a drawer by one politician when we have millions of people living within a half-mile of oil wells whose lives and health are at threat every damn day,” Court said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Portantino’s office did not respond to an email seeking comment about why the bill was held.\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>Kara Greene, spokesperson for the Western States Petroleum Association, which opposed the bill, said it would have been unfair to oil and gas companies and done more harm than good.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“The billions of dollars and the fiscal mess that this bill would have caused to the State and local governments from their own liabilities, the fiscal responsibility of inherited wells, and the cost to the court system, would be substantial,” Greene said in a statement.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>State Sen. Henry Stern, a Los Angeles Democrat, introduced another bill this year that would have required the state to reduce its planet-warming emissions to 55% below the 1990 level by the end of 2030. The state has already set out to reduce those emissions by 40% by that same deadline.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“The bill dying was a reflection of the impasse I worry we’re heading towards on climate in California,” Stern said in a statement. “As the world races ahead, we may get stuck debating pathways forward.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>A similar bill introduced last year didn’t make it to the governor’s desk.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>California is also aiming to achieve \u003ca href=\"https://apnews.com/article/california-agriculture-climate-and-environment-2591f7c60f1a143e08b599610dc49fce#:~:text=The%20plan%20sets%20out%20to,86%25%20within%20that%20time%20frame.\">carbon neutrality\u003c/a>, meaning the state would remove as many carbon emissions as it released, by 2045. The state Air Resources Board has approved rules to limit pollution from \u003ca href=\"https://apnews.com/article/technology-california-air-resources-board-climate-and-environment-dc75c11280f85a8ab134cf392497be68\">cars\u003c/a>, \u003ca href=\"https://apnews.com/article/california-truck-drayage-emissions-climate-change-ab703c7f6274e35d408e020c7a1a823e\">trucks\u003c/a>, \u003ca href=\"https://apnews.com/article/business-gavin-newsom-california-pollution-environment-and-nature-a0110d773785d920558134c0009ba694\">lawn mowers\u003c/a> and \u003ca href=\"https://apnews.com/article/california-rail-train-emissions-climate-change-1b3e39ea4731422bc630a07c08c6a826\">trains\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>Bills that were held in the Senate and Assembly appropriations committees are not likely to pass this year, with a June 2 deadline looming for legislation to advance from one chamber.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Other bills that failed included a plan to allow people struggling with suicidal thoughts to voluntarily register themselves on a “do not sell” list for firearms, and a proposal to ban people under 21 years old from using mobile phones, even hands-free, while driving. A bill that would require the Department of Justice to investigate all police use-of-force incidents that result in the death of civilians also didn’t make it through Thursday, nor did legislation that would have expanded access to mental health treatment for incarcerated people.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Some proposals, including legislation to create a mental health hotline for California State University students system and a bill to stock government bathrooms with free menstrual products, were designated as two-year bills, meaning they won’t be voted on before January.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Once bills are voted on in the Senate or Assembly, those that passed will move on to the other chamber. The Legislature has until mid-September to pass bills, and then Newsom has about a month to reject them or sign them into law.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>\u003ca id=\"anchor\">\u003c/a>The Associated Press erroneously reported that Sen. Henry Stern is from Malibu. He is from Los Angeles. The AP also incorrectly described legislation as allowing people who live near oil wells to sue the oil companies over health issues. Oil companies can already be sued but the legislation would make them liable for those health issues under certain conditions.\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"title": "Feds Grant SF’s Laguna Honda Hospital New Extension, Delaying Involuntary Patient Transfers",
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"content": "\u003cp>Federal regulators have agreed to again put off involuntarily transferring residents at \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/11939987/feds-grant-reprieve-on-laguna-honda-patient-transfers-until-may\">Laguna Honda\u003c/a>, the state’s largest public nursing facility, which fell out of compliance in 2022.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The reprieve came just one day before the hospital would have been forced to implement a closure plan that involves assessing and discharging the facility’s more than 500 medically fragile patients in preparation for a possible closure.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Laguna Honda now has until Sept. 19, 2023, before involuntary transfers could resume, according to a letter from interim CEO Roland Pickens. In addition, health insurance coverage for the hospital’s majority of patients who are on Medi-Cal and Medicare will continue through March 19, 2024.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Today’s good news is the result of positive changes taking place at Laguna Honda,” said Pickens in a note to families on Thursday. “The additional time provided by the extension allows us the opportunity we need [to] be in the best position to apply for recertification.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The hospital is now working to regain certification with the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, the federal regulatory body that Laguna Honda fell out of compliance with in April 2022.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[pullquote size=\"medium\" align=\"right\" citation=\"Roland Pickens, interim CEO, Laguna Honda Hospital\"]‘The additional time provided by the extension allows us the opportunity we need [to] be in the best position to apply for recertification.’[/pullquote]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The hospital was cited for a number of safety issues across multiple regulatory surveys that were triggered after \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/11949515/laguna-honda-faces-covid-outbreak-amid-looming-patient-transfer-deadline\">Laguna Honda self-reported two nonfatal overdoses\u003c/a> that occurred on-site.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>As a result, federal regulators stripped Laguna Honda from Medicare and Medi-Cal, subsidized health care plans that cover the vast majority of residents at the facility, most of whom have extremely low incomes.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>While Laguna Honda works to address its citations, CMS has simultaneously required that the hospital craft a closure plan to continue its health care funding. That plan involved assessing and relocating as many patients as possible in 2022.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_11950111\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 1920px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-11950111\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2023/05/RS62460_007_KQED_LagunaHondaHospital_01312023-qut.jpg\" alt='An outdoor shot of a big tan hospital building surrounded by tall trees, succulents and other green plants. The words \"Laguna Honda Hospital\" are seen over the main entryway.' width=\"1920\" height=\"1280\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/05/RS62460_007_KQED_LagunaHondaHospital_01312023-qut.jpg 1920w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/05/RS62460_007_KQED_LagunaHondaHospital_01312023-qut-800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/05/RS62460_007_KQED_LagunaHondaHospital_01312023-qut-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/05/RS62460_007_KQED_LagunaHondaHospital_01312023-qut-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/05/RS62460_007_KQED_LagunaHondaHospital_01312023-qut-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1920px) 100vw, 1920px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">The Laguna Honda Hospital administration building in San Francisco on Jan. 31, 2023. \u003ccite>(Beth LaBerge/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Of 57 residents who were transferred or discharged during that process, 12 died shortly after their relocations. The city sued the federal government in response, and the transfer process was paused temporarily as part of a settlement agreement.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Involuntary transfers caused our residents, their families, and our staff a great deal of distress. Laguna Honda and City leadership, as well as residents, families, and advocates, have strongly advocated against the involuntary transfers,” a spokesperson for the hospital wrote Tuesday in a media release. “This is the humane and compassionate path forward for our residents, their families, our staff, and all those who care about Laguna Honda.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Following the city’s lawsuit in November 2022, the city and CMS reached a settlement agreement to pause the involuntary transfers until February 2023 and to continue health care payments through November 2023.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In February 2023, regulators agreed to extend the pause on transfers to May 19.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Today’s update moves the deadline yet again to Sept. 19, 2023, and payments will continue through March 19, 2024.[pullquote size=\"medium\" align=\"right\" citation=\"City Attorney David Chiu\"]‘The city and Laguna Honda have done a tremendous amount of work to come into compliance with the hundreds of requirements that have been asked of us and we believe we are in a good spot.’[/pullquote]“The city and Laguna Honda have done a tremendous amount of work to come into compliance with the hundreds of requirements that have been asked of us and we believe we are in a good spot,” said City Attorney David Chiu, whose office led the lawsuit against the federal regulators in 2022.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The hospital can apply for recertification after it successfully completes its next monitoring survey with CMS, which hospital officials say they expect to happen by the end of May or in June of this year.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Laguna Honda is working diligently to make and sustain improvements that will serve our current residents and ensure Laguna Honda remains an essential part of the City and County of San Francisco’s commitment to public health,” the spokesperson said. “We remain confident that Laguna Honda is the best place for our residents to receive care.”[aside postID=news_11940765 hero='https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2023/02/RS62526_02022023_lagunahondapresser-308-qut-1-1020x678.jpg']Meanwhile, senior and disability advocates have raised the alarm over the back-and-forth messaging that the hospital’s more than 500 residents and their families have endured throughout the regulatory spiral.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Resuming evictions or whatever you want to call them is extremely dangerous,” said Teresa Palmer, who previously worked at Laguna Honda, in a recent town hall meeting about patients’ rights ahead of the looming discharges. “I don’t see how evictions and transfers can be resumed without severe consequences, not only to patients, but to the government agencies that are forcing them.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cp>Federal regulators have agreed to again put off involuntarily transferring residents at \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/11939987/feds-grant-reprieve-on-laguna-honda-patient-transfers-until-may\">Laguna Honda\u003c/a>, the state’s largest public nursing facility, which fell out of compliance in 2022.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The reprieve came just one day before the hospital would have been forced to implement a closure plan that involves assessing and discharging the facility’s more than 500 medically fragile patients in preparation for a possible closure.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Laguna Honda now has until Sept. 19, 2023, before involuntary transfers could resume, according to a letter from interim CEO Roland Pickens. In addition, health insurance coverage for the hospital’s majority of patients who are on Medi-Cal and Medicare will continue through March 19, 2024.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Today’s good news is the result of positive changes taking place at Laguna Honda,” said Pickens in a note to families on Thursday. “The additional time provided by the extension allows us the opportunity we need [to] be in the best position to apply for recertification.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The hospital is now working to regain certification with the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, the federal regulatory body that Laguna Honda fell out of compliance with in April 2022.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The hospital was cited for a number of safety issues across multiple regulatory surveys that were triggered after \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/11949515/laguna-honda-faces-covid-outbreak-amid-looming-patient-transfer-deadline\">Laguna Honda self-reported two nonfatal overdoses\u003c/a> that occurred on-site.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>As a result, federal regulators stripped Laguna Honda from Medicare and Medi-Cal, subsidized health care plans that cover the vast majority of residents at the facility, most of whom have extremely low incomes.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>While Laguna Honda works to address its citations, CMS has simultaneously required that the hospital craft a closure plan to continue its health care funding. That plan involved assessing and relocating as many patients as possible in 2022.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_11950111\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 1920px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-11950111\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2023/05/RS62460_007_KQED_LagunaHondaHospital_01312023-qut.jpg\" alt='An outdoor shot of a big tan hospital building surrounded by tall trees, succulents and other green plants. The words \"Laguna Honda Hospital\" are seen over the main entryway.' width=\"1920\" height=\"1280\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/05/RS62460_007_KQED_LagunaHondaHospital_01312023-qut.jpg 1920w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/05/RS62460_007_KQED_LagunaHondaHospital_01312023-qut-800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/05/RS62460_007_KQED_LagunaHondaHospital_01312023-qut-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/05/RS62460_007_KQED_LagunaHondaHospital_01312023-qut-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/05/RS62460_007_KQED_LagunaHondaHospital_01312023-qut-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1920px) 100vw, 1920px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">The Laguna Honda Hospital administration building in San Francisco on Jan. 31, 2023. \u003ccite>(Beth LaBerge/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Of 57 residents who were transferred or discharged during that process, 12 died shortly after their relocations. The city sued the federal government in response, and the transfer process was paused temporarily as part of a settlement agreement.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Involuntary transfers caused our residents, their families, and our staff a great deal of distress. Laguna Honda and City leadership, as well as residents, families, and advocates, have strongly advocated against the involuntary transfers,” a spokesperson for the hospital wrote Tuesday in a media release. “This is the humane and compassionate path forward for our residents, their families, our staff, and all those who care about Laguna Honda.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Following the city’s lawsuit in November 2022, the city and CMS reached a settlement agreement to pause the involuntary transfers until February 2023 and to continue health care payments through November 2023.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In February 2023, regulators agreed to extend the pause on transfers to May 19.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Today’s update moves the deadline yet again to Sept. 19, 2023, and payments will continue through March 19, 2024.\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>“The city and Laguna Honda have done a tremendous amount of work to come into compliance with the hundreds of requirements that have been asked of us and we believe we are in a good spot,” said City Attorney David Chiu, whose office led the lawsuit against the federal regulators in 2022.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The hospital can apply for recertification after it successfully completes its next monitoring survey with CMS, which hospital officials say they expect to happen by the end of May or in June of this year.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Laguna Honda is working diligently to make and sustain improvements that will serve our current residents and ensure Laguna Honda remains an essential part of the City and County of San Francisco’s commitment to public health,” the spokesperson said. “We remain confident that Laguna Honda is the best place for our residents to receive care.”\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>Meanwhile, senior and disability advocates have raised the alarm over the back-and-forth messaging that the hospital’s more than 500 residents and their families have endured throughout the regulatory spiral.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Resuming evictions or whatever you want to call them is extremely dangerous,” said Teresa Palmer, who previously worked at Laguna Honda, in a recent town hall meeting about patients’ rights ahead of the looming discharges. “I don’t see how evictions and transfers can be resumed without severe consequences, not only to patients, but to the government agencies that are forcing them.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003c/div>\u003c/p>",
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"title": "Walgreens to Pay San Francisco $230 Million for Role in Opioid Crisis",
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"content": "\u003cp>Walgreens will pay San Francisco nearly $230 million over 14 years as part of a settlement agreement over the pharmacy giant’s role in the \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/11945418/san-francisco-has-doubled-participants-of-this-opioid-treatment-heres-why\">opioid epidemic\u003c/a>, city officials announced Wednesday.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The settlement stems from landmark litigation San Francisco brought against Walgreens in 2018, and comes as part of a larger legal effort against the drug industry for fueling the opioid industry.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Opioids have wreaked havoc across our nation, leading to immense suffering and untold damage,” said City Attorney David Chiu. “This historic agreement ensures Walgreens is held accountable for the crisis they fueled and our city receives appropriate resources to combat the opioid crisis and bring relief to our communities.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">[ad fullwidth]\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Although Walgreens will pay the settlement over 14 years, the bulk of the funding will be released sooner: Up to $57 million will be available in the city’s current budget cycle — part of $175 million San Francisco should receive by 2030, Chiu said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“While we are grateful for the funding secured in this lawsuit, it won’t replace the thousands of lives lost to the opioid epidemic that is playing out across our country. Lives are being devastated, particularly with the rise of fentanyl, and cities are being left to respond to what is a generational crisis,” said San Francisco Mayor London Breed. “We will incorporate the plans to use this funding in our upcoming budget, which is currently being finalized and must be submitted to the Board of Supervisors by the end of the month. I look forward to working with the board members on this as part of our overall budget process.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The litigation will now be dismissed, and Breed and the Board of Supervisors must next approve the settlement agreement.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">[aside label='More Stories on Health' tag='health']\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Since 2018, San Francisco has sued multiple opioid manufacturers, distributors and dispensers, and Walgreens was the last defendant to reach a settlement agreement with the city. In total, San Francisco stands to receive $352 million over the next 15 years.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In April, the city settled lawsuits over \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/11946346/walmart-cvs-set-to-pay-san-francisco-19-million-in-opioid-settlements\">Walmart’s and CVS Pharmacy’s alleged negligent oversight\u003c/a> of opioid prescription practices; San Francisco is slated to receive up to $18.8 million from those settlements. In 2022, the city attorney’s office secured a $10 million settlement from Endo, a pharmaceutical company, and $54 million from drug manufacturers Allergan and Teva. And, the city approved a $45 million settlement with Johnson & Johnson, which manufactures opioids, and distributors including Cardinal, AmerisourceBergen and McKesson.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“The evidence at trial established that from 2006 to 2020, Walgreens pharmacies in San Francisco dispensed hundreds of thousands of red-flag opioid prescriptions without performing adequate due diligence,” said presiding judge Charles Breyer of the U.S. District Court of the Northern District of California. “Tens of thousands of these prescriptions were written by doctors with suspect prescribing patterns.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The funds are said to be earmarked for overdose prevention, such as distributing Narcan, a nasal spray or injectable that can reverse an opioid overdose.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Advocates for overdose prevention have also called for the millions of dollars in opioid litigation settlements to be used for \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/11943309/sf-supervisors-carve-path-for-privately-run-safe-consumption-sites-but-can-nonprofits-fund-them-alone\">safe consumption sites\u003c/a>, facilities where people can consume illicit substances under medical supervision. The idea is to have trained staff available to reverse an overdose if one takes place, and work with drug users to connect them to other health and social services. It also gives drug users a safer place to be rather than the street.[pullquote size=\"medium\" align=\"right\" citation=\"Judge Charles Breyer, US District Court of the Northern District of California\"]‘Tens of thousands of these prescriptions were written by doctors with suspect prescribing patterns.’[/pullquote]Supervisor Hillary Ronen said she is advocating for a portion of the settlement funds to cover overdose prevention services at “wellness hubs” the city plans to open in the Tenderloin, Mission and South of Market neighborhoods. She said she would also like to see the funding used to hire case managers who could do proactive outreach and trust-building with hard-to-reach people living on the street and experiencing substance use disorder.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Chiu said he supports safe consumption sites as a tool to combat overdoses, but has not agreed to use the opioid litigation funds for the sites because of legal disagreements over whether this would run afoul of state and federal law.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_11949901\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 720px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-11949901\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2023/05/image.png\" alt=\"Dozens of distinguished men and women in business suits and dress stand in front of a large, gray building with gold accents. Everyone is posing for a photograph.\" width=\"720\" height=\"540\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/05/image.png 720w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/05/image-160x120.png 160w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 720px) 100vw, 720px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">City Attorney David Chiu (second row, center, in blue suit and yellow tie) stands with health director Grant Colfax (third row, center) and former City Attorney Louise Renne (second row, far left, in dark blue suit) and attorneys who led the case against Walgreens for its role in the opioid crisis. \u003ccite>(Sydney Johnson/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>In 2022, Gov. Gavin Newsom vetoed a bill that would have allowed San Francisco to pilot safe consumption sites, which are used in more than a dozen countries around the globe.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Rhode Island passed a similar bill, and is now planning to open a site in 2024 that would use some of that state’s funding from similar opioid litigation wins.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Meanwhile, New York City has been operating a safe consumption facility using a model that doesn’t rely on public funding — but long-term financing is an ongoing challenge. Staff at the site, run by the nonprofit OnPoint NYC, have reversed more than 800 overdoses, executive director Sam Rivera told Politico earlier this month. New York City Mayor Eric Adams has said he is looking to expand the model.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I have been a long-time supporter of the possibility that San Francisco should consider safe consumption sites,” Chiu said. “In New York, there has been a nonprofit that has moved forward with safe consumption sites without city staff, funding or property. I think that would be appropriate for us to do here in San Francisco, but those conversations continue.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">[aside postID=news_11944267 hero='https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2023/03/RS51826_068_Oakland_HighlandHospitalBridgeProgram_10062021-qut-1020x680.jpg']\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But local nonprofits in San Francisco that want to operate safe consumption services say they will be hard to fully fund without support from the city’s opioid litigation funds.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Chiu said his office is in conversation with leaders in Rhode Island, but he stressed that Newsom’s veto in 2022 makes the situation harder here in San Francisco.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Rhode Island is the only state in the country where the state legislature passed a law signed by the governor that would permit safe consumption sites,” he said. “That’s not the case here in California.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad floatright]\u003c/p>\n",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cp>Walgreens will pay San Francisco nearly $230 million over 14 years as part of a settlement agreement over the pharmacy giant’s role in the \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/11945418/san-francisco-has-doubled-participants-of-this-opioid-treatment-heres-why\">opioid epidemic\u003c/a>, city officials announced Wednesday.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The settlement stems from landmark litigation San Francisco brought against Walgreens in 2018, and comes as part of a larger legal effort against the drug industry for fueling the opioid industry.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Opioids have wreaked havoc across our nation, leading to immense suffering and untold damage,” said City Attorney David Chiu. “This historic agreement ensures Walgreens is held accountable for the crisis they fueled and our city receives appropriate resources to combat the opioid crisis and bring relief to our communities.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Although Walgreens will pay the settlement over 14 years, the bulk of the funding will be released sooner: Up to $57 million will be available in the city’s current budget cycle — part of $175 million San Francisco should receive by 2030, Chiu said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“While we are grateful for the funding secured in this lawsuit, it won’t replace the thousands of lives lost to the opioid epidemic that is playing out across our country. Lives are being devastated, particularly with the rise of fentanyl, and cities are being left to respond to what is a generational crisis,” said San Francisco Mayor London Breed. “We will incorporate the plans to use this funding in our upcoming budget, which is currently being finalized and must be submitted to the Board of Supervisors by the end of the month. I look forward to working with the board members on this as part of our overall budget process.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The litigation will now be dismissed, and Breed and the Board of Supervisors must next approve the settlement agreement.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Since 2018, San Francisco has sued multiple opioid manufacturers, distributors and dispensers, and Walgreens was the last defendant to reach a settlement agreement with the city. In total, San Francisco stands to receive $352 million over the next 15 years.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In April, the city settled lawsuits over \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/11946346/walmart-cvs-set-to-pay-san-francisco-19-million-in-opioid-settlements\">Walmart’s and CVS Pharmacy’s alleged negligent oversight\u003c/a> of opioid prescription practices; San Francisco is slated to receive up to $18.8 million from those settlements. In 2022, the city attorney’s office secured a $10 million settlement from Endo, a pharmaceutical company, and $54 million from drug manufacturers Allergan and Teva. And, the city approved a $45 million settlement with Johnson & Johnson, which manufactures opioids, and distributors including Cardinal, AmerisourceBergen and McKesson.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“The evidence at trial established that from 2006 to 2020, Walgreens pharmacies in San Francisco dispensed hundreds of thousands of red-flag opioid prescriptions without performing adequate due diligence,” said presiding judge Charles Breyer of the U.S. District Court of the Northern District of California. “Tens of thousands of these prescriptions were written by doctors with suspect prescribing patterns.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The funds are said to be earmarked for overdose prevention, such as distributing Narcan, a nasal spray or injectable that can reverse an opioid overdose.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Advocates for overdose prevention have also called for the millions of dollars in opioid litigation settlements to be used for \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/11943309/sf-supervisors-carve-path-for-privately-run-safe-consumption-sites-but-can-nonprofits-fund-them-alone\">safe consumption sites\u003c/a>, facilities where people can consume illicit substances under medical supervision. The idea is to have trained staff available to reverse an overdose if one takes place, and work with drug users to connect them to other health and social services. It also gives drug users a safer place to be rather than the street.\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "‘Tens of thousands of these prescriptions were written by doctors with suspect prescribing patterns.’",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>Supervisor Hillary Ronen said she is advocating for a portion of the settlement funds to cover overdose prevention services at “wellness hubs” the city plans to open in the Tenderloin, Mission and South of Market neighborhoods. She said she would also like to see the funding used to hire case managers who could do proactive outreach and trust-building with hard-to-reach people living on the street and experiencing substance use disorder.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Chiu said he supports safe consumption sites as a tool to combat overdoses, but has not agreed to use the opioid litigation funds for the sites because of legal disagreements over whether this would run afoul of state and federal law.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_11949901\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 720px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-11949901\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2023/05/image.png\" alt=\"Dozens of distinguished men and women in business suits and dress stand in front of a large, gray building with gold accents. Everyone is posing for a photograph.\" width=\"720\" height=\"540\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/05/image.png 720w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/05/image-160x120.png 160w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 720px) 100vw, 720px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">City Attorney David Chiu (second row, center, in blue suit and yellow tie) stands with health director Grant Colfax (third row, center) and former City Attorney Louise Renne (second row, far left, in dark blue suit) and attorneys who led the case against Walgreens for its role in the opioid crisis. \u003ccite>(Sydney Johnson/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>In 2022, Gov. Gavin Newsom vetoed a bill that would have allowed San Francisco to pilot safe consumption sites, which are used in more than a dozen countries around the globe.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Rhode Island passed a similar bill, and is now planning to open a site in 2024 that would use some of that state’s funding from similar opioid litigation wins.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Meanwhile, New York City has been operating a safe consumption facility using a model that doesn’t rely on public funding — but long-term financing is an ongoing challenge. Staff at the site, run by the nonprofit OnPoint NYC, have reversed more than 800 overdoses, executive director Sam Rivera told Politico earlier this month. New York City Mayor Eric Adams has said he is looking to expand the model.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I have been a long-time supporter of the possibility that San Francisco should consider safe consumption sites,” Chiu said. “In New York, there has been a nonprofit that has moved forward with safe consumption sites without city staff, funding or property. I think that would be appropriate for us to do here in San Francisco, but those conversations continue.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But local nonprofits in San Francisco that want to operate safe consumption services say they will be hard to fully fund without support from the city’s opioid litigation funds.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Chiu said his office is in conversation with leaders in Rhode Island, but he stressed that Newsom’s veto in 2022 makes the situation harder here in San Francisco.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Rhode Island is the only state in the country where the state legislature passed a law signed by the governor that would permit safe consumption sites,” he said. “That’s not the case here in California.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"title": "California Legislators Fast-Track a Loan Program to Prevent Hospital Closures",
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"headTitle": "California Legislators Fast-Track a Loan Program to Prevent Hospital Closures | KQED",
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"content": "\u003cp>California \u003ca href=\"https://calmatters.org/health/2023/04/hospital-closures-california/\">hospitals in financial trouble\u003c/a> will soon be able to apply for interest-free state loans, although key questions about the selection process aren’t yet resolved.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The Legislature on Thursday approved \u003ca href=\"https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/billNavClient.xhtml?bill_id=202320240AB112\">a bill that will allocate a one-time sum of $150 million from the general fund to aid hospitals\u003c/a> that are facing severe financial distress and are at risk of closure, or that have closed but have a plan to reopen. The loans would have to be paid back within six years, although loans may be forgiven for hospitals that meet certain requirements. Gov. Gavin Newsom needs to sign the bill to enact the program.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Legislators and hospital administrators have acknowledged a loan program is only a stopgap for a number of hospitals that for months have warned of their precarious fiscal situations. Legislators fast-tracked action following \u003ca href=\"https://calmatters.org/health/2023/01/hospital-closure/\">the closure of Madera Community Hospital\u003c/a> at the start of this year, which left this San Joaquin Valley county of 160,000 people without a local emergency room.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Since then, another hospital, Beverly Hospital in the city of Montebello, has filed for bankruptcy.[aside label=\"Related Stories\" postID=\"science_1981588,news_11947640,news_11937928\"]“This bill, this money, will keep them (Beverly Hospital) open long enough to be able to perhaps sell, regroup, whatever, but they will keep their doors open,” Sen. Bob Archuleta, a Cerritos Democrat whose district includes Montebello, said on the Senate floor.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Loans under the new program would be available to nonprofit and public hospitals. Those that would most likely need and could benefit from the loans are independent and rural hospitals, some of which were struggling even prior to the pandemic, and that have had a difficult time managing cash flow after they stopped receiving federal COVID relief funds. Hospitals that apply will have to demonstrate need and viability to the California Department of Health Care Access and Information, which will oversee the program in conjunction with the state’s health department and the \u003ca href=\"https://www.treasurer.ca.gov/chffa/introduction.asp\">California Health Facilities Financing Authority\u003c/a>, a financing program within the State Treasurer’s Office.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>It’s not clear exactly how many hospitals could qualify and how much each would get, according to officials from the state Department of Finance who testified in a budget committee hearing earlier this week. That will be determined by the agencies in charge, who will have to create eligibility criteria for these loans.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In hearings leading to Thursday’s vote, lawmakers asked why the state wasn’t conducting its own analysis of hospitals’ current situation so that the Legislature knows exactly which hospitals are in immediate need of relief.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We don’t know how many hospitals, we don’t know which hospitals. We don’t know which areas those hospitals are (in), we don’t know anything. And now we’re asked to approve $150 million to be doled out without access to plans, without access to the finances that would give us the evidence to feel comfortable with this,” said Sen. Maria Elena Durazo, a Los Angeles Democrat, during a Senate budget committee hearing on Tuesday.[pullquote align=\"right\" size=\"medium\" citation=\"State Sen. Bob Archuleta (D-Cerritos)\"]‘This bill, this money, will keep them (Beverly Hospital) open long enough to be able to perhaps sell, regroup, whatever, but they will keep their doors open.’[/pullquote]Much of the information available to legislators has come from the California Hospital Association, whose job is to lobby on behalf of hospitals. According to a report commissioned by the association, \u003ca href=\"https://www.kaufmanhall.com/sites/default/files/2023-04/CHA-Financial-Impact-Report.pdf\">1 in 5 hospitals is at risk of closure (PDF)\u003c/a>, and half of California’s hospitals are losing money. The report did not list which hospitals are in immediate danger. The association has also not identified facilities, noting that when a hospital announces its financial troubles it can prematurely begin to lose workers and patients.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But aside from the now defunct Madera Community Hospital, at least seven other hospitals have publicly spoken about their financial troubles, either through op-ed pieces, news reports, notices on their website or communication to their staff. These include: \u003ca href=\"https://www.kvpr.org/local-news/2023-01-06/kaweah-medical-center-limping-toward-recovery-as-pandemic-costs-strain-the-hospital\">Kaweah Health Medical Center\u003c/a> in Visalia, \u003ca href=\"https://inewsource.org/2023/05/02/imperial-county-el-centro-hospital-money-problems-new-leader/\">El Centro Regional Medical Center\u003c/a> in Imperial County, \u003ca href=\"https://www.latimes.com/california/story/2023-04-20/beverly-hospital-in-montebello-files-for-bankruptcy-in-effort-to-avoid-closure\">Beverly Hospital\u003c/a> in Montebello, \u003ca href=\"https://www.beckershospitalreview.com/finance/20-of-california-hospitals-at-risk-of-closure-4-leaders-react.html\">MLK Jr. Community Hospital\u003c/a> in Los Angeles, \u003ca href=\"https://calmatters.org/health/2023/04/hospital-closures-california/\">Hazel Hawkins Memorial Hospital\u003c/a> in Hollister, \u003ca href=\"https://www.recorderonline.com/news/sierra-view-other-hospitals-face-financial-trouble/article_e9788152-da2d-11ed-bb7e-73821570dc31.html\">Sierra View Medical Center\u003c/a> in Porterville and \u003ca href=\"https://lostcoastoutpost.com/2023/feb/14/mad-river-hospital-suspends-home-health-services/\">Mad River Community Hospital\u003c/a> in Humboldt County.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>During this week’s hearings, legislators also questioned how the state came up with the $150 million figure, given that the state does not yet know how many hospitals need a loan or would qualify.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“One hundred fifty million is something that we believe we can absorb at this time,” said Erika Li, with the state’s Department of Finance, during Tuesday’s budget hearing. “Trying to address an issue during fiscal constraints is always difficult because you’re always balancing lots of priorities.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>With eyes on the upcoming fiscal year, the California Hospital Association has asked the state for $1.5 billion in one-time relief, a tough request in a deficit year. But Senate Democrats are in support, \u003ca href=\"https://sbud.senate.ca.gov/sites/sbud.senate.ca.gov/files/Protect%20Our%20Progress%20Senate%20Budget%20Plan.pdf\">proposing that hospitals get $400 million annually for four years (PDF)\u003c/a> that would come with requirements and conditions, according to their budget proposal that is to be finalized this summer.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>A spokesperson for the California Hospital Association said the loan program is welcome news and promising for hospitals on the financial brink, but more state support is necessary. Specifically, the association has been advocating to increase reimbursements for services provided to patients covered by Medi-Cal, the health insurance program for people with lower income, which covers about 15 million people in the state.[pullquote align=\"right\" size=\"medium\" citation=\"Jan Emerson-Shea, spokesperson, California Hospital Association\"]‘Beyond this short-term relief, a sustainable and systemic solution will be needed to protect care for Medi-Cal patients throughout the state for years to come.’[/pullquote]“Beyond this short-term relief, a sustainable and systemic solution will be needed to protect care for Medi-Cal patients throughout the state for years to come,” said Jan Emerson-Shea, a spokesperson for the California Hospital Association. “As California continues to reel from the long-lasting and negative impacts COVID-19 has wrought on the state’s health care system, the work must continue if we are to preserve critical hospital services in all communities.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Seeking longer-term relief, Sen. Anna Caballero, a Merced Democrat whose district includes Madera, is also pushing separate legislation that calls for the state to renew a tax on managed care organizations that expired last year. That money would be used to increase Medi-Cal payments to hospitals and other providers, helping hospitals that disproportionately serve patients with lower income.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Ensuring that our hospitals remain open and able to serve patients has been priority number one for me this year. The hospital closure in Madera and other looming closures would be catastrophic in both rural and urban communities,” Caballero said in a statement following Thursday’s vote. “To ensure proper oversight of public funds, I will continue to seek more transparency and frankly more accountability on hospital operations to ensure California preserves health care access for all.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad floatright]\u003c/p>\n",
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"excerpt": "Several hospitals have warned that they are struggling financially after the strains of the pandemic. A new loan program, if approved, could offer short-term relief, but legislators acknowledge the loans are a stopgap.",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cp>California \u003ca href=\"https://calmatters.org/health/2023/04/hospital-closures-california/\">hospitals in financial trouble\u003c/a> will soon be able to apply for interest-free state loans, although key questions about the selection process aren’t yet resolved.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The Legislature on Thursday approved \u003ca href=\"https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/billNavClient.xhtml?bill_id=202320240AB112\">a bill that will allocate a one-time sum of $150 million from the general fund to aid hospitals\u003c/a> that are facing severe financial distress and are at risk of closure, or that have closed but have a plan to reopen. The loans would have to be paid back within six years, although loans may be forgiven for hospitals that meet certain requirements. Gov. Gavin Newsom needs to sign the bill to enact the program.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Legislators and hospital administrators have acknowledged a loan program is only a stopgap for a number of hospitals that for months have warned of their precarious fiscal situations. Legislators fast-tracked action following \u003ca href=\"https://calmatters.org/health/2023/01/hospital-closure/\">the closure of Madera Community Hospital\u003c/a> at the start of this year, which left this San Joaquin Valley county of 160,000 people without a local emergency room.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Since then, another hospital, Beverly Hospital in the city of Montebello, has filed for bankruptcy.\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>“This bill, this money, will keep them (Beverly Hospital) open long enough to be able to perhaps sell, regroup, whatever, but they will keep their doors open,” Sen. Bob Archuleta, a Cerritos Democrat whose district includes Montebello, said on the Senate floor.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Loans under the new program would be available to nonprofit and public hospitals. Those that would most likely need and could benefit from the loans are independent and rural hospitals, some of which were struggling even prior to the pandemic, and that have had a difficult time managing cash flow after they stopped receiving federal COVID relief funds. Hospitals that apply will have to demonstrate need and viability to the California Department of Health Care Access and Information, which will oversee the program in conjunction with the state’s health department and the \u003ca href=\"https://www.treasurer.ca.gov/chffa/introduction.asp\">California Health Facilities Financing Authority\u003c/a>, a financing program within the State Treasurer’s Office.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>It’s not clear exactly how many hospitals could qualify and how much each would get, according to officials from the state Department of Finance who testified in a budget committee hearing earlier this week. That will be determined by the agencies in charge, who will have to create eligibility criteria for these loans.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In hearings leading to Thursday’s vote, lawmakers asked why the state wasn’t conducting its own analysis of hospitals’ current situation so that the Legislature knows exactly which hospitals are in immediate need of relief.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We don’t know how many hospitals, we don’t know which hospitals. We don’t know which areas those hospitals are (in), we don’t know anything. And now we’re asked to approve $150 million to be doled out without access to plans, without access to the finances that would give us the evidence to feel comfortable with this,” said Sen. Maria Elena Durazo, a Los Angeles Democrat, during a Senate budget committee hearing on Tuesday.\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>Much of the information available to legislators has come from the California Hospital Association, whose job is to lobby on behalf of hospitals. According to a report commissioned by the association, \u003ca href=\"https://www.kaufmanhall.com/sites/default/files/2023-04/CHA-Financial-Impact-Report.pdf\">1 in 5 hospitals is at risk of closure (PDF)\u003c/a>, and half of California’s hospitals are losing money. The report did not list which hospitals are in immediate danger. The association has also not identified facilities, noting that when a hospital announces its financial troubles it can prematurely begin to lose workers and patients.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But aside from the now defunct Madera Community Hospital, at least seven other hospitals have publicly spoken about their financial troubles, either through op-ed pieces, news reports, notices on their website or communication to their staff. These include: \u003ca href=\"https://www.kvpr.org/local-news/2023-01-06/kaweah-medical-center-limping-toward-recovery-as-pandemic-costs-strain-the-hospital\">Kaweah Health Medical Center\u003c/a> in Visalia, \u003ca href=\"https://inewsource.org/2023/05/02/imperial-county-el-centro-hospital-money-problems-new-leader/\">El Centro Regional Medical Center\u003c/a> in Imperial County, \u003ca href=\"https://www.latimes.com/california/story/2023-04-20/beverly-hospital-in-montebello-files-for-bankruptcy-in-effort-to-avoid-closure\">Beverly Hospital\u003c/a> in Montebello, \u003ca href=\"https://www.beckershospitalreview.com/finance/20-of-california-hospitals-at-risk-of-closure-4-leaders-react.html\">MLK Jr. Community Hospital\u003c/a> in Los Angeles, \u003ca href=\"https://calmatters.org/health/2023/04/hospital-closures-california/\">Hazel Hawkins Memorial Hospital\u003c/a> in Hollister, \u003ca href=\"https://www.recorderonline.com/news/sierra-view-other-hospitals-face-financial-trouble/article_e9788152-da2d-11ed-bb7e-73821570dc31.html\">Sierra View Medical Center\u003c/a> in Porterville and \u003ca href=\"https://lostcoastoutpost.com/2023/feb/14/mad-river-hospital-suspends-home-health-services/\">Mad River Community Hospital\u003c/a> in Humboldt County.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>During this week’s hearings, legislators also questioned how the state came up with the $150 million figure, given that the state does not yet know how many hospitals need a loan or would qualify.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“One hundred fifty million is something that we believe we can absorb at this time,” said Erika Li, with the state’s Department of Finance, during Tuesday’s budget hearing. “Trying to address an issue during fiscal constraints is always difficult because you’re always balancing lots of priorities.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>With eyes on the upcoming fiscal year, the California Hospital Association has asked the state for $1.5 billion in one-time relief, a tough request in a deficit year. But Senate Democrats are in support, \u003ca href=\"https://sbud.senate.ca.gov/sites/sbud.senate.ca.gov/files/Protect%20Our%20Progress%20Senate%20Budget%20Plan.pdf\">proposing that hospitals get $400 million annually for four years (PDF)\u003c/a> that would come with requirements and conditions, according to their budget proposal that is to be finalized this summer.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>A spokesperson for the California Hospital Association said the loan program is welcome news and promising for hospitals on the financial brink, but more state support is necessary. Specifically, the association has been advocating to increase reimbursements for services provided to patients covered by Medi-Cal, the health insurance program for people with lower income, which covers about 15 million people in the state.\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "‘Beyond this short-term relief, a sustainable and systemic solution will be needed to protect care for Medi-Cal patients throughout the state for years to come.’",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>“Beyond this short-term relief, a sustainable and systemic solution will be needed to protect care for Medi-Cal patients throughout the state for years to come,” said Jan Emerson-Shea, a spokesperson for the California Hospital Association. “As California continues to reel from the long-lasting and negative impacts COVID-19 has wrought on the state’s health care system, the work must continue if we are to preserve critical hospital services in all communities.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Seeking longer-term relief, Sen. Anna Caballero, a Merced Democrat whose district includes Madera, is also pushing separate legislation that calls for the state to renew a tax on managed care organizations that expired last year. That money would be used to increase Medi-Cal payments to hospitals and other providers, helping hospitals that disproportionately serve patients with lower income.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Ensuring that our hospitals remain open and able to serve patients has been priority number one for me this year. The hospital closure in Madera and other looming closures would be catastrophic in both rural and urban communities,” Caballero said in a statement following Thursday’s vote. “To ensure proper oversight of public funds, I will continue to seek more transparency and frankly more accountability on hospital operations to ensure California preserves health care access for all.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"title": "The 'Arcturus' COVID Variant Is Already in the Bay Area. What We Know About XBB.1.16",
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"headTitle": "The ‘Arcturus’ COVID Variant Is Already in the Bay Area. What We Know About XBB.1.16 | KQED",
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"content": "\u003cp>\u003cem>This story was updated at 11 a.m. on Tuesday\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>A new COVID-19 variant is making its way through the Bay Area. But health experts say there’s no need to panic yet.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The XBB.1.16 strain — \u003ca href=\"https://twitter.com/TRyanGregory/status/1635398471120482306\">dubbed “Arcturus” by some online\u003c/a> — was added to the World Health Organization’s list of variants of interest in April, and has been detected in California, according to wastewater surveillance systems.\u003c/p>\n\u003cul>\n\u003cli>\u003cstrong>Jump to: \u003ca href=\"#arcturuspinkeye\">What’s the connection between Arcturus and pink eye?\u003c/a>\u003c/strong>\u003c/li>\n\u003c/ul>\n\u003cp>It’s still early, but Arcturus is already “set to be the dominant strain by summer — and the rate of increase is very steep,” Dr. Peter Chin-Hong, an infectious disease expert at UCSF, told KQED.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>As COVID continues to evolve with our lives, KQED is monitoring new variants and challenges the virus presents and how to stay safe. Keep reading for what we know so far about XBB.1.16, this omicron subvariant.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>Is the Arcturus strain present in the Bay Area?\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>Yes. \u003ca href=\"https://wwscan.ghost.io/\">The Arcturus variant has been detected in San Francisco, Sacramento and San José\u003c/a>, according to wastewater data from Stanford University’s Sewer Coronavirus Alert Network, or SCAN, system.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We are seeing it more frequently in the more recent samples,” said Alexandria Boehm, a professor at Stanford who oversees the SCAN system. The wastewater data takes two weeks to process, and the most recent showed that 10% of the genomes in the wastewater could be classified as XBB.1.16, i.e. the Arcturus variant.\u003c/p>\n\u003cul>\n\u003cli>\u003cstrong>\u003ca href=\"#tellus\">Tell us: What else do you need information about right now?\u003c/a>\u003c/strong>\u003c/li>\n\u003c/ul>\n\u003cp>More recent estimates based on COVID testing among patients at UCSF showed the omicron offshoot variant is now present in about 12% of identified cases of COVID-19, according to Chin-Hong. That’s way up from 2% back on April 1.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Because so \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/11940562/how-to-find-a-free-covid-test-near-you-in-2023-because-its-getting-harder\">many COVID testing resources have been wound down by officials in recent months\u003c/a>, the exact level of the virus in the community is difficult to measure. “We are not doing as much surveillance as we used to — but even though we don’t have formal numbers yet, it’s here,” said Chin-Hong.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The good news is that \u003ca href=\"https://covid19.ca.gov/state-dashboard/\">cases of COVID-19, including hospitalizations, are near their lowest levels\u003c/a> since the beginning of the pandemic.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_11902349\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\" style=\"max-width: 1920px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-11902349 size-full\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2022/01/RS53252_GettyImages-1237291550-qut.jpg\" alt=\"A hand holds an at-home COVID test, while another person's hand points to the test.\" width=\"1920\" height=\"1280\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2022/01/RS53252_GettyImages-1237291550-qut.jpg 1920w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2022/01/RS53252_GettyImages-1237291550-qut-800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2022/01/RS53252_GettyImages-1237291550-qut-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2022/01/RS53252_GettyImages-1237291550-qut-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2022/01/RS53252_GettyImages-1237291550-qut-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1920px) 100vw, 1920px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">What should you know about the latest COVID variant? \u003ccite>(Joseph Prezioso/AFP via Getty Images)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003ch2>How is the Arcturus strain different from previous strains of the coronavirus?\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>As a strain of COVID, Arcturus is very similar to its predecessors and falls under the BA.2 omicron lineage. But it differs by having an extra protein.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Arcturus is expected to be more transmissible than past variants and that is why it is quickly outcompeting other variants, Chin-Hong said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Most of what scientists know now about the latest variant comes from India, where it first rose to concern in January. And so far, there is little evidence that infections with this variant are more severe.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“The global risk assessment for XBB.1.16 is low as compared to XBB.1.5 and the other currently circulating variants, at this current time and with available evidence,” \u003ca href=\"https://www.who.int/docs/default-source/coronaviruse/21042023xbb.1.16ra-v2.pdf\">a risk assessment report from the WHO (PDF)\u003c/a> reads. “No changes in severity have been reported in countries where XBB.1.16 are reported to be circulating.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“In India and Indonesia, there has been a slight increase in bed occupancy numbers,” said the statement. “However, the levels are much lower than seen in previous variant waves.”\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>\u003ca id=\"arcturuspinkeye\">\u003c/a>What’s the connection between the Arcturus variant and pink eye?\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>Reports from India have anecdotally connected some cases of the latest variant with conjunctivitis, more commonly known as pink eye, in children who are infected.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>While rare, it’s not a totally new response with COVID generally, according to Chin-Hong. About 1% to 3% of all COVID cases have included pink eye symptoms, which include a red coloring of the white part of the eyeball, eye irritation and tears. It can also cause discharge or crust around the eye area.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Anecdotally, it seems there is more in this subvariant. But a lot of viruses can cause pink eye, like a regular cold virus, so that’s not unusual,” Chin-Hong explained. “Just like how COVID makes your nose run, it can affect other moist surfaces of the body like the nose or mouth, and the eye is one of the places that can get infected. Other viruses as well can cause that.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In a statement to KQED, the San Francisco Department of Public Health noted this particular element among the symptoms to watch for this spring, saying that “while more research needs to be done regarding the symptoms of this [Arcturus] subvariant, people who are displaying common symptoms of COVID-19, as well as people who have pink eye, should stay home.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>Who is most at risk of severe illness and hospitalization with Arcturus?\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>As with nearly all other COVID variants, older populations are most at risk of serious illness, hospitalization or death.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“If you’re vulnerable to infection, it may be easier to get infected with this variant,” said Chin-Hong. “But for most people, getting infected may not be a huge deal because they have a lot of immunity and T cells and B cells from antibodies, other recent infections and vaccines.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We have the tools to make deaths close to zero, but we still have many more deaths with COVID than the regular flu virus,” he said. “So it’s important to protect the most vulnerable in our community.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The San Francisco Department of Public Health says the agency continues to “strongly recommend that those eligible \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/11924327/where-can-i-find-a-new-omicron-covid-booster-shot-near-me\">seek the bivalent vaccine\u003c/a>, which provides protection against known variants that have been circulating,” and notes that \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/11945763/can-i-get-second-bivalent-booster-cdc-who-eligible\">people age 65 and over — as well as those with weak immune systems — may now get their second dose\u003c/a> of the bivalent vaccine.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>How can I protect myself and my community from this new variant?\u003c/h2>\n\u003cul>\n\u003cli>Stay up-to-date on vaccinations. \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/11941531/when-can-i-get-a-second-bivalent-covid-booster-heres-what-we-know-right-now\">Our guide has everything you need to know about boosters and annual shots.\u003c/a>\u003c/li>\n\u003cli>Get tested if you start feeling sick. Read more about finding \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/11940562/how-to-find-a-free-covid-test-near-you-in-2023-because-its-getting-harder\">free testing options near you\u003c/a>.\u003c/li>\n\u003cli>Have a plan to get treatments like Paxlovid. \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/11942172/should-everyone-be-trying-to-get-paxlovid-for-covid-now-yes-basically\">Read and share our guide for finding treatments and seeking coverage or reimbursement.\u003c/a>\u003c/li>\n\u003c/ul>\n\u003ch2>\u003ca id=\"tellus\">\u003c/a>Tell us: What else do you need information about?\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>At KQED News, we know that it can sometimes be hard to track down the answers to navigate life in the Bay Area in 2023. We’ve published \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/tag/coronavirus-resources-and-explainers\">clear, practical explainers and guides about COVID\u003c/a>, \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/11936674/how-to-prepare-for-this-weeks-atmospheric-river-storm-sandbags-emergency-kits-and-more\">how to cope with intense winter weather\u003c/a> and \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/11821950/how-to-safely-attend-a-protest-in-the-bay-area\">how to exercise your right to protest safely\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>So tell us: What do you need to know more about? Tell us, and you could see your question answered online or on social media. What you submit will make our reporting stronger, and help us decide what to cover here on our site, and on KQED Public Radio, too.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[hearken id=\"10483\" src=\"https://modules.wearehearken.com/kqed/embed/10483.js\"]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad floatright]\u003c/p>\n",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cp>\u003cem>This story was updated at 11 a.m. on Tuesday\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>A new COVID-19 variant is making its way through the Bay Area. But health experts say there’s no need to panic yet.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The XBB.1.16 strain — \u003ca href=\"https://twitter.com/TRyanGregory/status/1635398471120482306\">dubbed “Arcturus” by some online\u003c/a> — was added to the World Health Organization’s list of variants of interest in April, and has been detected in California, according to wastewater surveillance systems.\u003c/p>\n\u003cul>\n\u003cli>\u003cstrong>Jump to: \u003ca href=\"#arcturuspinkeye\">What’s the connection between Arcturus and pink eye?\u003c/a>\u003c/strong>\u003c/li>\n\u003c/ul>\n\u003cp>It’s still early, but Arcturus is already “set to be the dominant strain by summer — and the rate of increase is very steep,” Dr. Peter Chin-Hong, an infectious disease expert at UCSF, told KQED.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>As COVID continues to evolve with our lives, KQED is monitoring new variants and challenges the virus presents and how to stay safe. Keep reading for what we know so far about XBB.1.16, this omicron subvariant.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>Is the Arcturus strain present in the Bay Area?\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>Yes. \u003ca href=\"https://wwscan.ghost.io/\">The Arcturus variant has been detected in San Francisco, Sacramento and San José\u003c/a>, according to wastewater data from Stanford University’s Sewer Coronavirus Alert Network, or SCAN, system.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We are seeing it more frequently in the more recent samples,” said Alexandria Boehm, a professor at Stanford who oversees the SCAN system. The wastewater data takes two weeks to process, and the most recent showed that 10% of the genomes in the wastewater could be classified as XBB.1.16, i.e. the Arcturus variant.\u003c/p>\n\u003cul>\n\u003cli>\u003cstrong>\u003ca href=\"#tellus\">Tell us: What else do you need information about right now?\u003c/a>\u003c/strong>\u003c/li>\n\u003c/ul>\n\u003cp>More recent estimates based on COVID testing among patients at UCSF showed the omicron offshoot variant is now present in about 12% of identified cases of COVID-19, according to Chin-Hong. That’s way up from 2% back on April 1.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Because so \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/11940562/how-to-find-a-free-covid-test-near-you-in-2023-because-its-getting-harder\">many COVID testing resources have been wound down by officials in recent months\u003c/a>, the exact level of the virus in the community is difficult to measure. “We are not doing as much surveillance as we used to — but even though we don’t have formal numbers yet, it’s here,” said Chin-Hong.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The good news is that \u003ca href=\"https://covid19.ca.gov/state-dashboard/\">cases of COVID-19, including hospitalizations, are near their lowest levels\u003c/a> since the beginning of the pandemic.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_11902349\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\" style=\"max-width: 1920px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-11902349 size-full\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2022/01/RS53252_GettyImages-1237291550-qut.jpg\" alt=\"A hand holds an at-home COVID test, while another person's hand points to the test.\" width=\"1920\" height=\"1280\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2022/01/RS53252_GettyImages-1237291550-qut.jpg 1920w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2022/01/RS53252_GettyImages-1237291550-qut-800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2022/01/RS53252_GettyImages-1237291550-qut-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2022/01/RS53252_GettyImages-1237291550-qut-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2022/01/RS53252_GettyImages-1237291550-qut-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1920px) 100vw, 1920px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">What should you know about the latest COVID variant? \u003ccite>(Joseph Prezioso/AFP via Getty Images)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003ch2>How is the Arcturus strain different from previous strains of the coronavirus?\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>As a strain of COVID, Arcturus is very similar to its predecessors and falls under the BA.2 omicron lineage. But it differs by having an extra protein.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Arcturus is expected to be more transmissible than past variants and that is why it is quickly outcompeting other variants, Chin-Hong said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Most of what scientists know now about the latest variant comes from India, where it first rose to concern in January. And so far, there is little evidence that infections with this variant are more severe.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“The global risk assessment for XBB.1.16 is low as compared to XBB.1.5 and the other currently circulating variants, at this current time and with available evidence,” \u003ca href=\"https://www.who.int/docs/default-source/coronaviruse/21042023xbb.1.16ra-v2.pdf\">a risk assessment report from the WHO (PDF)\u003c/a> reads. “No changes in severity have been reported in countries where XBB.1.16 are reported to be circulating.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“In India and Indonesia, there has been a slight increase in bed occupancy numbers,” said the statement. “However, the levels are much lower than seen in previous variant waves.”\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>\u003ca id=\"arcturuspinkeye\">\u003c/a>What’s the connection between the Arcturus variant and pink eye?\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>Reports from India have anecdotally connected some cases of the latest variant with conjunctivitis, more commonly known as pink eye, in children who are infected.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>While rare, it’s not a totally new response with COVID generally, according to Chin-Hong. About 1% to 3% of all COVID cases have included pink eye symptoms, which include a red coloring of the white part of the eyeball, eye irritation and tears. It can also cause discharge or crust around the eye area.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Anecdotally, it seems there is more in this subvariant. But a lot of viruses can cause pink eye, like a regular cold virus, so that’s not unusual,” Chin-Hong explained. “Just like how COVID makes your nose run, it can affect other moist surfaces of the body like the nose or mouth, and the eye is one of the places that can get infected. Other viruses as well can cause that.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In a statement to KQED, the San Francisco Department of Public Health noted this particular element among the symptoms to watch for this spring, saying that “while more research needs to be done regarding the symptoms of this [Arcturus] subvariant, people who are displaying common symptoms of COVID-19, as well as people who have pink eye, should stay home.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>Who is most at risk of severe illness and hospitalization with Arcturus?\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>As with nearly all other COVID variants, older populations are most at risk of serious illness, hospitalization or death.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“If you’re vulnerable to infection, it may be easier to get infected with this variant,” said Chin-Hong. “But for most people, getting infected may not be a huge deal because they have a lot of immunity and T cells and B cells from antibodies, other recent infections and vaccines.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We have the tools to make deaths close to zero, but we still have many more deaths with COVID than the regular flu virus,” he said. “So it’s important to protect the most vulnerable in our community.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The San Francisco Department of Public Health says the agency continues to “strongly recommend that those eligible \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/11924327/where-can-i-find-a-new-omicron-covid-booster-shot-near-me\">seek the bivalent vaccine\u003c/a>, which provides protection against known variants that have been circulating,” and notes that \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/11945763/can-i-get-second-bivalent-booster-cdc-who-eligible\">people age 65 and over — as well as those with weak immune systems — may now get their second dose\u003c/a> of the bivalent vaccine.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>How can I protect myself and my community from this new variant?\u003c/h2>\n\u003cul>\n\u003cli>Stay up-to-date on vaccinations. \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/11941531/when-can-i-get-a-second-bivalent-covid-booster-heres-what-we-know-right-now\">Our guide has everything you need to know about boosters and annual shots.\u003c/a>\u003c/li>\n\u003cli>Get tested if you start feeling sick. Read more about finding \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/11940562/how-to-find-a-free-covid-test-near-you-in-2023-because-its-getting-harder\">free testing options near you\u003c/a>.\u003c/li>\n\u003cli>Have a plan to get treatments like Paxlovid. \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/11942172/should-everyone-be-trying-to-get-paxlovid-for-covid-now-yes-basically\">Read and share our guide for finding treatments and seeking coverage or reimbursement.\u003c/a>\u003c/li>\n\u003c/ul>\n\u003ch2>\u003ca id=\"tellus\">\u003c/a>Tell us: What else do you need information about?\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>At KQED News, we know that it can sometimes be hard to track down the answers to navigate life in the Bay Area in 2023. We’ve published \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/tag/coronavirus-resources-and-explainers\">clear, practical explainers and guides about COVID\u003c/a>, \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/11936674/how-to-prepare-for-this-weeks-atmospheric-river-storm-sandbags-emergency-kits-and-more\">how to cope with intense winter weather\u003c/a> and \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/11821950/how-to-safely-attend-a-protest-in-the-bay-area\">how to exercise your right to protest safely\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>So tell us: What do you need to know more about? Tell us, and you could see your question answered online or on social media. What you submit will make our reporting stronger, and help us decide what to cover here on our site, and on KQED Public Radio, too.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"slug": "care-cant-wait-californias-child-care-workers-demand-better-funding-for-essential-services",
"title": "'Care Can't Wait': California's Child Care Workers Demand Better Funding for Essential Services",
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"headTitle": "‘Care Can’t Wait’: California’s Child Care Workers Demand Better Funding for Essential Services | KQED",
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"content": "\u003cp>Every day, Annette Nicholson opens her door as early as 6 a.m. to welcome 10 kids into the child care business she runs out of her home in Stockton.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Nicholson lives on the north edge of town, where child care options are slim for working families. The parents who rely on her mostly work irregular hours, or need to drop off their kids early to commute long distances to the Bay Area.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Some leave babies as young as 6 weeks old with her. Some have even called her in tears, pleading with her to take care of a sick child because they can’t afford to miss work.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Throughout the day, Nicholson reads to the preschool-age children, plays with them, watches over their naps and cooks eggs, oatmeal and other hot meals for everyone until the last child gets picked up around 8 p.m.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>She works long hours, yet barely gets by. At 62, Nicholson doesn’t have enough savings to retire because she has been underpaid.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“People still kind of see us as, I’ll say, babysitters, that’s really how people look at us,” Nicholson said. “We are actually the ones that are developing our next generation.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Child care is a labor-intensive and essential service, yet people in the child care industry are some of the lowest-paid workers. The Center for the Study of Child Care Employment at UC Berkeley found that \u003ca href=\"https://cscce.berkeley.edu/wp-content/uploads/2022/12/CSCCE-Early-Educator-Compensation-California.pdf\">home-based providers make as little as $16,200 per year (PDF)\u003c/a> — that’s less than what\u003ca href=\"https://www.bls.gov/ooh/personal-care-and-service/animal-care-and-service-workers.htm\"> a dog trainer makes\u003c/a>. Like Nicholson, nearly all are women of color and many are immigrants, the study found.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_11948547\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 1920px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-11948547\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2023/05/RS64832_017_KQED_AnnetteNicholsonDaycare_04272023-qut.jpg\" alt=\"An at-home child care worker in a rainbow T-shirt helps a little boy in a red T-shirt untie a knot in his black sneaker laces.\" width=\"1920\" height=\"1280\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/05/RS64832_017_KQED_AnnetteNicholsonDaycare_04272023-qut.jpg 1920w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/05/RS64832_017_KQED_AnnetteNicholsonDaycare_04272023-qut-800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/05/RS64832_017_KQED_AnnetteNicholsonDaycare_04272023-qut-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/05/RS64832_017_KQED_AnnetteNicholsonDaycare_04272023-qut-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/05/RS64832_017_KQED_AnnetteNicholsonDaycare_04272023-qut-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1920px) 100vw, 1920px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Annette Nicholson, also known as Gaga, helps a child with a knot in his shoe at the day care Nicholson operates from her home in Stockton on April 27, 2023. \u003ccite>(Beth LaBerge/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Nicholson follows a strict set of licensing requirements, such as meeting appropriate adult-to-child ratios in addition to meeting fire safety codes, sanitary food preparation standards and other requirements.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>She also serves a wide demographic of families who pay private tuition, as well as lower-income families who receive public subsidies for child care. Still, those subsidies don’t adequately cover the cost of operating a licensed child care business, according to Nicholson.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We provide all the meals, the location, toys, the assistant, the education piece, the tools to go with that,” she said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The providers who care for the most marginalized children in California are paid at reimbursement rates based on \u003ca href=\"https://calbudgetcenter.org/resources/californias-child-care-providers-need-a-substantial-pay-raise/\">outdated prices\u003c/a> from at least five years ago that neither reflect the true cost of care nor keep pace with the cost of sustaining a business, according to an analysis by the California Budget and Policy Center.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>An independent study commissioned by the state found \u003ca href=\"https://www.prenatal5fiscal.org/californiacostmodelreport2022\">the rates meet only 25% to 30% of the current costs to provide child care\u003c/a>. Yet, U.S. Department of Labor data shows parents are paying between \u003ca href=\"https://www.dol.gov/newsroom/releases/wb/wb20230124\">8% and 19%\u003c/a> of their median income for child care either at a home-based program or a center.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_11948554\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 1920px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-11948554\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2023/05/030_KQED_AnnetteNicholsonDaycare_04272023.jpg\" alt=\"A residential neighborhood with track homes and a cul-de-sac is pictured. Cars are parked in driveways and it's a sunny day.\" width=\"1920\" height=\"1280\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/05/030_KQED_AnnetteNicholsonDaycare_04272023.jpg 1920w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/05/030_KQED_AnnetteNicholsonDaycare_04272023-800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/05/030_KQED_AnnetteNicholsonDaycare_04272023-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/05/030_KQED_AnnetteNicholsonDaycare_04272023-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/05/030_KQED_AnnetteNicholsonDaycare_04272023-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1920px) 100vw, 1920px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Gaga’s House, a day care run by Annette Nicholson at her home at the end of a cul-de-sac in Stockton, on April 27, 2023. \u003ccite>(Beth LaBerge/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>The lack of available and affordable child care leads many parents of young children to leave their jobs. Economists call the \u003ca href=\"https://home.treasury.gov/system/files/136/The-Economics-of-Childcare-Supply-09-14-final.pdf\">untenable situation a market failure\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Providers like Nicholson find themselves filling the gap between what parents can afford — and what the government pays for child care. Oftentimes, parents will take on credit card debt to make ends meet. Nicholson said she’s even dipped into her own savings to fix a fence that was damaged by a storm, so the children can play safely in her backyard.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Stagnant, meager wages are driving a \u003ca href=\"https://cscce.berkeley.edu/publications/brief/child-care-sector-jobs-bls-analysis/\">shortage of early educators\u003c/a>, causing child care centers to sometimes \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/11928111/teacher-shortages-force-dozens-of-california-preschools-to-close-classrooms\">close classrooms\u003c/a> when they don’t have enough staff to meet the adult-to-child ratio. For example, a study in Contra Costa County found that \u003ca href=\"https://www.first5coco.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/04/Contra-Costa-County-Opportunity-Gap-For-Children-3-30-2023-FINAL.pdf\">90 child care sites permanently closed\u003c/a> during the pandemic, leading to even longer waitlists for subsidized care.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[aside postID=news_11948316 hero='https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2023/05/040_KQED_CarpentryTraining_03302023-1020x680.jpg']\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The state tried to respond to the demand for child care by adding 200,000 new slots for lower-income families by 2025–26 — more than doubling what had been previously available. So far, the state has only filled about 146,000 of them. The situation prompted Gov. Gavin Newsom to propose \u003ca href=\"https://lao.ca.gov/Publications/Report/4672\">delaying funding for 20,000 additional slots\u003c/a> to help balance the budget.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Child advocates said the problem isn’t because families don’t need public assistance for child care. It’s because there aren’t enough workers or licensed facilities to fill the slots.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“It’s urgent that we take care of this now because, as many of our advocates have said, care can’t wait,” Assembly Majority Leader Eloise Gómez Reyes told KQED. Reyes is asking lawmakers to bump up the reimbursement rate for providers of subsidized child care — essentially giving them a raise.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“They’re taking care of the most precious people in our lives, and yet we are not paying them enough to keep their doors open,” she added.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Reyes said the increase will at least keep pace with the cost of living and stabilize the workforce, especially as federal pandemic aid dries up. Democrats in the state Senate agree and have proposed hiking certain business taxes to pay child care providers. A spokesperson for Newsom, however, told KQED that he won’t support the tax increases.[pullquote size=\"medium\" align=\"right\" citation=\"Assembly Majority Leader Eloise Gómez Reyes\"]‘They’re taking care of the most precious people in our lives, and yet we are not paying them enough to keep their doors open.’[/pullquote]Child Care Providers United, the union representing some 40,000 home-based child care workers in California, is going one step further. It wants an overhaul of the rate reimbursement system, to more accurately reflect the true cost of providing quality care and offer early educators a living wage.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Last year, a work group convened by the state to assess that system concluded “the chronic undervaluing of ‘women’s work’ and racial bias against women of color” contributed to the low rates for early educators. Their \u003ca href=\"https://cdss.ca.gov/Portals/9/CalWORKs/CCT/CCDD/Rate%20and%20Quality%20Stakeholder%20Workgroup%20Report_August%202022_FINAL%20ADA%20(2).pdf?ver=2022-08-24-081240-333\">report traces the pay inequities to America’s slavery past (PDF)\u003c/a>, when Black domestic servants cared for the children of white families for little or no pay.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_11948548\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 1920px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-11948548\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2023/05/RS64826_009_KQED_AnnetteNicholsonDaycare_04272023-qut.jpg\" alt=\"An at-home child care worker sits on a chair with children surrounding her who sit on a brown carpet. The worker is reading a story from a blue-colored story book about dinosaurs.\" width=\"1920\" height=\"1280\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/05/RS64826_009_KQED_AnnetteNicholsonDaycare_04272023-qut.jpg 1920w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/05/RS64826_009_KQED_AnnetteNicholsonDaycare_04272023-qut-800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/05/RS64826_009_KQED_AnnetteNicholsonDaycare_04272023-qut-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/05/RS64826_009_KQED_AnnetteNicholsonDaycare_04272023-qut-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/05/RS64826_009_KQED_AnnetteNicholsonDaycare_04272023-qut-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1920px) 100vw, 1920px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Annette Nicholson, also known as Gaga, reads a book to the children at the day care she operates from her home in Stockton, on April 27, 2023. \u003ccite>(Beth LaBerge/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>“If we were a male-dominated workforce, you wouldn’t even try to be this disrespectful with giving us a livable wage,” said LaWanda Wesley, a former early educator and advocate with Black Californians United for Early Care and Education.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“So these women of color … some of them are 67 years old, don’t have health benefits and have to work year-round. So now you won’t pay them well … you’re getting free labor almost (from them),” she said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Nicholson said she hopes to see potential reform that recognizes her important role in nurturing young children during the most critical period of their brain development.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_11948549\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 1920px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-11948549\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2023/05/RS64827_014_KQED_AnnetteNicholsonDaycare_04272023-qut.jpg\" alt='An at-home child care worker hugs a little kid next to the book, \"Danny and the Dinosaur.\" A shelf filled with baskets of colorful toys are to the left.' width=\"1920\" height=\"1280\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/05/RS64827_014_KQED_AnnetteNicholsonDaycare_04272023-qut.jpg 1920w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/05/RS64827_014_KQED_AnnetteNicholsonDaycare_04272023-qut-800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/05/RS64827_014_KQED_AnnetteNicholsonDaycare_04272023-qut-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/05/RS64827_014_KQED_AnnetteNicholsonDaycare_04272023-qut-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/05/RS64827_014_KQED_AnnetteNicholsonDaycare_04272023-qut-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1920px) 100vw, 1920px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Annette Nicholson, also known as Gaga, hugs one of the children at the day care that she operates from her home in Stockton, on April 27, 2023. \u003ccite>(Beth LaBerge/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>She used to work as an administrator for Kaiser Permanente before deciding some 16 years ago to apply for a license and care for children inside her suburban tract home. She said her hospital job wasn’t fulfilling, and she wanted to return to her roots — helping her mother with her home-based child care business.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Nicholson said she has reached a stage where she’s caring for the children of people she helped raise many years ago.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“You have to not only take good care of kids, you’ve got to love kids ’cause kids can wear you down,” she said. “You have to love them even more, to know that you’re not going to get what you deserve at doing this job.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad floatright]\u003c/p>\n",
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"excerpt": "California’s early educators who care for the state’s most marginalized families are paid a fraction of what it costs to provide services. Now, providers are demanding that the state reform the way it funds child care.",
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"title": "'Care Can't Wait': California's Child Care Workers Demand Better Funding for Essential Services | KQED",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cp>Every day, Annette Nicholson opens her door as early as 6 a.m. to welcome 10 kids into the child care business she runs out of her home in Stockton.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Nicholson lives on the north edge of town, where child care options are slim for working families. The parents who rely on her mostly work irregular hours, or need to drop off their kids early to commute long distances to the Bay Area.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Some leave babies as young as 6 weeks old with her. Some have even called her in tears, pleading with her to take care of a sick child because they can’t afford to miss work.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Throughout the day, Nicholson reads to the preschool-age children, plays with them, watches over their naps and cooks eggs, oatmeal and other hot meals for everyone until the last child gets picked up around 8 p.m.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>She works long hours, yet barely gets by. At 62, Nicholson doesn’t have enough savings to retire because she has been underpaid.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“People still kind of see us as, I’ll say, babysitters, that’s really how people look at us,” Nicholson said. “We are actually the ones that are developing our next generation.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Child care is a labor-intensive and essential service, yet people in the child care industry are some of the lowest-paid workers. The Center for the Study of Child Care Employment at UC Berkeley found that \u003ca href=\"https://cscce.berkeley.edu/wp-content/uploads/2022/12/CSCCE-Early-Educator-Compensation-California.pdf\">home-based providers make as little as $16,200 per year (PDF)\u003c/a> — that’s less than what\u003ca href=\"https://www.bls.gov/ooh/personal-care-and-service/animal-care-and-service-workers.htm\"> a dog trainer makes\u003c/a>. Like Nicholson, nearly all are women of color and many are immigrants, the study found.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_11948547\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 1920px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-11948547\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2023/05/RS64832_017_KQED_AnnetteNicholsonDaycare_04272023-qut.jpg\" alt=\"An at-home child care worker in a rainbow T-shirt helps a little boy in a red T-shirt untie a knot in his black sneaker laces.\" width=\"1920\" height=\"1280\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/05/RS64832_017_KQED_AnnetteNicholsonDaycare_04272023-qut.jpg 1920w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/05/RS64832_017_KQED_AnnetteNicholsonDaycare_04272023-qut-800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/05/RS64832_017_KQED_AnnetteNicholsonDaycare_04272023-qut-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/05/RS64832_017_KQED_AnnetteNicholsonDaycare_04272023-qut-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/05/RS64832_017_KQED_AnnetteNicholsonDaycare_04272023-qut-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1920px) 100vw, 1920px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Annette Nicholson, also known as Gaga, helps a child with a knot in his shoe at the day care Nicholson operates from her home in Stockton on April 27, 2023. \u003ccite>(Beth LaBerge/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Nicholson follows a strict set of licensing requirements, such as meeting appropriate adult-to-child ratios in addition to meeting fire safety codes, sanitary food preparation standards and other requirements.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>She also serves a wide demographic of families who pay private tuition, as well as lower-income families who receive public subsidies for child care. Still, those subsidies don’t adequately cover the cost of operating a licensed child care business, according to Nicholson.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We provide all the meals, the location, toys, the assistant, the education piece, the tools to go with that,” she said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The providers who care for the most marginalized children in California are paid at reimbursement rates based on \u003ca href=\"https://calbudgetcenter.org/resources/californias-child-care-providers-need-a-substantial-pay-raise/\">outdated prices\u003c/a> from at least five years ago that neither reflect the true cost of care nor keep pace with the cost of sustaining a business, according to an analysis by the California Budget and Policy Center.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>An independent study commissioned by the state found \u003ca href=\"https://www.prenatal5fiscal.org/californiacostmodelreport2022\">the rates meet only 25% to 30% of the current costs to provide child care\u003c/a>. Yet, U.S. Department of Labor data shows parents are paying between \u003ca href=\"https://www.dol.gov/newsroom/releases/wb/wb20230124\">8% and 19%\u003c/a> of their median income for child care either at a home-based program or a center.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_11948554\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 1920px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-11948554\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2023/05/030_KQED_AnnetteNicholsonDaycare_04272023.jpg\" alt=\"A residential neighborhood with track homes and a cul-de-sac is pictured. Cars are parked in driveways and it's a sunny day.\" width=\"1920\" height=\"1280\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/05/030_KQED_AnnetteNicholsonDaycare_04272023.jpg 1920w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/05/030_KQED_AnnetteNicholsonDaycare_04272023-800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/05/030_KQED_AnnetteNicholsonDaycare_04272023-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/05/030_KQED_AnnetteNicholsonDaycare_04272023-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/05/030_KQED_AnnetteNicholsonDaycare_04272023-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1920px) 100vw, 1920px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Gaga’s House, a day care run by Annette Nicholson at her home at the end of a cul-de-sac in Stockton, on April 27, 2023. \u003ccite>(Beth LaBerge/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>The lack of available and affordable child care leads many parents of young children to leave their jobs. Economists call the \u003ca href=\"https://home.treasury.gov/system/files/136/The-Economics-of-Childcare-Supply-09-14-final.pdf\">untenable situation a market failure\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Providers like Nicholson find themselves filling the gap between what parents can afford — and what the government pays for child care. Oftentimes, parents will take on credit card debt to make ends meet. Nicholson said she’s even dipped into her own savings to fix a fence that was damaged by a storm, so the children can play safely in her backyard.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Stagnant, meager wages are driving a \u003ca href=\"https://cscce.berkeley.edu/publications/brief/child-care-sector-jobs-bls-analysis/\">shortage of early educators\u003c/a>, causing child care centers to sometimes \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/11928111/teacher-shortages-force-dozens-of-california-preschools-to-close-classrooms\">close classrooms\u003c/a> when they don’t have enough staff to meet the adult-to-child ratio. For example, a study in Contra Costa County found that \u003ca href=\"https://www.first5coco.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/04/Contra-Costa-County-Opportunity-Gap-For-Children-3-30-2023-FINAL.pdf\">90 child care sites permanently closed\u003c/a> during the pandemic, leading to even longer waitlists for subsidized care.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The state tried to respond to the demand for child care by adding 200,000 new slots for lower-income families by 2025–26 — more than doubling what had been previously available. So far, the state has only filled about 146,000 of them. The situation prompted Gov. Gavin Newsom to propose \u003ca href=\"https://lao.ca.gov/Publications/Report/4672\">delaying funding for 20,000 additional slots\u003c/a> to help balance the budget.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Child advocates said the problem isn’t because families don’t need public assistance for child care. It’s because there aren’t enough workers or licensed facilities to fill the slots.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“It’s urgent that we take care of this now because, as many of our advocates have said, care can’t wait,” Assembly Majority Leader Eloise Gómez Reyes told KQED. Reyes is asking lawmakers to bump up the reimbursement rate for providers of subsidized child care — essentially giving them a raise.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“They’re taking care of the most precious people in our lives, and yet we are not paying them enough to keep their doors open,” she added.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Reyes said the increase will at least keep pace with the cost of living and stabilize the workforce, especially as federal pandemic aid dries up. Democrats in the state Senate agree and have proposed hiking certain business taxes to pay child care providers. A spokesperson for Newsom, however, told KQED that he won’t support the tax increases.\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "‘They’re taking care of the most precious people in our lives, and yet we are not paying them enough to keep their doors open.’",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>Child Care Providers United, the union representing some 40,000 home-based child care workers in California, is going one step further. It wants an overhaul of the rate reimbursement system, to more accurately reflect the true cost of providing quality care and offer early educators a living wage.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Last year, a work group convened by the state to assess that system concluded “the chronic undervaluing of ‘women’s work’ and racial bias against women of color” contributed to the low rates for early educators. Their \u003ca href=\"https://cdss.ca.gov/Portals/9/CalWORKs/CCT/CCDD/Rate%20and%20Quality%20Stakeholder%20Workgroup%20Report_August%202022_FINAL%20ADA%20(2).pdf?ver=2022-08-24-081240-333\">report traces the pay inequities to America’s slavery past (PDF)\u003c/a>, when Black domestic servants cared for the children of white families for little or no pay.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_11948548\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 1920px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-11948548\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2023/05/RS64826_009_KQED_AnnetteNicholsonDaycare_04272023-qut.jpg\" alt=\"An at-home child care worker sits on a chair with children surrounding her who sit on a brown carpet. The worker is reading a story from a blue-colored story book about dinosaurs.\" width=\"1920\" height=\"1280\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/05/RS64826_009_KQED_AnnetteNicholsonDaycare_04272023-qut.jpg 1920w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/05/RS64826_009_KQED_AnnetteNicholsonDaycare_04272023-qut-800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/05/RS64826_009_KQED_AnnetteNicholsonDaycare_04272023-qut-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/05/RS64826_009_KQED_AnnetteNicholsonDaycare_04272023-qut-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/05/RS64826_009_KQED_AnnetteNicholsonDaycare_04272023-qut-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1920px) 100vw, 1920px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Annette Nicholson, also known as Gaga, reads a book to the children at the day care she operates from her home in Stockton, on April 27, 2023. \u003ccite>(Beth LaBerge/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>“If we were a male-dominated workforce, you wouldn’t even try to be this disrespectful with giving us a livable wage,” said LaWanda Wesley, a former early educator and advocate with Black Californians United for Early Care and Education.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“So these women of color … some of them are 67 years old, don’t have health benefits and have to work year-round. So now you won’t pay them well … you’re getting free labor almost (from them),” she said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Nicholson said she hopes to see potential reform that recognizes her important role in nurturing young children during the most critical period of their brain development.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_11948549\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 1920px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-11948549\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2023/05/RS64827_014_KQED_AnnetteNicholsonDaycare_04272023-qut.jpg\" alt='An at-home child care worker hugs a little kid next to the book, \"Danny and the Dinosaur.\" A shelf filled with baskets of colorful toys are to the left.' width=\"1920\" height=\"1280\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/05/RS64827_014_KQED_AnnetteNicholsonDaycare_04272023-qut.jpg 1920w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/05/RS64827_014_KQED_AnnetteNicholsonDaycare_04272023-qut-800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/05/RS64827_014_KQED_AnnetteNicholsonDaycare_04272023-qut-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/05/RS64827_014_KQED_AnnetteNicholsonDaycare_04272023-qut-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/05/RS64827_014_KQED_AnnetteNicholsonDaycare_04272023-qut-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1920px) 100vw, 1920px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Annette Nicholson, also known as Gaga, hugs one of the children at the day care that she operates from her home in Stockton, on April 27, 2023. \u003ccite>(Beth LaBerge/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>She used to work as an administrator for Kaiser Permanente before deciding some 16 years ago to apply for a license and care for children inside her suburban tract home. She said her hospital job wasn’t fulfilling, and she wanted to return to her roots — helping her mother with her home-based child care business.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Nicholson said she has reached a stage where she’s caring for the children of people she helped raise many years ago.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“You have to not only take good care of kids, you’ve got to love kids ’cause kids can wear you down,” she said. “You have to love them even more, to know that you’re not going to get what you deserve at doing this job.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"slug": "the-construction-industry-wants-to-hire-more-women-but-child-care-barriers-are-getting-in-the-way",
"title": "The Construction Industry Wants to Hire More Women, but Child Care ‘Barriers’ Are Getting in the Way",
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"headTitle": "The Construction Industry Wants to Hire More Women, but Child Care ‘Barriers’ Are Getting in the Way | KQED",
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"content": "\u003cp>Tamarra Hayward, 36, is a single mother of three with two dead-end jobs.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>At night, she works the graveyard shift at an Amazon warehouse in the Sacramento area, picking out merchandise people have ordered online and sending it off to be packed and delivered.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The job pays $19 per hour, which she said isn’t enough to make ends meet. So she delivers food for DoorDash on the side, and while she’s working, she relies on family members to look after her children.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[pullquote size=\"medium\" align=\"right\" citation=\"Tamarra Hayward, apprentice construction worker\"]‘Two years of receiving a child care stipend will allow me to save two years of income that I would have taken away from my household for child care.’[/pullquote]“I’ve got someone different watching my kids every single day, and I’m struggling paycheck to paycheck right now,” she said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>When an aunt, who is a longtime carpenter, suggested she pursue a career in construction, Hayward jumped at the chance and signed up for a pre-apprenticeship — a boot camp-like program that teaches the basics of carpentry before a four-year apprenticeship.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_11948324\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 800px\">\u003ca href=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2023/05/029_KQED_CarpentryTraining_03302023.jpg\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-11948324\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2023/05/029_KQED_CarpentryTraining_03302023-800x533.jpg\" alt=\"A group of women wearing construction equipment survey a building area.\" width=\"800\" height=\"533\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/05/029_KQED_CarpentryTraining_03302023-800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/05/029_KQED_CarpentryTraining_03302023-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/05/029_KQED_CarpentryTraining_03302023-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/05/029_KQED_CarpentryTraining_03302023-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/05/029_KQED_CarpentryTraining_03302023.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\">\u003c/a>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">An all-female group gets ready to pack up for the day. \u003ccite>(Beth LaBerge/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Hayward is among a small but growing group of women California is trying to attract to the trades. The construction industry has historically been male-dominated, and the state is trying to get more women and nonbinary people into the pipeline by promoting state-regulated apprenticeships that will lead to better-paying jobs.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The industry itself needs \u003ca href=\"https://www.abc.org/News-Media/News-Releases/entryid/19777/construction-workforce-shortage-tops-half-a-million-in-2023-says-abc\">hundreds of thousands of skilled workers\u003c/a> to replace older workers who are retiring, and to meet the rising demand for new construction.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But only 3.5% of people enrolled in construction apprenticeships are women, and access to child care is keeping many of them from joining the trades.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“If you talk to women in the industry, they will likely share the challenge of finding affordable and accessible child care as a significant barrier,” said Katie Hagen, director of the California Department of Industrial Relations, at a news conference in March announcing $25 million in grants to help cover the cost of child care for women starting their careers in construction.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_11948322\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 800px\">\u003ca href=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2023/05/024_KQED_CarpentryTraining_03302023.jpg\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-11948322\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2023/05/024_KQED_CarpentryTraining_03302023-800x533.jpg\" alt=\"Two women wearing construction uniforms hold hammers near wooden boards at a construction site.\" width=\"800\" height=\"533\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/05/024_KQED_CarpentryTraining_03302023-800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/05/024_KQED_CarpentryTraining_03302023-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/05/024_KQED_CarpentryTraining_03302023-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/05/024_KQED_CarpentryTraining_03302023-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/05/024_KQED_CarpentryTraining_03302023.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\">\u003c/a>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Oshen Turman practices nailing techniques during the six-week training program. \u003ccite>(Beth LaBerge/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Apprenticeships offer participants who don’t necessarily have a college degree a chance to earn money while they undergo training in various jobs. They’re a key part of the state’s strategy to develop a skilled workforce by offering apprenticeships to a half-million people by 2029.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Graduates from a construction apprenticeship program can expect to make $75,000 or more per year, said Hagen.[aside postID=\"news_11948283\" label=\"Related Post\"]“There aren’t very many jobs where you finish your training program and you can earn such a high wage,” she said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Builders are trying to bolster the effort by supporting legislation that would \u003ca href=\"https://sd19.senate.ca.gov/news/2023/february/senator-limon-and-assembly-majority-leader-reyes-introduce-child-care-reform\">invest in more child care\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Andrew Meredith, president of the State Building and Construction Trades Council, said construction workers often get to job sites before dawn, so they need child care that falls outside of normal working hours.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Women are actually looking for programs that can take their children at 5 or 5:30 in the morning or, God forbid, even sometimes earlier than that,” he said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_11948323\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 800px\">\u003ca href=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2023/05/026_KQED_CarpentryTraining_03302023.jpg\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-11948323\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2023/05/026_KQED_CarpentryTraining_03302023-800x533.jpg\" alt=\"A group of people wearing construction equipment hold a wooden structure as one person looks on while another works on a different wooden structure.\" width=\"800\" height=\"533\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/05/026_KQED_CarpentryTraining_03302023-800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/05/026_KQED_CarpentryTraining_03302023-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/05/026_KQED_CarpentryTraining_03302023-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/05/026_KQED_CarpentryTraining_03302023-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/05/026_KQED_CarpentryTraining_03302023.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\">\u003c/a>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Participants of the pre-apprenticeship working to become carpenters. \u003ccite>(Beth LaBerge/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Parents had a hard time finding flexible child care hours long before the pandemic hit. Between 2008 and 2017, the number of home-based family child care sites that typically offered care beyond the 9-to-5 schedule \u003ca href=\"https://rrnetwork.org/publications/nontraditional-hours-and-child-care-study\">steadily declined by 30%\u003c/a>, according to the California Child Care Resource and Referral Network.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>According to Gemma DiMatteo, research director for the network, these small businesses often struggle to stay afloat financially, and would have taken a harder hit during the pandemic if they hadn’t received federal aid.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Hayward said she anticipates that she’ll be on multiple waitlists for child care for her 12-month-old daughter, but it’s a step up from not being able to afford child care at all.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>For six grueling weeks, Hayward drove 90 miles each way from her home in Sacramento to the Nor Cal Carpenters Training facility in the East Bay city of Pleasanton to undergo training with 10 other women. They’d start by running 1.5 miles around the massive building while wearing heavy tool belts and then spend the rest of the day learning how to use tools and machinery safely.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>After graduating from the pre-apprenticeship, Hayward will receive $10,000 in stipends from the \u003ca href=\"https://www.dir.ca.gov/DAS/Grants/ERICA.html\">Equal Representation in Construction Apprenticeship\u003c/a>, or ERiCA, grant to help her get through the next phase of training.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_11948321\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 800px\">\u003ca href=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2023/05/017_KQED_CarpentryTraining_03302023.jpg\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-11948321\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2023/05/017_KQED_CarpentryTraining_03302023-800x533.jpg\" alt=\"Two women wearing construction uniforms hold hammers near wooden boards at a construction site.\" width=\"800\" height=\"533\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/05/017_KQED_CarpentryTraining_03302023-800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/05/017_KQED_CarpentryTraining_03302023-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/05/017_KQED_CarpentryTraining_03302023-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/05/017_KQED_CarpentryTraining_03302023-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/05/017_KQED_CarpentryTraining_03302023.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\">\u003c/a>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Tamarra Hayward practices nailing techniques. \u003ccite>(Beth LaBerge/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>As an apprentice, she’ll continue with classroom learning and be on call when a construction job comes up. The stipends are expected to cover the first two years of the apprenticeship, when starting pay ranges from $30 to $37 per hour, depending on the location of the job site. But as the program continues, workers will see their pay rise. By the fourth year, they could earn up to $47 to $54 per hour.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>That means Hayward will make enough money to support her family with this one job — and child care will be subsidized.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Two years of receiving a child care stipend will allow me to save two years of income that I would have taken away from my household for child care,” she said. “I’m also going to be able to save money to buy a house for my children.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>On the final day of the boot camp, Hayward said she woke up early, prepared bottles of milk for her baby, gave her a kiss and got in her car.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_11948326\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 800px\">\u003ca href=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2023/05/047_KQED_CarpentryTraining_03302023.jpg\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-11948326\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2023/05/047_KQED_CarpentryTraining_03302023-800x533.jpg\" alt=\"A group of people wearing construction uniforms pose holding certificates in a building.\" width=\"800\" height=\"533\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/05/047_KQED_CarpentryTraining_03302023-800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/05/047_KQED_CarpentryTraining_03302023-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/05/047_KQED_CarpentryTraining_03302023-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/05/047_KQED_CarpentryTraining_03302023-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/05/047_KQED_CarpentryTraining_03302023.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\">\u003c/a>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Tamarra Hayward (kneeling in orange jacket) and Oshen Turman (second row, far right), alongside their classmates, pose for a portrait after receiving their certificates of completion. \u003ccite>(Beth LaBerge/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>“I just finished giving her the last of the breast milk that I made. But I remind myself the reason why I came to this program is so that I don’t have to continue the cycle of struggle,” she said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad floatright]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>She said her kids and the promise of a better future motivate her to keep going.\u003c/p>\n\n",
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"excerpt": "Carpenters Training Committee for Northern California, a state-supported apprenticeship program, is seeking to attract women and nonbinary people into the male-dominated construction and building industry by offering child care resources and stipends.",
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"title": "The Construction Industry Wants to Hire More Women, but Child Care ‘Barriers’ Are Getting in the Way | KQED",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cp>Tamarra Hayward, 36, is a single mother of three with two dead-end jobs.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>At night, she works the graveyard shift at an Amazon warehouse in the Sacramento area, picking out merchandise people have ordered online and sending it off to be packed and delivered.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The job pays $19 per hour, which she said isn’t enough to make ends meet. So she delivers food for DoorDash on the side, and while she’s working, she relies on family members to look after her children.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>“I’ve got someone different watching my kids every single day, and I’m struggling paycheck to paycheck right now,” she said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>When an aunt, who is a longtime carpenter, suggested she pursue a career in construction, Hayward jumped at the chance and signed up for a pre-apprenticeship — a boot camp-like program that teaches the basics of carpentry before a four-year apprenticeship.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_11948324\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 800px\">\u003ca href=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2023/05/029_KQED_CarpentryTraining_03302023.jpg\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-11948324\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2023/05/029_KQED_CarpentryTraining_03302023-800x533.jpg\" alt=\"A group of women wearing construction equipment survey a building area.\" width=\"800\" height=\"533\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/05/029_KQED_CarpentryTraining_03302023-800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/05/029_KQED_CarpentryTraining_03302023-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/05/029_KQED_CarpentryTraining_03302023-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/05/029_KQED_CarpentryTraining_03302023-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/05/029_KQED_CarpentryTraining_03302023.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\">\u003c/a>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">An all-female group gets ready to pack up for the day. \u003ccite>(Beth LaBerge/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Hayward is among a small but growing group of women California is trying to attract to the trades. The construction industry has historically been male-dominated, and the state is trying to get more women and nonbinary people into the pipeline by promoting state-regulated apprenticeships that will lead to better-paying jobs.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The industry itself needs \u003ca href=\"https://www.abc.org/News-Media/News-Releases/entryid/19777/construction-workforce-shortage-tops-half-a-million-in-2023-says-abc\">hundreds of thousands of skilled workers\u003c/a> to replace older workers who are retiring, and to meet the rising demand for new construction.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But only 3.5% of people enrolled in construction apprenticeships are women, and access to child care is keeping many of them from joining the trades.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“If you talk to women in the industry, they will likely share the challenge of finding affordable and accessible child care as a significant barrier,” said Katie Hagen, director of the California Department of Industrial Relations, at a news conference in March announcing $25 million in grants to help cover the cost of child care for women starting their careers in construction.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_11948322\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 800px\">\u003ca href=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2023/05/024_KQED_CarpentryTraining_03302023.jpg\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-11948322\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2023/05/024_KQED_CarpentryTraining_03302023-800x533.jpg\" alt=\"Two women wearing construction uniforms hold hammers near wooden boards at a construction site.\" width=\"800\" height=\"533\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/05/024_KQED_CarpentryTraining_03302023-800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/05/024_KQED_CarpentryTraining_03302023-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/05/024_KQED_CarpentryTraining_03302023-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/05/024_KQED_CarpentryTraining_03302023-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/05/024_KQED_CarpentryTraining_03302023.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\">\u003c/a>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Oshen Turman practices nailing techniques during the six-week training program. \u003ccite>(Beth LaBerge/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Apprenticeships offer participants who don’t necessarily have a college degree a chance to earn money while they undergo training in various jobs. They’re a key part of the state’s strategy to develop a skilled workforce by offering apprenticeships to a half-million people by 2029.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Graduates from a construction apprenticeship program can expect to make $75,000 or more per year, said Hagen.\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>“There aren’t very many jobs where you finish your training program and you can earn such a high wage,” she said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Builders are trying to bolster the effort by supporting legislation that would \u003ca href=\"https://sd19.senate.ca.gov/news/2023/february/senator-limon-and-assembly-majority-leader-reyes-introduce-child-care-reform\">invest in more child care\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Andrew Meredith, president of the State Building and Construction Trades Council, said construction workers often get to job sites before dawn, so they need child care that falls outside of normal working hours.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Women are actually looking for programs that can take their children at 5 or 5:30 in the morning or, God forbid, even sometimes earlier than that,” he said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_11948323\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 800px\">\u003ca href=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2023/05/026_KQED_CarpentryTraining_03302023.jpg\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-11948323\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2023/05/026_KQED_CarpentryTraining_03302023-800x533.jpg\" alt=\"A group of people wearing construction equipment hold a wooden structure as one person looks on while another works on a different wooden structure.\" width=\"800\" height=\"533\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/05/026_KQED_CarpentryTraining_03302023-800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/05/026_KQED_CarpentryTraining_03302023-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/05/026_KQED_CarpentryTraining_03302023-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/05/026_KQED_CarpentryTraining_03302023-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/05/026_KQED_CarpentryTraining_03302023.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\">\u003c/a>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Participants of the pre-apprenticeship working to become carpenters. \u003ccite>(Beth LaBerge/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Parents had a hard time finding flexible child care hours long before the pandemic hit. Between 2008 and 2017, the number of home-based family child care sites that typically offered care beyond the 9-to-5 schedule \u003ca href=\"https://rrnetwork.org/publications/nontraditional-hours-and-child-care-study\">steadily declined by 30%\u003c/a>, according to the California Child Care Resource and Referral Network.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>According to Gemma DiMatteo, research director for the network, these small businesses often struggle to stay afloat financially, and would have taken a harder hit during the pandemic if they hadn’t received federal aid.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Hayward said she anticipates that she’ll be on multiple waitlists for child care for her 12-month-old daughter, but it’s a step up from not being able to afford child care at all.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>For six grueling weeks, Hayward drove 90 miles each way from her home in Sacramento to the Nor Cal Carpenters Training facility in the East Bay city of Pleasanton to undergo training with 10 other women. They’d start by running 1.5 miles around the massive building while wearing heavy tool belts and then spend the rest of the day learning how to use tools and machinery safely.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>After graduating from the pre-apprenticeship, Hayward will receive $10,000 in stipends from the \u003ca href=\"https://www.dir.ca.gov/DAS/Grants/ERICA.html\">Equal Representation in Construction Apprenticeship\u003c/a>, or ERiCA, grant to help her get through the next phase of training.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_11948321\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 800px\">\u003ca href=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2023/05/017_KQED_CarpentryTraining_03302023.jpg\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-11948321\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2023/05/017_KQED_CarpentryTraining_03302023-800x533.jpg\" alt=\"Two women wearing construction uniforms hold hammers near wooden boards at a construction site.\" width=\"800\" height=\"533\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/05/017_KQED_CarpentryTraining_03302023-800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/05/017_KQED_CarpentryTraining_03302023-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/05/017_KQED_CarpentryTraining_03302023-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/05/017_KQED_CarpentryTraining_03302023-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/05/017_KQED_CarpentryTraining_03302023.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\">\u003c/a>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Tamarra Hayward practices nailing techniques. \u003ccite>(Beth LaBerge/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>As an apprentice, she’ll continue with classroom learning and be on call when a construction job comes up. The stipends are expected to cover the first two years of the apprenticeship, when starting pay ranges from $30 to $37 per hour, depending on the location of the job site. But as the program continues, workers will see their pay rise. By the fourth year, they could earn up to $47 to $54 per hour.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>That means Hayward will make enough money to support her family with this one job — and child care will be subsidized.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Two years of receiving a child care stipend will allow me to save two years of income that I would have taken away from my household for child care,” she said. “I’m also going to be able to save money to buy a house for my children.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>On the final day of the boot camp, Hayward said she woke up early, prepared bottles of milk for her baby, gave her a kiss and got in her car.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_11948326\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 800px\">\u003ca href=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2023/05/047_KQED_CarpentryTraining_03302023.jpg\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-11948326\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2023/05/047_KQED_CarpentryTraining_03302023-800x533.jpg\" alt=\"A group of people wearing construction uniforms pose holding certificates in a building.\" width=\"800\" height=\"533\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/05/047_KQED_CarpentryTraining_03302023-800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/05/047_KQED_CarpentryTraining_03302023-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/05/047_KQED_CarpentryTraining_03302023-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/05/047_KQED_CarpentryTraining_03302023-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/05/047_KQED_CarpentryTraining_03302023.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\">\u003c/a>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Tamarra Hayward (kneeling in orange jacket) and Oshen Turman (second row, far right), alongside their classmates, pose for a portrait after receiving their certificates of completion. \u003ccite>(Beth LaBerge/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>“I just finished giving her the last of the breast milk that I made. But I remind myself the reason why I came to this program is so that I don’t have to continue the cycle of struggle,” she said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>She said her kids and the promise of a better future motivate her to keep going.\u003c/p>\n\n\u003c/div>\u003c/p>",
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"slug": "long-covid-in-california-a-pandemic-of-loneliness-and-social-isolation-and-rejection",
"title": "Long COVID in California: 'A Pandemic of Loneliness and Social Isolation and Rejection'",
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"headTitle": "Long COVID in California: ‘A Pandemic of Loneliness and Social Isolation and Rejection’ | KQED",
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"content": "\u003cp>A bout with COVID-19 two years ago left Mindy Lym with such severe sensitivities to light and sound that she and her partner left their San Francisco home and moved to rural Washington, where there were fewer triggers. In the past two months, she has paid more than $7,500 out-of-pocket for medical care. Although she can afford it, she knows few people can do the same.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Stephen Mintz gets just $60 per week from state disability insurance, which he began receiving after the chronic fatigue from COVID-19 prevented him from holding a steady job. He spent all of his savings and borrowed money from family. Without more relief payments from the state, he doesn’t know how he’ll pay his bills.[pullquote align=\"right\" size=\"medium\" citation=\"Lisa McCorkell, co-founder, Patient-Led Research Collective\"]‘One of the big issues with long COVID … is that the people who are the most motivated to do something about it have the least amount of energy and ability to cause a scene.’[/pullquote]COVID-19 sent Janine Loftis to the hospital in 2020. She relies on a caretaker after lingering symptoms like brain fog, pain and fatigue have kept her from cooking or cleaning. But when Loftis’ caretaker took a monthlong leave of absence, shortages ravaging the health care workforce made it impossible to find a replacement.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>These are three out of countless stories of \u003ca href=\"https://calmatters.org/health/coronavirus/2022/03/long-covid-inequities-california/\">Californians afflicted by long COVID\u003c/a>. Recent CDC surveys suggest \u003ca href=\"https://www.cdc.gov/nchs/covid19/pulse/long-covid.htm\">5.5% of California adults — roughly 1.5 million people — currently experience the ill-defined, mysterious and often debilitating collection of symptoms that make up long COVID\u003c/a>. More than 80% of them have some limits on their activity.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>While most of society rushes eagerly back to pre-pandemic life, these patients, known as “long haulers,” have been largely overlooked, particularly by policymakers and the medical establishment.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“It’s a pandemic of loneliness and social isolation and rejection,” said Ibrahim Rashid, a long hauler and founder of \u003ca href=\"https://www.thestronghaulers.com/\">Strong Haulers\u003c/a>, a start-up app designed to make chronic symptom management easier.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>California long haulers can face years-long wait times to get into specialized clinics. Oftentimes they have to fight for disability payments or to be taken seriously by doctors. And state lawmakers, despite holding hearings on the issue last year, have not introduced any proposals this session to assist them.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>A \u003ca href=\"https://www.meaction.net/wp-content/uploads/2022/04/Budget-Request_Long-COVID-ASM-Quirk.pdf\">budget proposal to increase long COVID clinic capacity at University of California health centers failed (PDF)\u003c/a> last year, and it’s unlikely anything new will make it off the ground now, given the state’s likely budget deficit.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Former state Sen. Dr. Richard Pan, the Sacramento Democrat who co-chaired a special hearing on long COVID last year, told CalMatters in February, ahead of the deadline to introduce new bills, that he hoped “people are paying attention to this” because long COVID will put new stressors on the state’s health care, mental health and disability systems.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The state Senate Special Committee on Pandemic Emergency Response was not reinstated this year. A spokesperson for Sen. Josh Newman, a Democrat from Fullerton who chaired the committee last session, said there hasn’t been any conversation about long COVID this year.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>Patients at the forefront\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>Instead, the policy legwork has fallen on two people: Lisa McCorkell, co-founder of the Patient-Led Research Collective who has had long COVID since March 2020, and Art Mirin, whose daughter has a \u003ca href=\"https://www.mdpi.com/1648-9144/57/5/418/htm?s=09\">similar post-viral condition\u003c/a> called \u003ca href=\"https://www.cdc.gov/me-cfs/about/index.html\">myalgic encephalomyelitis/chronic fatigue syndrome\u003c/a>. Together, McCorkell and Mirin have drafted budget proposals, solicited letters of support from disability advocacy groups, and met with legislators and staffers. They’re doing the work that political power players pay lobbyists millions of dollars to organize — so far to no avail.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“One of the big issues with long COVID … is that the people who are the most motivated to do something about it have the least amount of energy and ability to cause a scene,” McCorkell said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Despite struggling with \u003ca href=\"https://my.clevelandclinic.org/health/diseases/16560-postural-orthostatic-tachycardia-syndrome-pots\">postural orthostatic tachycardia syndrome\u003c/a>, a blood circulation disorder that can cause fatigue and brain fog, as well as other disabling symptoms, McCorkell has \u003ca href=\"https://docs.house.gov/meetings/IF/IF14/20210428/112514/HHRG-117-IF14-Wstate-McCorkellL-20210428.pdf\">testified before Congress on long COVID\u003c/a>, \u003ca href=\"https://patientresearchcovid19.com/publication/\">conducted research\u003c/a> and pushed for California to do more for the population.[aside label=\"related coverage\" tag=\"long-covid\"]She and Mirin wrote last year’s budget proposal for the state to fund research, training and treatment centers at UC medical campuses and other academic centers. Mirin said it has been challenging to find a champion for this issue.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“People will say they support one thing or another, but when it comes down to an official public request, other things have a way of coming into play,” Mirin said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Although five UC medical campuses have long COVID clinics, demand far exceeds capacity, said Dr. Anne Foster, chief clinical strategy officer for UC Health Systems.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“There are just a lot of patients out there,” she said, noting that UC Health supports McCorkell and Mirin’s proposal, but new state funding isn’t available for it.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Officials with the California Department of Public Health plan to create a new COVID-19 Control Branch to monitor variants and outbreaks and support long COVID research, said State Epidemiologist Dr. Erica Pan. The department is using some money from last year as well as seed money from \u003ca href=\"https://calmatters.org/health/coronavirus/2022/02/california-covid-plans/\">the state’s $1.8 billion long-term COVID-19 preparedness plan\u003c/a> to open the branch. However, \u003ca href=\"https://calmatters.org/california-budget/2023/01/california-budget-newsom-deficit/\">proposed budget cuts\u003c/a> make ongoing funding uncertain.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We are looking at that and trying to advocate for ongoing resources,” Pan said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Without additional money from the state, Foster said UC Health has pivoted to developing a \u003ca href=\"https://health.universityofcalifornia.edu/long-covid-education\">free continuing education training program for doctors on best practices to treat long COVID patients\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>McCorkell and Mirin say the training modules aren’t perfect, but they’re an important resource for primary care doctors, especially considering most people in the state live too far from a specialized clinic to get help.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>Many doctors haven’t heard of long COVID\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>Stephen Mintz of Fresno is one such patient.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Mintz avoided COVID-19 for more than two years, but in August he went to a bar to celebrate his 59th birthday, and tested positive for the virus shortly thereafter. By September, Mintz found he didn’t have the physical or mental stamina to do much of anything. After two-and-a-half hours of activity, his limbs would get heavy and his thoughts would muddle.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“You could almost set a clock to it,” Mintz said. “Suddenly it would be very difficult to put one foot in front of the other.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_11948034\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\" style=\"max-width: 1568px\">\u003ca href=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2023/04/040323-Long-Covid-LV_CM-01.jpeg\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-11948034\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2023/04/040323-Long-Covid-LV_CM-01.jpeg\" alt=\"A middle-aged white man with glasses sits on a couch in a dark, shade-drawn room.\" width=\"1568\" height=\"1045\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/04/040323-Long-Covid-LV_CM-01.jpeg 1568w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/04/040323-Long-Covid-LV_CM-01-800x533.jpeg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/04/040323-Long-Covid-LV_CM-01-1020x680.jpeg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/04/040323-Long-Covid-LV_CM-01-160x107.jpeg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/04/040323-Long-Covid-LV_CM-01-1536x1024.jpeg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1568px) 100vw, 1568px\">\u003c/a>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Stephen Mintz sits at the side of his bed in his apartment in Fresno on March 3, 2023. Mintz was diagnosed with COVID-19 in September and has had chronic fatigue since then. \u003ccite>(Larry Valenzuela, CalMatters/CatchLight Local)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>In January, Mintz was stacking chairs at a local bar where he works as a security guard. Within 10 minutes he got dizzy and couldn’t lift his arms anymore. It’s a common condition associated with long COVID called \u003ca href=\"https://www.jospt.org/doi/10.2519/jospt.2021.0106\">post-exertional malaise\u003c/a> — pushing through the fatigue can worsen symptoms.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I actually cried then. I’ve been depressed over this and frustrated,” Mintz said. “I couldn’t believe I’m so weak.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Mintz went to his primary care doctor in Fresno for help. He said he thought he had long COVID and was met with skepticism.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“His first reaction was that he hadn’t really heard of it,” Mintz said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>On his disability paperwork, Mintz said the doctor wrote “general malaise and short-term amnesia” because he didn’t know how to diagnose Mintz and told him to call UCSF, nearly 200 miles away, for advice.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“The doctor there said, ‘Um, well, if you lived here you could be part of a research study,’” Mintz said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>It’s a common experience among people with long COVID-19. Though the pandemic has thrust \u003ca href=\"https://time.com/6240058/post-viral-illnesses-common-long-covid/\">post-viral illnesses\u003c/a> into the spotlight, most doctors still don’t have the experience to treat the collection of \u003ca href=\"https://www.nature.com/articles/s41579-022-00846-2\">more than 200 symptoms\u003c/a> that make up long COVID.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Each new variant of COVID-19 also changes \u003ca href=\"https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1871402121001193\">which symptoms are most common\u003c/a>, making it doubly difficult for the average primary care doctor to diagnose, said Dr. Nisha Viswanathan, a primary care physician at UCLA Health’s long COVID clinic. The “vague nature” of many symptoms like fatigue and insomnia also lead to misdiagnosis and frustration among patients.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“It’s really challenging,” Viswanathan said. “If you’re not seeing a certain volume of long COVID patients, it can be difficult to recognize when a patient may be having it versus not.”\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>‘I knew it had gotten into my brain’\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>COVID-19 first hit Mindy Lym, a 37-year-old from San Francisco, like a mild flu, causing fever and congestion. But on Day 5 of her illness, she looked at a text from her girlfriend who was isolating in a separate room and couldn’t make sense of the words. It looked like gibberish.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“That really scared the shit out of me,” Lym said. “I knew it had gotten into my brain.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>She has spent every day since then chasing after an elusive recovery. Like McCorkell, Lym developed \u003ca href=\"https://my.clevelandclinic.org/health/diseases/16560-postural-orthostatic-tachycardia-syndrome-pots\">postural orthostatic tachycardia syndrome\u003c/a> and wears compression garments like stockings and a corset to improve blood circulation. She also has \u003ca href=\"https://www.aaaai.org/conditions-treatments/related-conditions/mcas\">mast cell activation syndrome\u003c/a>, which causes an immune response similar to a severe allergic reaction as well as chronic inflammation.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>For three months, Lym, who formerly worked as a music teacher and theater performer in San Francisco, could barely walk and needed a full-time caretaker to dress and bathe. Even soft noises and dim lights caused her to feel “unbearable pain.” When construction outside her house led to weeks of jackhammering, Lym developed PTSD.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We moved because of my long COVID,” Lym said. “Being in a city with city noises … was completely untenable.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_11948036\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\" style=\"max-width: 1568px\">\u003ca href=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2023/04/041423-Long-COVID-Mindy-Lym-CN-CM-18.jpeg\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-11948036 size-full\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2023/04/041423-Long-COVID-Mindy-Lym-CN-CM-18.jpeg\" alt=\"A woman with long dark hair and glasses sits on a couch, looking out the window. \" width=\"1568\" height=\"1045\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/04/041423-Long-COVID-Mindy-Lym-CN-CM-18.jpeg 1568w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/04/041423-Long-COVID-Mindy-Lym-CN-CM-18-800x533.jpeg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/04/041423-Long-COVID-Mindy-Lym-CN-CM-18-1020x680.jpeg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/04/041423-Long-COVID-Mindy-Lym-CN-CM-18-160x107.jpeg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/04/041423-Long-COVID-Mindy-Lym-CN-CM-18-1536x1024.jpeg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1568px) 100vw, 1568px\">\u003c/a>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Mindy Lym has been living with long COVID since the summer of 2022. \u003ccite>(Celeste Noche/CalMatters)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>In September 2022, before moving out of state to rural Washington, Lym called the Post-Acute COVID-19 Syndrome clinic at Stanford Health Care. The clinic scheduled an appointment for her for October 2023.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“The demand has been extremely high,” said Dr. Linda Geng, co-director of Stanford’s long COVID clinic. The clinic sees about 12 to 15 new patients each week and has an eight-month average wait time.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Yet even as patients like Mintz and Lym struggle to get into a specialized clinic, UCLA physician Viswanathan said she has heard from multiple colleagues at other facilities that are considering closing their long COVID care clinics or reducing hours. Health systems are strapped for cash and facing a dire workforce shortage, said Dr. Anil Keswani, chief medical officer at Scripps Health in San Diego.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We have increased supply costs. We have increased pharmacy costs. We have increased labor costs,” Keswani said. “How do health care systems invest in programs like long COVID clinics, like hiring more clinicians? Health care organizations have been battered over the last few years, but I don’t see any government relief.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_11948037\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\" style=\"max-width: 1568px\">\u003ca href=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2023/04/041423-Long-COVID-Mindy-Lym-CN-CM-25.jpeg\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-11948037\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2023/04/041423-Long-COVID-Mindy-Lym-CN-CM-25.jpeg\" alt=\"Lots of medications in bottles on a table.\" width=\"1568\" height=\"1045\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/04/041423-Long-COVID-Mindy-Lym-CN-CM-25.jpeg 1568w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/04/041423-Long-COVID-Mindy-Lym-CN-CM-25-800x533.jpeg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/04/041423-Long-COVID-Mindy-Lym-CN-CM-25-1020x680.jpeg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/04/041423-Long-COVID-Mindy-Lym-CN-CM-25-160x107.jpeg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/04/041423-Long-COVID-Mindy-Lym-CN-CM-25-1536x1024.jpeg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1568px) 100vw, 1568px\">\u003c/a>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Some of the many medications and supplements Mindy Lym takes for her long COVID symptoms. \u003ccite>(Celeste Noche/CalMatters)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003ch2>Janine’s story\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>A patient navigator could help someone like Janine Loftis, who has fought for nearly 2 1/2 years to be seen by a long COVID specialist.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The Elk Grove resident turned 73 in January, but physically, she feels much older. In November 2020, after laying in “the house for two weeks not knowing what to do,” Loftis called an ambulance. It was the middle of the night, she had COVID, and her oxygen level dropped. Family and caretakers couldn’t check on her for fear of infection. By the time Loftis was admitted to the hospital, she had viral and bacterial pneumonia and blood clots forming deep in her veins.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Loftis was already disabled from previous spinal injuries, but the persistent aftereffects of COVID-19 have floored her.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“It’s embarrassing how little I can do on my own,” Loftis said. “My body gives out on me. Things are just lost to my mind.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_11948038\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\" style=\"max-width: 1568px\">\u003ca href=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2023/04/042623-Long-Covid-Portraits-Janine-Loftis-RL-CM-01.jpeg\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-11948038 size-full\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2023/04/042623-Long-Covid-Portraits-Janine-Loftis-RL-CM-01.jpeg\" alt=\"An older white woman with neat, white, shoulder-length hair wearing a purple floral long-sleeved blouse poses outside her house.\" width=\"1568\" height=\"1045\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/04/042623-Long-Covid-Portraits-Janine-Loftis-RL-CM-01.jpeg 1568w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/04/042623-Long-Covid-Portraits-Janine-Loftis-RL-CM-01-800x533.jpeg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/04/042623-Long-Covid-Portraits-Janine-Loftis-RL-CM-01-1020x680.jpeg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/04/042623-Long-Covid-Portraits-Janine-Loftis-RL-CM-01-160x107.jpeg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/04/042623-Long-Covid-Portraits-Janine-Loftis-RL-CM-01-1536x1024.jpeg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1568px) 100vw, 1568px\">\u003c/a>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Janine Loftis, 73, at her home in Elk Grove on April 26, 2023. Loftis has long COVID, including lingering symptoms from the original infection such as brain fog and chronic fatigue. \u003ccite>(Rahul Lal/CalMatters)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>The chronic fatigue and brain fog prevent her from going to in-person church services, and she recently gave her dog of nine years to an adoption agency after caring for her got too hard. When Loftis’ home caregiver took a leave of absence for four weeks, she couldn’t find a replacement, due to \u003ca href=\"https://laist.com/news/health/millions-of-californians-need-home-care-industry-in-crisis-ucla-labor-center-report\">long-standing workforce shortages that intensified during the pandemic\u003c/a>. Without anyone to help her, Loftis “struggled really horribly” to manage daily tasks, she said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Juggling doctors’ appointments and navigating the byzantine health insurance system is an added obstacle for Loftis.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“My head is spinning just trying to talk about it again,” she said. “I don’t know how lay people, especially disabled ones with a lot of distractions like pain or like me, with brain fog … understand it.”[pullquote align=\"right\" size=\"medium\" citation=\"Mindy Lym\"]‘I feel like I have my personality back. My fatigue is no longer limiting how I express myself … which is amazing.’[/pullquote]Two months ago, Loftis finally convinced her primary care doctor to refer her to the UC Davis long COVID clinic, but she said her paperwork is now “lost in a pile of things that need authorization.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“It takes everything just to keep up with anything,” Loftis said. “When things get ignored or I don’t know the process, I just have to wait for it to play out. I’m the middle man. I can’t do anything.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>No one from UC Davis Health’s long COVID clinic responded to a request for an interview. When asked about clinic capacity, the media relations division said that its post-COVID clinic has the ability to treat “an infinite number of patients.”\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>Hope … with some caveats\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>There is a decent chance of at least a partial recovery from long COVID within a year. Anecdotally, long COVID specialists interviewed by CalMatters said even if patients don’t make a full recovery, most see significant improvement over time.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“You look a year or 18 months out and the majority of people have had improvement if not complete resolution,” said Dr. Caitlin McAuley, a primary care physician at the USC Keck COVID Recovery Clinic.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>A large study out of Israel found that \u003ca href=\"https://www.bmj.com/content/380/bmj-2022-072529\">among patients with mild COVID-19 infections, most symptoms resolved within one year\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Other studies, however, paint \u003ca href=\"https://www.nature.com/articles/s41467-022-33415-5\">a less rosy picture\u003c/a>, with \u003ca href=\"https://www.thelancet.com/journals/lanres/article/PIIS2213-2600(22)00127-8/fulltext\">few patients reporting full recovery\u003c/a>. One study on French patients found \u003ca href=\"https://www.nature.com/articles/s41467-022-29513-z\">85% still reported long COVID symptoms\u003c/a> a year after onset.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>On the plus side, Mintz, who has had long COVID for eight months, has slowly regained his energy over time. He can go five or six hours without crashing, compared to two hours in January.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>And Lym, who has had long COVID for nine months, has also seen a marked improvement. In February, she enrolled in a private long COVID research and treatment clinic. Together with her doctor, Lym discovered certain foods exacerbated her most severe symptoms. Now, she has an 18-page list of foods she can’t eat and takes a medley of antihistamines, blood thinners and supplements daily. Though Lym is still disabled, her sensory issues are 95% better and her energy has steadily improved, she said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I feel like I have my personality back. My fatigue is no longer limiting how I express myself … which is amazing,” Lym said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But Lym’s clinic isn’t covered by insurance, and costs $1,000 per month, plus the cost of any tests the doctor orders.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad floatright]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“It’s not accessible,” Lym said. “I know there are so many people going through what I’m going through but don’t have the resources.”\u003c/p>\n\n",
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"excerpt": "There are currently no legislative proposals in California to help residents suffering from the debilitating effects of long COVID, despite long wait times for care and often unaffordable treatment options.",
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"title": "Long COVID in California: 'A Pandemic of Loneliness and Social Isolation and Rejection' | KQED",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cp>A bout with COVID-19 two years ago left Mindy Lym with such severe sensitivities to light and sound that she and her partner left their San Francisco home and moved to rural Washington, where there were fewer triggers. In the past two months, she has paid more than $7,500 out-of-pocket for medical care. Although she can afford it, she knows few people can do the same.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Stephen Mintz gets just $60 per week from state disability insurance, which he began receiving after the chronic fatigue from COVID-19 prevented him from holding a steady job. He spent all of his savings and borrowed money from family. Without more relief payments from the state, he doesn’t know how he’ll pay his bills.\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>COVID-19 sent Janine Loftis to the hospital in 2020. She relies on a caretaker after lingering symptoms like brain fog, pain and fatigue have kept her from cooking or cleaning. But when Loftis’ caretaker took a monthlong leave of absence, shortages ravaging the health care workforce made it impossible to find a replacement.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>These are three out of countless stories of \u003ca href=\"https://calmatters.org/health/coronavirus/2022/03/long-covid-inequities-california/\">Californians afflicted by long COVID\u003c/a>. Recent CDC surveys suggest \u003ca href=\"https://www.cdc.gov/nchs/covid19/pulse/long-covid.htm\">5.5% of California adults — roughly 1.5 million people — currently experience the ill-defined, mysterious and often debilitating collection of symptoms that make up long COVID\u003c/a>. More than 80% of them have some limits on their activity.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>While most of society rushes eagerly back to pre-pandemic life, these patients, known as “long haulers,” have been largely overlooked, particularly by policymakers and the medical establishment.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“It’s a pandemic of loneliness and social isolation and rejection,” said Ibrahim Rashid, a long hauler and founder of \u003ca href=\"https://www.thestronghaulers.com/\">Strong Haulers\u003c/a>, a start-up app designed to make chronic symptom management easier.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>California long haulers can face years-long wait times to get into specialized clinics. Oftentimes they have to fight for disability payments or to be taken seriously by doctors. And state lawmakers, despite holding hearings on the issue last year, have not introduced any proposals this session to assist them.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>A \u003ca href=\"https://www.meaction.net/wp-content/uploads/2022/04/Budget-Request_Long-COVID-ASM-Quirk.pdf\">budget proposal to increase long COVID clinic capacity at University of California health centers failed (PDF)\u003c/a> last year, and it’s unlikely anything new will make it off the ground now, given the state’s likely budget deficit.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Former state Sen. Dr. Richard Pan, the Sacramento Democrat who co-chaired a special hearing on long COVID last year, told CalMatters in February, ahead of the deadline to introduce new bills, that he hoped “people are paying attention to this” because long COVID will put new stressors on the state’s health care, mental health and disability systems.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The state Senate Special Committee on Pandemic Emergency Response was not reinstated this year. A spokesperson for Sen. Josh Newman, a Democrat from Fullerton who chaired the committee last session, said there hasn’t been any conversation about long COVID this year.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>Patients at the forefront\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>Instead, the policy legwork has fallen on two people: Lisa McCorkell, co-founder of the Patient-Led Research Collective who has had long COVID since March 2020, and Art Mirin, whose daughter has a \u003ca href=\"https://www.mdpi.com/1648-9144/57/5/418/htm?s=09\">similar post-viral condition\u003c/a> called \u003ca href=\"https://www.cdc.gov/me-cfs/about/index.html\">myalgic encephalomyelitis/chronic fatigue syndrome\u003c/a>. Together, McCorkell and Mirin have drafted budget proposals, solicited letters of support from disability advocacy groups, and met with legislators and staffers. They’re doing the work that political power players pay lobbyists millions of dollars to organize — so far to no avail.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“One of the big issues with long COVID … is that the people who are the most motivated to do something about it have the least amount of energy and ability to cause a scene,” McCorkell said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Despite struggling with \u003ca href=\"https://my.clevelandclinic.org/health/diseases/16560-postural-orthostatic-tachycardia-syndrome-pots\">postural orthostatic tachycardia syndrome\u003c/a>, a blood circulation disorder that can cause fatigue and brain fog, as well as other disabling symptoms, McCorkell has \u003ca href=\"https://docs.house.gov/meetings/IF/IF14/20210428/112514/HHRG-117-IF14-Wstate-McCorkellL-20210428.pdf\">testified before Congress on long COVID\u003c/a>, \u003ca href=\"https://patientresearchcovid19.com/publication/\">conducted research\u003c/a> and pushed for California to do more for the population.\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>She and Mirin wrote last year’s budget proposal for the state to fund research, training and treatment centers at UC medical campuses and other academic centers. Mirin said it has been challenging to find a champion for this issue.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“People will say they support one thing or another, but when it comes down to an official public request, other things have a way of coming into play,” Mirin said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Although five UC medical campuses have long COVID clinics, demand far exceeds capacity, said Dr. Anne Foster, chief clinical strategy officer for UC Health Systems.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“There are just a lot of patients out there,” she said, noting that UC Health supports McCorkell and Mirin’s proposal, but new state funding isn’t available for it.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Officials with the California Department of Public Health plan to create a new COVID-19 Control Branch to monitor variants and outbreaks and support long COVID research, said State Epidemiologist Dr. Erica Pan. The department is using some money from last year as well as seed money from \u003ca href=\"https://calmatters.org/health/coronavirus/2022/02/california-covid-plans/\">the state’s $1.8 billion long-term COVID-19 preparedness plan\u003c/a> to open the branch. However, \u003ca href=\"https://calmatters.org/california-budget/2023/01/california-budget-newsom-deficit/\">proposed budget cuts\u003c/a> make ongoing funding uncertain.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We are looking at that and trying to advocate for ongoing resources,” Pan said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Without additional money from the state, Foster said UC Health has pivoted to developing a \u003ca href=\"https://health.universityofcalifornia.edu/long-covid-education\">free continuing education training program for doctors on best practices to treat long COVID patients\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>McCorkell and Mirin say the training modules aren’t perfect, but they’re an important resource for primary care doctors, especially considering most people in the state live too far from a specialized clinic to get help.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>Many doctors haven’t heard of long COVID\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>Stephen Mintz of Fresno is one such patient.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Mintz avoided COVID-19 for more than two years, but in August he went to a bar to celebrate his 59th birthday, and tested positive for the virus shortly thereafter. By September, Mintz found he didn’t have the physical or mental stamina to do much of anything. After two-and-a-half hours of activity, his limbs would get heavy and his thoughts would muddle.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“You could almost set a clock to it,” Mintz said. “Suddenly it would be very difficult to put one foot in front of the other.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_11948034\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\" style=\"max-width: 1568px\">\u003ca href=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2023/04/040323-Long-Covid-LV_CM-01.jpeg\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-11948034\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2023/04/040323-Long-Covid-LV_CM-01.jpeg\" alt=\"A middle-aged white man with glasses sits on a couch in a dark, shade-drawn room.\" width=\"1568\" height=\"1045\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/04/040323-Long-Covid-LV_CM-01.jpeg 1568w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/04/040323-Long-Covid-LV_CM-01-800x533.jpeg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/04/040323-Long-Covid-LV_CM-01-1020x680.jpeg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/04/040323-Long-Covid-LV_CM-01-160x107.jpeg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/04/040323-Long-Covid-LV_CM-01-1536x1024.jpeg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1568px) 100vw, 1568px\">\u003c/a>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Stephen Mintz sits at the side of his bed in his apartment in Fresno on March 3, 2023. Mintz was diagnosed with COVID-19 in September and has had chronic fatigue since then. \u003ccite>(Larry Valenzuela, CalMatters/CatchLight Local)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>In January, Mintz was stacking chairs at a local bar where he works as a security guard. Within 10 minutes he got dizzy and couldn’t lift his arms anymore. It’s a common condition associated with long COVID called \u003ca href=\"https://www.jospt.org/doi/10.2519/jospt.2021.0106\">post-exertional malaise\u003c/a> — pushing through the fatigue can worsen symptoms.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I actually cried then. I’ve been depressed over this and frustrated,” Mintz said. “I couldn’t believe I’m so weak.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Mintz went to his primary care doctor in Fresno for help. He said he thought he had long COVID and was met with skepticism.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“His first reaction was that he hadn’t really heard of it,” Mintz said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>On his disability paperwork, Mintz said the doctor wrote “general malaise and short-term amnesia” because he didn’t know how to diagnose Mintz and told him to call UCSF, nearly 200 miles away, for advice.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“The doctor there said, ‘Um, well, if you lived here you could be part of a research study,’” Mintz said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>It’s a common experience among people with long COVID-19. Though the pandemic has thrust \u003ca href=\"https://time.com/6240058/post-viral-illnesses-common-long-covid/\">post-viral illnesses\u003c/a> into the spotlight, most doctors still don’t have the experience to treat the collection of \u003ca href=\"https://www.nature.com/articles/s41579-022-00846-2\">more than 200 symptoms\u003c/a> that make up long COVID.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Each new variant of COVID-19 also changes \u003ca href=\"https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1871402121001193\">which symptoms are most common\u003c/a>, making it doubly difficult for the average primary care doctor to diagnose, said Dr. Nisha Viswanathan, a primary care physician at UCLA Health’s long COVID clinic. The “vague nature” of many symptoms like fatigue and insomnia also lead to misdiagnosis and frustration among patients.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“It’s really challenging,” Viswanathan said. “If you’re not seeing a certain volume of long COVID patients, it can be difficult to recognize when a patient may be having it versus not.”\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>‘I knew it had gotten into my brain’\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>COVID-19 first hit Mindy Lym, a 37-year-old from San Francisco, like a mild flu, causing fever and congestion. But on Day 5 of her illness, she looked at a text from her girlfriend who was isolating in a separate room and couldn’t make sense of the words. It looked like gibberish.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“That really scared the shit out of me,” Lym said. “I knew it had gotten into my brain.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>She has spent every day since then chasing after an elusive recovery. Like McCorkell, Lym developed \u003ca href=\"https://my.clevelandclinic.org/health/diseases/16560-postural-orthostatic-tachycardia-syndrome-pots\">postural orthostatic tachycardia syndrome\u003c/a> and wears compression garments like stockings and a corset to improve blood circulation. She also has \u003ca href=\"https://www.aaaai.org/conditions-treatments/related-conditions/mcas\">mast cell activation syndrome\u003c/a>, which causes an immune response similar to a severe allergic reaction as well as chronic inflammation.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>For three months, Lym, who formerly worked as a music teacher and theater performer in San Francisco, could barely walk and needed a full-time caretaker to dress and bathe. Even soft noises and dim lights caused her to feel “unbearable pain.” When construction outside her house led to weeks of jackhammering, Lym developed PTSD.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We moved because of my long COVID,” Lym said. “Being in a city with city noises … was completely untenable.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_11948036\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\" style=\"max-width: 1568px\">\u003ca href=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2023/04/041423-Long-COVID-Mindy-Lym-CN-CM-18.jpeg\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-11948036 size-full\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2023/04/041423-Long-COVID-Mindy-Lym-CN-CM-18.jpeg\" alt=\"A woman with long dark hair and glasses sits on a couch, looking out the window. \" width=\"1568\" height=\"1045\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/04/041423-Long-COVID-Mindy-Lym-CN-CM-18.jpeg 1568w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/04/041423-Long-COVID-Mindy-Lym-CN-CM-18-800x533.jpeg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/04/041423-Long-COVID-Mindy-Lym-CN-CM-18-1020x680.jpeg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/04/041423-Long-COVID-Mindy-Lym-CN-CM-18-160x107.jpeg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/04/041423-Long-COVID-Mindy-Lym-CN-CM-18-1536x1024.jpeg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1568px) 100vw, 1568px\">\u003c/a>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Mindy Lym has been living with long COVID since the summer of 2022. \u003ccite>(Celeste Noche/CalMatters)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>In September 2022, before moving out of state to rural Washington, Lym called the Post-Acute COVID-19 Syndrome clinic at Stanford Health Care. The clinic scheduled an appointment for her for October 2023.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“The demand has been extremely high,” said Dr. Linda Geng, co-director of Stanford’s long COVID clinic. The clinic sees about 12 to 15 new patients each week and has an eight-month average wait time.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Yet even as patients like Mintz and Lym struggle to get into a specialized clinic, UCLA physician Viswanathan said she has heard from multiple colleagues at other facilities that are considering closing their long COVID care clinics or reducing hours. Health systems are strapped for cash and facing a dire workforce shortage, said Dr. Anil Keswani, chief medical officer at Scripps Health in San Diego.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We have increased supply costs. We have increased pharmacy costs. We have increased labor costs,” Keswani said. “How do health care systems invest in programs like long COVID clinics, like hiring more clinicians? Health care organizations have been battered over the last few years, but I don’t see any government relief.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_11948037\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\" style=\"max-width: 1568px\">\u003ca href=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2023/04/041423-Long-COVID-Mindy-Lym-CN-CM-25.jpeg\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-11948037\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2023/04/041423-Long-COVID-Mindy-Lym-CN-CM-25.jpeg\" alt=\"Lots of medications in bottles on a table.\" width=\"1568\" height=\"1045\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/04/041423-Long-COVID-Mindy-Lym-CN-CM-25.jpeg 1568w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/04/041423-Long-COVID-Mindy-Lym-CN-CM-25-800x533.jpeg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/04/041423-Long-COVID-Mindy-Lym-CN-CM-25-1020x680.jpeg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/04/041423-Long-COVID-Mindy-Lym-CN-CM-25-160x107.jpeg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/04/041423-Long-COVID-Mindy-Lym-CN-CM-25-1536x1024.jpeg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1568px) 100vw, 1568px\">\u003c/a>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Some of the many medications and supplements Mindy Lym takes for her long COVID symptoms. \u003ccite>(Celeste Noche/CalMatters)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003ch2>Janine’s story\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>A patient navigator could help someone like Janine Loftis, who has fought for nearly 2 1/2 years to be seen by a long COVID specialist.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The Elk Grove resident turned 73 in January, but physically, she feels much older. In November 2020, after laying in “the house for two weeks not knowing what to do,” Loftis called an ambulance. It was the middle of the night, she had COVID, and her oxygen level dropped. Family and caretakers couldn’t check on her for fear of infection. By the time Loftis was admitted to the hospital, she had viral and bacterial pneumonia and blood clots forming deep in her veins.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Loftis was already disabled from previous spinal injuries, but the persistent aftereffects of COVID-19 have floored her.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“It’s embarrassing how little I can do on my own,” Loftis said. “My body gives out on me. Things are just lost to my mind.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_11948038\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\" style=\"max-width: 1568px\">\u003ca href=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2023/04/042623-Long-Covid-Portraits-Janine-Loftis-RL-CM-01.jpeg\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-11948038 size-full\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2023/04/042623-Long-Covid-Portraits-Janine-Loftis-RL-CM-01.jpeg\" alt=\"An older white woman with neat, white, shoulder-length hair wearing a purple floral long-sleeved blouse poses outside her house.\" width=\"1568\" height=\"1045\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/04/042623-Long-Covid-Portraits-Janine-Loftis-RL-CM-01.jpeg 1568w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/04/042623-Long-Covid-Portraits-Janine-Loftis-RL-CM-01-800x533.jpeg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/04/042623-Long-Covid-Portraits-Janine-Loftis-RL-CM-01-1020x680.jpeg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/04/042623-Long-Covid-Portraits-Janine-Loftis-RL-CM-01-160x107.jpeg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/04/042623-Long-Covid-Portraits-Janine-Loftis-RL-CM-01-1536x1024.jpeg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1568px) 100vw, 1568px\">\u003c/a>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Janine Loftis, 73, at her home in Elk Grove on April 26, 2023. Loftis has long COVID, including lingering symptoms from the original infection such as brain fog and chronic fatigue. \u003ccite>(Rahul Lal/CalMatters)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>The chronic fatigue and brain fog prevent her from going to in-person church services, and she recently gave her dog of nine years to an adoption agency after caring for her got too hard. When Loftis’ home caregiver took a leave of absence for four weeks, she couldn’t find a replacement, due to \u003ca href=\"https://laist.com/news/health/millions-of-californians-need-home-care-industry-in-crisis-ucla-labor-center-report\">long-standing workforce shortages that intensified during the pandemic\u003c/a>. Without anyone to help her, Loftis “struggled really horribly” to manage daily tasks, she said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Juggling doctors’ appointments and navigating the byzantine health insurance system is an added obstacle for Loftis.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“My head is spinning just trying to talk about it again,” she said. “I don’t know how lay people, especially disabled ones with a lot of distractions like pain or like me, with brain fog … understand it.”\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>Two months ago, Loftis finally convinced her primary care doctor to refer her to the UC Davis long COVID clinic, but she said her paperwork is now “lost in a pile of things that need authorization.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“It takes everything just to keep up with anything,” Loftis said. “When things get ignored or I don’t know the process, I just have to wait for it to play out. I’m the middle man. I can’t do anything.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>No one from UC Davis Health’s long COVID clinic responded to a request for an interview. When asked about clinic capacity, the media relations division said that its post-COVID clinic has the ability to treat “an infinite number of patients.”\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>Hope … with some caveats\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>There is a decent chance of at least a partial recovery from long COVID within a year. Anecdotally, long COVID specialists interviewed by CalMatters said even if patients don’t make a full recovery, most see significant improvement over time.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“You look a year or 18 months out and the majority of people have had improvement if not complete resolution,” said Dr. Caitlin McAuley, a primary care physician at the USC Keck COVID Recovery Clinic.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>A large study out of Israel found that \u003ca href=\"https://www.bmj.com/content/380/bmj-2022-072529\">among patients with mild COVID-19 infections, most symptoms resolved within one year\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Other studies, however, paint \u003ca href=\"https://www.nature.com/articles/s41467-022-33415-5\">a less rosy picture\u003c/a>, with \u003ca href=\"https://www.thelancet.com/journals/lanres/article/PIIS2213-2600(22)00127-8/fulltext\">few patients reporting full recovery\u003c/a>. One study on French patients found \u003ca href=\"https://www.nature.com/articles/s41467-022-29513-z\">85% still reported long COVID symptoms\u003c/a> a year after onset.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>On the plus side, Mintz, who has had long COVID for eight months, has slowly regained his energy over time. He can go five or six hours without crashing, compared to two hours in January.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>And Lym, who has had long COVID for nine months, has also seen a marked improvement. In February, she enrolled in a private long COVID research and treatment clinic. Together with her doctor, Lym discovered certain foods exacerbated her most severe symptoms. Now, she has an 18-page list of foods she can’t eat and takes a medley of antihistamines, blood thinners and supplements daily. Though Lym is still disabled, her sensory issues are 95% better and her energy has steadily improved, she said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I feel like I have my personality back. My fatigue is no longer limiting how I express myself … which is amazing,” Lym said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But Lym’s clinic isn’t covered by insurance, and costs $1,000 per month, plus the cost of any tests the doctor orders.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“It’s not accessible,” Lym said. “I know there are so many people going through what I’m going through but don’t have the resources.”\u003c/p>\n\n\u003c/div>\u003c/p>",
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"id": "code-switch-life-kit",
"title": "Code Switch / Life Kit",
"info": "\u003cem>Code Switch\u003c/em>, which listeners will hear in the first part of the hour, has fearless and much-needed conversations about race. Hosted by journalists of color, the show tackles the subject of race head-on, exploring how it impacts every part of society — from politics and pop culture to history, sports and more.\u003cbr />\u003cbr />\u003cem>Life Kit\u003c/em>, which will be in the second part of the hour, guides you through spaces and feelings no one prepares you for — from finances to mental health, from workplace microaggressions to imposter syndrome, from relationships to parenting. The show features experts with real world experience and shares their knowledge. Because everyone needs a little help being human.\u003cbr />\u003cbr />\u003ca href=\"https://www.npr.org/podcasts/510312/codeswitch\">\u003cem>Code Switch\u003c/em> offical site and podcast\u003c/a>\u003cbr />\u003ca href=\"https://www.npr.org/lifekit\">\u003cem>Life Kit\u003c/em> offical site and podcast\u003c/a>\u003cbr />",
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"id": "commonwealth-club",
"title": "Commonwealth Club of California Podcast",
"info": "The Commonwealth Club of California is the nation's oldest and largest public affairs forum. As a non-partisan forum, The Club brings to the public airwaves diverse viewpoints on important topics. The Club's weekly radio broadcast - the oldest in the U.S., dating back to 1924 - is carried across the nation on public radio stations and is now podcasting. Our website archive features audio of our recent programs, as well as selected speeches from our long and distinguished history. This podcast feed is usually updated twice a week and is always un-edited.",
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"imageSrc": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/Commonwealth-Club-Podcast-Tile-360x360-1.jpg",
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"meta": {
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"source": "Commonwealth Club of California"
},
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"google": "https://podcasts.google.com/feed/aHR0cDovL3d3dy5jb21tb253ZWFsdGhjbHViLm9yZy9hdWRpby9wb2RjYXN0L3dlZWtseS54bWw",
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"id": "forum",
"title": "Forum",
"tagline": "The conversation starts here",
"info": "KQED’s live call-in program discussing local, state, national and international issues, as well as in-depth interviews.",
"airtime": "MON-FRI 9am-11am, 10pm-11pm",
"imageSrc": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/Forum-Podcast-Tile-703x703-1.jpg",
"imageAlt": "KQED Forum with Mina Kim and Alexis Madrigal",
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"order": 9
},
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"id": "freakonomics-radio",
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"officialWebsiteLink": "http://freakonomics.com/",
"airtime": "SUN 1am-2am, SAT 3pm-4pm",
"meta": {
"site": "radio",
"source": "WNYC"
},
"link": "/radio/program/freakonomics-radio",
"subscribe": {
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"apple": "https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/freakonomics-radio/id354668519",
"tuneIn": "https://tunein.com/podcasts/WNYC-Podcasts/Freakonomics-Radio-p272293/",
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},
"fresh-air": {
"id": "fresh-air",
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"apple": "https://itunes.apple.com/WebObjects/MZStore.woa/wa/viewPodcast?s=143441&mt=2&id=214089682&at=11l79Y&ct=nprdirectory",
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"info": "A live production of NPR and WBUR Boston, in collaboration with stations across the country, Here & Now reflects the fluid world of news as it's happening in the middle of the day, with timely, in-depth news, interviews and conversation. Hosted by Robin Young, Jeremy Hobson and Tonya Mosley.",
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"hidden-brain": {
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"info": "Shankar Vedantam uses science and storytelling to reveal the unconscious patterns that drive human behavior, shape our choices and direct our relationships.",
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"airtime": "SUN 7pm-8pm",
"meta": {
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"source": "NPR"
},
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"how-i-built-this": {
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"title": "How I Built This with Guy Raz",
"info": "Guy Raz dives into the stories behind some of the world's best known companies. How I Built This weaves a narrative journey about innovators, entrepreneurs and idealists—and the movements they built.",
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"airtime": "SUN 7:30pm-8pm",
"meta": {
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"link": "/radio/program/how-i-built-this",
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"apple": "https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/how-i-built-this-with-guy-raz/id1150510297?mt=2",
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"hyphenacion": {
"id": "hyphenacion",
"title": "Hyphenación",
"tagline": "Where conversation and cultura meet",
"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. ",
"imageSrc": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/03/Hyphenacion_FinalAssets_PodcastTile.png",
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"officialWebsiteLink": "/podcasts/hyphenacion",
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"order": 15
},
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},
"jerrybrown": {
"id": "jerrybrown",
"title": "The Political Mind of Jerry Brown",
"tagline": "Lessons from a lifetime in politics",
"info": "The Political Mind of Jerry Brown brings listeners the wisdom of the former Governor, Mayor, and presidential candidate. Scott Shafer interviewed Brown for more than 40 hours, covering the former governor's life and half-century in the political game – and Brown has some lessons he'd like to share. ",
"imageSrc": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/The-Political-Mind-of-Jerry-Brown-Podcast-Tile-703x703-1.jpg",
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"officialWebsiteLink": "/podcasts/jerrybrown",
"meta": {
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"order": 18
},
"link": "/podcasts/jerrybrown",
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},
"latino-usa": {
"id": "latino-usa",
"title": "Latino USA",
"airtime": "MON 1am-2am, SUN 6pm-7pm",
"info": "Latino USA, the radio journal of news and culture, is the only national, English-language radio program produced from a Latino perspective.",
"imageSrc": "https://ww2.kqed.org/radio/wp-content/uploads/sites/50/2018/04/latinoUsa.jpg",
"officialWebsiteLink": "http://latinousa.org/",
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},
"link": "/radio/program/latino-usa",
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"apple": "https://itunes.apple.com/WebObjects/MZStore.woa/wa/viewPodcast?s=143441&mt=2&id=79681317&at=11l79Y&ct=nprdirectory",
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"rss": "https://feeds.npr.org/510016/podcast.xml"
}
},
"marketplace": {
"id": "marketplace",
"title": "Marketplace",
"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",
"imageSrc": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/Marketplace-Podcast-Tile-360x360-1.jpg",
"officialWebsiteLink": "https://www.marketplace.org/",
"meta": {
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"source": "American Public Media"
},
"link": "/radio/program/marketplace",
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},
"masters-of-scale": {
"id": "masters-of-scale",
"title": "Masters of Scale",
"info": "Masters of Scale is an original podcast in which LinkedIn co-founder and Greylock Partner Reid Hoffman sets out to describe and prove theories that explain how great entrepreneurs take their companies from zero to a gazillion in ingenious fashion.",
"airtime": "Every other Wednesday June 12 through October 16 at 8pm (repeats Thursdays at 2am)",
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"officialWebsiteLink": "https://mastersofscale.com/",
"meta": {
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"source": "WaitWhat"
},
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"rss": "https://rss.art19.com/masters-of-scale"
}
},
"mindshift": {
"id": "mindshift",
"title": "MindShift",
"tagline": "A podcast about the future of learning and how we raise our kids",
"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>",
"imageSrc": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/Mindshift-Podcast-Tile-703x703-1.jpg",
"imageAlt": "KQED MindShift: How We Will Learn",
"officialWebsiteLink": "/mindshift/",
"meta": {
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"source": "kqed",
"order": 12
},
"link": "/podcasts/mindshift",
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"google": "https://podcasts.google.com/feed/aHR0cHM6Ly9mZWVkcy5tZWdhcGhvbmUuZm0vS1FJTkM1NzY0NjAwNDI5",
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}
},
"morning-edition": {
"id": "morning-edition",
"title": "Morning Edition",
"info": "\u003cem>Morning Edition\u003c/em> takes listeners around the country and the world with multi-faceted stories and commentaries every weekday. Hosts Steve Inskeep, David Greene and Rachel Martin bring you the latest breaking news and features to prepare you for the day.",
"airtime": "MON-FRI 3am-9am",
"imageSrc": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/Morning-Edition-Podcast-Tile-360x360-1.jpg",
"officialWebsiteLink": "https://www.npr.org/programs/morning-edition/",
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"link": "/radio/program/morning-edition"
},
"onourwatch": {
"id": "onourwatch",
"title": "On Our Watch",
"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?",
"imageSrc": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/On-Our-Watch-Podcast-Tile-703x703-1.jpg",
"imageAlt": "On Our Watch from NPR and KQED",
"officialWebsiteLink": "/podcasts/onourwatch",
"meta": {
"site": "news",
"source": "kqed",
"order": 11
},
"link": "/podcasts/onourwatch",
"subscribe": {
"apple": "https://podcasts.apple.com/podcast/id1567098962",
"google": "https://podcasts.google.com/feed/aHR0cHM6Ly9mZWVkcy5ucHIub3JnLzUxMDM2MC9wb2RjYXN0LnhtbD9zYz1nb29nbGVwb2RjYXN0cw",
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"rss": "https://feeds.npr.org/510360/podcast.xml"
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},
"on-the-media": {
"id": "on-the-media",
"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",
"airtime": "SUN 2pm-3pm, MON 12am-1am",
"imageSrc": "https://ww2.kqed.org/radio/wp-content/uploads/sites/50/2018/04/onTheMedia.png",
"officialWebsiteLink": "https://www.wnycstudios.org/shows/otm",
"meta": {
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"source": "wnyc"
},
"link": "/radio/program/on-the-media",
"subscribe": {
"apple": "https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/on-the-media/id73330715?mt=2",
"tuneIn": "https://tunein.com/radio/On-the-Media-p69/",
"rss": "http://feeds.wnyc.org/onthemedia"
}
},
"pbs-newshour": {
"id": "pbs-newshour",
"title": "PBS NewsHour",
"info": "Analysis, background reports and updates from the PBS NewsHour putting today's news in context.",
"airtime": "MON-FRI 3pm-4pm",
"imageSrc": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/PBS-News-Hour-Podcast-Tile-360x360-1.jpg",
"officialWebsiteLink": "https://www.pbs.org/newshour/",
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"source": "pbs"
},
"link": "/radio/program/pbs-newshour",
"subscribe": {
"apple": "https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/pbs-newshour-full-show/id394432287?mt=2",
"tuneIn": "https://tunein.com/radio/PBS-NewsHour---Full-Show-p425698/",
"rss": "https://www.pbs.org/newshour/feeds/rss/podcasts/show"
}
},
"perspectives": {
"id": "perspectives",
"title": "Perspectives",
"tagline": "KQED's series of daily listener commentaries since 1991",
"info": "KQED's series of daily listener commentaries since 1991.",
"imageSrc": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/Perspectives_Tile_Final.jpg",
"imageAlt": "KQED Perspectives",
"officialWebsiteLink": "/perspectives/",
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"source": "kqed",
"order": 14
},
"link": "/perspectives",
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"npr": "https://www.npr.org/podcasts/432309616/perspectives",
"rss": "https://ww2.kqed.org/perspectives/category/perspectives/feed/",
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},
"planet-money": {
"id": "planet-money",
"title": "Planet Money",
"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.",
"airtime": "SUN 3pm-4pm",
"imageSrc": "https://ww2.kqed.org/radio/wp-content/uploads/sites/50/2018/04/planetmoney.jpg",
"officialWebsiteLink": "https://www.npr.org/sections/money/",
"meta": {
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"source": "npr"
},
"link": "/radio/program/planet-money",
"subscribe": {
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"apple": "https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/planet-money/id290783428?mt=2",
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"rss": "https://feeds.npr.org/510289/podcast.xml"
}
},
"politicalbreakdown": {
"id": "politicalbreakdown",
"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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"officialWebsiteLink": "/podcasts/politicalbreakdown",
"meta": {
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"source": "kqed",
"order": 5
},
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