On Wednesday, California Health and Human Services (CalHHS) Secretary Dr. Mark Ghaly and California Department of Public Health Director and State Public Health Officer Dr. Tomás Aragón issued a joint statement reaffirming the state’s approach to preventing COVID-19 in schools and protecting students’ health by continuing the state’s successful masking requirements in K-12 settings. The…
Read More »This week, California State Auditor Elaine Howle issued two reports relative to state agency and departmental oversight of federal COVID-19 funds awarded to the California Department of Education (CDE) and the Board of State and Community Corrections (BSCC). The reports are part of the state’s high-risk audit program, as determined by Howle. These reports are…
Read More »This week, the Biden-Harris Administration detailed the latest operational planning for COVID-19 vaccines for children ages 5-11. In anticipation of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration’s (FDA) scheduled review on October 26 and the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s (CDC) scheduled review on November 2-3, the Biden-Harris Administration plans to quickly distribute vaccine…
Read More »Following last week’s unanimous recommendation from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) Vaccines and Related Biological Products Advisory Committee (VRBPAC) relative to COVID-19 booster vaccines, both the FDA and the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) this week officially approved the use of booster doses for specified populations. On Wednesday, the FDA…
Read More »On Tuesday, Governor Gavin Newsom issued a proclamation adding jurisdictions to the drought state of emergency and requiring local water suppliers to implement water shortage contingency plans. The Governor’s proclamation adds eight counties not previously included in drought state of emergency issued earlier this summer: Imperial, Los Angeles, Orange, Riverside, San Bernardino, San Diego, San…
Read More »The National Association of County and City Health Officials (NACCHO) this week sent a letter to U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland requesting that his recent federal directive to protect school personnel be expanded to include health department officials and staff. Pointing to the increasing threats and violence being faced by many local health department personnel…
Read More »This week, the California Department of Conservation’s Geologic Energy Management (CalGEM) issued a proposed regulation that would prohibit new oil wells and facilities within a 3,200-foot exclusion area, or setback, from homes, schools, hospitals, nursing homes, and other sensitive locations. The proposed regulation would also require pollution control measures for existing wells and facilities within…
Read More »This week, the Biden-Harris Administration rolled out a plan to accelerate efforts to protect Americans from per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS), which can cause severe health issues and persist in the environment once released. The efforts by the federal government are intended to safeguard public health and the environment by preventing PFAS from being released…
Read More »On Tuesday, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) announced it has authorized the marketing of four new oral tobacco products manufactured by U.S. Smokeless Tobacco Company, LLC under the brand name of Verve. The products were reviewed under the agency’s premarket tobacco product application (PMTA) process in which the agency must determine whether the…
Read More »The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) this week unveiled a proposed rule intended to improve access to and reduce the costs of hearing aid technology for Americans. The federal agency proposes to establish a new category of over-the-counter (OTC) hearing aids, allowing hearing aids in this category to be sold directly to consumers in…
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