Yesterday, CHEAC’s Legislative Committee met for its second meeting to review legislative bills introduced thus far in the 2021-22 Legislative Session. Legislative Committee members reviewed over 70 new measures of interest to local health departments. Many of these new legislative measures have now been added to the CHEAC Weekly Bill Chart, which is available here….
Read More »This week, the Assembly convened hearings related to health coverage, Medi-Cal, and behavioral health. Below, we provide a high-level summary of these hearings of interest: Budget Subcommittee No. 1 Considers Health-Related Investments The Assembly Budget Subcommittee No. 1 on Health and Human Services (HHS) on Monday convened a hearing to review proposed investments under the…
Read More »On Tuesday evening, Governor Gavin Newsom delivered his annual State of the State Address from Dodgers Stadium in Los Angeles County. Breaking from tradition, Newsom’s address was not held at the State Capitol and was the first to be delivered remotely. The Governor’s selection of Dodgers Stadium was symbolic in that the stadium has a…
Read More »Today, the California Department of Public Health (CDPH) announced that two million doses of COVID-19 vaccine have been administered to Californians in the lowest quartile of the Healthy Places Index (HPI), increasing immunity where the state’s transmission rates and disease burden have been the highest during the pandemic. With this equity metric met, the previously…
Read More »This week, the California Department of Public Health (CDPH) issued two significant updates related to the Blueprint for a Safer Economy and COVID-19 vaccine eligibility. These announcements are detailed below: Blueprint Updates to Allow Additional Activities CDPH updated public health guidance in the Blueprint for a Safer Economy to allow for additional safe and sustainable…
Read More »On Thursday evening, President Joseph R. Biden, Jr. addressed the nation on the one-year anniversary of the COVID-19 pandemic, commemorating the over 500,000 lives lost in the U.S. and outlining additional federal efforts to end the pandemic. President Biden detailed the following steps to return the nation closer to normal by this coming Independence Day:…
Read More »Yesterday, President Joseph R. Biden, Jr. signed into law the American Rescue Plan (ARP), an expansive new stimulus measure that will send out a third-round of stimulus payments for most Americans. In addition, the legislation, broadly speaking, will provide additional funding for the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP), appropriates funding to closed restaurants and theater venues…
Read More »On Monday, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) issued its first set of public health guidance for fully vaccinated individuals against COVID-19. The guidance is anticipated to be updated and expanded based on the level of community spread of COVID-19, the proportion of the population fully vaccinated, and the rapidly evolving science…
Read More »On Wednesday, the U.S. Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS), in collaboration with the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), issued updated guidance for nursing homes to safely expand visitation options during the COVID-19 pandemic. Under the latest guidance, facilities should allow responsible indoor visitation at all times and for all residents,…
Read More »The Trust for America’s Health (TFAH) this week released its report Ready or Not 2021: Protecting the Public’s Health Against Diseases, Disasters, and Bioterrorism providing an annual assessment of states’ level of readiness to respond to public health emergencies. The report measures states’ performance on 10 key emergency preparedness indicators and found room for improvement…
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