Today, Pfizer and BioNTech submitted an emergency use authorization (EUA) request to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for its mRNA vaccine candidate for use against the COVID-19 virus. According to Pfizer, today’s FDA filing would potentially enable use of the vaccine in high-risk populations in the U.S. by the middle to end of…
Read More »This week, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) issued an emergency use authorization (EUA) for the first prescription at-home COVID-19 test, developed by Lucira Health, for use by people who are at least 14 years old and have COVID-19 symptoms. The test is available for younger people, but a healthcare provider must collect the…
Read More »This week, the National Association of County and City Health Officials (NACCHO) released a series of recommendations for the incoming Biden Administration and the 117th Congress. In its recommendations, NACCHO highlights the role of local health departments (LHDs) in responding to the unprecedented COVID-19 pandemic, as well as the critical services delivered by LHDs nationwide….
Read More »Today, the California Department of Public Health reported a recent increase of a severe form of gonorrhea called disseminated gonococcal infections (DGI), which is an uncommon, but significant complication of untreated gonorrhea. According to CDPH, untreated DGI can lead to joint pain and swelling from infected joints, small, painless red based skin lesions, infection in…
Read More »ACEs Aware will be holding a webinar on December 2, 2020, from 12:00 pm to 1:00 pm on “Supporting Patients in Pregnancy: ACEs and Maternal Health.” The webinar will provide information for women’s health providers about the importance of ACE screening in improving maternal health. Speakers will share resources for providers looking to introduce ACE…
Read More »Today, the California Department of Public Health (CDPH) issued a travel advisory amid increasing COVID-19 incidence in many states and countries. California joined Oregon and Washington in issuing the advisory that discourages non-essential travel. Under the advisory, persons arriving in California from other states and countries, including returning California residents, are instructed to self-quarantine for…
Read More »On Tuesday, the Assembly Budget Subcommittee No. 6 on Budget Process, Oversight, and Program Evaluation and the Assembly Committee on Governmental Organization convened a joint informational hearing to receive an update on California’s response to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. The hearing featured an overview of the state’s operational efforts to contain the pandemic, investments in…
Read More »The Assembly Health Committee convened this week to explore California’s Health Information Exchange (HIE) landscape. Members of the Committee heard from several experts who discussed how HIE works currently in California, federal and state policy that has shaped HIE systems, what other states have done to build HIE capacity, and options for California to consider…
Read More »Late last week, the California Department of Finance (DOF) issued a November fiscal update detailing expenditures associated with the state’s COVID-19 direct response activities. DOF estimates the combined total costs across the 2019-20 and 2020-21 fiscal years to be approximately $9.8 billion, with an estimated net General Fund impact of approximately $1.3 billion. In the…
Read More »On Tuesday, the U.S. Supreme Court (SCOTUS) heard oral arguments on California v. Texas, which seeks to strike down the Affordable Care Act (ACA). Brought by several states, and led by Texas, the case argues that since Congress reduced the individual mandate penalty to zero in 2017, the mandate is now unconstitutional and therefore the…
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