The California Department of Public Health (CDPH) this afternoon announced additional updates to the Blueprint for a Safer Economy to allow outdoor ballparks, stadiums, and theme parks to open with significantly reduced capacity, mandatory masking, and other public health precautions. The announced changes do not take effect until April 1, 2021. Under the updates to…
Read More »Following the U.S. Food & Drug Administration’s (FDA) issuance of an emergency use authorization (EUA) of the Janssen Biotech, Inc. single-dose Johnson & Johnson COVID-19 vaccine last Saturday, the Western States Scientific Safety Review Workgroup met early this week to review the vaccine’s safety and efficacy data. The Workgroup completed its review of the available…
Read More »On Wednesday, Governor Gavin Newsom announced the Biden-Harris Administration approved California’s request to use Medicaid (Medi-Cal) funding to provide voluntary COVID-19 testing for low-income students covered by Medi-Cal. The California Department of Health Care Services (DHCS) late last year requested permission to provide COVID-19 testing in schools for Medi-Cal children in grades transitional kindergarten through…
Read More »On Thursday, Governor Gavin Newsom issued Executive Order N-03-21 extending authorization for local governments to prohibit evictions for commercial renters impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic through June 30, 2021. The order additionally extends protections against price gouging for emergency and medical supplies amid the ongoing emergency response to the pandemic.
Read More »Last week, Governor Gavin Newsom announceda new appointment to the Emergency Medical Services Commission. As a bit of background, the EMS Commission provides regulatory oversight for emergency medical services in California and is comprised of eighteen members representing a variety of EMS disciplines including physicians, a local health officer, paramedics, EMTs, fire representatives, and local…
Read More »The California Department of Public Health (CDPH) today issued a health alert regarding the monitoring of travelers returning to California from the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) and Guinea following Ebola Virus Disease (EVD) outbreaks in those countries. Both countries have declared EVD outbreaks with nearly 30 combined cases and four deaths. As part of…
Read More »Today, the California Department of Public Health (CDPH) issued additional information on the statewide vaccine network to be operated by third-party administrator (TPA) Blue Shield of California. The announcement details the forthcoming changes that will occur as the TPA framework is gradually implemented over the month of March. According to the state, it remains on…
Read More »On Thursday, the Newsom Administration issued its plan to execute on the Governor’s recent commitment to provide 10 percent of the state’s COVID-19 vaccine supply to education personnel beginning Monday, March 1. The Administration plans to provide education personnel access to COVID-19 vaccines through existing county-led initiatives, dedicated access to MyTurn, and state-FEMA partnerships. As…
Read More »On Thursday, the California Department of Public Health (CDPH) issued a Health Alert regarding the increasing identification of COVID-19 virus variants in California, in the U.S., and internationally. CDPH’s alert details the current virus variants of concern, consisting of the B.1.1.7, B.1.351, and P.1 variants, as well as current variants of interest, consisting of the…
Read More »The California Health and Human Services (CHHS) Agency this week released an announcement regarding the recent findings of the California Department of Public Health (CDPH) Laboratory Field Services (LFS) Division revealing a number of significant deficiencies at the Valencia Branch Laboratory (VBL). CDPH, during an initial routine inspection of the laboratory, identified a series of…
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