COVID-19 – Page 2

Announcements, COVID-19 | November 14, 2020

California Issues Travel Advisory, Updated Guidance on Gatherings Amid Increased COVID-19 Transmission

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…

Budget, COVID-19, Legislative Updates | November 14, 2020

Assembly Convenes Hearing on COVID-19 Response Activities

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…

COVID-19, Legislative Updates | November 14, 2020

Assembly Holds Other Hearings on Health Information Exchange, COVID-19 Impacts

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…

Budget, COVID-19 | November 14, 2020

DOF Issues November Fiscal Update on COVID-19 Expenditures

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…

COVID-19, Federal | November 14, 2020

President-Elect Biden Names COVID-19 Advisory Board

On Monday, President-Elect Joe Biden announced the formation of a Biden-Harris Transition COVID-19 Advisory Board, consisting of leading public health experts who will advise President-Elect Biden, Vice President-Elect Kamala Harris, and the nascent administration’s staff. The advisory board is comprised of: Co-Chair Dr. David Kessler, Professor of Pediatrics and Epidemiology and Biostatistics at the University…

COVID-19, Federal | November 14, 2020

HHS to Partner with Pharmacies for COVID-19 Vaccines

This week, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) announced partnerships with large chain pharmacies and networks to increase access to future COVID-19 vaccines. Through the federal partnership with pharmacy chains, approximately 60 percent of pharmacies throughout the 50 states, District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, and the U.S. Virgin Islands. Independent pharmacies and…

COVID-19, Federal | November 14, 2020

Pfizer COVID-19 Vaccine Found to be More than 90 Percent Effective

This week, Pfizer and BioNTech announced their vaccine candidate was found to be more than 90 percent effective in preventing COVID-19 in participants without evidence of prior COVID-19 infection in the first interim efficacy analysis. The study enrolled 43,538 participants and evaluated 94 confirmed COVID-19 cases in trial participants. No serious safety concerns were observed…

COVID-19, Federal | November 14, 2020

FDA Issues EUA for COVID-19 Treatment

On Monday, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) issued an emergency use authorization (EUA) for monoclonal antibody Bamlanivimab for the treatment of mild to moderate COVID-19 in adult and pediatric populations. Bamlanivimab must be administered by intravenous (IV) infusion in non-hospitalized patients. The antibody is being distributed by FDA to state and territorial health…

COVID-19, Reports | November 6, 2020

LAO Provides Update on COVID-19 Spending in California

On Thursday, the California Legislative Analyst’s Office (LAO) published a report providing a high-level summary of state and federal funds expended to date in responding to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. The LAO’s report explores state and federal authorities for COVID-19 spending, state, federal, and other funding sources for COVID-19 spending, and the amounts of COVID-19…

COVID-19 | November 6, 2020

CDPH Issues COVID-19 Playbook to Stand Up Community-Based Testing Sites

The California Department of Public Health (CDPH) this week issued the Playbook to Stand Up Community-Based Testing Sites, offering a step-by-step guide to organizations (e.g., schools, agricultural associations, places of worship) on how to partner with the state’s new Valencia Regional Laboratory, powered by PerkinElmer, to ramp-up capacity of COVID-19 testing. The playbook details five…

Category: COVID-19