This week, the California State Assembly and Senate held a number of hearings spanning a wide array of subject areas, including COVID-19, homelessness, telehealth, and proposed budget investments. Below, we provide a high-level overview of hearings held this week: Assembly Examines Telehealth Policy in California Post-Pandemic The Assembly Health Committee on Tuesday convened an informational…
Read More »Today, the Vaccines and Related Biological Products Advisory Committee (VRBPAC) met to review and discuss the emergency use authorization (EUA) request from Janssen Biotech, Inc. for its Johnson & Johnson COVID-19 vaccine, ultimately recommending on a unanimous vote that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) issue an EUA for the single-dose vaccine. The Johnson…
Read More »This week, President Joseph R. Biden, Jr. took a series of actions to support the ongoing response to the COVID-19 pandemic. Below, we provide a brief summary of these actions: National Emergency Extended: President Biden on Wednesday issued a notice continuing the national emergency declared in response to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic beyond March 1,…
Read More »This week, the Department of Finance (DOF) notified legislative budget leaders of the Newsom Administration’s intent to extend use of the state’s Disaster Response-Emergency Operations Account (DREOA) for COVID-19-related emergency operations costs for an additional 120 days. In a memo to the legislature, the DOF highlights the Newsom Administration’s ongoing response efforts to the pandemic,…
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…
Read More »This week, Governor Gavin Newsom, Senate President pro Tempore Toni Atkins, and Assembly Speaker Anthony Rendon announced an agreement on a package of immediate actions to provide relief to residents, families, and businesses experiencing hardship during the COVID-19 pandemic. The agreement reflects a compromise on initiatives proposed in the Governor’s January Budget to provide cash…
Read More »Today, Governor Gavin Newsom announced two significant COVID-19 developments related to vaccine prioritization for education workers and the release of updated youth sports guidance. Education Personnel to be Prioritized for Vaccine Under the Governor’s announcements today, staff working in-person in public schools or childcare settings must be prioritized for vaccines statewide beginning March 1, 2021….
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