Placer County COVID-19 Digest

The summer COVID surge in California may be finally abating, but people are still advised to get update vaccines in anticipation of a resurgence in the fall and winter.

California schools got $23.4 billion in federal pandemic relief money. Low-income schools that got the most may be hardest hit when the funds expire this year.

The monthly rate of antidepressants being dispensed to young people increased about 64% more quickly during the coronavirus pandemic, according to a study in the journal Pediatrics.

Kern County agrees to better protect free speech in a deal with the state Justice Department—inspired by the county’s’ 2020 squashing of COVID contracts to organizations that advocated defunding police.

Political wonks in California, Florida and maybe a few states in between, will be glued to their screens Thursday night to watch Gov. Gavin Newsom and Gov. Ron Desantis square off in a highly-anticipated Blue vs. Red State debate that’s been brewing since the summer.

Parents say flavored medication can help ensure their kids finish a prescription. Far fewer California pharmacies are offering that service as they await new rules from a state regulator.

California and Florida took starkly different approaches to dealing with the COVID-19 pandemic. Data shows that more Floridians died per capita of COVID than did Californians.

California’s community colleges are seeing enrollment gains for the first time since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic. Older students—those over 50—are some of the first to return.

After years of isolation and virtual classes, young professionals in California’s workforce are reportedly struggling with greater mental health challenges and burnout. If colleges and companies don’t pay more attention, there could be economic consequences.

Despite an influx of money to counter learning loss during the pandemic, English language arts and math test scores remain low.

Companies set the original test dates arbitrarily due to these diagnostic at-home tests being developed rapidly. So, check your boxes before you toss them.

Cases are on the rise, and so are hospitalizations and deaths. So the federal government's release of new, updated COVID boosters feels like good timing.

Nearly a third of K-12 students statewide were chronically absent in 2020-21, more than three times the pre-pandemic rate. Some school officials fear that pattern is becoming the new normal.

Attila Colar went to prison for lying to the government. After California gave him another contract as a provider in a rehabilitation program, a federal jury convicted him of fraud for using the personal information of Bay Area parolees and others to collect government COVID funds.

How bad is California hunger? A lot depends on your access to food aid, which expanded during the COVID-19 pandemic but is being reduced.

The iconic California burger joint known for its crossed palm trees and cups printed with Bible verses banned its employees in five states from wearing masks at work.

Excessive drinking during the pandemic increased alcoholic liver disease deaths so much that the condition killed more Californians than car accidents or breast cancer, a California Healthline analysis has found.

The California Occupational Safety and Health Standards Board voted to end the rule in part because it has become harder to enforce. Only people who caught the virus on the job are eligible to keep getting paid, but it is so widespread that it's hard to tell where someone got sick.

As several respiratory illnesses circulate locally and across the state, OptumServe testing sites have rolled out combination COVID and Flu A/B tests to help residents stay better.

Just 67 percent of 12- to 17-year-olds and and 38 percent of 5- to 11-year-olds have had the primary two-shot COVID-19 vaccine series.

Stanford launches the nation’s first study of an antiviral strategy for long COVID.

On Nov. 1, the South Lake Tahoe City Council officially ended the local COVID-19 emergency that began March 19, 2020. Among other items of business, the council denied an appeal of a special use permit for The Landing at Tahoe Resort and Spa.

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control decided to list COVID-19 among the vaccines it recommends for children, but each state decides whether to adopt those guidelines. It's unclear what California will do.

As the number of COVID-19 infection surged during the pandemic, deaths from heart attacks rose sharply as well, with adults ages 25-44 experiencing the most significant increases, according to new research from scientists at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles.

“It's a cloak-and-dagger, spy-versus-spy game. … These variants that are bubbling up now are trying to get past some of our immunity."

After more than two-and-a-half years, California is retiring its COVID-19 emergency proclamation. Governor Gavin Newsom will lift the state of emergency declaration on Feb. 28.

As California settles into a third year of pandemic, the demographics of those falling victim to COVID-19 has shifted notably from the first two years. Each week, the virus is killing hundreds of Californians, hitting hardest among the unvaccinated.

Although COVID-19 cases in California have started to plateau, some may face another infection as new variants spread. UC Davis infectious disease specialist Dr. Natascha Tuznik talks about reinfection, and if repeated bouts can worsen health risks.

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has granted emergency use authorization to the first COVID-19 test that detects chemicals associated with the coronavirus in breath. The InspectIR COVID-19 Breathalyzer gives results in less than three minutes.

California is delaying a coronavirus vaccine mandate for schoolchildren until at least the summer of 2023. The state was the first to announce a mandate, but it will not take effect until federal regulators give final approval to the vaccine for children.

Since the COVID-19 pandemic began, telehealth visits in California increased by 61 percent, with one in five patient visits now being conducted remotely. But how long will this major boost to telehealth services last?

For the first time in more than two years, UC Davis Health said its hospital had no COVID-19 patients in the intensive care unit for two consecutive days, and other local hospitals said their ICUs had seen a similar trend.