San Joaquin County COVID-19 Digest

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.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention may soon drop its isolation guidance for people with COVID-19. The planned change was reported in the Washington Post.

San Francisco is coping with a “doom loop” of declining employment and business activity in its downtown core, but a new study suggests Sacramento may be in worse shape.

What you need to know about COVID-19 incubation periods in 2024, why an early negative test could be a false result, and what to do if you’re caught in a testing limbo.

How are public health officials getting an accurate snapshot of what rates of COVID-19 and RSV look like?

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.

Rates of COVID-19, RSV and influenza are rising in Yolo and Sacramento counties and local public health officers are encouraging precautions for the fourth holiday season in a row.

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.

The vaccines from Moderna and Pfizer and its partner BioNTech were approved Sept. 11 for people 12 and older and under an emergency use authorization for children ages 6 months to 11 years old.

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.

San Joaquin County Public Health Services placed three vending machines throughout Stockton, filled up with COVID-19 rapid testing kits, KN-95 masks, hand sanitizer, and disinfecting wipes.

The San Joaquin Valley’s largest cities boasted the best downtown bounce-back, a university study found.

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.

Downtown Sacramento and other older, large cities have not fully recovered from the COVID-19 economic downturn more than two years into the pandemic, according to a study from the University of California, Berkeley.

While the federal government has loosened mask mandates, California Health officials announced Monday that masks will be required indoors until June 15.