Yolo 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.

An international team of scientists has found distinct changes in the blood of people with long COVID, suggesting a potential strategy to diagnose and perhaps treat the mysterious condition.

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.

Rising levels of the SARS-CoV-2 virus in Yolo County wastewater have many likely causes, including summer travel, people spending more time near each other indoors due to high outdoor temperatures and new viral variants.

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.

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.

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.

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.

A project called Healthy Davis Together put UC Davis and its adjoining city inside a coordinated health bubble. Both town and gown have experienced COVID-19 infection and test positivity rates markedly lower than those in the surrounding region and statewide.

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