Health

Vaccine supply must be sufficient for anyone 16 and older who wants a shot and hospitalization rates must remain low and stable. The mask mandate would remain.

A CalMatters investigation reveals an opaque licensing process for California nursing homes, rife with indecision and contradictions. Officials have let the state’s largest nursing home owner and his companies operate 18 homes for years while failing to decide whether to grant the required licenses.

Other than COVID-19, Californians are still dying at about the same rates from heart disease, cancer and other disorders. But doctors fear the year-long delays in medical care could lead to early deaths and severe health problems.

Lea este artículo en español. Long before he watched the windup to the first pitch, even before he entered the Oakland Coliseum, Sergio Santillan of Hayward was already feeling emotional. “I kinda wanna cry. I’m just loving it,” he said, beer in hand, perched on a cement divider in the parking lot. Last year would have […]

Word of the company’s manufacturing glitch comes just as California expands vaccinations to people 50 and older.

More than 9,000 people have died of COVID-19 in California nursing homes, and many others have suffered from isolation. But after a massive vaccination campaign, infections and deaths have plummeted — and nursing homes are cautiously reopening to visitors.

With millions of vaccine holdouts, the state is holding off on tough measures — for now. But if events and ads aren’t enough, how far will legislators go?

The CEO of Blue Shield predicts it will take until the end of April to ease California’s backlog. “When you make millions of people eligible overnight, there's not millions of appointments immediately available,” he told CalMatters.

In addition, everyone 16 and older will be eligible April 15. State officials expect a surge in COVID-19 vaccine supply.

With counties moving to less-restrictive tiers and the state loosening visitation restrictions, hospitals are gradually allowing more visitors for non-COVID-19 patients. Some are moving immediately on new state recommendations, while others are weighing the risks.