California coronavirus updates: The latest on the pandemic

Sisters Guadalupe Flores, 15, right, and Estela Flores, 13, left, from East Los Angeles, get vaccinated with the Pfizer's COVID-19 vaccine by licensed vocational nurse Rita Orozco at Esteban E. Torres High School in Los Angeles. The city has required all students 12 and older to be fully vaccinated against the coronavirus to participate in on-campus instruction. Now the state of California is following with its own mandate. Photo by Damian Dovarganes, AP Photo

K-12 Education

Student COVID vaccinations: California becomes first state to require them for kids 12 and up

Gov. Gavin Newsom added COVID-19 to the list of diseases students must get a vaccination for to attend school.

By

Joe Hong

• October 1, 2021

Registered Nurse Reanne Takara administers the Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine to frontline health workers at UC Davis Medical Center on Dec. 15, 2020. Photo courtesy of UC Davis Health

Coronavirus

California vaccine mandate: Most health care workers are complying, hospitals say

As the state’s COVID-19 vaccination mandate kicks in Thursday, several large hospital systems say 90% or more of their employees are vaccinated. But they don’t have to provide data to the state unless asked.

By

Kristen Hwang

• September 29, 2021

Maria Jimenez swabs her 7 year old daughter, Glendy Perez, for a COVID-19 test at Canal Alliance in San Rafael on Sept. 25, 2021. Photo by Penni Gladstone for CalMatters

Coronavirus

Rapid COVID-19 tests in short supply in California

Californians seeking same-day COVID-19 tests for sick kids, infection scares or employers are finding empty shelves and long delays, which could fuel outbreaks.

By

Kristen Hwang

• September 27, 2021

Coronavirus

Who’s dying in California from COVID-19?

California’s COVID-19 deaths are skewing younger, with the average age dropping seven years in September. And death rates are increasing for most racial groups, particularly Latinos. A by-the-numbers look at California's COVID-19 deaths.

By

Hannah Getahun

• September 22, 2021

Gov. Gavin Newsom speaks about lifting California's coronavirus restrictions at Universal Studios in Universal City on June 15, 2021. Photo by Pablo Unzueta for CalMatters

Politics

How big a factor was COVID in the California recall?

While counties with high COVID-19 vaccination rates tended to vote no in the California recall and vice-versa, other political factors played a major role. In some Democratic counties, the no vote was even higher than the vaccination rate.

By

Sameea Kamal

• September 17, 2021

Traveling nurses Candace Brim, left, and Janet Stovall, right, are based in North Carolina but have been traveling as a pair since the beginning of this year. Photo by Anne Wernikoff, CalMatters

Coronavirus

Nurse shortages in California reaching crisis point

COVID-19 burnout is driving many nurses to quit, and hospital administrators say the state’s new vaccine mandate is compounding the shortage, too.

By

Kristen Hwang

• August 26, 2021

Workers at the COVID-19 testing site at Veterans Hall in Fort Bragg on August 10, 2021. Photo by Mary Rose Kaczorowski, Mendocino Voice

Coronavirus

COVID hospitalizations break records in six California counties

A CalMatters analysis shows more Californians are hospitalized with COVID-19 in six rural counties than any other time since the pandemic began. The main reason? Low vaccination rates.

By

Kristen Hwang

• August 20, 2021

Nurses Karla Salazar, right, and Marisol Perez work in a tent set up to help treat COVID-19 patients at El Centro Regional Medical Center in El Centro on July 21, 2020. Photo by Jae C. Hong, AP Photo

Coronavirus

Imperial County has one of California’s best vaccination rates. Here’s why.

Remote, low-income and hit hard by COVID-19, the Imperial Valley has emerged as an unexpected success story — 86% of eligible residents are vaccinated. The county relied on its trusted networks of clinics, hospitals and farm employers.

By

Ana B. Ibarra

• August 16, 2021

Coronavirus

The Lambda COVID variant is in California: 5 things to know

A new strain of the coronavirus has been found in California. But no need to worry, experts say, since lambda is rarely detected, and delta dominates.

By

Barbara Feder Ostrov

• August 13, 2021

Gov. Gavin Newsom announces all school teachers and employees will be required to be vaccinated or undergo weekly COVID-19 testing at a press conference at Carl B. Munck school in Oakland on Aug. 11, 2021. Photo by Anne Wernikoff, CalMatters

Education

Newsom makes California the first state to require teacher vaccines or COVID tests

Gov. Gavin Newsom announces a requirement that teachers and school employees be fully vaccinated or submit to routine COVID testing.

By

Joe Hong

• August 11, 2021