covid-19

Coronavirus

California legislators propose new slate of COVID-19 vaccine laws

A group of California legislators has crafted vaccine laws that would be the most aggressive state approach to vaccines in the nation.

By

Elizabeth Aguilera

• March 2, 2022

A health care worker points while a person wearing a protective face mask waits in line to receive a dose of the COVID-19 vaccine at the L.A. Care Health Plan vaccination site at the First African Episcopal Church in Los Angeles on Jan. 29, 2022. REUTERS/Shannon Stapleton

Coronavirus

Old data? CDC apparently misjudged California’s COVID risks

The CDC said half of Californians live in high-risk counties. But the agency apparently relied on outdated numbers of COVID infections and patients. Newer data indicates only 19 counties are in the CDC’s riskiest category, where universal masking is advised.

By

Kristen Hwang

and

Ana B. Ibarra

• March 2, 2022

Parents and supporters protest school mask mandates in front of San Marcos High School in San Marcos on Feb. 22, 2022. Photo by Eduardo Contreras, The San Diego Union-Tribune

WhatMatters

School mask wars far from over

Starting today, the California mask mandate ends for the unvaccinated in most indoor settings in counties that allow it.

By

Emily Hoeven

• March 1, 2022

Kindergarteners wear masks while listening to their teacher amid the COVID-19 pandemic at Washington Elementary School in Lynwood on Jan. 12, 2022. AP Photo/Marcio Jose Sanchez

Newsletters

Get ready for new school mask rules, California

CalMatters is dedicated to explaining how state government impacts our lives. Your support helps us produce journalism that makes a difference. Donate now. Today is a day that millions of Californians have been anticipating with eagerness, dread and uncertainty: After three weeks of buildup, Gov. Gavin Newsom’s administration is finally set to announce an update to the […]

By

Emily Hoeven

• February 28, 2022

K-12 Education

California mask mandate: It’s fracturing student life

Parents, educators and now students are caught in the polarized debate over mask and vaccine mandates. Officials are worried communities might not recover.

By

Joe Hong

• February 25, 2022

George Dowell is vaccinated against COVID-19 at Umoja Health pop-up clinic in Oakland on Feb. 2, 2022. Photo by Marissa Leshnov for CalMatters

Coronavirus

COVID-19 has turned deadlier for Black Californians, who have the state’s lowest vaccination rate

California's African Americans are dying from COVID at a higher rate now. And they make up a disproportionate and growing share of the death toll for middle-aged Californians.

By

Kristen Hwang

• February 25, 2022

Lori's Diner on Sutter Street in San Francisco's Union Square is boarded up as the coronavirus shutdown enters its second week on March 24, 2020. Photo by Karl Mondon, Bay Area News Group

California Divide

Did the pandemic create more income inequality in California?

Income inequality grew in California during three of the last four recessions before the COVID-19 pandemic. Researchers are trying to figure out if the same happened in 2020.

By

Alejandro Lazo

• February 23, 2022

Renata Garza-Silva, a teacher in Los Angeles, poses for a portrait inside her classroom on Thurs. Feb. 17, 2022. Garza Photo by Lauren Justice for CalMatters

Coronavirus

‘We don’t count’: The Californians who can’t return to normal as COVID fatigue grips state

Millions of Californians at high risk from conditions like heart disease, autoimmune disorders and diabetes feel unprotected and forgotten as the state rolls back its COVID orders.

By

Ana B. Ibarra

• February 22, 2022