Oakland Becomes California's First 'Sanctuary City' For Abortion: City council members Tuesday unanimously passed a measure making Oakland a pro-choice sanctuary city for anyone in the country seeking an abortion. "The city of Oakland stands firmly behind anyone exercising their right to reproductive care," city council President Pro Tempore Sheng Thao said. Read more from CBS Bay Area, NBC Bay Area, and The Oaklandside.

Sacramento Surpasses Old Covid Benchmarks, But No Indoor Mask Rule Yet: The number of covid-19 cases surged in Sacramento County to nearly four times the prior benchmarks that required indoor mask mandates, but the county health officer has no plans as yet to reinstate the orders. On Tuesday, the county had a case rate of 19.4 for every 100,000 residents, a 37% increase over a week ago. Read more from The Sacramento Bee.

Below, check out the roundup of California Healthline’s coverage. For today's national health news, read KHN's Morning Briefing.

San Francisco Chronicle: Bay Area COVID Cases Keep Swelling As Pandemic Persists There’s no relief for Bay Area counties on the COVID-19 front, as the latest numbers from the state show new cases and hospitalizations driven by subvariants of the coronavirus continuing their steady climb. The Bay Area reported about 42 new daily cases per 100,000 residents on Tuesday, up from 35 a week ago. Eight of the nine counties in the region are among those that have the highest infection rate in California, with San Francisco reporting 54 daily cases per 100,000 residents. Health officials say the actual number of infections is probably much higher because of people testing at home or not getting tested at all. (Vaziri, 5/17)

Orange County Register: Coronavirus: Orange County Reported 2,077 New Cases And No Deaths Since Friday The OC Health Care Agency reported 2,077 more cases of the coronavirus between Friday, May 13, and Tuesday, May 17, increasing the cumulative total since tracking began in the county to 561,148. There were 8,154 new cases reported in the last two-week period as of Tuesday, May 17. The county is averaging 18.1 new cases a day per every 100,000 residents. (Goertzen, 5/17)

CIDRAP: Machine-Learning Models May Detect Patients At Risk For Long COVID-19 Machine-learning models created by a National Institutes of Health (NIH)-supported research team can identify, with high accuracy, patients likely to have long COVID, according to a study yesterday in The Lancet Digital Health. ... The three machine-learning models were designed to detect patterns of symptoms, healthcare use, demographics, and prescriptions to identify all COVID-19 patients likely to have lingering symptoms, including both hospitalized and non-hospitalized patients. (5/17)

The Lancet Digital Health: Identifying Who Has Long COVID In The USA: A Machine Learning Approach Using N3C Data  Using the National COVID Cohort Collaborative's (N3C) electronic health record repository, we developed XGBoost machine learning models to identify potential patients with long COVID. (Pfaff et al, 5/16)

CIDRAP: Estrogen Treatment Linked To Reduced COVID-19 Mortality Women who received prescriptions for hormone replacement therapy (HRT) with estrogen within 6 months of a COVID-19 diagnosis had reduced mortality, according to a new study in Family Practice. The findings, coupled with data on sex differences between male and female COVID-19 severity, suggests estrogen may have protective role against the virus. (Soucheray, 5/17)

AP: Small California School District Reinstates Indoor Masking  A small California school district began requiring indoor masking again Tuesday due to rising cases of COVID-19. Pacific Grove Unified School District at the south end of Monterey Bay announced the requirement Monday after the Monterey County Health Department reported a seven-day average test positivity rate of 5.2% and a seven-day average of 12.4 cases per 100,000 residents. (5/17)

San Francisco Chronicle: Apple Delays Plans To Bring Workers Back To Office Three Days A Week Earlier surges in cases, such as the winter omicron wave and last summer’s delta crush, have stalled Apple’s plans to fully phase in its hybrid work plan that originally called for a three-day-a-week office schedule by last September. The requirement was set to go into effect May 23 and has been divisive among workers, many of whom have lobbied the company to grant more flexibility for telework. The company has not set a new date. (Cano, 5/17)

AP: FDA Clears COVID Booster Shot For Healthy Kids Ages 5 To 11 U.S. regulators on Tuesday authorized a COVID-19 booster shot for healthy 5- to 11-year-olds, hoping an extra vaccine dose will enhance their protection as infections once again creep upward. Everyone 12 and older already was supposed to get one booster dose for the best protection against the newest coronavirus variants -- and some people, including those 50 and older, can choose a second booster. (Neergaard, 5/17)

KQED: COVID Boosters For Kids Ages 5-11 Could Be Approved This Week COVID vaccine boosters for kids ages 5-11 could be available in the Bay Area by this weekend – now that the Food and Drug Administration has officially kicked off the approvals process. On Tuesday, the FDA formally approved use of the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine booster for children ages 5-11. However, the FDA's approval is just the first step on the road to boosters for kids this week. (Severn, 5/17)

Bay Area News Group: What To Know About COVID Booster Authorization For Kids 5-11 With COVID-19 cases rising again in the Bay Area, parents have a new consideration for protecting their children this week: The Food and Drug Administration granted emergency use authorization Tuesday for kids ages 5-11 to get a booster shot of Pfizer’s COVID-19 vaccine. So should they? Tuesday’s announcement didn’t include much guidance for parents, who may have a mountain of questions about what to do next. Here’s a few questions and answers about the latest on boosters and vaccines for kids: (Woolfolk, 5/18)

AP: WHO: 2nd COVID Booster For Most Vulnerable Offers Benefits An expert group convened by the World Health Organization says there may be some benefit in giving a second booster dose of coronavirus vaccine to the most vulnerable people amid the continuing global spread of omicron and its subvariants. In a statement issued on Tuesday, the United Nations health agency said there was “a growing body of evidence regarding the value of an additional booster dose” for groups including health workers, people aged over 60 and those with weak immune systems. (5/17)

Sacramento Bee: How Long Is COVID Booster Shot Effective?  For people with healthy immune systems, the booster is still effective against hospitalization several months later, said Dr. Dean Blumberg, UC Davis Children’s Hospital chief of pediatric infectious disease. The booster only starts to fade in effectiveness against mild breakthrough cases four or five months after the shot. (Adatia, 5/17)

Los Angeles Times: Los Angeles Doctor Accused Of Issuing Fake COVID Vaccine Cards  A Tujunga doctor accused of issuing fake COVID-19 vaccination cards and injecting some of his patients with blood plasma that he received from donors faces multiple felony and misdemeanor charges. Dr. Donald Plance, 68, was accused of forging vaccination cards and giving them to his patients between August and November, Los Angeles County prosecutors said Tuesday. The cards appeared genuine and had the seals of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the Department of Health and Human Services. (Yee, 5/17)

AP: House Dems Propose $28 Million To Address Formula Shortage House Democrats unveiled a $28 million emergency spending bill Tuesday to address the shortage of infant formula in the United States. Rep. Rosa DeLauro, the Democratic chair of the House Appropriations Committee, said the money would increase Food and Drug Administration staffing to boost inspections of domestic and international suppliers, prevent fraudulent products from getting onto store shelves and acquire better data on the marketplace. (Freking, 5/17)

Bloomberg: Baby Formula Shortage: Executives To Face House As Pelosi Warns Of Charges Executives from Abbott Nutrition and other major formula companies have agreed to testify May 25 before the House Energy and Commerce Committee on the root causes of the nationwide formula shortage. Abbott, which has been at the center of the firestorm over the shortages due to a contamination-driven shutdown of its main facility in Michigan after the deaths of two babies, will be represented by Senior Vice President Christopher Calamari. (Wasson, 5/17)

The Hill: Pelosi Floats Indictments For Baby Formula Deaths As Democrats Unveil Emergency Funding  Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) Tuesday suggested there could be indictments for the people found to be responsible for the deaths of two infants who consumed baby formula that may have been contaminated.  Speaking at a press conference to unveil Democrats’ $28 million aid bill to help put formula back on store shelves, Pelosi said the possibility that contaminated formula killed at least two babies is “sinful.” (Weixel, 5/17)

The Hill: Former FDA Official Says Parents Should Have Been Warned Sooner Of Baby Formula Shortage  A former Food and Drug Administration (FDA) associate commissioner on Monday said the federal government should have warned parents sooner of a coming baby formula shortage after it shut down a major production plant in Michigan. Peter Pitts told Hill.TV the FDA did the right thing in shutting down the Abbott Nutrition plant in February, saying safety is always paramount. But the FDA failed to adequately prepare the public for the shutdown, he added. (Dress, 5/17)

Roll Call: Despite Congress’ Efforts, It’ll Take Time To Refill The Baby Bottles  Lawmakers are throwing nearly every tool in their arsenal, including a proposed $28 million in taxpayer dollars, at the baby formula shortage. But it isn’t clear how quickly those solutions will result in cans on grocery store shelves. The shortage is dire — right now, roughly 40 percent of infant formula is missing from shelves in the United States. And while new actions announced by the Food and Drug Administration on Monday night will help stem the shortage, it may take up to two months to see a difference. (Cohen, 5/18)

Los Angeles Daily News: Gov. Newsom Visits Carson To Discuss Drought Response, Including Proposed Plant That Would Recycle Wastewater With California dealing with a severe drought — the early months of 2022 were the driest in the state’s history — officials have been searching for sustainable, drought-proof solutions to the ongoing water crisis, which experts say could last for years to come. Which is why Gov. Gavin Newsom stopped by Carson on Tuesday afternoon, May 17. Newsom visited the Joint Water Pollution Control Plant, which the Metropolitan Water District of Southern California operates, to discuss the state’s efforts to address the crisis — namely, a proposed $3.4 billion water recycling facility that would produce up to 150 million gallons daily if completed. (Hutchings, 5/17)

The (Santa Rosa) Press Democrat: Flu Cases On The Rise In Sonoma County, And It Has Doctors Concerned Dr. Gary Green has been an infectious disease specialist for 25 years. In that quarter century, he has never seen the flu on the rise this time of year — until now. But it isn’t just the strange, unseasonal rise in influenza that has Green, a Sutter Health physician, concerned. The particular strain driving this spike is proving highly resistant to the 2021-22 flu vaccine. It’s coming during a period of high COVID transmission. And there is no clear picture on when either of the two viruses will peak. (Barber, 5/17)

Sacramento Bee: Raley’s To Open Healthy Market O-N-E Concept In Roseville A new, more health-conscious Raley’s store is preparing to open in West Roseville this summer. The grocery store chain announced the new Raley’s O-N-E Market, which stands for organic nutrition education, will open in June at Roseville’s Plaza at Blue Oak shopping center on Blue Oaks Boulevard and Fiddyment Road. (Sullivan, 5/17)

San Diego Union-Tribune: Lakeside Pageant Queen Brings Diabetes Awareness To Community  Lakeside resident Bianca Villalobos has a very packed schedule, especially considering that she is only 12 years old. Throughout all her activities, Bianca has one primary goal of increasing awareness for her two chronic health conditions: Type 1 diabetes and celiac disease. The sixth-grader spends each day being home-schooled by her mom, before busy evenings filled with extracurricular activities. She prepares herself for upcoming pageants and dances at least five days out of the week, taking ballet and jazz classes and rehearsing with two performing groups. (Mapp, 5/17)

Los Angeles Times: Kids' Wellness Has Taken A Turn Into Questionable Territory Last year, Sammi Lewis marched up to her mother to complain about an assignment from a school wellness class on recording her food intake. What did you eat this week? How many calories and grams of protein, sugar, fiber or carbohydrates? The assignment included daily recommendations for meals, drinks and snacks. “I was frustrated,” says the 15-year-old from Evanston, Ill. “To be honest, I was a little scared I would start thinking about how much or little I was eating if I did calculate my calories.” (Raphael, 5/17)

CIDRAP: HPV Vaccination Programs Tied To Direct And Herd Protection In US An analysis of US data shows the increasing impact of human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccination efforts that started more than a decade ago, suggesting direct protection as well as herd effects, according to a study in Annals of Internal Medicine. ... Overall, compared to pre-vaccination years, HPV prevalence decreased by 85% for females in the United States, and by 90% among vaccinated females in 2015 to 2018. Among unvaccinated females, HPV prevalence dropped 75% compared with pre-vaccination years. (5/17)

Axios: Spanish-Language Mental Health Services Falling Amid Population Surge The availability of Spanish-language mental health services is shrinking even as the U.S. Latino population continues to grow, according to a recent study. Spanish is the second-most spoken language in the U.S., and the number of Latinos who speak Spanish at home has grown from 24.6 million in 2000 to 39.1 million in 2019, according to the Pew Research Center. Between 2014 and 2019, the proportion of facilities offering mental health treatment in Spanish declined by nearly 18%, according to a study published last week in the journal Psychiatric Services. (Contreras, 5/17)

Orange County Register: ‘I Felt So Caught In Between’: Older, LGBT+ Caretakers Face Special Challenges Daniel Diaz lives alone now, by himself in his Signal Hill apartment, a space steeped in memories. He and his husband, Robert Morris, had been providing care for Diaz’s mother, Gloria, since 2012 in their apartment. Morris died in 2018; Mrs. Diaz died in 2020. (Lee, 5/18)

San Francisco Chronicle: They Waited Years For Affordable Housing. Now, A New Type Of Database Could Ease That Problem Three months into her search for a new apartment closer to family in the South Bay, Judy Jackson is feeling a familiar sense of dread. At age 76, it’s not just the packing that’s daunting for the Berkeley resident and two-time cancer survivor. It’s that the last time she was looking for an affordable place with a county housing voucher, she ended up in a shelter while she waited for her name to be called for a new home. (Hepler, 5/18)

Health Care Survey The 2022 CHCF California Health Policy Survey

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Listening to Black Californians Black Californians on Racism and Health Care

CHCF commissioned interviews with 100 Black Californians to understand their views on health and well-being, their perceptions of discrimination and bias in the health care system, and their views on what a quality health care system looks like.

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