Health
Contra Costa Health Services is now requiring appointments for COVID-19 rapid tests at its Richmond and San Ramon sites until further notice, as demand for the tests brought lines to testing centers this week. With the winter holidays coinciding with the arrival of the omicron variant in Contra Costa County, people have been flocking to Health Services test sites at 25th Street and Nevin Avenue in Richmond and at 2600 Camino Ramon in San Ramon, hoping to get tested ahead…
Contra Costa Health Services reported Monday that it has identified the highly contagious omicron variant of COVID-19 in three people in Contra Costa County. “We knew it was just a matter of time before the omicron variant appeared in Contra Costa County,” said Dr. Chris Farnitano, Contra Costa County health officer, said in a news release. “We’ve been encouraging anyone who is eligible to get a booster dose of the Pfizer or Moderna vaccine to do so. With today’s news…
Vaccine appointments for children ages 5 to 11 were booked at all Contra Costa County Health Services sites this week, after the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention endorsed the pediatric COVID-19 vaccine earlier this month. As of Friday, more than 18,000 young children in the county had received a dose of the Pfizer vaccine, according to Health Services — about 1 in 5 children. While the CDC recommends kids to be vaccinated, some parents are still hesitant about it….
What 9-year-old Ashbey Asuncion was looking forward to the most after getting her COVID-19 vaccination, was going outside without wearing a mask and teaching her younger brother how to do a cartwheel. She and her brother, Avery, 6, got their first doses of the Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine at a clinic in Nystrom Elementary School in Richmond on Tuesday, one of the first Contra Costa Health Services’ clinics open to children ages 5 to 11. Health Services has partnered with a…
A pediatric COVID-19 vaccine has been approved and Contra Costa County is preparing to vaccinate children between the ages of 5 and 11. On Tuesday, following the Food and Drug Administration’s emergency clearance, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention unanimously approved a pediatric dose of the Pfizer vaccination for younger children. The FDA has approved the vaccine for older children in May. The news comes just a few weeks after West Contra Costa Unified, Oakland Unified and other California…
After nearly two hours of impassioned public comment, the Contra Costa County Board of Supervisors unanimously passed a resolution Tuesday that declares COVID-19 misinformation a public health crisis. Misinformation about the coronavirus has “significantly undermined public health efforts and the unmitigated proliferation of health misinformation has created a culture of mistrust and has prolonged the COVID-19 pandemic,” the resolution reads. It goes on to say the county’s health department will continue to share scientific information about COVID-19 and correct misinformation…
Hours before Gov. Gavin Newsom made California the first state to mandate COVID-19 vaccines for school children, the West Contra Costa Unified School District voted on its own mandate, relieving some parents and angering others. Late Thursday night, after five hours of debate in the desolate gymnasium of Lovonya DeJean Middle School, a vaccine mandate for students ages 12 and older received unanimous support from all but one. Trustee Jamela Smith-Folds voted against the mandate, which will go into effect…
The West Contra Costa Unified school board president is urging the county health officer to issue guidance on a COVID-19 vaccine mandate for the school district. “This is the public health issue of our lifetime,” Mister Phillips wrote in an email to Contra County health officer Dr. Chris Farnitano that Phillips posted on his Facebook page Friday. “We education leaders are not public health experts. We look to you for bold leadership as our public health officer.” Phillips asked Farnitano…
Frustrated with the lack of protocols to protect staff and students from COVID-19, West Contra Costa Unified teachers have filed a state workplace complaint against the school district. The complaint was filed on Aug. 31 with the California Division of Occupational Safety and Health. The teachers favor a vaccine mandate for kids ages 12 and up, which the school board was expected to discuss this week but postponed. Superintendent Chris Hurst said in an internal email that more research was…