Coronavirus

Oakland Expands Free COVID-19 Testing Sites

Published

4 years ago

June 3, 2020

The City of Oakland announced Monday a partnership with Allen Temple Baptist Church and the emergency relief nonprofit organization Community Organized Relief Effort (CORE) to open a new COVID-19 community-based testing site (CBTS) in East Oakland.

This site will also use the Baseline COVID-19 Program platform by Verily, an Alphabet company. Testing will be provided free of charge Monday through Saturday, 1:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m. Health insurance is not required.

If you work outside the home or are worried you might have COVID-19, get a test. The City has now partnered in three sites where residents can receive free testing:

Allen Temple, 8501 International Blvd.

Roots Community Health Center, 9925 International Blvd.

Henry J. Kaiser Convention Center parking lot, 10 Tenth St.

Hours of operation and other details vary by site. Residents can contact OAK311 with questions about testing at City-partnered sites. For information dial 311 (or 510-615-5566) or go online to www.oaklandca.gov/testing.

Appointments can be made using Verily’s Baseline COVID-19 Program, available at www.projectbaseline.com/COVID19. Persons need only create an online account, schedule an appointment and bring their ID to their appointment.

The Baseline COVID-19 Program is a secure connected solution to support individuals from screening through testing and receipt of their test results, which is done under physician direction.

COVID-19 is disproportionately affecting Oakland’s Black and Brown communities. COVID-19 death rates among Black Alameda County residents are double those among any other group, according to recent County data. The number of cases (infection rate) in the Latino community is three times higher than for white people in Alameda County, according to recent County data.

“As a proud member of Allen Temple Baptist Church since 1984, I want to commend Pastor Thompson and the church for continuing its mission of empowerment and public service in East Oakland,” said U.S. Rep. Barbara Lee.

Oakland City Councilmember Larry Reid said that East Oakland is disproportionately harmed by the impacts of COVID-19. “I want my community to know we see that harm and we are prioritizing East Oakland for testing locations,” said Reid, who represents the district in which Allen Temple is located.

“Allen Temple Baptist Church has a long history of serving God by serving the people of God, particularly those that are often overlooked. We look forward to the opportunity to work with our city, county and nonprofit partners to meet this critical need in East Oakland,” said Allen Temple Pastor Jacqueline Thompson.

“It is vital to provide access to free COVID-19 testing to all communities, but particularly communities of color who are being affected disproportionately by this pandemic,” said CORE Co-Founder Sean Penn. “To do this effectively, we take a community-centric approach and look to bring on local volunteers and prioritize local hires.”

There are additional test sites available to Oaklanders, in which the City is not an active partner. Alameda County Public Health Department maintains an ongoing list of all sites within the county, available online at http://www.acphd.org/2019-ncov/testing.aspx.

Justin Berton

Posts by Justin Berton

Bay Area

Authorities Warn: There’s a COVID Surge in California

According to data estimates by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the coronavirus in California’s wastewater has spiked for eight consecutive weeks. Hospitalizations and emergency room visits have also increased since the rise of the new subvariants. Over the last month, Los Angeles County experienced an average of 389 hospital patients per day that tested positive for the coronavirus. The FLiRT subvariants such as KP.3.1.1. Made up over 2% of coronavirus samples nationwide, an increase of more than 7% last month.

Published

3 months ago

August 17, 2024

Oakland Post

Photo provided by California Black Media.

By Bo Tefu, California Black Media

California is experiencing a COVID-19 surge this summer, experts warn, as numbers of infections increased for the third month this year.

State public health authorities attribute the summer COVID surge to more infectious subvariants that have emerged as the coronavirus evolves.

Dr. Elizabeth Hudson, regional chief of infectious disease at Kaiser Permanente Southern California, stated that subvariants of COVID-19 called FLiRT increased in recent months, particularly one named KP.3.1.1 that has become the most common strain in the country.

Dr. Peter Chin-Hong, an infectious diseases expert at UC San Francisco, said that the subvariant KP.3.1.1 seems most adept at transmission.

“The subvariant is the one that people think will continue to take over, not only in the United States, but … around the world,” Chin-Hong said.

The majority of the people who tested positive for COVID-19 complained of a sore throat and a heavy cough. Risk factors that can increase the illness include age, underlying health issues, and vaccine dosage.

Health experts stated that the demand for the COVID-19 vaccine has increased in Northern California. However, people are having a hard time getting the vaccine due to the increasing number of cases.

Oakland Post

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California Black Media

Gov. Newsom and Gov. DeSantis Go Head-to-Head in Nationally Televised Debate

Conservative Fox News personality Sean Hannity moderated the duel, during which the TV pundit, more than once, injected his opinion, and appeared to be providing subtle assists to DeSantis. As the debate progressed, it was clear that opinions about each topic discussed was representative of the philosophical and political chasm that divides liberal and conservative America, and a preview of campaign mudslinging that is bound to intensify as the 2024 presidential campaign ensues.

Published

12 months ago

December 10, 2023

Oakland Post

The debate between Gov. Gavin Newsom and Gov. Ron DeSantis was moderated by Fox News personality Sean Hannity. California Black Media image.

By California Black Media

In an intense, 95-minute-plus televised faceoff between California Gov. Gavin Newsom and Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis on Nov. 30, the men traded jabs and putdowns, defended their respective gubernatorial records, disagreed sharply on how to solve the country’s most pressing problems, and expressed clashing views on the performance of the Biden-Harris administration.

Conservative Fox News personality Sean Hannity moderated the duel, during which the TV pundit, more than once, injected his opinion, and appeared to be providing subtle assists to DeSantis.

As the debate progressed, it was clear that opinions about each topic discussed was representative of the philosophical and political chasm that divides liberal and conservative America, and a preview of campaign mudslinging that is bound to intensify as the 2024 presidential campaign ensues.

“I’ll tell you why I’m here,” Newsom said. “I’m here to tell the truth about the Biden-Harris record and also compare and contrast Ron DeSantis’ record and the Republican Party’s record” with that of California.

DeSantis blasted Newsom’s management of the COVID-19 crisis and criticized Newsom for prevalent crime, homelessness and deteriorating social conditions in California cities.

“You have the freedom to defecate in public in California,” DeSantis said. “You have the freedom to pitch a tent on Sunset Boulevard. You have the freedom to create a homeless encampment under a freeway and even light it on fire. They’re not the freedoms our founding fathers envisioned.”

Newsom took a jab at DeSantis’ presidential candidacy, predicting that the Florida Governor would be endorsing GOP frontrunner Donald Trump soon.

“There’s one thing we have in common,” Newsom said. “Neither of us will be the nominee for our party in 2024.

Oakland Post

Posts by Oakland Post

BayCityNews

FDA Updates Approval of Pfizer Booster Vaccine for Children Under 5

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration updated its approval Tuesday of the Pfizer-BioNTech booster vaccine, making it available to some children under age 5. Before this update, children under 5 were not eligible for COVID-19 booster shots. Instead, they received three doses of the regular vaccine.

Published

2 years ago

March 22, 2023

Oakland Post

As of December 2022, children age 4 and younger who have not been vaccinated receive the omicron variant-specific booster vaccine as the third dose in their primary vaccine series, following two doses of the original Pfizer vaccine.

By Eli Walsh
Bay City News

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration updated its approval Tuesday of the Pfizer-BioNTech booster vaccine, making it available to some children under age 5.

Before this update, children under 5 were not eligible for COVID-19 booster shots. Instead, they received three doses of the regular vaccine.

However, children in that age range who completed their initial vaccination series before December 2022 only received three doses of the original Pfizer vaccine, and are less protected against more infectious variants of the virus as a result.

FDA officials updated the vaccine’s emergency use authorization Tuesday to allow those children who only received the original Pfizer COVID vaccine to receive one dose of the bivalent booster if it has been at least two months since they completed their initial series.

Other children under age 5 are not eligible for the booster, although everyone age 5 and up is eligible for a booster.

“Currently available data show that vaccination remains the best defense against severe disease, hospitalization and death caused by COVID-19 across all age groups, and we encourage all eligible individuals to make sure that their vaccinations are up to date with a bivalent COVID-19 vaccine,” said Dr. Peter Marks, the director of the FDA’s Center for Biologics Evaluation and Research.

Clinical data has found that both the original Pfizer vaccine and the booster vaccine that targets the omicron subvariants BA.4 and BA.5 are safe for everyone aged 6 months and up and effective at preventing the worst outcomes of COVID infection, including serious illness and death.

COVID vaccines are available at primary care providers, retail pharmacies and some facilities operated by local health departments.

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