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California Cities, Counties Push New Vaccine Rules as COVID Cases Spike

Cities across California, including San Francisco, Los Angeles, San Diego and Long Beach have instituted weekly testing or proof of vaccination requirements for their employees.

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black teenager wearing protective mask against covid-19 with a smile on his face shows the vaccine brand, isolated on white background

Hospital workers in Los Angeles and other parts of the state have been working around the clock to contain the coronavirus Delta variant and treat patients infected by it.

According to statistics from the Los Angeles County Department of Public Health, the county’s positivity rate has steadily increased since the middle of June. Over the past two weeks, new cases, mostly involving the Delta variant, have jumped by more than 200%, according to the California Department of Public Health. Los Angeles County has seen the highest number of COVID-19 cases and deaths in the state since the pandemic began in 2020.

Dr. Jerry Abraham, an African American physician who is director of Vaccines at the Kedran Community Health Center in South Los Angeles, says the Delta variant is a lot more infectious than previous strains of the coronavirus. Abraham says he has also seen an increase in requests for testing and vaccines over the last month.

One person can infect 8 to 10 people, he said.

To arrest what could become a widespread outbreak of the deadly virus, authorities in California at the local, county and state level are beginning to institute new regulations to prevent another statewide shutdown.

Already facing criticisms and pushback from some members of state workers unions and other opponents for aggressive actions he has taken in his fight against COVID-19, Gov. Gavin Newsom remained firm and announced last week that California school employees must be vaccinated against the virus. If not, they must take a weekly test to prove they are negative. The order affects all 1,037 public school districts and private schools as well.

“We think this is a sustainable way to keep our schools open and to address the No. 1 anxiety that parents like myself have for young children,” Newsom said at a press conference. “That is knowing that the schools are doing everything in their power to keep our kids safe.”

Late last month, Newsom also announced that all state and health care employees and people who work in congregate settings public health experts deem high-risk are required to be vaccinated. That order was the first state-issued mandate of its kind in the country.

“We are now dealing with a pandemic of the unvaccinated, and it’s going to take renewed efforts to protect Californians from the dangerous Delta variant,” Newsom said at the time. “As the state’s largest employer, we are leading by example and requiring all state and health care workers to show proof of vaccination or be tested regularly, and we are encouraging local governments and businesses to do the same.”

According to CDC figures, COVID-19 cases have been steadily rising over the last 30 days due to the Delta variant surge.  The Delta strain was first identified in India in 2020 and showed up in America in March. The coronavirus develops new strains as it interacts with new host bodies, unvaccinated people, and develops stronger versions. As a result, the CDC recently reversed its stance and recommended Americans wear masks indoors.

Cities across California, including San Francisco, Los Angeles, San Diego and Long Beach have instituted weekly testing or proof of vaccination requirements for their employees.

San Diego County has instituted a similar policy.

A growing number of bars and restaurants in Los Angeles and the Bay Area are requiring proof of vaccination before patrons can enter them.

Some large California companies have followed suit implementing vaccination mandates of their own. Among the first ones to take the step are Facebook, Netflix, Google, Lyft, Uber and Disney Co.

President Joe Biden has recently issued a policy that requires all federal workers and contractors to show proof of vaccination or undergo regular testing.

Yet, across the country, including some parts of California, people are aggressively protesting vaccination and mask mandates. This weekend in Los Angeles one person was hospitalized in serious condition after pro-vaccine and anti-vaccine protesters clashed during dueling rallies at City Hall in downtown Los Angeles.

In California, roughly 51% of residents are fully vaccinated. Another 10% have received at least one vaccine.

Back in south Los Angeles, Abraham told California Black Media that unvaccinated people are being hospitalized and dying while vaccinated people who get infected are showing mild symptoms.

“Vaccines are the best line of defense,” he said

Abraham’s recommendations for protecting against the coronavirus include wearing masks, social distancing, increased sanitation, limiting exposure and staying home when sick.

According to Abraham, the CDPH recommends that medical professionals prepare for giving out a third booster shot. There are expectations that 5- to 11-year-olds will be eligible for vaccination in the fall.

However, Abraham said ,at this stage he’s not sure if we’re ever going to fully defeat the coronavirus. He said it might go into remission, much like chickenpox, a disease he hasn’t dealt with in almost 20 years.

He remains hopeful but said there’s more fighting to do to get rid of the Delta variant.

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Activism

Oakland Post: Week of November 20 – 26, 2024

The printed Weekly Edition of the Oakland Post: Week of November 20 – 26, 2024

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An Inside Look into How San Francisco Analyzes Homeless Encampments

Dozens of unhoused people are camped at Sixth and Jesse streets in San Francisco’s South of Market neighborhood. Tents made of tarps and blankets, piles of debris, and people lounging alongside the allies and walls of businesses are seen from all angles. These are some of the city’s hotspots. City crews have cleared encampments there over 30 times in the past year, but unhoused people always return.

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Since the ruling of Grants Pass by the US Supreme Court earlier this summer, which allows cities the authority to ban people from camping or sleeping on the streets, San Francisco has been at the head of the conversation to crack down on encampments.
Since the ruling of Grants Pass by the US Supreme Court earlier this summer, which allows cities the authority to ban people from camping or sleeping on the streets, San Francisco has been at the head of the conversation to crack down on encampments.

By Magaly Muñoz

Dozens of unhoused people are camped at Sixth and Jesse streets in San Francisco’s South of Market neighborhood. Tents made of tarps and blankets, piles of debris, and people lounging alongside the allies and walls of businesses are seen from all angles.

These are some of the city’s hotspots. City crews have cleared encampments there over 30 times in the past year, but unhoused people always return.

But it’s normal to have tents set up again within less than 24 hours after an encampment sweep, David Nakanishi, Healthy Streets Operation Center Manager at the Department of Emergency Management, says. Sometimes there’s less people than before but often there is also no change.

“Most of the people that were in the encampments that want to go inside, we’ve gotten the majority of those [into shelter],” Nakanishi says. “Many of the people we encounter now, are those who have various reasons to not accept shelter, and some are already in shelter/housing”.

Since the ruling of Grants Pass by the US Supreme Court earlier this summer, which allows cities the authority to ban people from camping or sleeping on the streets, San Francisco has been at the head of the conversation to crack down on encampments.

Where neighboring cities in the Bay Area are clearing encampments a few days a week, San Francisco is sweeping 10 times a week, two per weekday.

David Nakanishi, Healthy Streets Operation Center Manager at the San Francisco Department of Emergency Management, makes a 311 report on an encampment in the Mission District. These reports allow smaller city teams to tackle individual spots where unhoused people frequent. Photo by Magaly Muñoz.

David Nakanishi, Healthy Streets Operation Center Manager at the San Francisco Department of Emergency Management, makes a 311 report on an encampment in the Mission District. These reports allow smaller city teams to tackle individual spots where unhoused people frequent. Photo by Magaly Muñoz.

Considering the controversy that plagues the city around its harsh policies, the Post decided to tag along on a ride with Nakanishi to show us how he decides what encampments make it on the city’s sweep list.

Nakanishi, having over 20 years of experience in homelessness management, drives around the busiest parts of the city almost daily. He’s tasked with arranging a weekly sweeping operation schedule for city teams to engage with unhoused folks to help get them off the streets.

So what exactly is he looking out for when deciding what encampments get swept?

It depends, he says.

Locations like schools, recreational centers, senior centers, or businesses are places he tends to want to address quickly, especially schools. These are the places where the complaints are highest and access to facilities is important for residents.

He says he also takes into account 311 calls and reports made to him by city staff. On the date of publication, over 100 calls and reports were made about encampments around the city, according to San Francisco data.

Makeshift structures built from plywood and tarps are starting to pop up more throughout the city. Certain areas under freeways are not under direct authority from San Francisco, making it harder to sweep these encampments. Photo by Magaly Muñoz.

Makeshift structures built from plywood and tarps are starting to pop up more throughout the city. Certain areas under freeways are not under direct authority from San Francisco, making it harder to sweep these encampments. Photo by Magaly Muñoz.

Nakanishi made a few 311 reports himself on the ride along, pulling over to take photos and describe the encampments into his 311 app. He says it helps him remember where to possibly sweep next or allows smaller teams in the city to engage quicker with individuals on the streets.

Nakanishi also looks at the state of the encampments. Are there a lot of bulky items, such as furniture, or makeshift structures built out of tarps and plywood, blocking areas of traffic? Is trash beginning to pile up and spill into the streets or sidewalks? Sites that meet this criteria tend to be contenders for encampment sweeps, Nakanishi says.

Street by street, he points out individuals he’s interacted with, describing their conditions, habits, and reasons for denying assistance from the city.

One man on 2nd St and Mission, who rolls around a blue recycling bin and often yells at passing pedestrians, has refused shelter several times, Nakanishi says.

People deny shelter for all kinds of reasons, he says. There’s too many rules to follow, people feel unsafe in congregate or shared shelters, or their behavioral and mental health problems make it hard to get them into proper services.

Inside a tent left by an unhoused man on Stevenson and 14th Street in San Francisco. The area smelled of human waste and leftover alcohol. Photo by Magaly Muñoz.

Inside a tent left by an unhoused man on Stevenson and 14th Street in San Francisco. The area smelled of human waste and leftover alcohol. Photo by Magaly Muñoz.

Nakanishi references another man on South Van Ness under the freeway, who city outreach have attempted to get into shelter, but his screaming outbursts make it difficult to place him without disturbing other people in the same space. Nakanishi says it might be an issue of the man needing resources like medication to alleviate his distress that causes the screaming, but the city behavioral team is in the process of outreaching him to figure that out.

In October, city outreach teams engaged with 495 unhoused people. 377 of those engaged refused shelter and only 118 accepted placements, according to city data. That number of monthly referrals is consistent throughout the entirety of 2024 so far.

Nakanishi has long advocated for the well-being of unhoused people, he explains. In 2004, he was working with the Department of Public Health and told then-Mayor Gavin Newsom that there needed to be more housing for families. Nakinishi was told it was easier to deal with individuals first and the city “will get there eventually.” 20 years later, family housing is still not as extensive as it could be, and the waiting list to get placements for families is a mile long with over 500 names.

In 2020, he was a Senior Behavioral Health Clinician at a hotel in the city during the pandemic. He says in 2021 he collaborated with DPH to provide vaccines to those staying in the makeshift hotel shelters once those became available.

Nakanishi strips apart a solo tent on Stevenson and 14th Street in San Francisco. He discards items, like tarps and cardboard, so that people cannot reuse them to make another sleeping structure. Photo by Magaly Muñoz.

Nakanishi strips apart a solo tent on Stevenson and 14th Street in San Francisco. He discards items, like tarps and cardboard, so that people cannot reuse them to make another sleeping structure. Photo by Magaly Muñoz.

Despite the constant media attention that city outreach is inhumanely treating homeless people, so much so that it has led to lawsuits against San Francisco from advocates, Nakanishi says not a lot of people are seeing the true conditions of some encampments.

He describes soiled clothing and tents, drenched in urine, and oftentimes rodents or bug infestations in places where people are sleeping. He’s asked homeless advocates- often those who are the most critical about the city’s work- who have shown up to observe the sweeps if those are conditions the city should allow people to be subjected to, but not many have answers for him, Nakanishi says.

The city’s “bag and tag” policy allows city workers to throw away items that are “soiled by infectious materials” such as bodily fluids and waste.

Sweep operations are conducted at 8am and 1pm Monday through Friday. People at the encampments are given 72 hour notice to vacate, but some don’t leave the area until the day of the sweep.

City outreach workers come out the day before and day of to offer resources and shelter to those interested. The Department of Public Works discards any trash that is left over from the sweep and washes down the area.

Nakanishi told the Post that the only time the city takes tents or personal possessions from residents is when folks become physically violent towards workers and police take the items as evidence. Other items taken are bagged and tagged in accordance with city policy.

Stories from local newspapers such as the San Francisco Standard and the Chronicle show instances of SFPD handcuffing residents while their items are thrown in the trash or disposing of personal possessions without reason.

Advocates have long been pushing for a more competent and compassionate process if the city is going to choose to continue sweeping unhouse people.

No matter the lawsuits and constant criticisms from allies, the encampment sweeps are not slowing down, even with the cold weather quickly approaching the coastal city.

Nakanishi says there aren’t a lot of large encampments left in San Francisco so now they do runs of streets in order to stretch out the sweeps as much as possible.

It’s calculated strategies and years of first hand knowledge that make this job work, “It takes dedication to the work, caring for the people and the community, and persistence, patience and sometimes good luck to make the positive changes for the people on the street,” Nakanishi says.

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Oakland Post: Week of November 13 – 19, 2024

The printed Weekly Edition of the Oakland Post: Week of November 13 – 19, 2024

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