Coronavirus

California Top Educator Tony Thurmond Says State’s Schools on Track for Safe Reopening

“The CDC and the California Department of Public Health have already provided guidance that even as case rates increase, if everyone is wearing a mask and everyone who can get a vaccine gets one, we can keep our schools open safely,” Thurmond said.

Published

3 years ago

July 30, 2021

Isabelle Price

Back to School Stock Photo

California Superintendent of Public Instruction Tony Thurmond says school districts across the state are prepared to open safely in the fall even as COVID-19 cases surge in California and around the country. The new spike in COVID-19 positive rates across the state are driven by infections involving the more contagious Delta variant.

Thurmond was speaking online at a recent Safe Schools for All seminar featuring several California education experts. On the call, Thurmond gave parents a preview of what they will likely face when their children return to class in the fall.

He mentioned that he visited Camarena Elementary School in the Chula Vista Elementary School District and that the school opened July 21 successfully implementing the new mask requirements. About 900 of the 1,000-member student body were present, he said.

“Everyone was wearing a mask,” he said. “Everyone was following protocol.”

On July, Thurmond visited a summer learning program at Monte Vista Elementary School in Los Angeles County.

Thurmond also said that vaccines were vital to returning to normal. He also reminded African Americans to make sure to get the vaccines. He noted that the Black community was lagging behind the state’s vaccination rate. As of July 19, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) said 4% of vaccinated people in California are Black. African Americans account for 6% of California’s population.

Vaccines are now available for children aged 12 to 18.

Thurmond also added that while many parents have complained about distance learning, some African American parents say they prefer it because their children don’t have to deal with bullying or harassment.

One of the featured speakers at the online seminar was Dr. Naomi Bardach, Safe Schools for All team lead. She gave a presentation on some important facts to know about the coronavirus and how it affects children.

Bardach reminded parents that scientists and medical professionals had gathered a lot more information about the coronavirus since it first hit America more than a year ago.

In 2020, schools closed to prevent the spread of the coronavirus and children transitioned to distance learning conducted mainly through online classes.

However, Bardach said parents have noticed that there are some downsides to this form of instruction. She said parents have observed that their children are experiencing emotional issues such as depression and sleeplessness. Some children are missing the social interaction of being in school.

Bardach also said medical research has shown that children are less likely to catch the coronavirus than older people.

According to her, most children contract the disease from a close relative, not from fellow students or school personnel.

However, there are things that adults can do to reduce the spread of the virus among children.

“Vaccines for adults are key to prevention in kids,” she said. “Vaccines mean kids can return to the things they enjoy.”

Schools plan to return to in-class education with a host of new weapons to fight the coronavirus pandemic. According to Bardach, some of the methods the schools will use to contain the virus are testing, masks, ventilation and increased sanitation.

“Masks are very effective in preventing transmission,” she said.

There are several ways to get vaccinated, such as at-school sites, health departments and pharmacies. Schools also offer testing. The state has provided schools with $5 million to pay for rapid testing.

Another recommendation to reduce the spread of the coronavirus is to make sure sick children remain at home, said Bardach.

Isabelle Price

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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

11 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

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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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