Coronavirus

Eastmont Mall Site of Mass COVID-19 Testing Event on Aug. 22-23 Led by Dr. Kim Rhoads

Published

4 years ago

August 13, 2020

Oakland residents are invited to Eastmont Mall August 22-23, 2020, to attend the largest COVID-19 testing event ever staged in the East Bay.

Umoja Health, a network of doctors in San Francisco, and Oakland Frontline Healers anticipate that more than 1,000 people per day will be tested via drive-thru or walk-up at 7200 Bancroft Ave.

From 10:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m., testing will be available, and free lunch and free PPE will be distributed to participants. Previous COVID-19 events of this size were successfully staged in May and June in San Francisco’s Sunnydale and Bayview districts, led by Dr. Kim Rhoads.

Dr. Kim Rhodes, at a convening with California Surgeon General Dr. Burke Harris
Picture by UCSF staff

Rhoads, who is formally trained and board-certified in general surgery and colon and rectal surgery, is currently an associate professor of epidemiology and biostatistics, focusing on cancer research regarding higher death rates among African Americans, even those cancers they are less prone to develop.

After COVID-19 emerged, Rhoads observed similar disparities in coronavirus infection rates, noting that even though the Latinx population has a higher rate of infection than African Americans, more African Americans are dying.

The situation caused her to reflect on the philosophy of her mentor, Dr. Frank E. Staggers Sr.

Staggers, who transitioned in 2014, was the founding chair of the Community Advisory Board for UCSF’s Helen Diller Family Comprehensive Cancer Center.

Staggers had a strong belief in unlimited human wealth and potential. He promoted strong family values, including the belief that elders must provide a foundation for the next generation to reach its highest promise, and that “family” incorporates the entire community.

Linking the health of an individual with the health of the community was what Staggers practiced, dedicating himself to identifying and developing strategies and solutions to eradicate healthcare disparities.

After practicing surgery on the faculty at Stanford University for nearly a decade, Rhoads decided she wasn’t going to practice anymore, deciding to commit full time to community engagement work.

“When I started medical school I said I wasn’t going to practice medicine. My purpose was to learn all the secrets of the medical system and tell the people what those secrets are,” she said.

With the arc of her life unfolding in this way and the advent of the COVID-19 pandemic, Rhoads reflected on her mentor’s principles, asking herself, “What would Dr. Staggers do?”

Dr. Frank Staggers Sr.
Picture submitted by Friends of Dr. Frank Staggers Sr.

Rhoads rededicated herself to her life’s mission, leading the effort for the San Francisco COVID-19 testing events and revealing the secret that African Americans are dying at higher rates than any other demographic, and that major intervention is mandatory.

“My department chair at UCSF, Dr. Kirsten Bibbins-Domingo got a call from (Oakland’s) Fruitvale district from Chris Iglesias of the Unity Council and leaders at La Clinica De La Raza who said they had a really big COVID-19 positivity rate and needed our help,” Rhoads said. “We know the rate in East Oakland is high, so we’ve come to where the need is greatest.”

Rhoads is operating under the umbrella of the United in Health initiatives, which are sponsored by UCSF, and the Chan-Zuckerberg Biohub, a collaboration between UCSF, Stanford and UC Berkeley.

The Biohub runs the COVID-19 testing for select community-based testing initiatives. Their tests have a rapid turn-around of getting results within two to three days, a criticism that other massive testing efforts have faced.

“After the August 22nd event, we will continue taking care of people who test positive, providing PPE and resources including food delivery, cleaning supplies and instructions as to how to keep their homes safe, by supporting a Community Wellness Team here in East Oakland.”

“The key is, we’re not going to disappear after this event. We will keep the community wellness teams together and evolve other support as needed.,” Rhoads said. “If people don’t need food, we’ll provide COVID messaging and other COVID activities, but we’re basically trying to keep local groups together to continue serving the community. After COVID we’ll take care of cancer next. It’s what Dr. Staggers would do.”

Rhoads said that health disparities in populations of color stem from health system inequities that have existed for decades and began when white Medicare-based hospitals, supported by the American Medical Association, received more funding than Black Medicaid-based hospitals.

Rhoads explained, “It is undeniable that hospitals, that are Medicaid based, vs. Medicare, take care of more and tougher cases of cancer, often because the disease is so advanced at the time of diagnosis. Academic structures blame the victims for the high rates of death, stating poor health habits, but I have found that the problem stems from disparities in standards of care.”

Rhoads is also an affiliate of Philip R. Lee Institute for Health Policy Studies and associate director of Community Engagement for the Helen Diller Family Comprehensive Cancer Center. She is married to pediatric anesthesiologist Dr. Bill Rhoads, resides in Oakland, and has two teenaged children.

Tanya Dennis, Oakland Frontline Healers

Posts by Tanya Dennis, Oakland Frontline Healers

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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

4 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

Posts by Oakland Post

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

1 year 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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