Stay Well

July 31, 2024

San Francisco Health Officials Advise Indoor Masking Amid Summer COVID Wave

San Francisco health officials are urging residents to consider wearing masks in some places amid a summer COVID-19 wave that continues to gain strength. On social media Friday, the city’s Department of Public Health advised, “Make this summer a healthy one for yourself and others. With COVID-19 circulating, please consider wearing a well-fitted mask in crowded indoor spaces.” It has been more than a year since a major health organization recommended masking for those not at elevated risk other than in health care settings. Most mask requirements were lifted more than three years ago, and it’s highly unlikely mandates will be reintroduced for the general public. In a statement to the Chronicle, the health department attributed its new message to rising coronavirus wastewater levels across San Francisco and California. According to CDC data, California is among the few states with “very high” wastewater levels of the SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19, corroborated by the Chronicle’s tracker showing high levels at most Bay Area sewage treatment plants — including both such facilities in San Francisco. SF Chronicle Read more

California’s COVID Positivity Rate Is Still Growing, Approaching Record High For A Summer Surge

California’s COVID positivity has continued to leap forward with each weekly update from the state’s health department. Now, the state has reached the second highest positivity rate of any summer surge, approaching a record high for this time of year. Testing data through July 22 showed the percent of COVID tests coming back positive reached 13.8%, up more than two percentage points from the week before. Two years ago, COVID’s seasonality — or lack thereof — was starting to become clear, and California had a nasty summer COVID surge. Headlines at the time warned of rising COVID reinfections, surging cases, hospitalizations and deaths. At the height of that surge, positivity rates reached 16%. Now, the seven-day average positivity rate is rapidly approaching that high, and showing no signs of slowing yet. Thankfully a lot has changed in the last two years, and the virus is much less deadly than it once was, even if it is not less prevalent. East Bay Times Read more

What To Know About The Updated COVID Vaccines Coming This Fall

As summer begins to wind down and many children and teenagers across the U.S. get ready to head back to school next month, it also means updated COVID-19 vaccines are around the corner. Last month, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommendedAmericans receive the updated 2024-25 vaccine when it becomes available later this year. Health officials have used the term "updated vaccines" in anticipation of needing to formulate a new vaccine every year to match circulating variants as is done for the flu shot. "Historically, when we're talking about COVID vaccines, we're talking about boosters that would happen at some time post your previous vaccine," said Dr. John Brownstein, an epidemiologist and chief innovation officer at Boston Children's Hospital and an ABC News contributor. "Now we're targeting annual vaccines for COVID-19 that is similar to flu. It's a reformulation based on what's circulating, and this is why we're talking about an annual campaign rather than a booster," he continued.

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Years After Pandemic, Bay Area Families Receiving Bills For "Free" School COVID Tests

During the height of the pandemic, many Bay Area school children took part in what families say was advertised as free COVID-19 testing at schools covered by the CARES Act. But now three years later, some families say they're still receiving bills from the lab that conducted the tests. That lab is now suing health insurance companies for reimbursements they say they're owed. As COVID raged during the early pandemic, COVID testing at schools was critical and welcomed. "The testing was supposed to be free testing that we got that was performed by a laboratory that came to the school sites," said Debbie, an Orinda resident who asked that we not use her last name. Debbie says her son had multiple COVID tests at school, facilitated by PMH Laboratory. ABC7 News Read more



They Have Jobs, But No Homes. Inside America’s Unseen Homelessness Crisis

They are plumbers and casino supervisors, pizzeria managers and factory workers. They deliver groceries, sell eyeglasses and unload trucks at Amazon. And they’re the new, unlikely face of homelessness: Working Americans with decent-paying jobs who simply can’t afford a place to live. Homelessness, already at a record high last year, appears to be worsening among people with jobs, as housing becomes further out of reach for low-wage earners, according to shelter interviews and upticks in evictions and homelessness tallies around the country. The latest round of point-in-time counts — a tally of people without homes on one given night — show a discernible uptick in homelessness in many parts of the United States, including Southeast Texas (up 61 percent from a year ago), Rhode Island (up 35 percent) and northeast Tennessee (up 20 percent). Washington Post Read more

Advocates Push For San Francisco To House Homeless In Empty Homes

Advocates are pushing officials in San Francisco to fill the city's vacant homes with unhoused residents rather than criminalizing homelessness. Community leaders are demanding the city fill the more than 700 vacant homes it controls with unhoused residents. This demand follows Mayor London Breed's call for "aggressive" sweeps of homeless encampments in August and possible penalties for unhoused residents who refuse outreach services. "We're hopeful we make it so uncomfortable for people that they accept our offer. That's what this is about. This is not just about cleaning and clearing because these are people and they gotta go somewhere," Breed previously said. Last week, Gov. Gavin Newsom issued an executive order to remove homeless camps from state-owned property, including freeways, underpasses, and city parks. KTVU Read more



What The Golden Gate Bridge’s Anti-Suicide Net Is Teaching The Rest Of The Nation

The elegant span that draws visitors from all over the world is no longer a destination for death. Since completion of a steel net under the Golden Gate Bridge in January, reported suicides are down more than 80%, from an average of 15 to 20 in a six-month period to three, according to newly released data. Suicide attempts also have declined, from about 150 over six months to 56 through June, a more than 60% decrease. The once-controversial $224 million project is now a case study in suicide prevention, lending its lessons to other barrier-building campaigns around the United States, Canada and England. “We’re expanding, not disbanding,” said Paul Muller, president and co-founder of the Bridge Rail Foundation, created in 2006 with a mission of ending suicides at the Golden Gate Bridge. “We’re sharing our stories with communities that are facing a similar problem,” said Muller, advising others on how to obtain funding, navigate government bureaucracies, gain regulatory approval and develop a public campaign through community organizing. Families play an essential role, he said, reminding officials of their tremendous losses. East Bay Times Read more

San Mateo County: Fight Loneliness With Furry Friends

Feeling lonely? Finding a furry friend may help. San Mateo County, which declared loneliness a public health emergency earlier this year, has been running a campaign to address social isolation and loneliness. That included a recent Peninsula Humane Society event promoting pet adoption and therapy animals. “Having a furry friend may be the best prescription a doctor can give if you are isolated and battling loneliness,” said David Canepa, San Mateo County Supervisor, who hosted the event. The county is stepping up its campaign to address loneliness as a public health issue. Recently, the county approved $1 million in funding to implement anti-loneliness programs. Why is loneliness a public health problem? A survey by the county found that about 45% of residents reported difficulties with social isolation and loneliness, which prompted Canepa to author the resolution. Mercury News Read more

Common Mental Health Disorder May Triple Risk For Developing Dementia, Study Finds

As if people with anxiety don’t have enough to worry about, a new study is adding to that list  — suggesting the disorder may nearly triple the risk of developing dementia years later. The research, to the authors’ knowledge, is the first to look into the association between different severities of anxiety and dementia risk over time, and the effect of the timing of anxiety on this risk, according to the study published Wednesday in the Journal of the American Geriatrics Society. “Anxiety can now be considered a non-traditional risk factor for dementia,” said Dr. Kay Khaing, lead study author and a specialist geriatrician at Hunter New England Health in Newcastle, Australia, via email. CNN Read more



S.F. Drug Crisis: Breed And Ally Want To Pay Welfare Recipients $100 A Week To Stay Sober

Faced with a devastating fentanyl crisis, San Francisco Mayor London Breed has increasingly embraced punishment and law enforcement crackdowns to try to stop people from using illicit drugs. But a proposal released Monday would rely on incentives rather than discipline to encourage sobriety. Breed and Supervisor Matt Dorsey on Monday unveiled legislation called “Cash Not Drugs” that would reward some welfare recipients with $100 every week they test negative for illicit drugs. Despite the name of the program, the payment would not be in cash but rather in the form of a gift card or an electronic benefit transfer, similar to a debit card, used by some other government programs, Dorsey said. “I want to make it just as easy to get treatment as it is to go out there and buy dope,” Breed told dozens of people in recovery at a rally in front of City Hall on Monday. “Whatever it takes to get people on the right path — that’s what we need to do.” SF Chronicle Read more

Substance Use Stayed At High Levels In 2023, While Vaping Increased And Smoking Fell

Rates of mental illness and substance use remained largely stable in 2023, according to federal data, underscoring the severity of the long-running U.S. mental health crisis and worst-in-the-world rates of illicit drug use. And while overall rates of nicotine use also remained roughly even, the way people consumed it shifted slightly. Overall, slightly more Americans vaped nicotine, while slightly fewer smoked cigarettes.The survey, released Tuesday by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, serves as a reminder of the severity of the nation’s ongoing substance use and mental health crises. And it highlights, too, that even for those seeking help for a substance use or mental health disorder, treatment is often unavailable. “This data tells us that we have much work to do across the spectrum of behavioral health,” said Miriam Delphin-Rittmon, the SAMHSA director. “It also tells us to spread the message that treatment is available and recovery is possible.” STAT Read more



What Olympic Athletes Eat To Have All That Energy

The athletes selected to compete at the most elite level must be extremely regimented to get there. That includes paying close attention to nutrition. We asked eight Olympic athletes — including track-and-field, cycling, and volleyball stars — what they eat to fuel their bodies. Helen Maroulis is the first U.S. female wrestler to qualify for three Summer Games — and, at 32, the oldest female wrestler to ever compete in an Olympics. Nutrition plays an important role in her success, she says, especially given that she has to make a certain weight (125 pounds) to compete in her class. She’s also had serious brain injuries following concussions she suffered on the mat, and has learned how important the right food choices are for brain health. “My three rules are I have to eat well, I have to sleep well, and training has to be good,” she says. “I don't compromise on those.” Time Read more