the state added an
addendum to the Activity & Business Tiers Chart to
provide businesses with opportunities to adopt higher capacities
where all guests have been tested or are fully vaccinated. In
addition, physical distancing is not required in sections where
all guests are fully vaccinated.
California ended all location and capacity limits on places of
worship and modified gathering guidance yesterday in response to
recent judicial rulings. Capacity limits on places of worship are
now “strongly recommended,” according to CDPH, and gatherings are
allowed.
Prior to the April 12 guidance change, the state required places
of worship to cap attendance at 25 percent of their normal
maximum capacity in counties within the purple and red tiers of
California’s reopening framework, and at 50 percent in the
orange and yellow tiers.
Californians who have lost family members to COVID-19 since
January 2020 are now eligible for federal financial assistance
for funeral expenses.
The new FEMA assistance is limited to a maximum of $9,000 per
funeral, internment, or cremation, and up to $35,500 per
application. To be eligible for the new funeral assistance, the
COVID-19-related death must have happened in the United States.
The money is available to all residents of the United States,
regardless of citizenship status.
Suddenly it is mid-April and the state’s April 15 deadline for
providers to utilize the MyTurn statewide vaccination reservation
and data system for first-dose appointments is here. This also
coincides with the Governor’s expansion of vaccine eligibility to
all residents aged 16 and older – as well as a 33 percent drop in
the state’s vaccine allocation and the news halting Johnson
and Johnson vaccinations.
Late last week Californians learned that the number of vaccine
doses coming to the state would decline by at least 33 percent.
On the heels of that news, it was announced today that California
will temporarily halt the administration of the Johnson and
Johnson single-dose vaccine due to concerns about blood clots in
a tiny percentage of recipients.
California Volunteers, launched by the Governor’s office in 2020
will utilize the My Turn volunteer platform to connect medical
professionals and the general public who wish to volunteer, with
clinic volunteer directors across the state.
President Biden kicked off Public Health Week with a
proclamation on April 5, 2021. The proclamation looks to
everyone to do their part in regards to the health of the country
and to use this week for actions to improve health. Additionally,
the President made a commitment to investments that rebuild the
economy.
Last week, the California Department of Public Health (CDPH)
announced changes to indoor and outdoor gathering guidance that
will go into effect April 15, 2021. These modifications provide
counties additional flexibility within the Blueprint for
gatherings to occur with safety precautions.
Governor Newsom announced his
Beyond the Blueprint plan for reopening California and
lifting nearly all statewide coronavirus restrictions on June 15
– if vaccine supply remains sufficient and hospitalization rates
remain low.
Governor Gavin Newsom
announced sweeping changes to vaccine eligibility based
on expected supply increases. Starting April 1, vaccine
eligibility will expand to all Californians ages 50+. On
April 15, eligibility expands broadly to all Californians ages
16+.
No counties moved to a more restrictive tier this week after the
state’s Blueprint for a Safer Economy “Tier Tuesday”
announcement.
Kern, Nevada, and Stanislaus Counties moved from purple to red,
while Lassen, Marin, San Francisco, Santa Clara, Trinity, and
Yolo Counties moved from red to orange. This comes on the heels
of a terrific 7-day average case positivity rate of 1.7
percent and 5.5 cases per 100,000 residents statewide.
The California Government Operations Agency (GovOps) issued a
clarification letter to counties considering or that have signed
the state/county vaccine MOU yesterday. The clarification letter
ensures that counties have an equal seat at the table for
recommending providers to the state’s Third-Party Administrator
(TPA) and may continue to distribute vaccine doses to
county-supported sites.
Coronavirus cases in California continue to decrease, with a 2.3
percent 7-day positivity rate and 11 more counties moving to a
less-restrictive tier. This improvement comes together with 13
counties moved to the red tier on Sunday as a result of the
statewide vaccine equity metric being met.
Counties, like the rest of the nation, continue to grapple with
severe vaccine shortages, waiting on doses delayed by last week’s
Midwest storm and forced to place vaccination clinics large and
small on standby.
The Public Health Law Center at Mitchell Hamline School of Law
and the American Lung Association, California are hosting the
webinar Addressing Secondhand Smoke: Tobacco and
Cannabis Smoke In Multi-Unit Housing. Sponsored by the
California Tobacco Control Program, the webinar is scheduled for
Thursday, February 24, from 10:00 – 11:30 a.m.
andwill address how communities can tackle
significant health risks caused by exposure to secondhand tobacco
and e-cigarette aerosols, specifically in multi-unit housing.
The Joint Legislative Budget Committee (JLBC) approved the
Governor’s emergency request to allocate $1.2 billion in federal
funding to counties today. See the JLBC letter
here and the county-by-county allocation chart
here.
Governor Newsom’s new plan to centralize COVID-19 vaccine
allocations and data moved forward with the selection of Blue
Shield of California to serve as the third party administrator
(TPA) for the new framework.
This week, Children Now, released their 2020-21 California County
Scorecard of Children’s Well-Being. Children Now is an
organization that focuses on an array of issues ranging from
childhood development to justice involvement, all of which impact
the safety and wellness of children, youth and young adults.
In what many considered a surprising move, the Governor lifted
the remaining Regional Stay-at-Home Orders (RSAHO) for the
Southern California, San Joaquin Valley, and Bay Area regions
this week.
The state’s undisclosed projections indicate that ICU bed
capacity will increase above the 15 percent threshold set by the
RSAHO by February 21, 2021. This is due in part to declining case
numbers and an improving 7-day statewide positivity rate tracking
at 8 percent.
The County Health Executives Association of California (CHEAC)
launched “Public Health Heroes for Recovery,” a campaign to honor
local leaders across sectors who are partnering with public
health officials to save lives and protect their communities from
COVID-19. Californians from business and labor, local
community, faith and non-profit organizations, and the arts are
supporting local public health officials’ efforts to slow the
spread of COVID-19 and reopen our local economies based on data
and science.
The Department of Health Care Services (DHCS) has announced a
webinar on the California Advancing and Innovating Medi-Cal
(CalAIM)
initiative. The webinar scheduled for Thursday, January 28,
2021 from 2:00 – 3:00 pm will be the relaunch of this initiative
which was placed on hold in 2020.
California expanded access to the Moderna and Pfizer COVID-19
vaccines to those 65 years old and older today, adding six
million more people to the vaccine line on top of the 1.5 million
healthcare workers and long-term care residents prioritized for
vaccination.
The expansion to those 65 and up comes as the rollout of
vaccinations continues to be bumpy in California, with little
state coordination and multiple entities tasked with identifying
eligible recipients and administering the vaccine.
Last month, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS)
approved the request from the
California Department of Health Care Services (DHCS), for a
12-month extension to the current Section 1115(a) Medicaid
Waiver.
Counties seeking to increase the number of personnel who can
administer the COVID-19 vaccines may allow paramedics and
emergency medical technicians (EMTs) to do so after receiving
approval from the state
Emergency Medical Services Authority.
The California Department of Public Health issued an
immediate hospital surge order on January 5 to compel
the transfer of patients from hospitals in crisis and acceptance
of those patients by other hospitals with available capacity.
Children’s Hospitals are not included in the order.
The Mental Health Services & Accountability Commission (MHSOAC)
announced five new
dashboards on the website aimed at providing public access to
readable mental health data across demographics.
A summary of the five new dashboards can be found below:
The Monthly Allocation Dashboard displays information from the
State Controller’s Office on monthly allocation amounts by Mental
Health Program (MHP) from August 2012 to present.
The Office of the California Surgeon General and the Department
of Health Care Services (DHCS) released their much anticipated
draft guide on efforts needed to diminish the impact of
adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) and toxic stress.
This week, the state has seen 77 percent of the state’s
population required to adjust to Governor Newsom’s sweeping
Regional Stay-at-Home Order and both houses of the Legislature
returning to Sacramento to open the 2021-2022 legislative
session. Besides swearing in Senator Toni Atkins as Senate
President pro Tempore and Anthony Rendon as Assembly Speaker,
members from both houses signaled their eagerness to re-engage
with the Governor on the COVID-19 crisis and the state budget.
Governor Newsom today appointed San Francisco Health Officer Dr.
Tomás Aragón to lead the California Department of Public Health
(CDPH) and serve as the state’s Health Officer. Dr. Aragón is a
welcome addition to CPDH, where newly appointed State
Epidemiologist and former Alameda County Health Officer Dr. Erica
Pan has been holding down the fort during this difficult time.
Dr. Aragon replaces former CDPH Director Dr. Sonia Angell, who
resigned abruptly this summer.
Governor Newsom reported last week that official requests
for the initial 327,000 doses of vaccines would be submitted
Friday, December 4. It was announced this week that the
submission for those vaccine doses were made with anticipated
California delivery of December 15.
During a press conference this week, Governor Newsom reiterated
that the state continues to plan for a safe and equitable vaccine
distribution. The update included the anticipated FDA approval of
the Pfizer vaccine on December 10 and Moderna around December 17.
Governor Newsom announced a new Regional Stay Home Order
framework for California regions where adult ICU capacity falls
below 15 percent. No regions are currently below 15 percent adult
ICU capacity, but the San Joaquin and Southern California regions
are close, according to the California Department of Public
Health (CDPH). Beyond that comment, no data was released by CDPH
at the time of this writing.
Counties and Medi-Cal providers are invited to join the
Department of Health Care Services (DHCS) for a Stakeholder
Webinar on December 9, from 1:00 – 3:00PM. The webinar will provide an update on
how to become an enrolled Medi-Cal behavioral health provider
through the Provider Application and Validation for Enrollment
(PAVE) portal.
This week’s Tier Tuesday update from Health and Human Services
Secretary Mark Ghaly was sobering. Eleven counties moved into a
more restrictive tier today, while zero moved into a less
restrictive tier. The tier changes include:
The Department of Health Care Services (DHCS) and Office of the
California Surgeon General (CA-OSG) in a press release,
announced the completion of a report with summarizing the number
of health care providers who have completed the “Becoming
ACEs Aware in California” training through August 31,
2020.
Governor Newsom met the September 30 deadline to take action on
measures approved by the Legislature and delivered to his desk.
To keep counties informed of new laws that impact them, CSAC will
be publishing a series of articles to spotlight those laws in
each policy area. This week, the Health and Human Services policy
area provides information on new laws affecting health, human
services, and behavioral health.
The new laws listed below become effective January 1, 2021 unless
otherwise noted.
Gatherings in California are limited to no more than three
households and must be held outdoors, according to new
CDPH guidance released late last week.
After significant and sustained advocacy by the CSAC Rural Caucus
and a special CSAC Rural Caucus Working Group led by CSAC Second
Vice President Ed Valenzuela of Siskiyou County, the state
applied a new case metric for small counties today.
The new metric, which focuses on absolute case counts rather than
the Blueprint for a Safer Economy’s calculation of cases per
100,000 residents, already helped both Lake and Modoc Counties to
remain in their current tiers.
This week, California Health Secretary Dr. Mark Ghaly had
mixed news for counties today. Perhaps the more important news is
what he didn’t cover at the customary noon press conference
today: the application of new case rate flexibility for small
counties. This development came as a result of strong advocacy by
the CSAC Rural Caucus and a special CSAC Rural Caucus Working
Group, both led by CSAC Second Vice President Ed Valenzuela of
Siskiyou County. We cover the new small county metric in more
detail below.
CSAC is pleased to share that nearly all of the state’s COVID-19
guidance is now available in 13 languages on the state’s www.Covid19.ca.gov website. County
Supervisors from around the state strongly advocated for the
translation of critical COVID-19 state guidance, and the state
estimates that 85 percent of the documents are translated at this
time. The state’s goal is to have all COVID-19 guidance
translated by the end of this month.
