By Miriam Raftery

Photo: CC by SA via Bing

February 19, 2022 (Washington D.C.0 – The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is warning consumers not to use recalled powdered infant formulas sold under the brand names Similac, Alimentum and EleCare in the U.S. and other countries.

By Miriam Raftery

Image: CC via Bing

February 18, 2022 (San Diego) – After revelations that San Francisco police used DNA collected from rape kits to charge a rape victim with a property crime, San Francisco’s District Attorney Chesa Boudin dismissed the charges and called the police actions a violation of the Fourth Amendment, which prohibits unreasonable searches and seizures.

So East County Magazine asked the San Diego Sheriff department whether it has submitted rape victims’ DNA collected at hospitals to a database that could be used to link rape victims to other crimes.

Within hours of our request, Lieutenant Amber Baggs, the Sheriff’s Media Relations Director, sent this response:  “No we do NOT do this.  I read the article as well and checked with our Crime Lab Director. We do not match victim's DNA to other crimes. Thank you for asking so this can be clarified.”

By José A. Álvarez, County of San Diego Communications Office

Photo:  a treatment room at the Monoclonal Antibody Regional Center in San Ysidro.

February 17, 2022 (San Diego) - The County Health and Human Services Agency is reminding San Diegans that monoclonal antibody treatment is available for people at high risk of serious illness from COVID-19.

Source: County News Service

Only 53% of those eligible locally have received boosters, but 88% of hospitalizations are patients who have not had booster shots

February 17, 2022 (San Diego) -- With masks coming off indoors in many public places for fully vaccinated people, County health officials are urging all eligible San Diegans to get all the recommended COVID-19 doses, including the additional dose and booster shot.

By Miriam Raftery

Photo credit:  County News Service

February 10, 2022 (San Diego) – Starting February 15, fully vaccinated people will no longer have to wear masks indoors in most places in San Diego County.  But the action runs counter to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control advice, which continues to recommend face masks, particularly N95 masks, as the best way to prevent spread of the Omicron COVID-19 variant.

East County News Service

February 4, 2022 (San Diego)—California Attorney General Rob Bonta’s office has issued an alert warning consumers of dried plum fruit and candies containing “dangerous” levels of lead far above legal limits. His office also sent letters ordering retailers to immediately remove the products, including some marketed to children and several sold in the San Diego region.

Lead-tainted products sold in San Diego County include:

• El Chavito Saladitos Enchilados Salted Plums W/Chili

• El Leoncito Ponchin Saladitos con Chile/Dry Salted Plums with Chili

• El Super Leon Saladitos/Dry Salted Plums with Chili & Chamoy

• Hola Lobito Fresco Ciruela Salada Sabor Limon/Lemon Flavored Salted Plum

• La Fiesta Saladitos Con Chile/Salted Plums with Chili.

Funds will be used to assist in the distribution of free COVID-19 at-home test kits 

Source:  Grossmont Healthcare district

Photo: District employees prepare boxes of at-home COVID-19 test kits for distribution to the community through partners and its Library (Courtesy of Grossmont Healthcare District) 

February 2, 2022 (La Mesa) – The Grossmont Healthcare District announced it has received $47,117 in State funding for COVID-19 relief, which it plans to reinvest into the community by supplementing the nationwide effort to provide the public with free COVID-19 at-home test kits.

By Kori Hudson, MedStar Health

Shot down before, this time advocates have momentum as bill heads to a vote

By J.W. August

Photo:  Isolation of patients in nursing homes during COVID era increases need for state oversight; image CC-by-NC via Bing

Update August 11, 2022:  AB 1502 has passed the State Senate Judiciary and Appropriations Committees, and now heads to the Senate floor.

Update 5 p.m. --AB 1502  passed the Assembly tthis afternoon by a 47-12 vote and now heads to the State Senate.

January 31, 2022 (San Diego) -- If you want to drive a car in California you need a driver's license. In San Diego County all dogs must be licensed.  But if you own a nursing home, you can buy another home or chain of facilities, and no license is required. 

Unlike a driver who is in multiple accidents or an animal that's attacked someone, there are no rules when it comes to the takeover or sale of nursing homes, no matter how ugly the track record of the firm buying or selling a nursing home.

Even if a chain operator has a history of poorly managed homes, it can add to its portfolio and can do so without first obtaining a license, as long as it submits a license application. The trouble is, such applications can take years to process.

The California Department of Public Health, which is charged with providing oversight of the nursing home industry, says it has no authority to disqualify owners and operators who are already in operation in the state. The agency says this is allowed to happen under what they call a Management Operations Transfer Agreement.

This is what Tony Chicotel, attorney for California Advocates for Nursing Home Reform (CANHR), calls “zombie licenses.”. He explains it’s  “the essence of license-evasion.” 

By Jesse Bedayn, CalMatters

CalMatters is a public interest journalism venture committed to explaining how California’s state Capitol works and why it matters

Photo:  Bradley Fisher, 62, in the Antioch home he eventually moved into after spending 14 years in a Bay Area nursing home. Sept. 2, 2021. Photo by Anne Wernikoff, CalMatters

January 29, 2022 (San Diego) - Bradley Fisher, a 62-year-old retired mechanic, lived in a Bay Area nursing home for 14 years. 

East County News Service

Photo: CC-ND

January 27, 2022 (San Diego) -- With around 64% of the population fully vaccinated against COVID-19 but the omicron variant on the rise, WalletHub today released updated rankings for the Safest States During COVID-19, along with accompanying videos and audio files.  California is ranked the second safest overall, after Hawaii, an island state. California also has the highest vaccination rate in the nation.

By Miriam Raftery

Photo: CC by ND via Bing

January 23, 2022 (Dallas) – Seeking to make generic prescription drugs affordable for all, Dallas Mavericks owner Mark Cuban has launched an online pharmacy that sells medications at wholesale prices to consumers at https://costplusdrugs.com/.

By Miriam Raftery

January 21, 2022 (San Diego) – Starting tomorrow, all people entering the U.S. at the Mexican or Canadian borders must be fully vaccinated, except for U.S. citizens, lawful permanent residents and U.S. nationals.  The new requirement will apply to both essential and non-essential travelers, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security announced.

January 20, 2022 (San Diego's East County) -- Our Health and Science Highlights provide cutting edge news that could impact your health and our future.

HEALTH

• How to get at home COVID tests reimbursed or delivered for free  (KPBS)
• COVID Deaths and Cases Are Rising Again at US Nursing Homes (NBC 7)
• How long can you wear your N95 mask, according to experts (CNN)
• United Airlines CEO: Before vaccine mandate, one employee a week died of COVID-19 (10 News)
• No, You Should Not Inhale Hydrogen Peroxide in an Attempt to Treat COVID-19 (Self)

SCIENCE AND TECH

• Airlines suspend U.S. flights in response to 5G deployment The Hill
• REvil ransomware gang arrested in Russia (BBC)
• More than 80 fact-checking organizations call out YouTube's 'insufficient' response to misinformation (CNN)

For excerpts and links to full stories, click “read more” and scroll down.

By Miriam Raftery

Photo credit:  USPS

January 18, 2022 (San Diego’s East County) – Every household in American can receive four free COVID-19 tests from the federal government. 

Orders are being taken online starting today at https://special.usps.com/testkits.

The rapid antigen COVID-19 tests will be shipped free by the U.S. Postal Service starting in late January.