Vaccine Ramp-Up Squeezes Covid Testing and Tracing
The ability of California health officials to multitask in a pandemic will be severely tested as they scramble to find staff for vaccination sites while maintaining testing and contact tracing.
California Bureau
Visit for an archive of reporting prior to October 2025.
1,001 - 1,020 of 1,949 Results
-
-
Trump鈥檚 Pardons Included Health Care Execs Behind Massive Frauds
Those walking away free were facing years in prison for crimes of 鈥渦nbounded greed.鈥
By Fred Schulte -
California Is Overriding Its Limits on Nurse Workloads as Covid Surges
As covid patients flood California emergency rooms, hospitals are increasingly desperate to find enough staffers to care for them all. But some nurses worry hospitals will use the pandemic as an excuse to permanently roll back their hard-won nurse-patient ratios.
-
CVS and Walgreens Under Fire for Slow Pace of Vaccination in Nursing Homes
A federal program that sends retail pharmacists into nursing homes to vaccinate residents and workers has been hindered by bureaucratic hurdles and scheduling woes.
By Rachel Bluth and Lauren Weber -
Journalists Examine How Covid Polarizes Communities
KHN and California Healthline staff made the rounds on national and local media this week to discuss their stories. Here鈥檚 a collection of their appearances.
-
California Counties 鈥楩lying the Plane as We Build It鈥 in a Plodding Vaccine Rollout
In California, the largest vaccination campaign in U.S. history is run largely by the same overworked and underfunded local health departments tasked with covid-19 testing and contact tracing. It鈥檚 a daunting undertaking as the pandemic continues to surge.
-
Perspective
In Search of a Baby, I Got Covid Instead
As the pandemic raged, I made dozens of visits to a fertility clinic. Did I catch covid on one of those visits? I鈥檒l never know, but the guilt is still there.
-
California Budget Reflects 鈥楶andemic-Induced Reality,鈥 Governor Says
California Gov. Gavin Newsom鈥檚 2021-22 budget blueprint would direct billions in state covid assistance to schools, businesses and the state鈥檚 vaccination effort. But he didn鈥檛 propose more funding for the state's 61 local health agencies, which have taken on increased responsibility for testing, contact tracing and enforcement of health orders.
By Angela Hart -
鈥楶eer Respites鈥 Provide an Alternative to Psychiatric Wards During Pandemic
A growing number of 鈥減eer respites,鈥 nonclinical settings for psychiatric recovery, can help people in distress who mainly need to talk to people who understand their problems.
By Sarah Kwon -
San Francisco Wrestles With Drug Approach as Death and Chaos Engulf Tenderloin
Covid-19, distrust of police and cheap narcotics have turned parts of the wealthy city into cesspools of filth and drug overdose. City officials and residents profoundly disagree on what needs to be done.
-
In Los Angeles and Beyond, Oxygen Is the Latest Covid Bottleneck
The oxygen delivery infrastructure is crumbling under pressure in Los Angeles and other covid hot spots, jeopardizing patients鈥 access to precious air and limiting hospital turnover.
By Rae Ellen Bichell and Lauren Weber -
As the Terror of COVID Struck, Health Care Workers Struggled to Survive. Thousands Lost the Fight.
At least 2,900 health workers have died since the pandemic began. Many were minorities with the highest levels of patient contact.
By Christina Jewett and Robert Lewis -
California鈥檚 COVID Enforcement Strategy: Education Over Citations
Gov. Gavin Newsom said in July that California would target businesses that flagrantly violate public health orders. But the state鈥檚 strategy of education over enforcement means that businesses that don鈥檛 comply face few 鈥 if any 鈥 consequences.
By Angela Hart -
Q&A
鈥楴ine Months Into It, the Adrenaline Is Gone and It鈥檚 Just Exhausting鈥
A UCSF emergency room physician reflects on California鈥檚 response to COVID-19 and on lessons learned 鈥 or not 鈥 as the coronavirus makes its second devastating surge.
-
No More ICU Beds at the Main Public Hospital in the Nation鈥檚 Largest County
As some patients linger near death, staffers at Los Angeles County+USC Medical Center seek ways to expand capacity for a surge of cases that isn鈥檛 letting up.
-
Alzheimer鈥檚 Inc.: Colleagues Question Scientist鈥檚 Pricey Recipe Against Memory Loss
Dr. Dale Bredesen is a well-known, well-respected neurologist. But his colleagues think the comprehensive Alzheimer鈥檚 program he鈥檚 marketing through a private company is a mixture of free-for-the-asking common sense and unproven interventions.
By Linda Marsa -
Postcard from Beverly Hills
How to Pull Off a COVID-Era Music Festival
One woman鈥檚 attempt to create a festival celebrating diverse music ran up against the reality of the pandemic this year. But it also yielded lessons in how to reimagine events in the COVID era.
-
Picture Of Health
High-Poverty Neighborhoods Bear the Brunt of COVID鈥檚 Scourge
COVID infection rates in California are consistently higher in low-income neighborhoods than more affluent areas, according to an analysis by ZIP code. Our findings underscore the heightened risks borne by millions of low-wage workers whose jobs are deemed essential.
-
With Becerra as HHS Pick, California Plots More Progressive Health Care Agenda
Gov. Gavin Newsom said he has already begun discussing California health care priorities with Xavier Becerra, tapped this week by President-elect Joe Biden to serve as his Health and Human Services secretary.
By Angela Hart and Samantha Young -
Picture Of Health
Dialysis Industry Spends Millions, Emerges as Power Player in California Politics
Over the past four years, the dialysis industry has spent $233 million on both political offense and defense in California. Most of it went toward protecting its revenues against ballot initiatives, but the industry also strategically worked the corridors of the state Capitol.