Bay Area COVID-19 Roundup: Distributing Vaccine By Zip Code; Shortages Will Linger As Demand For 1st Shots Soars; Prep Athletes Return To Playing Field
CBS San Francisco Staff Report
SAN FRANCISCO (CBS SF) -- With the surge in new coronavirus cases beginning to ease and demand for vaccination growing, the information you need to know is coming fast and furious. Here's a roundup of the COVID stories we've published over the 24 hours.
Health Officials Using ZIP Codes To Boost COVID-19 Vaccine Equity
SAN FRANCISCO -- Hing Yiu Chung lives in a racially diverse San Francisco neighborhood hit hard by the coronavirus pandemic. While vaccines have been difficult to come by, the 69-year-old got one by showing proof she lives where she does. She had to wait in line for two hours with other seniors, some who were disabled or leaning on canes, for a chance at a couple hundred shots available each day through a local public health clinic in the Bayview neighborhood. "Fortunately, it wasn't a cold or rainy day, otherwise it would have been harder," she said in Chinese. The experience wasn't ideal, but targeting vulnerable ZIP codes is one way San Francisco and other U.S. cities and counties are trying to ensure they vaccinate people in largely Black, Latino and working-class communities that have borne the brunt of the pandemic. Read More
Newsom: COVID-19 Vaccine Shortages Will Linger As Demand For 1st Shots Soars
SAN DIEGO -- California is not receiving nearly enough COVID-19 vaccine to meet overwhelming demand and that won't change in the near term, Gov Gavin Newsom conceded Monday, and counties increasingly are using their limited supplies to focus on people who need second shots to complete their inoculations. About 800,000 Californians are fully immunized now but millions of others who are eligible have yet to get their first doses. Newsom said the state received just over 1 million doses of vaccine last week and the next weekly shipment will be only slightly larger. "We need to see that ramped up," Newsom said during a news conference at San Diego's Petco Park, which is serving as a mass vaccination center. "We're going to need to see more doses coming into the state of California in order to keep these mass sites operational and to keep things moving." Read More
'Feels Great!' Oakland Student Athletes Back On The Field For First Time Since Pandemic
OAKLAND -- It's not quite "Friday Night Lights", but for the first time in nearly a year, student athletes are on the field at Castlemont High School, getting a workout in with their teammates and classmates. The rules of engagement are strict - no pads, no helmets, no contact and masks on. Still, these football players are getting their first conditioning workout since the Spring. "It feels great, even if I can't tell half the faces or you know, do actual football things, it's great just to workout with guys that I've known for a while," said Skyline senior Ian Priclik. For teenagers stuck on Zoom all day long, they are finally getting a chance to release some of their pandemic anxieties, four days a week for an hour a day, thanks to these outdoor conditioning session. Read More
Playbooks For Scamming California EDD Benefits Easy To Find On Dark Web
SAN FRANCISCO -- At least $11 billion in unemployment benefits so far have gone to criminals instead of to the millions of Californians who desperately need them during COVID-related hardship Turns out it's not that hard to steal money from California's Employment Development Department. There are a number of different so-called "playbooks," and instructions for them are all spelled out on the dark web. One very popular type of scam is known as imposter fraud. That's what happened in the case of Gustave Hendricks. He works full time as a security guard in Bakersfield. So when he got a notice on his phone from unemployment he knew something wasn't right. Read More
Levi's Stadium Home To Largest Vaccination Site In California
SANTA CLARA -- On the eve of opening day, hundreds of healthcare workers and organizers held practice runs at Levi's Stadium in Santa Clara on Monday, to make sure the process goes efficiently when they begin vaccinating county residents against COVID-19. "We want to make sure as soon as they enter the gates of Levi's Stadium that process of checking-in and getting registered goes as smoothly as possible," said Nelda David of Santa Clara Valley Medical Center. The stadium will serve as California's largest mass vaccination site. The county has said it is capable of inoculating 5,000 eligible residents per day with the eventual goal of 15,000 residents a day at Levis' Stadium. But county officials confirmed last week a shortage in supply and there's no word on when it will receive more doses. Read More
Some San Francisco Affordable Housing Units Renting For More Than Market Rate Units
SAN FRANCISCO -- Tenants living in so-called affordable housing units are now in many cases paying more than their market-rate neighbors. These affordable units are not tied to the traditional real estate market fluctuations or rent swings caused by the COVID-19 outbreak and hopeful tenants like Christine McDow say they should be. McDow is about to graduate from Middlebury College from the comfort of her childhood bedroom in North Carolina where she also just landed her first full time job. "I'm going to be working at a consulting non-profit and the financial district," McDow said. Her new role will bring her to San Francisco, if she can find an apartment she can afford. Read More
Alameda County Educators, Child Care Workers Now Eligible For Vaccination
ALAMEDA COUNTY -- Health officials in Alameda County ramped up its COVID vaccination rollout plan on Monday, expanding who is eligible to receive the vaccine under the current tier. According to the Alameda County COVID-19 website, as of February 8, essential workers in education and child care (both formal and informal), emergency services including law enforcement and food and agriculture now qualify for a shot. Unfortunately, a shortage of vaccine doses continues to hamper distribution. One of the mass vaccinations sites will be at the Alameda County Fairgrounds, where tents, signs and traffic-control pylons have already been set up. Read More
Santa Cruz Co. Opens Watsonville Vaccination Site; Offers Shots To 65+ In Hard-Hit Zip Codes
WATSONVILLE -- A new vaccination site for Santa Cruz County residents opened on Monday in Watsonville. The new site, located in the council chambers of Old City Hall (250 Main St.), will operate Thursday through Monday 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. and offer 210 vaccination appointments per day. Currently, the county is offering vaccine appointments to all health care workers, residents 75 years and older and residents 65 years and older who live in the 95019, 95076 and 95077 zip codes, as those are some of the hardest-hit areas with higher COVID-19 positivity rates. "Vaccines administered to elderly residents are 300 times more likely to save a life than one administered to healthy adults under age 50," county spokesman Jason Hoppin said. Read More
Marin County Considers Barring Rent Increases Through End Of 2021
MARIN COUNTY -- The Marin County Board of Supervisors will consider adopting an ordinance Tuesday that would bar rent increases for the rest of the year. The ban would cover parts of the county hit hardest by the economic impact of the coronavirus pandemic, according to county officials. Proposed by the Community Development Agency, the ordinance would prevent residential rent increases through Dec. 31, 2021 in Marin City and northern parts of West Marin. The board will hear another request from the agency to help renters. The agency is seeking $7.6 million in Emergency Rental Assistance from the U.S. Treasury Department. The request would authorize county staff to consider the allocation and the process for distribution of funds. Read More
Stimulus Check Latest: Did The Timeline For Another Economic Relief Payment Just Get Shorter?
WASHINGTON -- The next stimulus check isn't a foregone conclusion, but everything seems to be falling into place. The $1,400 direct payment would be an important component of the $1.9 trillion economic relief package proposed by President Joe Biden. The American Rescue Plan, in its current form, would also include more unemployment benefits, an improved child tax credit and additional aid for millions of Americans in dire economic straits because of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. While a third economic relief payment moves closer to bank accounts, the timeline remains uncertain. The Democrats continue to lay the groundwork for passing a sizeable stimulus package with a nearly party-line vote and a simple majority in the Senate. Read More
Texas Representative Ron Wright Dies After Contracting COVID-19
NORTH TEXAS -- North Texas Republican Congressman Ron Wright has died. Wright, who had been battling lung cancer since 2020 and recently contracted COVID-19, died Sunday night. After announcing that he had tested positive for the virus more than two weeks ago, Wright confirmed that he had been in quarantine since January 15. One of his last statements said that he was 'experiencing minor symptoms,' was overall felling 'okay', and would continue working from home. A statement released on behalf of the family said, in part -- "Over the past few years, Congressman Wright had kept a rigorous work schedule on the floor of the U.S. House of Representatives and at home in Texas' Congressional District 6 while being treated for cancer." Read More
