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Bay Area COVID-19 Roundup: 40% Of Vaccine Doses For State's Most Vulnerable; San Francisco Bar, Restaurant Owners Cautiously Optimistic

CBS San Francisco Staff Report

SAN FRANCISCO (CBS SF) -- With the demand for COVID-19 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 last 24 hours.


California To Set Aside 40% Of Vaccine Doses For State's Most Vulnerable Neighborhoods
SACRAMENTO -- California will begin setting aside 40% of all vaccine doses for the state's most vulnerable neighborhoods in an effort to inoculate people most at risk from the coronavirus and get the state's economy open more quickly. Two officials in Gov. Gavin Newsom's administration shared details Wednesday on condition of anonymity. The doses will be spread out among 400 ZIP codes with about 8 million people eligible for shots. Many of the neighborhoods are concentrated in Los Angeles County and the Central Valley. The areas are considered most vulnerable based on metrics such as household income, education level, housing status and access to transportation. Read More

San Francisco Bar, Restaurant Owners Cautiously Optimistic About Move To Red Tier
SAN FRANCISCO -- With San Francisco returning to the state's Red Tier Wednesday, the city's service industry has more flexibility and many business owners are feeling more confident. For some of them, the move to the Red Tier means opening the doors for the first time since the start of the pandemic. "Lost a couple of windows. Was painting every day because of the graffiti, because I didn't want to replace the windows until I was ready to open," said Chris Dickerson, the owner of Hobson's Choice on Haight Street. Read More

Experts: 17 Million People Cut From Biden COVID Stimulus Deal
WASHINGTON D.C. -- The Senate is expected to take up President Biden's $1.9 trillion coronavirus relief bill this week as Democrats hammer out the final sticking points in the legislation, including who will be eligible for a new round of stimulus checks. The Senate is not expected to vote to proceed with the bill Wednesday night, a Democratic aide confirmed to CBS News. Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer has pushed back against Republican arguments that the bill is too expensive, saying that the package was necessary to get the economy back on track. Read More

'We Have Confidence' About Fans At Ballparks On Opening Day, Newsom Says
SAN FRANCISCO -– Gov. Gavin Newsom expressed confidence that some fans could return to the state's Major League Baseball stadiums possibly as soon as Opening Day in April. Newsom revealed that the state is in "advanced conversations" with the league at a briefing in Long Beach on Wednesday. "We're working on the final details, but we've working very closely with Major League Baseball and others across the spectrum, working with local health officers and we will be updating those as well," the governor said. Newsom cited the state's improved COVID-19 numbers as a reason for his optimism about resuming in-person attendance. Last season, which was shortened due to the pandemic, was played without fans and cardboard cutouts of fans took their place. Read More

EDD Fraud: Feds Indict 2 In State Prison Scam To Rip Off EDD Benefits
FRESNO -- A federal grand jury has returned an indictment charging two defendants in a scheme that fraudulently used state prison inmate identities to rip off California Employment Development Department unemployment insurance benefits, Acting U.S. Attorney Phillip A. Talbert announced. The three-count indictment charged Jason Vertz, 51, of Fresno, and Alana Powers, 45, an inmate at the Central California Women's Facility in Chowchilla, with one count of conspiracy to commit mail fraud and two counts of aggravated identity theft. The indictment was unsealed and Vertz was arraigned on Tuesday following his arrest. According to court documents, Vertz and Powers submitted several fraudulent unemployment insurance claims in Powers and other inmates names to EDD. Read More

Santa Clara County Indoor Dining, Gyms Open For 1st Time Since December After Shift To Red Tier
MOUNTAIN VIEW -- Santa Clara County, the Bay Area's largest, entered the state's less-restrictive Red Tier on Wednesday, allowing indoor dining, exercising in gyms and fitness studios and watching movies in theaters to resume. "We miss our customers," said Hasan Yildiz, owner and chef of La Fontaine in Mountain View. "We miss those days, we miss parties and or meetings. Indoor dining, which hasn't been allowed since December, is now restricted to 25% capacity. Gyms and fitness studios are allowed to resume indoors at 10% capacity. Theaters are once allowed to reopen for the first time in nearly a year at 10% capacity or 100 people, whichever is fewer. Museums, zoos and aquariums can now also welcome people indoors at 25% capacity. Read More

Swollen Lymph Nodes After Vaccination Could Lead To False Breast Cancer Diagnosis, UCSF Doctors Say
SAN FRANCISCO -- In a growing number of women, a COVID-19 vaccine is causing some to think they may have breast cancer. But top doctors in the Bay Area say it may actually be a side effect of the shot. "And I could see a bump, a swelling," recounted Bay Area Veterinarian Dr. Emilie Ravn. After getting vaccinated, Ravn noticed a small lump in her armpit. "I did think to myself, should I reach out to my doctor?" she recalled. Ravn is far from alone. "We have definitely seen this at UCSF," commented Dr. Bonnie Joe, who is chief of breast imaging at the medical center. Read More

Basketball Star Jeremy Lin Speaks Out About Attacks On Asian Americans, Racism On Court
SAN FRANCISCO -- On Wednesday night, basketball star Jeremy Lin spoke out about the recent attacks on Asian Americans and opened up about his personal experiences with racism on the court. Lin, who grew up in Palo Alto and once played for the Golden State Warriors, is now playing for the Santa Cruz Warriors in the NBA G league. Officials with the league are looking into his claim that he was called "coronavirus" during a game. The basketball star told KPIX 5 he wants to promote the message of empathy, love and compassion. Lin first talked about his own experience with racism on social media, saying "We are tired of being told that we don't experience racism. We are tired of being told to keep our heads down and not make trouble." Read More

168,000 Doses Distributed At Mass Vaccination Sites In Oakland, Los Angeles
OAKLAND -- The mass coronavirus vaccination sites in Oakland and Los Angeles have administered first vaccine doses to more than 168,000 state residents in their first two weeks, according to state and federal officials. The vaccination sites, located at the Oakland Coliseum and California State University Los Angeles, are being operated through a partnership between the state's Office of Emergency Services, the Federal Emergency Management Agency and the Department of Defense. Both are part of an effort by President Joe Biden's administration to open 100 such mass vaccination sites within Biden's first 100 days in office and both have the capacity to administer upwards of 6,000 doses per day. Read More

COVID Vaccine Mobile 'Strike Teams' Take Doses To Hard-To-Reach Seniors Of CoCo County
MARTINEZ -- When vaccinations began, the elderly were given top priority and it hasn't been easy getting to all of them. Contra Costa County has established mobile "strike teams" to take the vaccine to seniors and the results have been remarkable. One of the "strike teams" arrived at the Hacienda Senior Living Complex in Martinez Wednesday morning. As they set up in the community room, the residents came down from their apartments and that is about as far as many of them can travel. "A lot of the clients that we're servicing don't have transportation to get to the bigger mobile sites," said Elizabeth Campbell with the Contra Costa Housing Authority, one of the partners in the vaccination effort. "The staff was willing to step outside and go directly to the homes of these clients. They wouldn't be able to get the shot any other way!" Read More

Ferris Wheel to Stay in San Francisco's Golden Gate Park Through 2025
SAN FRANCISCO -- Officials with the San Francisco Recreation and Park Department announced Wednesday that the SkyStar Wheel will be allowed to stay in Golden Gate Park until 2025. The Historic Preservation Commission voted unanimously Wednesday afternoon to issue a Certificate of Appropriateness, allowing Rec and Park to extend the current contract with the company that operates the SkyStar Wheel. The Recreation and Park Commission had previously approved the contract extension contingent on the HPC's vote. "Today's decision was a win for fun, joy, and common sense," said San Francisco Recreation and Park Department General Manager Phil Ginsburg. Read More

San Francisco Bayview Restaurateur Provides Community Support
SAN FRANCISCO -- A San Francisco businesswoman is making a difference in her Bayview neighborhood as it deals with a high concentration of coronavirus cases and a growing number of residents with food insecurity. Kristin Houk is cooking up more than good food at her restaurants Tato, Cafe Alma and All Good Pizza. "My idea in creating All Good Pizza was really to have a community-centric location that could support local nonprofits and entrepreneurs," she said of starting the first of her three eateries ten years ago. Read More

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