Bay Area

New Vaccination Mandate for First Responders

Unvaccinated first responders will need to receive their first dose of the COVID vaccine by March 1 and complete their primary series no later than April 15. In addition, personnel will need to be up-to-date with a booster shot within 15 days of becoming booster-eligible to continue working in higher-risk settings and interact with the public. Stating April 15, unvaccinated or unboosted first responders will be prohibited from entering higher-risk settings or interacting with the public in the course of their work unless they have a qualifying exemption. First responders without a medical or religious exemption can no longer “test out” of vaccination requirements.

Published

2 years ago

February 21, 2022

Oakland Post

Marin County first responders were first eligible for the COVID-19 vaccine in December 2020.

Marin issues order directed to law enforcement, firefighters, medical personnel

Courtesy of Marin County

Marin County personnel in the fields of law enforcement, firefighting and emergency medical response must be fully vaccinated and boosted to work in Marin County’s higher-risk settings, according to a new Marin County health order taking effect at 12:01 a.m. on Feb. 10.

Recent COVID-19 outbreaks have been traced to unvaccinated first responders, according to Marin County Public Health records. As of Feb. 7, Marin County Public Health was managing multiple, preventable outbreaks in vulnerable, higher-risk settings. Those settings include those in which the first responders work with people who are at higher risk of severe illness, hospitalization, or death from COVID-19, including congregate settings. Among active outbreaks countywide, there is one at the Marin County Jail, nine at skilled nursing facilities (“nursing homes”), nine at residential care facilities for the elderly, and 19 at other group living facilities.

“These outbreaks have been amplified by contact with unboosted staff, an inadequate testing cadence, and a highly contagious variant,” said Dr. Lisa Santora, the County’s Deputy Public Health Officer. “It is critical to protect our public safety and health care systems from the Omicron variant as well as future waves of COVID-19 activity.”

First responders included in the Public Health order include police officers, Sheriff’s deputies, probation officers, part-time and full-time firefighters and emergency medical services (EMS) personnel, and those providing pre-hospital medical care. The order also applies to first responders who routinely interact with the public.

Marin has one of the highest COVID-19 vaccination rates of any county in the nation with 94.9% of those ages 5 and over having completed a vaccine series.

“While highly vaccinated, Marin County is experiencing waning community immunity,” Santora added. “It has been more than one year since many first responders completed their primary COVID-19 vaccine series.”

Evidence indicates that the Omicron variant is significantly more transmissible than prior virus variants and that individuals who have had only their initial vaccine series and are eligible for the booster are susceptible to the Omicron variant.

Santora said it’s critical to ensure all individuals working in higher-risk settings are both vaccinated and boosted when eligible. Protecting frontline workers from infection is essential to staffing our critical infrastructure, including public safety and health care systems. Individuals working in higher-risk settings can also expose highly vulnerable individuals who are at increased risk of severe illness and death.

For the time being, workers in those first-responder roles who are not fully vaccinated or not up-to-date with a booster must comply with the following if they have not tested positive for COVID-19 in past 90 days:

use a fit-tested N95 mask at all times when around other people, except when eating, bathing, or sleeping; and,
undergo twice weekly testing; and,
when practicable, avoid using indoor breakrooms or cafeterias and avoid eating indoors or sleeping indoors when others are present.

For more information, visit Coronavirus.MarinHHS.org.

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Oakland Post: Week of April 24 – 30, 2024

The printed Weekly Edition of the Oakland Post: Week of April 24 – 30, 2024

Published

2 days ago

April 26, 2024

Oakland Post

To enlarge your view of this issue, use the slider, magnifying glass icon or full page icon in the lower right corner of the browser window.

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Alameda County

DA Pamela Price Stands by Mom Who Lost Son to Gun Violence in Oakland

Last week, The Post published a photo showing Alameda County District Attorney Pamela Price with Carol Jones, whose son, Patrick DeMarco Scott, was gunned down by an unknown assailant in 2018.

Published

6 days ago

April 22, 2024

Oakland Post

District Attorney Pamela Price with Carol Jones

Publisher’s note: Last week, The Post published a photo showing Alameda County District Attorney Pamela Price with Carol Jones, whose son, Patrick DeMarco Scott, was gunned down by an unknown assailant in 2018. The photo was too small for readers to see where the women were and what they were doing. Here we show Price and Jones as they complete a walk in memory of Scott. For more information and to contribute, please contact Carol Jones at 510-978-5517 at morefoundation.help@gmail.com. Courtesy photo.

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Bay Area

State Controller Malia Cohen Keynote Speaker at S.F. Wealth Conference

California State Controller Malia Cohen delivered the keynote speech to over 50 business women at the Black Wealth Brunch held on March 28 at the War Memorial and Performing Arts Center at 301 Van Ness Ave. in San Francisco. The Enterprising Women Networking SF Chapter of the American Business Women’s Association (ABWA) hosted the Green Room event to launch its platform designed to close the racial wealth gap in Black and Brown communities.

Published

1 week ago

April 20, 2024

Oakland Post

American Business Women’s Association Vice President Velma Landers, left, with California State Controller Malia Cohen (center), and ABWA President LaRonda Smith at the Enterprising Women Networking SF Chapter of the ABWA at the Black Wealth Brunch.

By Carla Thomas

The Enterprising Women Networking SF Chapter of the American Business Women’s Association (ABWA) hosted the Green Room event to launch its platform designed to close the racial wealth gap in Black and Brown communities.

“Our goal is to educate Black and Brown families in the masses about financial wellness, wealth building, and how to protect and preserve wealth,” said ABWA San Francisco Chapter President LaRonda Smith.

ABWA’s mission is to bring together businesswomen of diverse occupations and provide opportunities for them to help themselves and others grow personally and professionally through leadership, education, networking support, and national recognition.

“This day is about recognizing influential women, hearing from an accomplished woman as our keynote speaker and allowing women to come together as powerful people,” said ABWA SF Chapter Vice President Velma Landers.

More than 60 attendees dined on the culinary delights of Chef Sharon Lee of The Spot catering, which included a full soul food brunch of skewered shrimp, chicken, blackened salmon, and mac and cheese.

Cohen discussed the many economic disparities women and people of color face. From pay equity to financial literacy, Cohen shared not only statistics, but was excited about a new solution in motion which entailed partnering with Californians for Financial Education.

“I want everyone to reach their full potential,” she said. “Just a few weeks ago in Sacramento, I partnered with an organization, Californians for Financial Education.

“We gathered 990 signatures and submitted it to the [California] Secretary of State to get an initiative on the ballot that guarantees personal finance courses for every public school kid in the state of California.

“Every California student deserves an equal opportunity to learn about filing taxes, interest rates, budgets, and understanding the impact of credit scores. The way we begin to do that is to teach it,” Cohen said.

By equipping students with information, Cohen hopes to close the financial wealth gap, and give everyone an opportunity to reach their full financial potential. “They have to first be equipped with the information and education is the key. Then all we need are opportunities to step into spaces and places of power.”

Cohen went on to share that in her own upbringing, she was not guided on financial principles that could jump start her finances. “Communities of color don’t have the same information and I don’t know about you, but I did not grow up listening to my parents discussing their assets, their investments, and diversifying their portfolio. This is the kind of nomenclature and language we are trying to introduce to our future generations so we can pivot from a life of poverty so we can pivot away and never return to poverty.”

Cohen urged audience members to pass the initiative on the November 2024 ballot.

“When we come together as women, uplift women, and support women, we all win. By networking and learning together, we can continue to build generational wealth,” said Landers. “Passing a powerful initiative will ensure the next generation of California students will be empowered to make more informed financial decisions, decisions that will last them a lifetime.”