Coronavirus
Oakland Expands Free COVID-19 Testing Sites
The City of Oakland announced Monday a partnership with Allen Temple Baptist Church and the emergency relief nonprofit organization Community Organized Relief Effort (CORE) to open a new COVID-19 community-based testing site (CBTS) in East Oakland.
This site will also use the Baseline COVID-19 Program platform by Verily, an Alphabet company. Testing will be provided free of charge Monday through Saturday, 1:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m. Health insurance is not required.
If you work outside the home or are worried you might have COVID-19, get a test. The City has now partnered in three sites where residents can receive free testing:
Allen Temple, 8501 International Blvd.
Roots Community Health Center, 9925 International Blvd.
Henry J. Kaiser Convention Center parking lot, 10 Tenth St.
Hours of operation and other details vary by site. Residents can contact OAK311 with questions about testing at City-partnered sites. For information dial 311 (or 510-615-5566) or go online to www.oaklandca.gov/testing.
Appointments can be made using Verily’s Baseline COVID-19 Program, available at www.projectbaseline.com/COVID19. Persons need only create an online account, schedule an appointment and bring their ID to their appointment.
The Baseline COVID-19 Program is a secure connected solution to support individuals from screening through testing and receipt of their test results, which is done under physician direction.
COVID-19 is disproportionately affecting Oakland’s Black and Brown communities. COVID-19 death rates among Black Alameda County residents are double those among any other group, according to recent County data. The number of cases (infection rate) in the Latino community is three times higher than for white people in Alameda County, according to recent County data.
“As a proud member of Allen Temple Baptist Church since 1984, I want to commend Pastor Thompson and the church for continuing its mission of empowerment and public service in East Oakland,” said U.S. Rep. Barbara Lee.
Oakland City Councilmember Larry Reid said that East Oakland is disproportionately harmed by the impacts of COVID-19. “I want my community to know we see that harm and we are prioritizing East Oakland for testing locations,” said Reid, who represents the district in which Allen Temple is located.
“Allen Temple Baptist Church has a long history of serving God by serving the people of God, particularly those that are often overlooked. We look forward to the opportunity to work with our city, county and nonprofit partners to meet this critical need in East Oakland,” said Allen Temple Pastor Jacqueline Thompson.
“It is vital to provide access to free COVID-19 testing to all communities, but particularly communities of color who are being affected disproportionately by this pandemic,” said CORE Co-Founder Sean Penn. “To do this effectively, we take a community-centric approach and look to bring on local volunteers and prioritize local hires.”
There are additional test sites available to Oaklanders, in which the City is not an active partner. Alameda County Public Health Department maintains an ongoing list of all sites within the county, available online at http://www.acphd.org/2019-ncov/testing.aspx.
California Black Media
Gov. Newsom and Gov. DeSantis Go Head-to-Head in Nationally Televised Debate
Conservative Fox News personality Sean Hannity moderated the duel, during which the TV pundit, more than once, injected his opinion, and appeared to be providing subtle assists to DeSantis. As the debate progressed, it was clear that opinions about each topic discussed was representative of the philosophical and political chasm that divides liberal and conservative America, and a preview of campaign mudslinging that is bound to intensify as the 2024 presidential campaign ensues.
By California Black Media
In an intense, 95-minute-plus televised faceoff between California Gov. Gavin Newsom and Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis on Nov. 30, the men traded jabs and putdowns, defended their respective gubernatorial records, disagreed sharply on how to solve the country’s most pressing problems, and expressed clashing views on the performance of the Biden-Harris administration.
Conservative Fox News personality Sean Hannity moderated the duel, during which the TV pundit, more than once, injected his opinion, and appeared to be providing subtle assists to DeSantis.
As the debate progressed, it was clear that opinions about each topic discussed was representative of the philosophical and political chasm that divides liberal and conservative America, and a preview of campaign mudslinging that is bound to intensify as the 2024 presidential campaign ensues.
“I’ll tell you why I’m here,” Newsom said. “I’m here to tell the truth about the Biden-Harris record and also compare and contrast Ron DeSantis’ record and the Republican Party’s record” with that of California.
DeSantis blasted Newsom’s management of the COVID-19 crisis and criticized Newsom for prevalent crime, homelessness and deteriorating social conditions in California cities.
“You have the freedom to defecate in public in California,” DeSantis said. “You have the freedom to pitch a tent on Sunset Boulevard. You have the freedom to create a homeless encampment under a freeway and even light it on fire. They’re not the freedoms our founding fathers envisioned.”
Newsom took a jab at DeSantis’ presidential candidacy, predicting that the Florida Governor would be endorsing GOP frontrunner Donald Trump soon.
“There’s one thing we have in common,” Newsom said. “Neither of us will be the nominee for our party in 2024.
BayCityNews
FDA Updates Approval of Pfizer Booster Vaccine for Children Under 5
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration updated its approval Tuesday of the Pfizer-BioNTech booster vaccine, making it available to some children under age 5. Before this update, children under 5 were not eligible for COVID-19 booster shots. Instead, they received three doses of the regular vaccine.
By Eli Walsh
Bay City News
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration updated its approval Tuesday of the Pfizer-BioNTech booster vaccine, making it available to some children under age 5.
Before this update, children under 5 were not eligible for COVID-19 booster shots. Instead, they received three doses of the regular vaccine.
As of December 2022, children age 4 and younger who have not been vaccinated receive the omicron variant-specific booster vaccine as the third dose in their primary vaccine series, following two doses of the original Pfizer vaccine.
However, children in that age range who completed their initial vaccination series before December 2022 only received three doses of the original Pfizer vaccine, and are less protected against more infectious variants of the virus as a result.
FDA officials updated the vaccine’s emergency use authorization Tuesday to allow those children who only received the original Pfizer COVID vaccine to receive one dose of the bivalent booster if it has been at least two months since they completed their initial series.
Other children under age 5 are not eligible for the booster, although everyone age 5 and up is eligible for a booster.
“Currently available data show that vaccination remains the best defense against severe disease, hospitalization and death caused by COVID-19 across all age groups, and we encourage all eligible individuals to make sure that their vaccinations are up to date with a bivalent COVID-19 vaccine,” said Dr. Peter Marks, the director of the FDA’s Center for Biologics Evaluation and Research.
Clinical data has found that both the original Pfizer vaccine and the booster vaccine that targets the omicron subvariants BA.4 and BA.5 are safe for everyone aged 6 months and up and effective at preventing the worst outcomes of COVID infection, including serious illness and death.
COVID vaccines are available at primary care providers, retail pharmacies and some facilities operated by local health departments.
Copyright © 2023 Bay City News, Inc. All rights reserved. Republication, rebroadcast or redistribution without the express written consent of Bay City News, Inc. is prohibited. Bay City News is a 24/7 news service covering the greater Bay Area.
Bay Area
COVID-19 Response Grant Program
The City of Union City will be issuing another round of its COVID-19 Response Grant Program. The program has distributed approximately $620,000 in grant funds and forgivable loans to the community to respond to the impacts of COVID-19 and will distribute another $322,000 through this latest round of funding. The City will utilize federal Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) and CARES Act funds.
The City of Union City will be issuing another round of its COVID-19 Response Grant Program. The program has distributed approximately $620,000 in grant funds and forgivable loans to the community to respond to the impacts of COVID-19 and will distribute another $322,000 through this latest round of funding. The City will utilize federal Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) and CARES Act funds.
Grants are available through the City’s Road to Recovery Small Business Assistance Program and the Residential Rental Assistance Program. The City began accepting applications on March 6, 2023, at 9 a.m. and will begin reviewing applications (up to 50 applications for each grant opportunity) submitted on or before March 30, 2023, at 5 p.m. The program information and the online application are available on the City’s website:
https://www.unioncity.org/548/COVID-19-Response-Grant-Program
The City will be holding two informational/technical assistance meetings to support residents and businesses with their applications and respond to any questions. These meetings will be streamed via Zoom. See below for meeting information and Zoom meeting links.
Tuesday, March 14, 2023: 9 a.m. to 10 a.m.
https://unioncity-org.zoom.us/j/89061570160
Wednesday, March 15, 2023: 12 p.m. to 1 p.m.
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