COVID-19

KPBS Midday Edition

Vaccinations For Teachers, Police, Food And Farm Workers Can Begin Saturday In San Diego County

City News Service

Starting Saturday, the vaccination pool will open for about a half-million more people, though Supervisor Nathan Fletcher cautioned that appointments would not be immediately available to everyone who qualifies.
Health

Effort Underway To Expand Paid Sick Leave For California Workers

John Carroll

Right now, California mandates three days of paid sick leave for workers. But San Diego Assembly member Lorena Gonzalez says in the age of COVID-19, that needs to be expanded to two weeks.
Health

Biden Administration To Deliver 25 Million Masks To Health Centers And Food Banks

Rachel Treisman / NPR

Officials said Wednesday that the masks will be delivered in the coming months, and are expected to reach an estimated 12 to 15 million vulnerable Americans.
Health

FDA Says Johnson & Johnson 1-Dose Shot Prevents Severe COVID-19

Lauran Neergaard and Matthew Perrone / Associated Press

Johnson & Johnson’s single-dose vaccine offers strong protection against severe COVID-19, according to an analysis by U.S. regulators Wednesday that sets the stage for a final decision on a new and easier-to-use shot to help tame the pandemic.
Health

Not All COVID-19 Aid Is Spent. But Schools, Cities And States Say They Need More

Tamara Keith / NPR

Republicans in Congress question whether schools, cities and states really need as much relief as President Biden and Democrats want to give them. At the local level, people say they're desperate.
Politics

San Diego Unified School District Targets April 12 Return to Classrooms

City News Service

San Diego Unified School District leaders announced a targeted date of April 12 to allow students of all grade levels to return to the classroom.
Politics

Gov. Newsom Signs $7.6 Billion Stimulus Package

Adam Beam / Associated Press

The new laws will give at least $600 one-time payments to 5.7 million people while setting aside more than $2 billion in grants for struggling small businesses.
Health

HHS Nominee Says Pandemic Comes First But Agenda Is Broader

The Associated Press

President Joe Biden’s pick for health secretary, Xavier Becerra, told senators Tuesday that tackling the coronavirus pandemic will be his first priority if confirmed, but he also pledged to work to expand health insurance coverage, curb prescription drug costs and reduce racial and ethnic disparities in medical care.
KPBS Evening Edition

What You Need To Know About The County’s COVID-19 Hotels

Jill Castellano

Cody Dulaney / inewsource

Here are five key takeaways from inewsource investigation into a San Diego County COVID-19 program.
Health

History Repeats Itself: COVID-19 Vaccine Inequities Echo HIV Crisis

Eyder Peralta / NPR

People were dying of a disease that could be treated — but in poor countries, they did not have access to medicines that could help. That was the story of HIV — and now of COVID-19.