California

As COVID wave wallops California, new vaccines arrive this week. Will it be turning point?

Published

2 years ago

August 26, 2024

As COVID wave wallops California, new vaccines arrive this week. Will it be turning point?

New COVID-19 vaccines are expected to be available as soon as this week, a promising development amid California’s potent and enduring summer wave of the disease.

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration authorized the distribution of the updated Moderna and Pfizer COVID-19 vaccines for the 2024-25 season on Thursday. And in preparation for winter, when COVID typically surges again, federal officials said Americans will soon be able to register to receive four free tests in the mail.

Major retailers — including CVS, Walgreens, Rite Aid, Ralphs, Vons, Pavilions, Albertsons and Safeway — are already accepting appointments for the new COVID-19 vaccines, or soon will. Kaiser Permanente expects to begin administering the shots by mid-September, and possibly earlier in some locations.

The new vaccines have been reformulated in hopes of providing optimal protection against the most commonly circulating coronavirus strains, a process that can be comparable to development of the annual flu shot.

The arrival of the latest vaccines comes amid a surprisingly powerful summer COVID wave — the strongest in terms of infections since 2022. Increased circulation of new hyperinfectious subvariants has sickened many Americans, ruined vacations and weddings and forced people to miss work.

Coronavirus levels in wastewater are considered “high” or “very high” in 45 states, including California, as well as in the District of Columbia. Coronavirus sewage levels were considered “moderate” in Michigan, New Jersey, Vermont and West Virginia; no data was available for North Dakota.

Earlier this year, some of the coronavirus subvariants that succeeded last winter’s dominant strain were collectively nicknamed FLiRT — a play on some of the technical terms for their mutations. That group included a strain officially known as KP.2.

A successor subvariant, KP.3, had a different mutation and so was nicknamed FLuQE — pronounced “fluke.” An even more contagious subvariant, KP.3.1.1, had a mutation that was deleted, giving it the unofficial moniker deFLuQE, or “de-fluke.”

For most people, September and October are the best months to get vaccinated against both COVID-19 and flu, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Everyone age 6 months and older should receive updated COVID-19 and flu vaccines, and can get both during the same visit, the CDC said.

“The important part is getting it done,” CDC Director Mandy Cohen said at a briefing. “If September, from a calendar perspective, works better for folks, great. October gets you closer to the to the winter season. But the important part is getting it done.”

Dr. Cohen said Friday that peak winter hospitalizations for COVID-19, flu and respiratory syncytial virus, or RSV — a triple-header that has strained hospitals in the past — are expected to be similar to last year’s, or even slightly improved. But that forecast could prove overly optimistic, she said, if some assumptions end up being wrong — for example, if fewer people get vaccinated than expected.

COVID-19 continues to circulate at a very high level nationally and in California.

The rate at which coronavirus tests are coming back positive continues to rise. For the week that ended Aug. 14, 14.4% of reported coronavirus tests were positive in California. That’s higher than the peaks seen last summer and winter, and up from about 11% a month ago.

But depending on the region, “I think we are potentially seeing some indication of a plateauing of the summer increase in COVID-19,” said Dr. Demetre Daskalakis, who heads the CDC’s National Center for Immunization and Respiratory Diseases. Still, “we’re not out of the woods yet,” he added.

There are now 26 states, including California, where COVID-19 is projected to be “growing” or “likely growing.” That’s down from 44 states in those categories about six weeks ago, according to the CDC.

There are initial signs that the summer surge may be starting to peak in some areas, including Los Angeles County, although trends won’t be clear until there are a few weeks of sustained declines.

For the week that ended Aug. 18, there were an average of 421 coronavirus cases a day in L.A. County. The week prior, there were 484.

Out of all emergency department encounters countywide for the week that ended Aug. 18, 3.9% were related to the coronavirus, down from the previous week’s 4.3%. Last summer’s peak was 5.1%.

COVID hospitalizations are essentially flat. For the week that ended Aug. 17, a daily average of 478 coronavirus-infected people were in hospitals in L.A. County. The week before, there were 481. Last summer’s peak was 620.

“Given that this is just one week’s data, it’s too soon to know if these declines will continue or indicate if transmission has plateaued or peaked,” the L.A. County Department of Public Health said in a statement to The Times.

Coronavirus levels in the county’s wastewater are up, but that metric has a longer lag time than other indicators. For the 10-day period that ended Aug. 10, coronavirus levels in L.A. County sewage were measured at 87% of last winter’s peak. That’s up from the 10-day period that ended Aug. 3, when coronavirus levels were at 76% of the winter peak.

Overall, coronavirus levels in California’s wastewater have been largely flat in recent weeks.

Line chart shows COVID levels in wastewater. For the week ending on Aug. 17, the California level is 12.43, considered very high. Nationwide, the level is very high at 8.68.

In general this summer, emergency room visits, hospitalizations and deaths from COVID have been rising, but, fortunately not as sharply as during earlier waves of the pandemic.

“While the COVID virus continues to mutate and change faster than the flu virus, our underlying immunity from prior vaccines and prior infections provides some protection,” Cohen said. “But we know that protection decreases over time, and certain groups continue to be at higher risk from COVID and other viruses, and we need to continue to protect ourselves and our loved ones.”

COVID remains more of a threat than the flu.

“In terms of what is hospitalizing more folks and what is killing more folks, COVID continues to be a more dangerous virus than flu,” Cohen said.

Nationally, at least 50,000 COVID-19 deaths have been reported since October, compared with at least 25,000 flu deaths. CDC estimates on flu deaths will be updated later this year.

That’s why it’s so important that people get freshly vaccinated heading into fall, doctors say. Those at highest risk include seniors and immunocompromised people who haven’t been vaccinated against COVID-19 in more than a year.

As of the end of last winter, just 29% of seniors nationally had received the previous COVID-19 vaccination, according to data on a subset of Medicare beneficiaries. As of July 31, 37% of California seniors had received at least one dose of that vaccine, which first became available last September.

It’s not just seniors who can be at risk. “Remember … 80% of the adults in the country have some sort of underlying condition that could put them at some sort of increased risk,” Cohen said.

And the very young can be vulnerable, too.

“When we look at who went to the emergency room for COVID, we actually saw that it was highest for those under the age of 5,” Cohen said of this summer’s wave. “We can’t forget that at every age group, there are risks, including our young children.”

Each new infection also carries the risk of long COVID — in which symptoms, sometimes severe enough to be debilitating, can emerge, persist, resolve and reemerge over a period of weeks, months or years.

“I have a tremendous empathy, having seen people struggle with long COVID in their 30s and 40s, people who you might think were otherwise low-risk,” Dr. Peter Marks, the FDA’s vaccine chief, said Friday. There are estimates that getting vaccinated can reduce the risk of developing long COVID by 50%, Marks said.

People who might want to consider getting the updated COVID-19 vaccine as soon as possible include those who are older or immunocompromised and haven’t been vaccinated in more than a year. Those groups are at highest risk for being hospitalized with COVID-19 now, said Dr. Peter Chin-Hong, a UC San Francisco infectious diseases expert.

“I would love them to get protected, if they would want to go and get the vaccine now,” Chin-Hong said.

Another consideration is whether you are about to go on a trip, or planning an unmissable event or experience.

“Right now, if they want to prevent infection, it’s a good time to get something, because it’s so closely matched to what’s going around,” Chin-Hong said of the new vaccine.

Getting the COVID-19 vaccine now will offer good protection against severe disease through the winter, he said.

Chin-Hong said the best protection against infection is within roughly six to eight weeks after getting vaccinated — though that window can be wider if the vaccine is a close match to circulating subvariants.

Marks said timing is a matter of personal choice, but he already has his own vaccine appointment scheduled.

“Getting vaccinated now probably gives you the maximum amount of protection that you can get against what’s currently circulating, and that will last for several months at least,” he said.

The many people who have recently had COVID-19 may wait for as long as three months to get vaccinated, according to the CDC, as an infection in many cases imparts strong, if fleeting, protection against the virus — at least for a few weeks or months. But there are some reasons to get the vaccine soon after an illness, such as if you, a family member or household member are at high risk of severe COVID illness, or if transmission is elevated where you live.

And for people who just got vaccinated against COVID over the summer with the older formula, they can wait two months before getting the updated one, Chin-Hong said, “so October would be fine for them.”

“To me, the sweet spot is always October,” he said, as it’s closer to the peak of the late fall and winter respiratory virus season, as well as major holidays like Thanksgiving, Christmas and the New Year.

Another measure health officials recommend, particularly when transmission is elevated, is testing when you feel sick, or before events — especially if medically vulnerable people are going to attend.

Starting in late September, free COVID tests from the federal government will be available for order at covidtests.gov.

The CDC has also simplified recommendations on who should get vaccinated for respiratory syncytial virus, or RSV. The agency now recommends that all adults age 75 and up, as well as those 60 to 74 at increased risk for severe RSV disease, get vaccinated. Those risk factors include having chronic heart or lung disease, a weakened immune system, certain medical conditions like severe obesity and severe diabetes, and living in a nursing home.

The RSV vaccine is not annual, meaning people who got one last year don’t need to get another one at this time, the CDC said. Those who didn’t can get it on the same visit as their flu and COVID shots.

An RSV vaccine is also available for expectant mothers at weeks 32 to 36 of pregnancy to pass protection on to their fetuses. An RSV antibody is available for babies and some young children, too.

“All of these vaccines prevent the worst of these infections,” Cohen said. “That means fewer visits to the doctor, fewer hospitalizations, and more time to enjoy the fall and winter with family and loved ones.”

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California

California man charged with bringing explosives to Sacramento airport after repeatedly calling FBI tip line | CNN

Published

2 hours ago

June 4, 2026

Press Room

California man charged with bringing explosives to Sacramento airport after repeatedly calling FBI tip line | CNN

A California man was charged Tuesday after authorities say he brought an explosive device and other weapons through a security checkpoint at Sacramento International Airport.

Kimani Osayande Jones, who also uses the last name Jackson, attempted to bring an improvised explosive device, a knife and other bladed weapons, a torch lighter and zip ties through a TSA security checkpoint on May 30, according to court documents filed Tuesday in the Eastern District of California.

Officials believe Jones, 49, repeatedly called the FBI tip line to report he was being threatened and intimidated in the months leading up to the incident.

Sacramento County Sheriff’s Office bomb technicians safely removed the explosive device and tested its powder and fuse, both of which were determined to be “viable and energetic,” officials say.

Investigators said the device had the potential to damage an aircraft and cause a loss of cabin pressure.

Jones’ other luggage, which had already been through security and loaded onto an American Airlines flight to Charlotte, North Carolina, was hand-searched and examined by a canine unit upon arrival, and investigators said nothing “illegal or concerning” was found.

Jones has been charged in federal court with unlawful possession of explosive material at an airport. He faces up to five years in prison and a $250,000 fine if convicted.

His attorney, Meghan McLoughlin, told CNN in a statement: “There is often more to these cases than the government’s allegations, and that the criminal process will reveal Mr. Jones’ story as well.”

Multiple cell phones and repeated FBI tip line calls

The Sacramento resident went through security on May 30 wearing a face covering and blue latex gloves, court documents say.

When officers found the explosive device and other items in Jones’ carry-on bag, he told them he was unaware the items were in his possession and said “he would be okay with just discarding them.” When authorities informed him that explosive material could not simply be thrown away, he denied ownership of the backpack.

Jones also had five mobile phones in his possession. The cameras on each phone had been covered with painter’s tape, which authorities believe was intended to prevent his surroundings from being recorded.

One phone contained a 15-minute timer ready to start and another had a message from an unknown number on the screen stating, “we will be awaiting your call,” according to court documents.

An individual police believe to be Jones made approximately 13 calls to the FBI tip line leading up to the incident, beginning in March.

On May 24, the caller reported being followed to and from a doctor’s appointment and described what he said were threats and intimidation by another individual.

He said he was “being coerced in sleep to say certain phrases through digital media” and described “hearing sounds coming through walls, window panes, or even outside, attributing the outside sounds to drones,” court documents say. The call was ultimately terminated because of its “nonsensical nature.”

On the day of the incident, the same caller again contacted the FBI tip line, alleging that several individuals were threatening him throughout the past year through “cyber means.” He also referenced exercising his Second Amendment rights while denying any intention to harm others.

The Sacramento County Sheriff’s Office also noted it had prior contact with Jones, “wherein he had a history of being paranoid.”

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California

California may take weeks to finalize primary results. ‘This is normal’

Published

12 hours ago

June 3, 2026

Press Room

California may take weeks to finalize primary results. ‘This is normal’

Although results from California’s primary election began rolling in on Tuesday, June 2, it could take days or even weeks before the final counts are certified.

“This is normal … We have a process that by law ensures both voting rights and the integrity of elections, so I would call on all Californians to be patient,” Secretary of State Shirley N. Weber said in a June 2 news release.

The Golden State’s lengthy vote-counting process has “become a national narrative about California elections,” according to Thad Kousser, a professor of political science at the University of California, San Diego.

“In California, it takes a long time to certify votes, to verify the signatures, to then count the ballots; all of that process takes a while,” Kousser said in an interview last week. “It may take a while for us to learn who the top candidates who emerge are.”

Here are some factors behind California’s lengthy vote-counting process.

Mail-in ballots come with added verification step

With each mail-in ballot cast, elections officials must compare the signature on a returned vote-by-mail envelope to the voter’s signature on their voter registration card. Various factors go into determining whether the signatures match, including the slant of the signature, whether it is printed or written in cursive, and the size, proportions, or scale.

Vote-by-mail ballots were Californians’ preferred voting method in both the 2024 primary and general elections, with drop-off locations — such as ballot drop boxes and voting centers — the most popular way to return mail-in ballots.

During California’s 2024 primary, more than 7.7 million votes were cast statewide, and 90 percent of those were mail-in ballots. This means election officials had to verify the signatures on more than 6.8 million ballots before they could be counted. For the November 2024 general election, 80% of cast ballots, or about 13 million, were vote-by-mail.

Reviewing conditional voter and provisional ballots

California also allows for same-day voter registration, also known as conditional voter registration. Voters who need to register, or re-register, within 14 days of an election can do so at their county elections office, polling place, or vote center. These ballots will be processed and counted after the county elections office has completed the voter registration process.

In addition to conditional voter ballots, there are provisional ballots that must be verified before they are counted. Voters cast provisional ballots for a wide array of reasons, including if their name does not appear at a polling place or if they’ve made a mistake on their ballot. After a voter casts a provisional ballot, it will not be counted until election officials have confirmed that the voter is registered to vote in that county and has not already voted in that election.

Vote-by-mail ballots can be sent on Election Day

Though state officials recommend voters mail their ballots sooner rather than later, state law allows vote-by-mail ballots postmarked by Election Day to be counted if they arrive within a specified window afterward, thereby extending the tallying process.

For the primary, ballots needed to be postmarked on or before June 2 and received by county elections office no later than June 10.

California is, well, big

California is the most populous state in the nation. And, as of May 18, a record total of 23,155,447 Californians were registered to vote.

While not all registered voters are expected to have voted, county election officials estimate that more than 5 million ballots were cast statewide.

When to expect final results

Under state law, county elections officials are required to report the results for most ballots by June 15, or 13 days after the election, according to Weber. However, some ballots can take counties up to 30 days to count every ballot and then conduct a post-election audit.

State law requires county elections officials to report final official results to state officials July 3. State officials then have until July 10 to certify the results of the election.

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California

California’s race for governor and other key primaries remain unsettled as vote count continues

Published

22 hours ago

June 3, 2026

Press Room

California’s race for governor and other key primaries remain unsettled as vote count continues

California’s crowded, protracted gubernatorial primary is going to take a little more time to settle.

The race remained too early to call Wednesday morning with 50% of the expected vote counted, according to NBC News’ Decision Desk. Three main candidates — former Fox News host Steve Hilton, a Republican, and two Democrats, former Health and Human Services Secretary Xavier Becerra and billionaire activist Tom Steyer — are competing for two spots in the general election, with the candidate in fourth place, Republican Riverside County Sheriff Chad Bianco, running well behind.

Hilton had 27% support in the all-party primary with about half of votes still left to count, while Becerra had 26% and Steyer had 20%. Bianco was the only other candidate in double digits, at 11%.

In California, all candidates run on the same primary ballot in the primary and the top two vote-getters, regardless of party, move on to the general election.

It’s difficult to say when it will be clear which two candidates advance to the November general election, however, due to the state’s protracted vote counting.

And with millions of ballots left to count, other key races in California remain uncalled as well, including the second runoff spot to face Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass one on one in November, several House races that could help determine the majority next year, and more.

In the governor’s race, all three candidates rallied supporters around the state as the evening drew on.

“We’re not there yet, but it’s looking good,” Hilton told allies. “It looks very much as if Californians really will have the chance to vote for change in November and take our state in a new direction, a fresh start for our state, which is long overdue.”

But while Hilton was narrowly in first place when he spoke, Democratic candidates were capturing the majority of the votes.

Becerra looked back at his own “underdog story,” from his immigrant relatives to his bid for governor, which took some time to catch fire.

“Almost immediately, he’s counted out, an afterthought, overlooked by many, outspent by a ton, even called along the way to drop out and save us the trouble,” Becerra recounted to his supporters. “Well, guess what? The underdog stayed in the fight. Like my parents, I never gave up.”

Steyer struck a hopeful note in his election night speech despite a deficit in the vote count.

“It might take some time to figure out where this is going, we’re going to wait till every ballot is counted, we’re going to give democracy a time to work, and we know we finished really strong,” Steyer said.

Major battleground districts

GOP Rep. David Valadao’s district has been one of Democrats’ top targets for years, but two Democrats are locked in a close race for the second spot in the November general election against the incumbent.

School board member Randy Villegas, who won support from national progressives, has a slight lead over state legislator Jasmeet Bains, 30% to 26%, with less than half of the expected vote tallied in the 22nd District. Valadao is comfortably in first place.

And in Northern California’s 6th District, Rep. Kevin Kiley — who was elected as a Republican and switched to become an independent this election cycle, as he runs in another newly redrawn district — is bunched up in a tight race that includes Democrat Richard Pan, a former state legislator, and Republican Michael Stansfield. Currently, Stansfield is running ahead of Pan; they spent much of Tuesday night and Wednesday morning trading the lead, which could have significant general election implications.

Meanwhile, outside California, Democrats think they might be able to challenge for one of Montana’s red-tinted congressional districts this fall, after Rep. Ryan Zinke decided to retire. But less than 2 percentage points separate Democrats Sam Forstag and Ryan Busse with more than 85% of the expected vote tallied in their primary in Montana’s 1st District.

Read more about Tuesday’s House primaries here.

A safe seat battle to watch

Plenty of other House districts in California — and a few elsewhere — still have unsettled primaries, but one attracted particular attention due to how nasty the campaign got.

In Southern California, where two Republican incumbents are facing off in one district due to redistricting, Rep. Ken Calvert has advanced to the general election, but Rep. Young Kim is still battling for the second spot. She leads Democrat Esther Kim-Varet in the race for second, 22% to 16%, with about half of the vote in.

Who will face Bass in Los Angeles?

While Bass is projected to advance to a November runoff in Los Angeles, it’s not yet clear whether she’ll face Republican Spencer Pratt or Democrat Nithya Raman.

Bass has about 37% of the vote to 29% for Pratt and 21% for Raman so far, with approximately half of the expected vote tallied.

Speaking to supporters on election night, Raman, a member of the Los Angeles City Council, said that “tonight may not give us a final answer on this race.”

“Many thousands of votes will be counted in the days ahead, and we may not get an answer we like, but regardless of what happens next, nobody, nobody can take away what all of us have built together,” she continued.

Pratt, meanwhile, was looking ahead to a potential matchup with Bass when he spoke to reporters.

“Now I have five months to get deep into every community that hasn’t heard my message to make them safe,” said Pratt, a former reality TV star. “So I’m actually very excited, because I felt very rushed. It’s a big city, and I was not able to talk to as many people as I look forward to talking to.”

Bass also projected optimism, telling her backers, “We got a lot more to go, but so far it’s looking good.”

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