Month: September 2021

A COVID-19 outbreak inside the Monterey County Jail has quadrupled in size since it was first reported Monday afternoon.The number of inmates now testing is at 130, up from just 29 a few days ago.“The ultimate goal is to get this thing on the downhill side and get it decreased because we've been down to zero before,” said department spokesman, Derrell Simpson.Jail staff continues to try and eliminate as much outside influence as they can; jail visits are suspended, court appearances are back on zoom, and inmates are eating off disposable trays.Those testing positive continue to be quarantined and COVID-19 testing is ongoing. Administrators admit the problem is likely to get worse before getting better.“If there's 50 people living in an area and one of them contracts COVID, 49 of them...

This electron microscope file image made available and color-enhanced by the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases Integrated Research Facility in Fort Detrick, Md., shows Novel Coronavirus SARS-CoV-2 virus particles, orange, isolated from a patient. (NIAID/National Institutes of Health via AP) (StudyFinds.org) – Recent COVID-19 variants are much more adept at airborne transmission than the original version of the coronavirus, according to a new study. University of Maryland researchers analyzed the Alpha variant first identified in the United Kingdom and discovered that carriers breathe out 43 to 100 times more infectious viral aerosols than those infected with the original strain. On a positive note, study authors say cert...

A dose of Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine is readied at a mobile vaccine clinic in Los Angeles. (Irfan Khan / Los Angeles Times)Amid persistent concerns that the protection offered by COVID-19 vaccines may be waning, a report released Friday by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention finds that America's workhorse shot is significantly less effective at preventing severe cases of disease over the long term than many experts had realized. Data collected from 18 states between March and August suggest the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine reduces the risk of being hospitalized with COVID-19 by 91% in the first four months after receiving the second dose. Beyond 120 days, however, that vaccine efficacy drops to 77%. Meanwhile, Moderna's vaccine was 93% effective at reducing the short-term ris...

Los Angeles County soon will require proof of COVID-19 vaccination or a recent negative coronavirus test to enter Dodger and SoFi stadiums as well as Major League Soccer venues for events with more than 10,000 people. L.A. County Public Health Director Barbara Ferrer confirmed Friday that those venues, as well as any outdoor setting where there are more than 10,000 attendees, would be subject to the new, stricter vaccine-or-test requirements that will be imposed beginning next month. Starting Oct. 7 at 11:59 p.m., guests age 12 and over will need to show either proof of vaccination or a negative result from a diagnostic test taken less than 72 hours before the event. Ferrer said the vaccine-or-test requirement will apply to venues such as stadiums, arenas and theme parks. It wouldn’t come...