Several new testing sites run by a company called “Stop. Swab. Go.” are getting mixed results, and raising eyebrows.
Author Archives: Brian Krans
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Alameda County is facing its largest COVID surge yet
Symptoms among the vaccinated are mostly mild. But hospitalizations are increasing and officials fear hospitals could be stressed in the coming weeks due to omicron.
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Patients, workers maintain Children’s Hospital still suffers under UCSF
UCSF leaders say they’ve invested in the Oakland hospital, but local officials joined workers during a town hall meeting to express concern about the 2014 merger’s impact on Oakland patients.
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1 in 5 young children have received first vaccine dose in Alameda County
Heading into the holidays with rising COVID-19 case numbers, here’s how children can get vaccinated.
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FDA decision means 140,000 Alameda County kids now eligible for COVID vaccine
Children ages 5 to 11 are now approved to get Pfizer’s vaccine.
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No, wildfire season in Oakland isn’t necessarily over yet
This month’s rains helped tamper down fire danger, but experts say the East Bay is not out of the woods yet.
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Listen: Remembering the 1991 Oakland-Berkeley Firestorm
To mark the fire’s 30th anniversary, we produced a 30-minute podcast looking back at the historic blaze that forever changed how the East Bay looks at wildfires.
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Red flag warnings: What they are and why they matter
Oakland fire officials and Bay Area weather experts say getting residents to take the alerts seriously is an ongoing challenge—and has never been so important.
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‘We are in a race’: with delta variant cases spiking, Oakland continues vaccination push
COVID-19 infections and hospitalizations are rising and health care workers are trying to keep up through outreach in communities like Fruitvale.
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Oakland’s fire-fighting goats are finishing up their seasonal work
The herds, which are managed by the city of Oakland and East Bay Regional Park District fire departments, are nearly done with their annual munch-fest, which helps clear dry grass and debris from the East Bay hills.
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East Oakland residents oppose Walgreens’ decision to close store
With a month’s notice, Walgreens said it will close its 81st Avenue pharmacy next week. Residents, city officials, and health care workers want more time to prepare the community.
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East Bay health experts worry about Delta variant as the vaccination campaign continues
COVID-19 infections are increasing in Oakland and Alameda County, including in long-term care facilities.
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Noise, fire danger, fun: Oakland residents sound off on fireworks
An explosive Fourth of July is part of Oakland’s culture. But fireworks traumatize pets and pose a major fire risk.
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Oakland community leaders call on Alameda County to declare gun violence a public health emergency
Groups want officials to invest $100 million of new federal pandemic relief funding into Black and brown communities.
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California has fully reopened. What does that mean for Oakland?
Social distancing guidelines are out the window, but masks remain a bit of a gray area.
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Church’s pandemic-themed lotería game spreads vaccine awareness to Latinx parishioners
As demand for COVID-19 vaccines declines in Alameda County, outreach is increasingly targeting the hardest-to-reach communities.
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Don’t toss your masks: How to use N95s and other air filters for fire season
In Oakland, Berkeley, and beyond, it’s not too soon to prepare for unhealthy air days.
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Alameda County’s new COVID death toll is 25% lower than thought
County health officials reviewed COVID-19 death records and found 411 cases that were “clearly not” caused by the disease.
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Oaklanders getting vaccinated have $50, possibly more, coming their way
The state’s plan to pay people to get vaccinated is a strategy to reach community immunity more quickly.
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The Coliseum played a heroic role in vaccinating the Bay Area, even as it fell short of equity goals
Half a million shots later, East Oakland’s mass vaccination site has closed and the county is focusing on small “radically convenient” pop-up clinics.