Local health officials are racing to get ahead of a newly discovered COVID-19 variant, worried about a potential increase in transmissibility and vaccine evasion. On Wednesday, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention confirmed one omicron case detected by UC San Francisco. The person returned from South Africa last week, is fully vaccinated and has...
COVID-19 Updates
Covid-19
Businesses in San Jose airport seek COVID relief funds
Vendors at Mineta San Jose International Airport are not seeing revenues return to pre-pandemic levels, and local lawmakers want to offer financial help. The San Jose City Council voted unanimously Tuesday to let city officials continue negotiations with airport businesses about how to dole out COVID-related relief funds. A city commission will also take a...
Santa Clara County administers first kid COVID vaccines
After months of anticipation from lawmakers and parents, Santa Clara County on Wednesday gave its first COVID-19 shots to some of its youngest residents. Hand-in-hand with their parents, a few hundred kids flocked to clinics across the South Bay to get the first jabs of the kid-size COVID-19 vaccine. The line for the clinic at...
San Jose kids could get COVID shots in a few days
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommends COVID-19 shots for children ages 5 to 11, opening the way to vaccination for approximately 167,000 children in Santa Clara County. A CDC advisory committee voted Tuesday to recommend the use of Pfizer’s COVID-19 vaccine for children. The agency’s director, Rochelle Walensky, has final approval, which experts...
UPDATE: San Jose delays vote on COVID-related funds
Millions of dollars in federal funds for emergency housing and food services still hang in the balance for San Jose. The San Jose City Council voted unanimously Tuesday to delay plans to give out COVID-related funds from the federal government. Nearly $40 million from the city’s $212 million American Rescue Plan money may go to...
Santa Clara County preparing to roll out COVID kids vaccine
COVID-19 vaccines for young children are potentially days away from being rolled out in Santa Clara County, a critical step to ending the pandemic. On Tuesday, a Food and Drug Administration advisory committee recommended a low dosage of the Pfizer vaccine for children ages 5 to 11, saying the benefits of the shot outweigh any...
A few high paid Santa Clara County officials give up COVID bonus
Thousands of Santa Clara County employees will receive a COVID-19 hazard pay bonus before the end of the year. Not everyone plans to keep the money. Assessor Larry Stone informed County Executive Jeff Smith earlier this month that he will donate his $2,500 bonus to charitable nonprofits, including affordable housing agencies and local art organizations....
Santa Clara County holds hearing on long COVID
Santa Clara County has led the way when it comes to managing COVID-19 infection. But now officials are grappling with a growing concern: long COVID. Long COVID is when symptoms continue for more than 12 weeks after infection. A recently published study by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention found that one third of...
San Jose business owners, nonprofit help provide COVID relief in Vietnam
As COVID-19 infections engulfed Vietnam and killed 10,000 people in September, two local Vietnamese-American brothers and a nonprofit sprung into action. David Duong, CEO of California Waste Solutions and a community leader in San Jose, has split his time doing business between the South Bay and the Southeast Asian country. A refugee who fled Vietnam as a...
COVID-19 booster shots available in Santa Clara County
Santa Clara County is ready to administer COVID-19 booster shots of the Pfizer, Moderna and Johnson & Johnson vaccines. Public Health Officer Dr. Sara Cody and Vaccine Officer Dr. Marty Fenstersheib spoke at a news conference Friday where they said booster shots are now available for residents who qualify. All residents 65 and older are eligible...