Latest news with #EricaPan
San Francisco Chronicle
14-05-2025
- Health
- San Francisco Chronicle
The worst of avian flu outbreak may be over in California, health officials say
The worst of the H5N1 avian flu outbreak — which began in 2024 and infected thousands of birds and dairy cows and dozens of people in the U.S. — may be over in California, state public health officer Dr. Erica Pan said Tuesday. 'In California, we feel we've gotten through the worst of this,' Pan said during a briefing for medical professionals held by the California Medical Association. 'In fact, we have demobilized the active public health coordination response and will continue to monitor.' The Department of Public Health on Tuesday did not clarify what exactly the demobilization entails. The virus appears to have slowed in California and nationally, though it's unclear if some of that may be related to less surveillance or a scaled-back federal workforce doing less testing and information-sharing with state and local health departments. It may be that the state or nation is in a temporary lull that may pick up again in the fall and winter. This is because wild birds, the source of many infections, migrate north to Alaska and northern Canada to mate in the spring, and return back south in the fall. This may be why there was so much bird flu activity in the U.S. last fall, said UCSF infectious diseases specialist Dr. Peter Chin-Hong. 'We're kind of in a quiet period now,' Chin-Hong said. 'We aren't seeing reports of humans getting infected as much as we did in the earlier part of the year or late part of last year.' As of late last year, California was the epicenter of the U.S. outbreak, with about 70% of cases in dairy cattle and the majority of cases in people. To date, 38 of the total 70 confirmed human cases in the U.S. have been found in California. Most have been among dairy and poultry workers who experienced mild symptoms, with the exception of one Louisiana resident who died, and two young children in the Bay Area who recovered after having mild symptoms and had unknown sources of exposure. In California, the virus among dairy cattle peaked with 766 infected herds in 12 counties as of earlier this month. While avian flu is very deadly in birds, cows usually get milder symptoms and are kept in quarantine for a period of time, tested and released once they test negative. 'The worst thing we can do is forget about it,' Chin-Hong said. 'We need to continue to be vigilant. Just because we're not seeing much now doesn't mean that for the future.'
Yahoo
27-03-2025
- Health
- Yahoo
CDC to slash infectious-disease funding for states; California impact uncertain
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has notified the California Department of Public Health it is suspending grants it had provided to support the state's infectious-disease response during the COVID-19 pandemic. The directive was sent to all 50 states and will cancel roughly $12 billion in funding. California officials said they couldn't immediately say how the cuts would affect state services. "We are working to evaluate the impact of these actions," Erica Pan, the state department's director and state public health officer, said in a statement. The funding was awarded during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic to aid the state with its respiratory virus monitoring, testing and response, immunizations and vaccines for children, and to help address health disparities, Pan said. The cuts were reported earlier by NBC News, which quoted a statement from U.S. Department of Health and Human Services spokesman Andrew Nixon saying that the "COVID-19 pandemic is over, and H.H.S. will no longer waste billions of taxpayer dollars responding to a nonexistent pandemic that Americans moved on from years ago.' It is unclear how much funding the state had been awarded and how much is now being pulled, but a 2023 news release shows that the CDC awarded the state a $37-million grant to help strengthen the state's health infrastructure, workforce and data systems. According to the release, the grant award's start date was Dec. 1, 2022, and was set to last through Nov. 30, 2027. It couldn't immediately be determined how much of the award has already been spent, but much of it was designated to support county health departments, including the Los Angeles County Department of Public Health, Riverside County Department of Public Health, Long Beach Health Department, Orange County Health Department and San Bernardino County Department of Public Health. In addition, two other large awards were provided by the CDC to California in the immediate wake of the COVID pandemic: a $555-million grant during 2020 and $1.7 billion as part of the Coronavirus Response and Relief Supplemental Appropriations Act of 2021. The state Department of Public Health didn't immediately respond for a request for comment on what programs could be affected by the CDC's cancellation of funding, nor how the state's infectious-disease monitoring, testing, response and immunization programs could be affected. The Los Angeles County Department of Public Health received notices from the federal government that COVID-associated funding was going to be rescinded, a spokeswoman for the department said. It also received an informal notice from the state that COVID-related grants for vaccination services probably would be terminated. "In total, these actions to rescind ... COVID-associated funding will impact more than $45 million in core L.A. County Public Health funding," the spokeswoman said. "Much of this funding supports disease surveillance, public health lab services, outbreak investigations, infection control activities at healthcare facilities, and data transparency. We are working to determine the impacts of the announcement of the loss of this funding." According to 2025-26 state budget figures, Gov. Gavin Newsom allocated $5.1 billion to the state's health department; about $2.3 billion of that comes from federal funding. Although Congress initially authorized the money for state health programs as part of its COVID relief bills, it has since been allowed to be targeted to other programs, such as testing and surveillance for other respiratory viruses. California has been ground zero for the H5N1 bird flu since last March. Thirty-eight people in the state have been infected with the virus, most of them dairy workers who were exposed working with infected cows or milk. However, two of the people were children; the cause of their infection has not been determined. The virus has also infected 756 dairy herds; more than 75% of the state's total dairy herds. In addition, there have been eight measles cases since the beginning of the year, in addition to thousands of seasonal flu, COVID-19, norovirus and RSV cases. Pan said the state will continue to advance public health and work to protect people. "All Californians deserve to live in healthy and thriving communities, which is the role of public health," she wrote in her statement, saying her department is "committed to seeking the resources required to support the critical, lifesaving infrastructure needed to keep people healthy and protect them against infectious disease, vaccine-preventable diseases and health emergencies." This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.
Los Angeles Times
27-03-2025
- Health
- Los Angeles Times
CDC to slash infectious-disease funding for states; California impact uncertain
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has notified the California Department of Public Health it is suspending grants it had provided to support the state's infectious-disease response during the COVID-19 pandemic. The directive was sent to all 50 states and will cancel roughly $12 billion in funding. California officials said they couldn't immediately say how the cuts would affect state services. 'We are working to evaluate the impact of these actions,' Erica Pan, the state department's director and state public health officer, said in a statement. The funding was awarded during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic to aid the state with its respiratory virus monitoring, testing and response, immunizations and vaccines for children, and to help address health disparities, Pan said. The cuts were reported earlier by NBC News, which quoted a statement from U.S. Department of Health and Human Services spokesman Andrew Nixon saying that the 'COVID-19 pandemic is over, and H.H.S. will no longer waste billions of taxpayer dollars responding to a nonexistent pandemic that Americans moved on from years ago.' It is unclear how much funding the state had been awarded and how much is now being pulled, but a 2023 news release shows that the CDC awarded the state a $37-million grant to help strengthen the state's health infrastructure, workforce and data systems. According to the release, the grant award's start date was Dec. 1, 2022, and was set to last through Nov. 30, 2027. It couldn't immediately be determined how much of the award has already been spent, but much of it was designated to support county health departments, including the Los Angeles County Department of Public Health, Riverside County Department of Public Health, Long Beach Health Department, Orange County Health Department and San Bernardino County Department of Public Health. In addition, two other large awards were provided by the CDC to California in the immediate wake of the COVID pandemic: a $555-million grant during 2020 and $1.7 billion as part of the Coronavirus Response and Relief Supplemental Appropriations Act of 2021. The state Department of Public Health didn't immediately respond for a request for comment on what programs could be affected by the CDC's cancellation of funding, nor how the state's infectious-disease monitoring, testing, response and immunization programs could be affected. The Los Angeles County Department of Public Health received notices from the federal government that COVID-associated funding was going to be rescinded, a spokeswoman for the department said. It also received an informal notice from the state that COVID-related grants for vaccination services probably would be terminated. 'In total, these actions to rescind ... COVID-associated funding will impact more than $45 million in core L.A. County Public Health funding,' the spokeswoman said. 'Much of this funding supports disease surveillance, public health lab services, outbreak investigations, infection control activities at healthcare facilities, and data transparency. We are working to determine the impacts of the announcement of the loss of this funding.' According to 2025-26 state budget figures, Gov. Gavin Newsom allocated $5.1 billion to the state's health department; about $2.3 billion of that comes from federal funding. Although Congress initially authorized the money for state health programs as part of its COVID relief bills, it has since been allowed to be targeted to other programs, such as testing and surveillance for other respiratory viruses. California has been ground zero for the H5N1 bird flu since last March. Thirty-eight people in the state have been infected with the virus, most of them dairy workers who were exposed working with infected cows or milk. However, two of the people were children; the cause of their infection has not been determined. The virus has also infected 756 dairy herds; more than 75% of the state's total dairy herds. In addition, there have been eight measles cases since the beginning of the year, in addition to thousands of seasonal flu, COVID-19, norovirus and RSV cases. Pan said the state will continue to advance public health and work to protect people. 'All Californians deserve to live in healthy and thriving communities, which is the role of public health,' she wrote in her statement, saying her department is 'committed to seeking the resources required to support the critical, lifesaving infrastructure needed to keep people healthy and protect them against infectious disease, vaccine-preventable diseases and health emergencies.'
Yahoo
24-03-2025
- Health
- Yahoo
California kindergarten immunization rates remain high, CDPH says
( — The 2023-2024 report on vaccination rates for California students was released and shows immunization for kindergarteners in the state is higher than the national average, according to the California Department of Public Health. Video Above: Doctor explains dangers of the measles virus, encourages vaccination This comes as measles outbreaks and exposures have been reported around the world including Tuolumne County in Northern California. Nevertheless, California reports more than 95% measles, mumps and rubella coverage among kindergarteners, according to CDPH. Key findings from the 2023-2024 report include: In 2023-2024, 99% of public schools and 88% of private schools reported student immunization status. 94% of kindergarten students received all required immunizations in 2023-2024, compared to 94% in 2022-2023 and 93% in 2020-2021. In the 2023-2024 school year, only 0.1% of reported kindergarten students had medical exemptions, the lowest rate since 2015-2016. California vaccination completion rates among kindergarteners remain high and exceed nationwide rates in the U.S. 'California's immunization requirements for schools are helping protect children and communities from vaccine-preventable diseases,' said CDPH Director and State Public Health Officer, Dr. Erica Pan. 'With recent outbreaks of measles in other states, we can't stress enough how important it is to stay current with vaccinations. Sadly, the consequences of not getting vaccinated can result in severe illness and even death.' As of March 2025, CDPH has reported eight measles cases in California this year. All were linked to international travel to countries with current measles outbreaks. Initiative launched to show support to women in law enforcement According to CDPH, as of March 20 of this year, there have been 378 confirmed measles cases in 18 U.S. states. They confirm the majority come from Texas and New Mexico and are primarily affecting children who have not received the MMR vaccine. A person in Texas and a person in New Mexico have died due to measles. CDPH said measles symptoms begin with a fever, followed by a cough, runny nose, pink eye, and a rash. CDPH recommends getting the MMR vaccine to prevent measles, mumps, and rubella. CDPH also encourages people planning to travel to areas where measles outbreaks are occurring, to get vaccinated. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
21-02-2025
- Health
- Yahoo
More people are currently dying from the flu in California than from Covid
More Californians are dying from the flu than Covid right now, according to state health officials. The rate of flu-related deaths has shot up to 3.4 percent, compared to its 1.5 percent peak in years prior, the state's latest respiratory virus report found. Whereas, the rate of Covid-related deaths sits at 1.3 percent. There have been 11 pediatric deaths from influenza and just three from Covid in the state. The flu has also resulted in more hospitalizations than Covid, with the rate of new flu admissions more than four times the rate of new Covid admissions. 'Influenza activity remains high. RSV activity is low and decreasing. COVID-19 activity is low,' the report said. 'Over the last several weeks, we have seen an increase in flu cases and hospitalizations,' California Department of Public Health Director Dr. Erica Pan said in a statement. Grant Boyken, a spokesman for the agency, told The Sacramento Bee that the death rate in early February 2024 was only 0.4 percent. He noted that it's normal for the flu's severity to differ each year based on changes in the specific strain circulating along with 'other factors.' The University of California-Davis Children's Hospital in Sacramento has seen 'five or 10 times more influenza (patients) than COVID (patients)' in 2025 alone,' Dr. Dean Blumberg, the hospital's chief of pediatric infectious diseases, told the paper. 'This is a busy time of year, but we certainly have the capacity (to handle influenza cases),' he noted. Levels of flu across the country have been the highest for decades, forcing school closures and hospitals to restrict entry. Every one of the lower 48 states has at least 'moderate' levels of influenza, according to Centers for Disease Control and Prevention data. California has a 'high' level, while the neighboring Pacific Northwest is 'very high.' Since October, the agency estimates there have been between 29 and 51 million flu illnesses, between 16,000 and 79,000 deaths and between 370,000 and 820,000 hospitalizations nationwide. To greatly reduce the risk of contracting the flu, people should get vaccinated. 'As long as flu is circulating in our communities, it's not too late to get your flu vaccine, so we encourage all Californians who have not yet received their flu vaccine to get vaccinated,' Pan said. 'As a parent and a pediatrician, I ensure my family gets flu vaccine every year because I am confident the flu vaccine is safe and can help prevent serious illness like pneumonia and hospitalization.' Even for those who experience breakthrough cases, the vaccine can still have a benefit. 'People who get influenza despite vaccination ... recover faster,' Blumberg said.
