COVID in California: Woman claims son was bribed with pizza to get vaccinated at LA school

Without mask mandates, how can Uber and Lyft drivers reduce their COVID risk?

The Chronicle’s Pandemic Problem advice column tackles a question from a reader who recently started driving again for a ride-hailing company and asks what can be done to keep Uber and Lyft drivers safe, now that mask mandates have gone out the window. 

Adults with young children were less likely to develop severe COVID, study finds

Adults with young children were less likely to develop severe COVID than adults without children, suggesting that exposure to their children’s colds could provide some protection against severe illness, according to a study published Wednesday by Kaiser Permanente researchers in Northern California. COVID-19 and about a quarter of viruses that cause the common cold are part of the coronavirus family. “Every parent knows that young children are vectors for cold viruses, and adults who are exposed to them at home or through their work report getting sick often,” lead author Dr. Matthew Solomon said in a statement. “But exposed adults often report they don’t get as sick after a few years. One possible explanation is that constant exposure to colds helps people develop some immunity to these viruses.” The study, which was published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, found that adults without children who got COVID were 49% more likely to be hospitalized and 76% more likely to be admitted to the intensive care unit than adults with COVID who had children under five years old. The study looked at medical records for more than 3 million adult members of Kaiser Northern California from two years before the pandemic through the first year of COVID.

Woman sues L.A. schools, claiming son was bribed with pizza to take vaccine

A woman who claims her teenage son was bribed with pizza at a school event to receive the vaccine against COVID-19 is suing the Los Angeles Unified School District. Maribel Duarte claimed at a news conference Wednesday that her 13-year-old boy, who attends Barack Obama Preparation Academy in South Los Angeles, received the shot without her consent and is suffering from unspecified side effects, according to TV station KTLA. “He is not the same anymore. He is lacking rest. He doesn’t sleep well,” she said. “He’s not normal to me.” Duarte added that her son, whom she said forged her signature, previously suffered from asthma and a bleeding disorder. She believes the vaccine exacerbated those conditions, despite scientific research that shows the shots are safe and effective. “This is not a conspiracy theory, this is not an anti-vax case,” Duarte’s attorney Nicole Pearson said. “This is about parental rights, about having the ability to protect your children.”

Millions of U.S. children remain unvaccinated as school year approaches

About 9 million children aged 5 to 11 years old are fully vaccinated against COVID-19, representing 30% of that age group, according to data posted by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. But fewer than 3% have received their booster shots. Among 12- to 17-year-olds, about 15 million are fully vaccinated, representing 60% of that age group, yet 10 million who are eligible for booster doses have not yet received their third shots. The vaccination rates for school age children are above the national average in California but millions of children remain vulnerable to the coronavirus as the BA.5 sublineage of omicron continues to gain dominance and protection from the primary vaccination series wanes. Bay Area health officials have renewed calls for families to keep their children up to date on their shots. “Ready for back-to-school season? Well, COVID is. Get your little ones vaccinated before school starts,” the San Francisco Department of Public Health tweeted Thursday.

UCSF’s Wachter says it’s “reasonable” to hope for lull in U.S. cases by early fall

UCSF Chair of Medicine Dr. Bob Wachter tweeted Wednesday that with no signs so far of a COVID surge in the U.S. driven by the BA.2.75 variant, it was “reasonable to hope for a lull in cases in early fall” across the country. If that holds true, it would mark a welcome break in what Wachter described as a “relentless pattern: new variants — each more infectious & immune evasive — replacing prior virus, leading to our frustrating case plateau.”