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News Observer Bakersfield
Volume 48 Number 18
Serving Kern County for Over 48 Years
Observer Group Newspapers of Southern California
People Who California Sterilized Can Now Apply for Reparation Payments Tanu Henry California Black Media People who the state of California had a hand in forcing or coercing to undergo vasectomies or get their tubes tied are now eligible for compensation. The payments will come from a $7.5 million state fund. Some of those victims, both men and women, were sterilized without their consent or knowledge. “California is committed to confronting this dark chapter in the state’s past and addressing the impacts of this shameful history still being felt by Californians today,” said Gov. Newsom last week when he announced the program which began Jan 1 and is included as a line item in the state’s 2021-22 budget. The Governor’s office estimates that there about 600 survivors, eligible and alive, who underwent the now-illegal method of birth control either at state medical facilities or in prison. The survivors have until Dec. 31, 2023 to apply for compensation. $4.5 million of the fund will be used for payments evenly divided among people who apply and are approved. Each will receive a check for an amount up to $25,000 dollars. Another $2 million will be used for public information campaigns promoting the program. $1 million will be used to create and install commemorative plaques at locations where “the wrongful sterilization of thousands of vulnerable people” happened, according to the Governor’s office. Last year, Assemblymember Wendy Carrillo (D-Los Angeles) wrote and introduced Assembly Bill (AB) 1007 that proposed the program and served as the basis for funding the policy, which was included in the state budget after negotiations with legislative leaders. Carillo said the launch of the program represents a victory that “comes to fruition after decades of advocacy.” She also highlighted the fact most of the victims were low-income, living with disabilities, or were people of color. “We often discuss a woman’s right to choose, which includes the choice of becoming a mother, to become a parent. California’s eugenics laws have taken that away from many people,” said Carillo. “This is only the first step in addressing this wrong.” She was referring to the practice, legal in California, that authorized state-run healthcare facilities to sterilize people that they considered “unfit for reproduction.” “The compensation finally admits that California was in violation of human rights and reproductive justice. As a state, we must and can do more to recognize the horrific impact of eugenic
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sterilization programs on California families, and the devastating consequences of this failed attempt to eradicate populations.” California’s sterilization law remained in effect from 1909, when the Assembly approved it, until 1979 when it was overturned. During that period, an estimated 20,000 people were sterilized. In 2003, Gov. Gray Davis issued an apology to survivors. “California led the way in eugenics as legislation was copied across the United States and used as a model for Adolf Hitler throughout World War II,” according to a statement Carillo’s office released. State-sponsored sterilizations, however, continued in California prisons at least until 2010, according to the State Auditor’s office. That policy was banned in 2014. Survivors can apply for payments through California’s Forced or Involuntary Sterilization Compensation Program, according
to Gov Newsom’s office. The California Victim Compensation Board is responsible for administering the program. The board says the identities of applicants will be kept confidential and payments will not impact a claimant’s trust, or Medicaid or Social Security status or benefits. The state will also not consider compensation survivors receive as income for state tax or child support purposes. Gov. Newsom said the program is part of a broader state initiative to redress historical injustices. “While we can never fully make amends for what they’ve endured, the state will do all it can to ensure survivors of wrongful sterilization receive compensation,” the governor said. To apply, survivors should visit www.victims.ca.gov/fiscp, reach out to CalVCB at 800-777-9229, or send an email to fiscp@victims.ca.gov to obtain an application. They can also send a letter to P.O. Box 591, Sacramento, CA 95812-0591.
California Adds Twist to New CDC Advice on Quarantines Aldon Thomas Stiles California Black Media The Monday after Christmas, the Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) shortened its COVID-19 quarantine recommendation by half. That same day, Gov. Gavin Newsom announced on Twitter that California will follow suit, recommending a five-day isolation period instead of the state’s former guidance of 10 days. “California will align with the CDC’s updated guidelines for isolation and quarantine time,” Newsom tweeted. However, California’s updated guidance differs from the CDC’s in one important way. The state is recommending that people who quarantine after a positive diagnosis take a follow up test and get a negative result before ending isolation. The CDC’s guidelines do not include taking another test after quarantining. The CDC said its decision, in part, is based on science that shows people are most infectious during the first five days of catching the virus. In an interview with NPR, CDC Director Rochelle
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Walensky said another rationale for the new shortened guidance is the concern for keeping industries that are critical to the national economy operating. Sharing this concern, Delta Airlines CEO Ed Bastian, along with the company’s Medical Advisor Dr. Carlos del Rio and Chief
Health Officer Dr. Henry Ting, sent a letter to Walensky less than a week before CDC’s updated recommendation, requesting a fiveday isolation period for Delta’s fully vaccinated employees. The letter argued that the previous guidelines were out of date and did not account for vaccinations. It also argued that the former 10-day isolation period would hurt business because with the spread of the Omicron variant, vaccinated workers who do catch COVID-19 would be out for a longer period of time. “With the rapid spread of the Omicron variant, the 10-day isolation for those who are fully vaccinated may significantly impact our workforce and operations,” the letter read. “Similar to healthcare, police, fire, and public transportation workforces, the Omicron surge may exacerbate shortages and create significant disruptions.” In December 2020, the CDC shortened its previous recommendation of a 14-day isolation period to 10 days. California Black Media’s coverage of COVID-19 is supported by the California Health Care Foundation.
Redistricting Monitors Helped Protect the Black Vote Antonio Ray Harvey California Black Media An advocacy group that fights for fair political representation of African Americans in California says it is pleased with the results of the state’s recent redistricting process. Last year, the California Black Census and Redistricting Hub coalition, a.k.a. the Black Hub, led a grassroots initiative to ensure the state’s electoral map drawing process did not water down the voting power of African Americans across the state. Last week, the California Citizens Redistricting Commission (CCRC) delivered finalized maps for the state’s U.S. Congress, State Senate, Assembly, and Board of Equalization voting districts to the Secretary of State’s office. The maps of the state’s electoral districts -- updated once every decade to reflect the 2020 census count of population shifts and other demographic changes -- will be used until 2031 to determine political representation in all statewide elections. “All things considered, the (CCRC) had an arduous task. Continued on page A2
Commissioner Trena Turner (CBM Photos by Antonio Ray Harvey)
Take One!
Commissioner Derric Taylor (CBM Photos by Antonio Ray Harvey)
Wednesday, January 5, 2022
COVID case counts may be losing importance amid omicron By CARLA K. JOHNSON AP Medical Writer The explosive increase in U.S. coronavirus case counts is raising alarm, but some experts believe the focus should instead be on COVID-19 hospital admissions. And those aren’t climbing as fast. Dr. Anthony Fauci, for one, said Sunday on ABC that with many infections causing few or no symptoms, ``it is much more relevant to focus on the hospitalizations as opposed to the total number of cases.`` Other experts argue that case counts still have value. As the super-contagious omicron variant rages across the U.S., new COVID-19 cases per day have more than tripled over the past two weeks, reaching a record-shattering average of 480,000. Schools, hospitals and airlines are struggling as infected workers go into isolation. Meanwhile, hospital admissions averaged 14,800 per day last week, up 63% from the week before, but still short of the peak of 16,500 per day a year ago, when the vast majority of the U.S. was unvaccinated. Deaths have been stable over the past two weeks at an average of about 1,200 per day, well below the all-time high of 3,400 last January. Public health experts suspect that those numbers, taken together, reflect the vaccine’s continued effectiveness at preventing serious illness, even against omicron, as well as the possibility that the variant does not make most people as sick as earlier versions. Omicron accounted for 95% of new coronavirus infections in the U.S. last week, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported Tuesday, in another indication of how astonishingly fast the variant has spread since it was first detected in South Africa in late November. Dr. Wafaa El-Sadr, director of ICAP, a global health center at Columbia University, said the case count does not appear to be the most important number now. Instead, she said, the U.S. at this stage of the pandemic should be ``shifting our focus, especially in an era of vaccination, to really focus on preventing illness, disability and death, and therefore counting those.’’ Daily case counts and their ups and downs have been one of the most closely watched barometers during the outbreak and have been a reliable early warning sign of severe disease and death in previous coronavirus waves. But they have long been considered an imperfect measure, in part because they consist primarily of laboratory-confirmed cases of COVID-19, not the actual number of infections out there, which is almost certainly many times higher. The daily case counts are also subject to wild swings. The number of new cases recorded on Monday topped an unprecedented 1 million, a figure that may reflect cases that had been held up by reporting delays over the holiday weekend. The seven-day rolling average is considered more reliable. Now, the value of the daily case count is being called into question as never before. For one thing, the skyrocketing increase reflects, at least in part, an omicron-induced stampede among many Americans to get tested before holiday gatherings, and new testing requirements at workplaces and at restaurants, theaters and other sites. Also, the true number of infections is probably much higher than the case count because the results of the at-home tests that Americans are rushing to use are not added to the official tally, and because long waits have discouraged some people from lining up to get swabbed. But also, case numbers seem to yield a less useful picture of the pandemic amid the spread of omicron, which is causing lots of infections but so far does not appear to be as severe in its effects. Case counts have lost relevance, said Andrew Noymer, a public health professor at the University of California, Irvine. ``Hospitalizations are where the rubber meets the road,’’ Noymer said. ``It’s a more objective measure.`` He added: ``If I had to choose one metric, I would choose the hospitalization data.’’ Even hospital numbers aren’t a perfect reflection of disease severity because they include patients admitted for other health problems who happen to test positive for the coronavirus. Keeping track of COVID-19 admissions can tell doctors something about the seriousness of the virus and also the capacity of hospitals to deal with the crisis. That, in turn, can help health leaders determine where to shift equipment and other resources. Still, health experts are not prepared to do away with case counts. ``We should not abandon looking at case numbers,`` said Dr. Eric Topol, head of the Scripps Research Translational Institute, ``but it is important to acknowledge we’re seeing only a portion of the actual number of cases.’’ Ali Mokdad, a professor of health metrics sciences at the University of Washington in Seattle, said that for each new infection detected, the U.S. is missing two cases. But he said tracking the number of positive test results is still important as omicron makes its way across the land. Case numbers can point to future hot spots and indicate whether a wave of infection has peaked, Mokdad said. Also, case counts will continue to be important to people who are vulnerable because of age or health reasons and need a sense of the virus’ spread in their communities so they can make decisions about precautions, he said. Hospitals, schools and businesses need to plan for absences. ``To give up on knowing if cases are going up or down, it’s flying blind. How can we as a country not know the epidemic curve for infection?’’ Mokdad said. If testing has lost its relevance, he said, it is because the U.S. never developed a way to consistently and reliably monitor infections. ``It’s not acceptable to cover failure by changing the rules,`` he said.