Desperately searching for a COVID treatment
Good Morning, I’m Matt Hoffman. It’s Tuesday March 29th.>>>>
Having COVID-19 treatments available for the high risk
More on that next. But first... let’s do the headlines….######
The California assembly has approved a bill that would extend eviction protections for millions of renters. Current protections are set to expire this week. The extension would not allow landlords to evict tenants waiting for rental assistance. The bill now heads to the state senate for a vote.
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With more Ukrainian refugees expected to arrive in San Diego, one county supervisor is calling for more federal assistance. Supervisor Joel Anderson wrote a letter to President Joe Biden asking for financial aid to help Afghan and Ukrainian refugees here.. The president said last week 100,000 Ukrainians would be coming to the U.S.. County Supervisor Nathan Fletcher says San Diego will be joining other regions in welcoming the refugees.
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This evening is the state of San Diego County address.. Supervisors Chair Nathan Fletcher will be delivering remarks about where the county is heading. Fletcher says the address will focus on issues that matter mosthomelessness, housing, mental health and public safety. In addition to sign language, the address will be translated into multiple languages. It’s scheduled to start just after six pm and will be streamed live on the KPBS Youtube page.
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From KPBS, you’re listening to San Diego News Now.Stay with me for more of the local news you need.
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There’s a recently available drug for San Diegans whose immune systems are not able fight COVID, but for some, access is an issue. I spoke with one local resident who is anxiously trying to get her hands on Evusheld. (ehv-yoo-SHELD)
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So I have what they call a primary immune deficiency
We spoke with a San Diego woman who lives with a compromised immune system. She didn’t want to use her name.. But says Her condition has been with her since childhood.
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I had two surgeries before I was 18 for sinus infections that had gotten so bad they couldn't treat them with antibiotics. I think most of highschool i was on preventative antibiotics cause i was sick so often
Something as simple as a cold can send her to the hospital.. And like others who are immunocompromised, she doesn’t respond well or at all to vaccines. To counter that she gets monthly antibody infusions to beef up her immune system… When the pandemic hit, the San Diego resident didn’t know what to think.
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I was terrified honestly I was like oh gosh because H1N1 was the last pandemic and I ended up in the hospital seriously ill and I’m like well I guess im going to die
She got good news in December. A new drug called Evusheld is a preventative antibody therapy proven to give the same protection that healthy people get from COVID-19 vaccines.
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It was given the emergency use authorization, I was so excited I was I thought finally I can maybe -- like I have nieces and nephews that live across the country and maybe I can go visit them and you know my parents are older and I haven’t seen my dad (starts crying) since the pandemic began. Um and I’d really love to go visit him. Sorry, that one is actually hard I really love to visit my dad and I would love to do it and feel safe and feel not scared or feel like if I did get it there’s a very good chance that I wouldn’t get very sick - but I just don’t have that assurance right now. It’s hard
She’s been medically eligible for Evusheld for months, and even though she needs it, she hasn’t been able to get it. Her doctor is in Los Angeles and can’t get access.. She was excited to hear San Diego County Medical Director Dr. Seema Shah recently putting out the call for treatment requests.
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There’s definitely increasing demand but not at the rate at which we would like to see it. And that’s really why getting that message out that if you’re immune compromised talk to your doctor get referred, get your evusheld
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Wait, it’s available? Like it’s just sitting there they want us to get it?
She tried to get Evusheld locally at UC San Diego Health, but was disappointed to find out that they and other hospitals are reserving doses for their patients. She could become one, but that would mean starting a new care plan with a new doctor. San Diego County officials control the local distribution for Evusheld.. The bulk of doses go to major hospital systems, like UCSD Health, Kaiser and Scripps. Other health care systems have limited supply.
0:41.120 Ramers
Health care in San Diego is a little bit siloed and there are four or five large systems, but also a lot of people that have private physicians and they are kind of lost here and so we’re happy to serve that role
Christian Ramers is chief of population health at Family health Centers of San Diego.. It’s one place that takes outside referrals for Evusheld.
4:25.463 Ramers
People from all over the place who are immunocompromised and just cant get it within their system and in the same way we want to help them. We’ve had people come down from large transplant centers in Los Angeles who for whatever reason can’t get it and we’ve had inquiries from out of state
The county is working to expand awareness about evusheld, but the current system doesn't work for everyone.
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I actually found an infusion center in Oakland
The San Diego resident is not waiting around and is taking time off work to get the treatment in Northern California.. It’s not her preferred option, but sees it as the only way to get the same protection that vaccinated people have.
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I feel like you know the shot was free for everybody, I feel like then we should also make this really easily accessible for everyone who is immune deficient and needs it so that way they are protected and have the same equal protection as a vaccinated person beside them.
federal data shows UC San Diego health has access to the most doses of evusheld, however they aren’t available to everyone who is immunocompromised. UCSD Health officials say they are working with the county to develop an open referral process, but that system isn’t in place yet.
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A controversial federal jail in downtown San Diego was given a last-minute extension to stay open for another 90 days. inewsource investigative reporter Jill Castellano has the story.
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CASTELLANO: Western Region Detention Facility was preparing to shut down on Thursday following Joe Biden’s executive order to phase out private prisons.
CASTELLANO: In recent weeks, most of the detainees were transferred to other facilities, and staff received termination letters.
CASTELLANO: The decision to keep the jail open came unexpectedly late last week. It was a surprise to Cassandra Lopez, a federal public defender whose office has many clients at Western Region.
CASTELLANO: Lopez says Biden’s executive order, which points to poor living conditions in private prisons, is justified.
LOPEZ: “We believe the administration’s concerns that they raise in the memo are well-founded.”
CASTELLANO: Randy Erwin, president of the federal employees union, considers the news a victory for the 300 San Diego workers at risk of losing their jobs.
ERWIN: “They are facing something that is kind of crushing for them, but I mean, I have never seen people so motivated to carry on this fight to the bitter end.”
CASTELLANO: The Marshals Service would not explain what will happen in 90 days, when the jail’s closing date approaches again.
CASTELLANO: For KPBS, I’m inewsource investigative reporter Jill Castellano.
TAG: inewsource is an independently funded nonprofit partner of KPBS.
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Better roads and highways... more help for the homeless... and even a new port of entry at the border... just some of the things San Diego leaders are lobbying for right now in Washington, D-C. KPBS reporter Kitty Alvarado has the story.
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TAKE PKG GLORIA DC TRT
A DELEGATION OF OVER 170 LOCAL AND REGIONAL SAN DIEGO ELECTED OFFICIALS, BUSINESS AND NON PROFIT LEADERS WENT TO WASHINGTON DC TO LOBBY FOR INFRASTRUCTURE DOLLARS. THE YEARLY TRIP IS ORGANIZED BY SAN DIEGO’S REGIONAL CHAMBER OF COMMERCE.
These are big city ideas,
SAN DIEGO MAYOR TODD GLORIA SAID IN A NEWS CONFERENCE THEY HAVE DOZENS OF MEETINGS WITH FEDERAL LEADERS TO MAKE THE CASE FOR THE URGENT NEEDS OF THE REGION. HE AND SEVERAL OTHER DELEGATION MEMBERS ALREADY MET WITH TRANSPORTATION SECRETARY PETE BUTTIGEIG.
A conversation with chair with are having this morning Secretary Buttigeig was really about not just shovel ready but shovel worthy and kind of a notion we want to plan for projects that are going to have transformational change
CATHERINE BLAKESPEAR, THE MAYOR OF ENCINITAS WHO IS ALSO ON THE SANDAG BOARD OR THE REGIONAL GOVERNMENTS PLANNING AGENCY SAYS FUNDING A THIRD PORT OF ENTRY IN OTAY MESA IS A TOP PRIORITY FOR THE DELEGATION
California and Baja California are home to the busiest land ports of entry in the western hemisphere. Border wait times have a significant impacts on our region and are causing challenges for our economy and our air quality and also quality of life for everybody who lives in the area.
GLORIA SAYS HOMELESSNESS AND AFFORDABLE HOUSING IS ALSO AT THE TOP OF THE LIST
Let me be extremely clear in a nation, state and city as wealthy as San Diego, California in the United States we shouldn’t have any homeless people
HE SAYS SECURING FUNDING FOR HUD, NEW HOUSING PROJECTS AND HOUSING ASSISTANCE WILL NOT JUST HELP SHELTER THE MORE THAN 8,000 SAN DIEGANS WHO ARE ON THE STREETS NOW BUT ALSO HELP THE MORE THAN A MILLION PEOPLE WHO ARE RENT INSECURE, AND FAMILIES LIVE THEIR AMERICAN DREAMS IN SAN DIEGO
We want people who are hard working and contributing to our economy to see a future for themselves in San Diego that is economic prosperity, that is success. And that’s why we’re working so hard to bring the both the infrastructure and housing dollars back to San Diego
GLORIA SAID MEMBERS OF THE CONGRESSIONAL DELEGATION HAVE SECURED OVER $107 MILLION DOLLARS IN THE LATEST BUDGET TO FUND COMMUNITY PROJECTS. KITTY ALVARADO KPBS NEWS
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THE SON OF FORMER SAN DIEGO COUNTY REPUBLICAN PARTY CHAIRMAN TONY KRVARIC ENGAGED IN MISCONDUCT. THAT’S ACCORDING TO A MARINE CORPS INVESTIGATION INTO WHETHER VICTOR KVARIC, A RESERVIST, TRIED TO JOIN A NEO NAZI GROUP. KPBS’S AMITA SHARMA HAS MORE.
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Marine Folo 1 :40. SOQ
The Marines were tight-lipped about what exactly they discovered in their probe of whether 21-year-old Victor Krvaric applied to be in the neo Nazi group Patriot Front. In a short written statement, Marine spokesman Lt. Col. Craig Thomas said, “the investigation concluded misconduct had occurred and the command has taken disciplinary actions.” He would not say what the discipline was.
In any case, Krvaric may not be in the Marine reserves for long. Lt. Col. Thomas says Krvaric was already being processed for a discharge for prior misconduct unrelated to white supremacy. Amita Sharma, KPBS News.
The Marines’ completion of its investigation into Victor Krvaric.
Coming up.... Everyone has a pandemic story, we’ll hear how COVID has impacted the lives of two San Diegans, after the break.
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Two years ago this week, we were in the early days of pandemic restrictions.. Now many San Diegans are taking off their masks and returningto lives that look more like they did before the pandemic. But, that doesn’t mean the pandemic hasn’t changed our lives. KPBS Midday Edition producer Emilyn Mohebbi brings you two of those stories today.
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That story was produced by Emilyn Mohebbi. Join us tomorrow to hear, more pandemic stories.
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That’s it for the podcast today. As always you can find more San Diego news online at KPBS dot org. I’m Matt Hoffman. Thanks for listening and have a great day.
