California Coronavirus Updates: Run to Feed The Hungry Returns After Being Held Virtually Last Year – Capital Public Radio News

Find an updated count of COVID-19 cases in California and by county on our tracker here.

Run to Feed the Hungry returns after being held virtually last year

Fauci says not enough Americans vaccinated to 'crush the outbreak'

What to know about the delta variant

More than 110 million COVID-19 vaccines sent abroad to over 60 countries

COVID-19 By The Numbers

5:50 p.m.: Run to Feed the Hungry returns after being held virtually last year

A Sacramento Thanksgiving tradition is set to return this year. Organizers say Run to Feed the Hungry is coming back after being held virtually last year because of COVID restrictions.

The race's return wasn't officially declared until today, but somehow word leaked out to eager runners.

"We actually launched registration at midnight and people are already registering before we even announced it this morning," said Melanie Flood with Sacramento Food Bank and Family Services.

The nonprofit puts the race on as a fundraiser generating nearly a million dollars. Thousands of people participate, running and walking in either a 5K or 10K through the streets of East Sacramento.

Flood says the decision to bring the run back aligns with CDC guidelines.

"In the worst case scenario, if we had to cancel the race and we weren't allowed to have an event such as this, we would still hold it virtually like we did last year, she said.

Registration will stay open through race day - November 25th.

10:15 a.m.: Fauci says not enough Americans vaccinated to 'crush the outbreak'

The nations top infectious disease expert is warning that more pain and suffering is ahead as COVID-19 cases climb again and officials plead with unvaccinated Americans to get inoculated, according to the Associated Press.

Dr. Anthony Fauci also said on ABCs This Week that he doesnt foresee additional U.S. lockdowns because he believes enough people are vaccinated to avoid a recurrence of last winter.

However, he said theres not nearly enough people who are inoculated to crush the outbreak. Currently, 58% of Americans 12 years and older are fully vaccinated.

The silver lining is that U.S. vaccinations are up 56% in the last two weeks, according to the National Institutes of Health Dr. Francis Collins said recently on CNN.

10:05 a.m.: What to know about the delta variant

The delta variant is more contagious than its predecessors, but research has shown that COVID-19 vaccines still provide strong protection against it.

According to the Associated Press, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention cited the variant's surge in advising that vaccinated people return to wearing masks indoors in areas with high transmission.

The change is based on new research suggesting vaccinated people who get infected can spread it to others, even if the vaccinated don't get seriously ill. The more vaccinated people there are, the more it helps protect the unvaccinated, including children not yet eligible for the shots.

Some breakthrough cases were always expected, and a Kaiser Family Foundation analysis found such cases remain rare.

9:35 a.m.: More than 110 million COVID-19 vaccines sent abroad to over 60 countries

The White House says the U.S. has donated and shipped more than 110 million COVID-19 vaccine doses to more than 60 countries, ranging from Afghanistan to Zambia.

According to the Associated Press, Biden has promised the U.S. will be the arsenal of vaccines for the world. The 110 million doses given largely through a vaccine program known as COVAX represents a fraction of whats really needed globally.

The White House says the U.S. will begin shipping at the half a billion Pfizer doses its pledged to 100 low-income countries in August. President Joe Biden was expected later Tuesday to discuss the U.S. strategy for slowing the spread of coronavirus abroad.

5:11 p.m.: Bay Area health officials reinstate indoor mask mandate

Health officials in San Francisco and six other Bay Area counties have announced that they are reinstating a mask mandate for all indoor settings as COVID-19 infections surge. Monday's order applies to everyone, regardless of vaccination status, and starts on Tuesday.

California last week recommended that people wear masks indoors, but stopped short of issuing a mandate, following guidance from the U.S Centers for Disease Control.

Three other California counties have already adopted mandates as COVID rates rise because of the highly contagious delta variant.

11:04 a.m.: While vaccinated people can contract delta COVID-19 variant, vaccines still best defense

The delta variant has changed Californias COVID-19 landscape in a big way. New research from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention shows that even fully immunized people can contract the virus and even pass it to others.

Still, vaccines are seen as the best chance at reducing viral transmission. Getting immunized does protect you from getting very ill or dying from COVID-19. The vaccine also mostly prevents symptomatic cases from the original alpha variant, though, its slightly different with the delta variant.

There definitely can be transmission from symptomatic breakthroughs, said UCSF infectious disease specialist Dr. Monica Gandhi. She explains that the delta variant can do this because its much more contagious and can transmit higher quantities of the virus, even to fully vaccinated people.

The trick is we need to get transmission down, Gandhi said. We need to get more people vaccinated so that theres not even a virus around for all of us to see to get mild breakthroughs. And thats really what were doing right now with resuming masking inside, and also importantly, getting our vaccination rates as high as we can.

Several California counties are requiring everyone to wear a mask in indoor public settings, though state and federal officials say its only recommended, not required, for fully immunized people.

However, Gandhi says strong mask policies are needed to combat this variant. She also stresses that people should refrain from gathering indoors and unmasked with friends who arent vaccinated.

We are acting like vaccines arent working, and thats what people seem to be hearing. These vaccines are working, Gandhi said. They are profoundly effective at preventing severe disease and death.

While many counties are seeing increases in hospitalizations, its far from the surge that California saw during the winter. Gandhi said public health departments will have to work hard to explain that more vaccinated people means theres less virus in circulation, leading to fewer deaths among those who cant get their shots.

10:06 a.m.: Evictions expected to spike due to national eviction moratorium ending

Housing courts around the country are ramping up work following the end of the federal eviction moratorium, according to the Associated Press.

Housing advocates fear that the recent end of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention moratorium will result in millions of people being evicted. Most expect the wave of evictions to build slowly over the coming weeks and months as the bureaucracy of removing people from their homes restarts Monday.

The Biden administration announced Thursday it would allow a nationwide ban to expire. It argued that its hands were tied after the Supreme Court signaled the measure needed to come to an end.

California has its own eviction moratorium that is in place through the end of September.

9:43 a.m.: US employers ramp up vaccination pressure on white-collar employees

Employers across the U.S. are increasingly losing patience with unvaccinated workers.

According to the Associated Press, a growing number of businesses are requiring their employees to get vaccinated against COVID-19, alarmed by the rise of the more contagious delta variant.

Some employers getting tougher with vaccination requirements:

Some hospitals, universities, restaurants, bars and other entertainment venues have also started requiring vaccines.

In contrast, major companies that rely on lower-income blue-collar workers food manufacturers, warehouses, supermarkets, and other store chains are shying away from vaccine mandates for fear of driving away employees and worsening the labor shortages such businesses are facing.

10:51 a.m.: Tokyos COVID-19 infections top 4,000 for the first time

Tokyo is seeing new records every day in new cases of COVID-19. For the first time, Japans capital has exceeded 4,000 coronavirus casesa record high and nearly four times as many cases were reported just a week ago.

In the past day, 21 Olympic games-related personnel have tested positive, none of which were athletes.

On Friday, extended a state of emergency to areas around Tokyo and Osaka to tackle the COVID-19 surge.

Read more here.

Find older coronavirus updates on our previous blog page here.

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California Coronavirus Updates: Run to Feed The Hungry Returns After Being Held Virtually Last Year - Capital Public Radio News