The latest piece of news from California is the proposed passage of the Coventry Referendum. There is an interesting story behind this at the San Francisco Gate. In the last election, voters in Coventry rejected a move to raise the property tax by 62 percent of the vote to a three-point increase. This is an unusually high vote for any local election in the United States.
So now the voters have passed it, without the need for a margin of two percent. There is no explanation why. Some residents believe that Measure J was passed so that it can be used as a template for future voting steps. However, proponents of the measure claim that it is a simple measure designed to protect residents from what they call a “Pandemic”, a term used to describe a widespread disease carried by birds. Coventry residents fear that a flu pandemic could hit the city. They claim that the epidemic will wipe out a third of the city’s bird population within three months.
Of course it’s impossible to know for sure what will happen in a given region, let alone cities around the world. But we know that the flu pandemic is on the rise and this has caused many municipalities to watch their budgeting and spending practices very closely. In California, Measure J will be presented to voters on May 9. If passed, it is up to voters to accept or reject tax increases on personal and business loans and other types of debt.
There is also a lot of political grudge between cities like Coventry and the rest of California. The Covid referendum may not only add headaches to the already difficult job of governing California, but also create another layer of bureaucracy for County residents. It’s true that the HPV vaccine mandate in California is mandated by the state legislature, but cities like Coventry are granted exceptions because of their size. The proposal would again increase costs for taxpayers in Coventry and the surrounding area, to the detriment of the local economy.
The second pro HPV vaccination initiative is on the ballot. This time, voters will be asked to agree to a proposition that allows pharmacies to offer HPV vaccination against the human papilloma virus to patients who buy their drugs from drugstores. This measure is placed on the ballot by the Equity Council, a group formed by the State Equality Council, which regulates all California pharmacies. The bill has passed the state legislature, but has not yet been sent to the state Supreme Court, which will have the final say.
A third pro-vaccination initiative has been put forward by the Equality Council that allows pharmacists to offer Gardasil vaccine to men and women who may not have received it earlier. Although approved by the State Board of Equalization, the proposal faces legal challenges from a group calling itself Parent of Children Vaccinated Against HPV (PACE). According to the group, if the vaccine were offered to the general public, it would allow the general public to circumvent laws protecting children who have not received mandatory HPV shots. Although the group claims the action will prevent medical professionals from prescribing Gardasil to individuals who may have opted out of vaccination, a Coventry man has filed a lawsuit against the council over the matter. The lawsuit was later rejected by the district court.
The fourth initiative will allow pharmacists to offer the vaccine to anyone who may have questions about its use. It is currently being considered by the California State Equity Board although it could face opposition from pharmaceutical groups who believe it is a direct violation of the law. According to the Los Angeles Times, the new law will also allow pharmacists to offer vaccines to people who may be at risk of developing certain types of cancer. Although the State Equity Council declined to comment, other state councils have previously stated that they would only allow vaccines to be administered by trained medical personnel.
A fifth pro vaccine initiative has been proposed in the upcoming Covid Referendum on HPV vaccination. Supporters of the action hope to collect enough signatures to place questions on the ballot in the fall. If the proposition goes to the ballot and is approved, the Department of Health will then be required to offer regular HPV vaccination guidelines and clinics to all children, youth, and adults living in the state. The Department of Health is scheduled to finalize the guidelines in the fall and may decide whether or not to offer the vaccine. The final decision will be left to the State Equity Council.
California voters resisted attempts to remove Governor Gavin Newsom from office.
Ahead of yesterday’s re-election in California, both Governor Gavin Newsom and his critics framed it as an assessment of his handling of the pandemic. Newsom accepts the aggressive enforcement of masks and vaccines. His main Republican opponent, Larry Elder, vowed to cancel the mandate before drinking his first cup of tea on his first day in office.
The recall, as my colleague Jennifer Medina wrote, became a “referendum on pandemic management.”
Now Newsom has won the referendum by a landslide. According to the latest results, California voters resisted removing him from office by a margin of 64 percent to 36 percent. The final margins may change as vote counting continues, but it’s definitely a political win for vaccinations.
I don’t mean to say that Covid-19 politics is simple. They do not. The exhaustion of the lockdown may have contributed to the surprisingly strong performances by Donald Trump and other Republican candidates in the 2020 election. And Democrats in some places prefer measures – such as mandated outdoor masks and months of school closures – that are scientifically dubious. and political.
Newsom himself famously dined with friends at one of the state’s best restaurants, while his government urged Californians not to hang out with people outside their households. It played the least favorite part of his image. Just a few weeks ago, polls showed he was in danger of losing withdrawals.
But Newsom’s overall approach to the pandemic helped save it.
This is very much in line with what public health experts are pushing for, including mandates for indoor masks and vaccinations, said Soumya Karlamangla, a Los Angeles-based Times reporter. Initially, these measures hurt Newsom’s popularity, as they were cumbersome and didn’t seem to make much difference. In the spring, California’s case numbers were not much different from those in Florida or Texas.
“It felt a bit like he was the perfect example of a conundrum that public health officials often face,” Soumya said. “How do you get people to do something before they can see the risk?”
Recently, the connection has become clearer. Vaccination rates have risen high enough across much of California — and the Delta variant is quite contagious among the unvaccinated — that the state now looks very different from much of the Southeast and Mountain West, where hundreds die every day and hospitals operate. out of the room.
In California, the Covid caseload and hospitalizations, already well below the national average, have fallen for about two weeks. “The level of panic is noticeably lower than it was a month ago,” Soumya said.
Contents
Vaccination, U.S.A.
If anything, statewide comparisons understate the power of the vaccine; every state, including California, has areas with relatively low vaccination rates. When you look at California by county, the picture is striking.
The major metro areas with the lowest Covid rates are also where Democratic candidates like Newsom receive most of their votes in California.
The San Francisco Bay Area had hospitalization rates that remained lower than US rates for most of the year, before Delta became widespread. If other parts of the country looked like the Bay Area, Delta waves wouldn’t be so bad:
And at the individual level, vaccines are more effective than regional data suggest. In San Francisco, most of the people hospitalized are part of the small population that remains unvaccinated.
California is definitely a very blue state, and Newsom’s approach will definitely not work well in a red state. However, his Covid policies are closer to what the median American voter prefers than the Republican approach. Leading Republicans have described the Covid vaccine mandate as tyrannical, despite all 50 states enacting other vaccine mandates. Some Republicans have also banned businesses and schools from taking evidence-based steps and promoting medical care that appears to do more harm than good.
By doing so, these politicians align themselves with the minority of Americans. Nationally, less than 25 percent of adults have not received a shot of the Covid vaccine. Only 26 percent oppose vaccine mandates in their workplace, according to an Associated Press poll last month. Vaccination, as CNN’s Brian Stelter notes, isn’t a 50-50 problem.
It’s no wonder that, in the country’s most populous state, the public health consensus won over its critics yesterday.
The UK will give booster injections to health workers as well as people who are at least 50 years old or have a medical condition.
Cuba, which is developing its own Covid vaccine, will offer injections to 2-year-olds. China and U.A.E. vaccinate children aged 3 years.
Politics
The share of Americans living in poverty fell to a record low last year, as government aid programs offset job losses due to the pandemic.
The Justice Department asked a federal judge to block Texas from enacting a near-abortion ban.
Three former US intelligence officers hired by the United Arab Emirates confessed to the crime of hacking, according to court documents.
Senate Democrats proposed a pared voting rights bill with voter ID requirements. Senator Mitch McConnell said Republicans would not support him.
In the final months of Donald Trump’s presidency, his top military advisers privately assured Chinese officials that the US would not attack them, according to a new book.
Other Big Stories
Haiti’s chief prosecutor said evidence linked Ariel Henry, the acting prime minister, to the president’s assassination in July.
North Korea tests two ballistic missiles, in violation of several UN resolutions.
Alex Murdaugh, a South Carolina attorney, told his former client to kill him, police said. Murdaugh survived.
Facebook has played down its own research showing that Instagram can be harmful to teens’ mental health, The Wall Street Journal reports.
Norm Macdonald, the sharp comedian who performed the “Weekend Update” on “Saturday Night Live” in the 1990s, has died at the age of 61.
Here are the authors on this year’s Booker Prize short list.
Opinions
The US military is a beacon of pluralism in an increasingly tribal nation, writes Thomas Friedman.
“You can go home and there’s no home”: Sarah DeBacher, a New Orleans mom, talks about parenting in an era of climate disasters.
MORNING READS
Life change: It’s never too late to follow your spiritual calling.
Origin story: What can the rock that ended the dinosaurs tell the future of human civilization?
Instant classic: Labor? Liberal? Patriot? If America had six political parties, which would be yours?
Advice from Wirecutter: Can’t sleep? Try warm socks.
Lives Lived: Kaycee Moore made only a few films, but they had a huge effect on American cinema, documenting the lives of black Americans in the 1970s and 80s. He died at the age of 77 years.
Blockbusters return to Broadway
Theater instantly inched back to life in New York over the summer, but last night was a massive reopening for Broadway, as “The Lion King,” “Wicked,” “Hamilton” and more returned to the stage after an 18-month hiatus.
Jessica Payne said she and her husband flew in from Colorado to see eight shows in six days. “We both cried when the plane landed,” he said. “We are very happy to be here.”
Cinema requires everyone aged 12 and over to be vaccinated and everyone except performers wear masks. However, the recent resurgence of the virus could affect ticket sales: Ticket seller StubHub pointed out three blockbuster shows had seats available for less than $200. And the Broadway League, a trade group, has not released this season’s box office data for fear of hurting consumer confidence.
In The Times, Michael Paulson writes about how Broadway is back, including the N.F.L.-inspired program. for the voices of the players. — Tom Wright-Piersanti, editor of Morning
PLAY, WATCH, EAT
What to Cook
Pangram from yesterday’s Spelling Bee was a boy. Here’s the puzzle of the day — or you can play online.
Here’s today’s Mini Crossword, and the hint: Hanging roof (four letters).
If you want to play more, find all our games here.
Thank you for spending part of your morning with The Times. Until tomorrow. — David
Clarification: Charts showing vaccination rates in California counties understate rates in San Diego due to known lags in C.D.C. data.
P.S. Molly Young and Alexandra Jacobs join The Times’s Books desk as critics.
Here’s the front page of today’s print.
“The Daily” is about Mexico’s path to legalizing abortion. About “The Argument”, a debate about the ethics of football fandom. “Popcast” is all about Drake.
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