California child care centres were required to test their drinking water for possible lead contamination for the first time in state history. According to data recently released by state regulators, approximately 25% of those that reported results had levels of lead that were unsafe. Almost 1,700 of the approximately 6,900 centres whose findings have been…

Public health officials are alerting the public to the growing number of cases of mpox, formerly known as monkeypox, throughout California, including the Bay Area, following a summer of unusually low case rates. The virus first became apparent in the summer and autumn of 2022 in the United States, primarily affecting men who identify as…

Hospitals in California are experiencing a continuous increase in respiratory viruses. The Centres for Disease Control and Prevention report that 75% of the state’s critical care beds are now occupied. According to wastewater statistics, the Bay Area is seeing a rise in COVID-19, RSV, and flu cases, while they are not reaching the alarming heights…

Examine this article in Spanish. Early in December, Florinda Miguel took her 6-year-old daughter to the dentist for a usual checkup, only to discover that her Medi-Cal coverage had expired. She was caught off guard by it. It had been nearly four years since she had to renew her children’s Medi-Cal coverage. The resident of…

After numerous attempts to seek treatment, Miriam McDonald felt like an empty shell a year after the birth of her son Nico. At that point, she “came out” as having severe postpartum depression, a decision she now says was well worth it. McDonald fought Kaiser Permanente, her insurer and healthcare provider, for months when they…

Bernie Medina drives from Salinas to San José, where she sees her oncologist, for an hour every three months. She need yearly examinations because she was diagnosed with uterine cancer two years ago. Although Medina is a resident of Monterey County, she is unable to use any local hospitals due to her health insurance. Medina…