After two years of focusing on COVID-19 pandemic response, the Biden Administration is renewing attention to other ongoing public health challenges, including HIV and AIDS. The response is led by Harold Phillips, director of the White House Office of National AIDS Policy. The San Francisco Public Press spoke with Phillips this month when he came to San Francisco to participate in events tied to the display of the AIDS Memorial Quilt in Golden Gate Park.
Category: Health
Posted in“Civic” Podcast, Community, Coronavirus, Health, HIV & AIDS
While SF Fought COVID, HIV Prevention Stalled
Over the past several months, health care providers have been warning San Francisco officials that while the city was focused on fighting COVID-19, rates of HIV infection and related illnesses were creeping in the wrong direction.
From the very beginning, and throughout the HIV epidemic, which began in 1981, San Francisco led the way in prevention, care and treatment that came to be recognized around the world.
Posted in“Civic” Podcast, Bay Area, Community, Health
Harm Reduction Critical to Addressing Overdose Crisis, Local Experts Say
The key to addressing San Francisco’s overdose crisis, say community activists and medical experts in the city, is harm reduction. That’s an approach that acknowledges not all drug users will achieve abstinence, and that focuses on keeping them safe and alive if they’re not ready or able to quit. Drug overdoses killed more people in San Francisco than did COVID-19 in the first two years of the pandemic — 711 deaths in 2020, and 645 in 2021.
Posted in“Civic” Podcast, Health, Social Services
Surge in Overdose Deaths Is a Puzzle Public Health Experts Are Desperate to Solve
In San Francisco, drug overdoses killed more people than did COVID-19 in the first two years of the pandemic — 711 deaths in 2020, and 645 in 2021. These figures are troubling, even without counting nonfatal overdoses and other suffering associated with this crisis. While fentanyl is often cited for the rapid increase, many factors contribute to this trend both in San Francisco and nationally.
Posted inEconomy & Business, Government & Politics, Health, Housing
California Bill Would Give Tenants 3-Month Eviction Reprieve — but Only to Those Who Act Fast
A bill introduced Thursday in the California Assembly would extend eviction protections by three months for tenants who have applied for emergency rent relief related to the coronavirus pandemic. The catch: To qualify, tenants who haven’t yet asked for help would need to submit applications by the end of March, giving them less than a week to get their requests in the queue.
Posted in“Civic” Podcast, Community, Coronavirus, Health
Case Rates Should Drive Risk Mitigation Behavior, Doctor Says
Dr. Kim Rhoads, who has been working on community-led responses to the pandemic, says what should drive decision making and risk mitigation is simply how much virus is in the community.
Posted inCommunity, Government & Politics, Health, Neighborhoods
Despite Upgrades, Treasure Island Power Outages Persist
Residents of San Francisco’s Treasure Island suffered half a dozen power outages in the three months after electrical upgrades were completed this July. That’s just the latest episode in what’s been an ongoing problem for the island.
Posted in“Civic” Podcast, Government & Politics, Health
Mental Health Advocates Call for Voluntary Treatment as Spears Conservatorship Ends
As a judge in Los Angeles was deciding to end pop singer Britney Spears’ conservatorship, a small group of mental health activists staged a demonstration in front of Zuckerberg San Francisco General Hospital. Many said they want to the practice of conservatorship to be abolished.
Posted in“Civic” Podcast, Coronavirus, Economy & Business, Government & Politics, Health, Housing
Thousands in SF Saddled With Rent Debt but Ineligible for Government Help
Thousands of San Franciscans who borrowed money to pay rent during the pandemic are stuck with that debt, making them worse off than those who let the bills lapse.
Federal relief funds cover only unpaid housing expenses. That leaves tenants vulnerable if they made good-faith efforts to pay those costs by taking on thousands of dollars of debt to credit card companies, payday lenders, relatives or friends — especially if they later seek different housing.
Posted inCommunity, Coronavirus, Health, Neighborhoods
Low Vaccination Rates in Parts of Bayview Could Be Driving High COVID-19 Infections
Low vaccination rates in several pockets of the Bayview-Hunters Point neighborhood could help explain persistently high cases of COVID-19 in San Francisco’s southeast, recently released data indicates.