COVID-19

Santa Clara County announced Tuesday that it has acquired the new Novavax Covid-19 vaccine and will begin administering the vaccine at all County Health System vaccination sites on Aug. 2. Unlike the currently available Pfizer and Moderna vaccines that use an mRNA-based approach to developing...

The Santa Clara County Board of Supervisors voted unanimously Dec. 8 to partner with the state’s “California Rebuilding Fund,” hoping to provide as much as $100 million in loans for county small businesses, and to provide an immediate $6 million for low-interest loans for businesses as a first step in a phased approach to a larger loan program.

Transmission of the flu, Covid-19 and respiratory syncytial virus is increasing statewide simultaneously and could lead to overwhelmed hospitals this winter, one of the state's top health officials said Thursday. Covid test positivity and case rates have climbed by roughly 25% over the last two...

California will lift its indoor mask requirements Tuesday for unvaccinated people and March 12 for schools and child care facilities, Gov. Gavin Newsom said Feb. 28. The changes will mark the first time since the Covid-19 pandemic began that both unvaccinated people and students will...

Santa Clara County moved into the less-restrictive “Red Tier” on Sept. 8 as part of California’s new Covid-19 reopening plan, state officials announced. Personal care services can now operate indoors with restrictions, and museums, zoos, aquariums and gyms can reopen with limited capacity. Capacity for...

With the Bay Area currently showing the highest Covid-19 infection rates in California, health officers are reminding people of the importance of safety precautions such as continued masking indoors and vaccine boosters. The current wave of infections is fueled by the highly contagious Omicron subvariants,...

In 2020, a South County dentist launched a donation drive of medical machines to help battle a shortage of ventilators in the Covid-19 fight. Now, Dr. Kusum Atraya is joining volunteers from around the globe to help India, which is undergoing a deadly wave of...

Santa Clara County officials are expected to issue a new health order for reopening next week, despite an uptick in COVID-19 cases across the region and state.

While 12 patients of a Gilroy nursing home have died with Covid-19 since this summer, the facility’s management says these deaths were unrelated to their decision in August to begin admitting infected patients to an on-site Covid Recovery Unit. Gilroy Healthcare and Rehabilitation Center staff...

Santa Clara County will receive about $2.4 million from the California Microbusiness Covid-19 Relief Grant Program (MBCRG) to aid very small businesses adversely affected by the pandemic, according to county officials. On Jan. 11, the Board of Supervisors accepted the grant and approved community partner...