COVID-19 AMA: FDA Approves Pfizer Booster For Older, At-Risk Americans; LA County Records Big Drop In Hospitalizations And More
In our continuing series looking at the latest medical research and news on COVID-19, Larry Mantle speaks with Sam Torbati, co-chair of the department of emergency medicine at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center.
Topics today include:
- FDA approves Pfizer booster for older, at-risk Americans
- L.A. County records big drop in COVID-19 hospitalizations
- L.A. Times analysis finds hospitalizations in Inland Empire far worse than in L.A.
- Cedars Sinai on RSV
- Some experts say that Biden’s new plan for donating vaccines falls short.
- Experts say data on vaccine safety for pregnant people is reassuring
- An average bill for a COVID hospitalization is $75,000
- Why vaccinated people are not ‘just as likely’ to spread the virus
California’s Drought Is Worsening, But Water Usage In The State Has Hardly Dropped
Although 90% of California is experiencing a drought, state data found that water use in July dropped by a meager 1.8%. In SoCal, water use was only down 0.1% from last summer.
Cities that enacted mandatory water use restrictions saw the largest drops in water use in July 2021 compared to July 2020.
Today on AirTalk, we’re learning more about the latest numbers and what they mean for the state going forward with Rachel Becker, environment reporter for CALmatters, where she covers climate change and California's environmental policies, and Joaquin Esquivel, chair of the California State Water Resources Control Board and Deven Upadhyay, chief operating officer and assistant general manager at Metropolitan Water District of Southern California.
Read more reporting from Sharon McNary on LAist
Congress is Hearing From Flight Attendants About Air Rage and Unruly Passengers. We Get The Latest
Today on AirTalk, Larry speaks with The Points Guy airline business reporter David Slotnick about the hearing and what flight attendants have been dealing with during the pandemic.
Following a year of well-documented assaults and violent behavior toward airline attendants, a congressional subcommittee is holding a hearing Thursday on whether there should be harsher penalties for passengers whose conduct is unruly.
Invasive Mosquito Species, Known As ‘Ankle-Biters’ Finds A Foothold In California
Over the past decade, California has experienced a change in how and where mosquitoes appear in our daily lives. If you’ve noticed more bites around your ankles recently it might be because the mosquito dubbed “ankle-biters” and known by their scientific name as the Aedes aegypti, has found a foothold in southern California.
Experts say this is unusual considering mosquitoes tend to prefer a tropical climate while California’s is more mediterranean. But warming temperatures and lush lawns are allowing mosquitos to thrive in ways they hadn’t before, and bring the potential for harmful diseases to spread, such as Zika and West Nile.
On AirTalk today, we talk with Levy Sun, communications director at San Gabriel Valley mosquito and vector control district, Susanne Kluh, director of Scientific-Technical Services at LA County Vector Control District, and Geoff Attardo, assistant professor of entomology at UC Davis.
The Long, Rich History Of Mexican-Americans And Baseball In Los Angeles
For more than 50 years, thousands of Mexican Americans across Southern California knew where they would be every Sunday. On fields stretching from White Sox Park in Compton to Evergreen Park in Boyle Heights, hundreds of amateur and semi-professional Latinx baseball and softball teams battled it out in front of devoted crowds. Mariachi bands performed, children frolicked and spectators parked their cars near the bases for a bird's eye view.
These Sunday games were more than casual fun. They were massive public assemblies where Mexican Americans could socialize, strategize and make personal and professional connections.
Today on AirTalk, we’re learning more about the history of LA’s Mexican-American baseball teams with Hadley Hall Meares, a Los Angeles-based historical journalist and author of the recent LAist piece, “How LA's Mexican American Baseball Teams Hit A Home Run” and José M. Alamillo, professor of Chicana/o Studies at CSU Channel Islands and author of the book, “Deportes: The Making of a Sporting Mexican Diaspora.”
With files from LAist