RACHEL MARTIN, HOST:
Californians got some welcome news on Monday. Governor Gavin Newsom lifted regional stay-at-home orders. He cited a drop in coronavirus infections and hospitalizations. But as NPR s Eric Westervelt reports, that good news is tempered by ongoing problems with the vaccine rollout.
ERIC WESTERVELT, BYLINE: The lifting of the stay-at-home order is welcome relief to some struggling businesses, including restaurants that in some places can now resume outdoor dining. But county and local officials can still maintain closures and other restrictions, as several are set to do. And while the worst of the winter surge may be over, California is near the bottom in state-per-capita coronavirus vaccination. Critics say the problems stem from vaccine shortages and the fact that the vaccine goes through county health departments, many of which are overwhelmed.
Governor Gavin Newsom expects an even bigger post-holiday COVID-19 surge in California, he said in a noon press conference update today. He also gave an update on the regional stay-at-home order and the slow vaccine rollout.
Wisherop is the interim director for the College of San Mateo nursing program. She tells ABC7 there are 100 trained nursing students in her program that are certified to administer vaccines and need to complete clinical hours. I have students who need clinical hours, said Wisherop. All last semester they were practicing with the flu vaccine.who can totally help with this.
According to Wisherop, her students are required to complete 100 hours per semester.
James Bernal / The Hechinger Report
Originally published on December 21, 2020 4:02 pm
At a time when the pandemic has exposed a growing shortage of nurses, it should have been good news that there were more than 1,200 applicants to enter the associate degree program in nursing at Long Beach City College.
But the California community college took only 32 of them.
North of here, California State University, East Bay isn t enrolling any nursing students at all until at least next fall.
Higher education was struggling to keep up with the skyrocketing demand for nurses even before the COVID-19 crisis. Now it s falling further behind.
James Bernal/The Hechinger Report
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toggle caption James Bernal/The Hechinger Report
Student nurse Gail Powers outside the College Medical Center in Long Beach, Calif. James Bernal/The Hechinger Report
At a time when the pandemic has exposed a growing shortage of nurses, it should have been good news that there were more than 1,200 applicants to enter the associate degree program in nursing at Long Beach City College.
But the California community college took only 32 of them.
North of here, California State University, East Bay isn t enrolling any nursing students at all until at least next fall.
Higher education was struggling to keep up with the skyrocketing demand for nurses even before the COVID-19 crisis. Now it s falling further behind.