• On Aug. 23, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration approved the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine for those 16 and older, meaning it is fully authorized and no longer under emergency use authorization. The vaccine is still under emergency use authorization for those aged 12 to 15, as well as for the third doses recommended for immunocompromised individuals. “The FDA’s approval of this vaccine is a milestone as we continue to battle the COVID-19 pandemic. While this and other vaccines have met the FDA’s rigorous, scientific standards for emergency use authorization, as the first FDA-approved COVID-19 vaccine, the public can be very confident that this vaccine meets the high standards for safety, effectiveness, and manufacturing quality the FDA requires of an approved product,” Acting FDA Commissioner Dr. Janet Woodcock said in an agency statement. “While millions of people have already safely received COVID-19 vaccines, we recognize that for some, the FDA approval of a vaccine may now instill additional confidence to get vaccinated. Today’s milestone puts us one step closer to altering the course of this pandemic in the U.S.” Gov. Gavin Newsom issued a statement commending the approval. “The FDA’s full approval further confirms that the Pfizer vaccine meets a rigorous, scientific standard for safety and efficacy, protecting against serious illness, hospitalization, and death,” the governor said. “With COVID-19 cases rising across the nation due to the Delta variant, I encourage all Californians to trust the science and protect themselves and their community by getting vaccinated. With more than 80 percent of Californians 18 and up having received at least one dose, our work continues to close the gap in our most impacted communities and bring an end to this pandemic.”
• California added thousands of jobs last month, and the state’s unemployment rate was the best it’s been since the pandemic started, according to an Aug. 20 statement from Gov. Gavin Newsom’s office. The July jobs report showed that the state added 114,400 new jobs last month, while in June California added 71,500 jobs. This month’s increase amounts to “more new jobs than any other state, and the fourth time this year of six-figure job gains,” Newsom said in the statement. “We’ll continue to lead with the science and data, prioritizing vaccinations and supporting those workers and small businesses hit hardest by this pandemic, to create the conditions for a robust economic recovery.” July’s unemployment rate of 7.6 percent is the lowest since March 2020, according to Newsom’s office. Santa Barbara County’s unemployment rate in July sat even lower than the state’s at 5.8 percent, according to data released by the Employment Development Department. Every industry in the county either gained employees or stayed stagnant last month, with the exception of governmental jobs.
• With Gov. Gavin Newsom’s recent signing into law Assembly Bill 130, the education omnibus budget trailer bill, all students will now be eligible to receive free meals at school, regardless of family income. “The undertaking, made possible by an unexpected budget surplus, will be the largest free student lunch program in the country,” according to a July 20 NPR article. “School officials, lawmakers, anti-hunger organizations, and parents are applauding it as a pioneering way to prevent the stigma of accepting free lunches and feed more hungry children.” Erin Primer, director of food services for the San Luis Coastal Unified School District, told NPR that the program is “so historic. It’s beyond life-changing,” according to the article. “The recently approved universal meal program will benefit many families across our state; it will be specifically meaningful for communities from the Central Coast,” state Sen. Monique Limón said in an Aug. 20 Facebook post. “The universal meals program will provide breakfast and lunch for K-12 schools, ensuring that students are better prepared and able to learn.”
This article appears in Aug 26 – Sep 2, 2021.