Stanford scientists have recently confirmed California’s first known infection of a highly transmissible COVID-19 variant, known as NB.1.8.1. Detected in the state as early as April 17, its symptoms do not appear to be any more severe than earlier strains so far, and because NB.1.8.1 is an Omicron variant, the latest vaccines should provide some immunity.

But NB.1.8.1 is more infectious: The strain has been spreading throughout Asia and Europe, and is responsible for the latest surge of infections in China. In addition to California, it has been reported in international visitors traveling through airports in Washington, New York and Virginia. Separate from airport travelers, the variant has also been reported in Ohio, Rhode Island and Hawaii.

Amid news of this latest strain, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration said Tuesday it will limit COVID-19 vaccine eligibility to people ages 65 and older, and people who are at high risk for severe infections. In an article published last week in The New England Journal of Medicine, FDA officials said that “the benefit of repeat dosing — particularly among low-risk persons … is uncertain.” 

Historically the vaccine has been available to almost all people ages 6 months and older, and the new policy means that the FDA is no longer recommending the vaccine to healthy children and pregnant women. The FDA is led by Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., who has had a history of spreading widely debunked anti-vaccination views.

The FDA’s rule change comes two months after the California Department of Public Health said that President Donald Trump’s administration terminated more than $700 million in public health grants related to COVID-19 response.

Though there is no longer a pandemic, infections do tend to spike during the summer, with California seeing some of its highest surges last summer. More than 101,000 Californians have died from COVID-19 and more than 1 million Americans have died — exceeding by a wide margin American service member casualties in every war combined.

Gov. Gavin Newsom has proposed reinstating a limit on assets for Medi-Cal enrollees. Critics are concerned doing so would keep thousands of low-income seniors and disabled people from having vital health coverage, writes CalMatters’ Kristen Hwang.

California last year eliminated its cap on how much in assets a person could own to qualify for Medi-Cal. That led to an unanticipated number of people enrolling for Medical, according to the Newsom administration. 

So, amid multibillion-dollar budget deficits for both the state and Medi-cal, the governor wants to bring back an asset limit which was originally set in 1989: $2,000 for individuals 65 and older, as well as those with disabilities. Among other things, assets include life insurance, cash on hand, savings accounts and even owning some funeral plots.

Newsom said the proposal would save the state $94 million this year and $500 million the next. But those opposed say it would create a financial cliff for those about to turn 65, and that it’s nearly impossible to live with just $2,000 in assets in California — especially if you must pay costly medical expenses. 

Read more here.

Public transit systems across California are facing a “fiscal cliff,” and there are a number of reasons why ridership is down: Aging transit infrastructure, more people are owning cars and a lack of robust, on-going investment from state and federal governments, to name a few.

But as CalMatters’ Ben Christopher explains, there is another, less obvious reason: California’s housing affordability crisis. 

In neighborhoods located in Los Angeles and Orange counties that have reliable buses and trains systems, transit ridership tended to decrease where rents were rising, according to a 2024 study by UCLA researchers. At South L.A. Chinatown, for example, average rents went up $379 and transit use fell by 21%. In a part of San Fernando Valley’s Pacoima, rent was up $305, ridership was down 28%. 

The findings suggest that gentrification — in addition to widening economic inequalities — displaces some residents who rely on transit systems. When they move to other neighborhoods where the transit system may not be as good, they are pushed further away from their jobs, leading to more driving, more traffic and more pollution. 

Read more here.

As part of an effort to claw back billions of dollars in green energy funding, the Trump administration has frozen $250 million in grants to a nonprofit helping companies replace diesel trucks at the L.A. and Long Beach ports. CalMatters’ Alejandro Lazo and video strategy director Robert Meeks have a video segment on the legal dispute as part of our partnership with PBS SoCal. Watch it here.

SoCalMatters airs at 5:58 p.m. weekdays on PBS SoCal.

California Voices

CalMatters columnist Dan Walters: A lawsuit currently before a superior court judge in L.A. County reignites the never-ending war between public schools and charter schools.

CalMatters contributor Jim Newton: In the effort to save L.A.’s MacArthur Park, local officials and community activists are clashing over the role of police and the limitations of social policy.