[Patrons can enjoy the full episode here: https://www.patreon.com/posts/44663482]

___

Concerned homelessness experts have been ringing the alarm for weeks on the need for action to protect folks out in the elements as the coronavirus rages and temperatures drop. Last week Capital Public Radio interviewed Greg Tarola about the dangers of living in the streets in these times. Just a couple of days later, Tarola, who'd said he had tested positive for coronavirus, died in the night under a soggy, cold blanket. Now Mayor Darrell Steinberg is joining the call to open warming centers.  

Changes are afoot in the effort to put an end to the COVID-19 pandemic, but Californians have a lot of work to do to get this right. As vaccinations start to roll out this month, public health professionals and political leaders alike have the challenging task of convincing people to get inoculated.   

Our own Dr Flo was interviewed by friend of the show Erika Smith in the Los Angeles Times on what it will take to get communities of color to trust a coronavirus vaccine in the same America that is responsible for the Tuskegee experiment.   

In the Sacramento region, we're just getting settled in with an interim county CEO after Nav Gill's repeated COVID flubs. Now, however, Sacramento County's top health chief Peter Beilenson is stepping down (a couple weeks after referring to Asian Americans as 'yellow folks').   

With these two gone--as well as a sheriff sick with coronavirus--Sacramento County has the potential to start making some strides forward in public health. But cases are spiking throughout the county, and a lot can happen before vaccinations start reaching residents in serious numbers.