Governors of Washington, Oregon and California form a health alliance

About 330,000 doses from the lot had been distributed to nearly 300 providers in California this month. “Under a Biden administration, our country has a fighting chance at defeating this virus,” California state Sen. Scott Wiener said Wednesday. More than 4 million doses had been shipped and about 1.5 million had been administered as of Tuesday, according to figures from the state public health department. “The chief obstacle we are facing is not enough doses,” said Roland Pickens, director of San Francisco’s public health care system, at a supervisors’ hearing Wednesday. The total of 694 new deaths is second to the record 708 reported Jan. 8, according to the state Department of Public Health.

California health authorities reported Thursday a record two-day total of 1,042 coronavirus deaths as many hospitals strain under unprecedented caseloads. California health authorities reported Thursday 583 new deaths and a record two-day total of 1,042. Carmela Coyle, the association’s president and chief executive, said the group has been negotiating with state officials but they aren’t acting fast enough. “It’s a slap in the face to safe patient care to actually call charting and documentation ‘red tape,’” she said. State health officials did not respond to questions on how they expect the heath orders to be applied or how many patients or hospitals might be affected.