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As a third of hospitals report critical staffing shortages, California鈥檚 health department is considering issuing an order postponing many elective surgeries. Many procedures, including a lung transplant, already have been canceled.

California nursing homes have filed more than 400 lawsuits since 2016 to appeal state citations and fines alleging poor patient care. Regulators downgraded nearly a third of sanctions involving a death. Advocates say the appeals system favors nursing homes.

Propelled by the delta variant and large numbers of unvaccinated people, COVID-19 patients are flooding California hospitals at a rate not seen since last winter鈥檚 surge.

California鈥檚 vaccination mandate for medical workers is the toughest in the nation. California also ordered all visitors at hospitals and other medical facilities to be vaccinated or test negative for COVID-19 beginning next Wednesday.

As the governor and lawmakers wrangle over the budget, local public health departments are underfunded and overwhelmed. Outdated equipment and insufficient staff hamper handling of everything from asthma to syphilis.

More than 9,000 people have died of COVID-19 in California nursing homes, and many others have suffered from isolation. But after a massive vaccination campaign, infections and deaths have plummeted 鈥� and nursing homes are cautiously reopening to visitors.

The CEO of Blue Shield predicts it will take until the end of April to ease California鈥檚 backlog. 鈥淲hen you make millions of people eligible overnight, there鈥檚 not millions of appointments immediately available,鈥� he told CalMatters.

COVID-19 cases at California鈥檚 nursing homes have plummeted 98% since December. But long-term care facilities say they are waiting for state guidance before reopening to family visits. 鈥淭he sacrifice our seniors have made has been very, very difficult and caused a lot of harm. Now is the time to stop sacrificing them,鈥� one doctor said

Facing criticism for its chaotic COVID-19 vaccine rollout, California has quietly launched a long-promised statewide website to help residents learn when they are eligible to receive the vaccine and schedule appointments.

The new variant so far has been detected in six people in the Golden State, after its initial discovery in the U.S. in a Colorado National Guardsman.

California is in the throes of another COVID-19 surge 鈥� cases are skyrocketing and hospital beds are filling up quickly. But a glimmer of hope has emerged in the last leg of 2020: The first batch of vaccines could arrive in early December.

In throwing an 鈥渆mergency brake,鈥� Gov. Gavin Newsom orders an even broader mask mandate and further restricts access to businesses, restaurants and other operations for the vast majority of Californians.