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It’s Saturday and Taya Westfield is hard at work at the Johnson County Public Health Department in Iowa City. Surrounded by a handful of co-workers, Westfield is taking calls, building rapport, and notifying citizens about potential exposure to Covid-19.

For Westfield, a senior public health student at the University of Iowa, it’s just another typical day as a contact tracer, a job she never planned on doing this late in her college career. Westfield learned about the opportunity by chance last spring, after taking a course with the county’s community health division manager. He reached out looking for tracers when the pandemic started up.

“I am very much someone that likes to be involved in my community and when I see issues come up, it’s in me to want to help out,” she said.

Amid online classes and nationwide shutdowns, Westfield is just one of many students across the nation joining the fight against Covid-19 and taking the leap as newfound contact tracers with the help of university-run programs and their local public health departments.

These students join a dwindling profession that’s both underfunded and understaffed. Data from the Johns Hopkins University Bloomberg School of Public Health suggest that the United States needs at least 100,000 contact tracers to fight Covid-19 and contain the spread, while some estimates are as high as 300,000. According to a joint Johns Hopkins Center for Health Security and NPR study, there were more than 50,000 tracers nationwide as of October.

Last May, JHU launched a free online contact tracing course through Coursera, which has garnered more than 1.1 million users including students from universities and public health departments across the nation. It’s not the only program being offered nationwide, but it’s by far one of the most popular among universities.

Consisting of five modules, the course is designed to take individuals without contact tracing experience and teach them the ins and outs of the job including what the virus is, how it’s transmitted, what communication skills are needed, and the ethics when it comes to dealing with data and privacy, said Emily Gurley, an associate scientist at the university.

“Some people are naturally very good at talking to others and getting the conversation going, but you can teach these skills,” she said.

A range of programs for different needs

Every school program differs. Some students are solely tracing a school community, while others are aiding local or state public health departments as paid tracers. Restrictions also differ regarding who can join the program. At Dominican University of California in San Rafael, which teamed up with the local Marin Health and Human Services, contact tracing is offered as a clinical for the nursing program students. Some schools are opening the opportunity to students of all majors and backgrounds.

Training programs also range across campuses. Most universities have implemented the JHU course as a requirement, which takes about six hours to complete. The course is often supplemented with technical training, which differs by university and state. At Syracuse University, students must submit a certificate of completion of the JHU course, but some schools require students to complete a test. At the University of California, Los Angeles, students undergo 12 live lecture hours and six skills labs.

Joana Fernández Nuñez, a graduate student at the University of California, Los Angeles who worked over the summer as a full-time contact tracer in New Mexico, is currently assisting in training contact tracers at the university.

It’s challenging hearing the stories of individuals affected by Covid-19 and it’s difficult not always having the resources available to help, Fernández Nuñez said, but good communication and empathy are key to the process.

“A lot of people have these skills, but sometimes we don’t realize we have them,” she said.

Most university contact tracers never enter an office. Kyra Toquinto, a nursing student at Dominican set up shop in her husband’s office. On a typical morning, Toquinto, who worked about three half days a week in the mornings, started the day with a meeting, followed by a full shift researching, calling, and offering resources to individuals with potential exposure to a contact.

Many tracers are given a list every morning of positive cases and spend the majority of their day conducting research and building a web of potential contacts. Other schools, like Syracuse University, have contact tracers on deck at testing centers, prepared to ask questions. Case managers do initial intake interview for positive patients and then assign student tracers to investigate secondary and tertiary contacts.

While many contact tracers are given a script, each call is unexpected and different, regardless of how much training is provided. One of the hardest parts of the job is communicating information to callers in layman’s terms and overcoming misinformation about the virus, said Philip Braswell, a recent graduate of the University of Alabama — Birmingham School of Medicine, who had been driving for Uber and Postmates before taking on the job. Another hurdle is overcoming the distrust in government, especially among immigrant populations, Toquinto said.

“You really had to build a trusting relationship to relate to them and help them feel safe to give you the information you need to make sure that they can quarantine effectively,” she said.

Lacking long-term potential

Contact tracing is no new phenomenon. The profession has been around for decades in public health departments around the nation to trace HIV and other viruses. But, demand for contact tracers has soared during the coronavirus pandemic: By October 2020, postings for contact tracer jobs were 25 times higher than they were just six months earlier. Right now, there are more than 170 contact tracer jobs posted on job site Glassdoor.com.

The pay for contact tracers varies by location but the average is $19.72 an hour, according to job site Indeed.com. That’s relatively higher than the $11 an hour that workers typically make working retail, according to ZipRecruiter or the $9.41 an hour national average for food-service workers, according to Indeed. Many students, however, are working as contact tracers as volunteers or for credit.

Despite strong growth, Covid-19 contact tracing programs will likely only last in the short-term, experts say. Demand for the role will shift as more individuals get vaccinated and students shouldn’t look to the job as a long-term career.

“It’s not going to continue at this level,” said Christiana Coyle, a contact tracing coordinator at the CDC Foundation and professor at New York University’s School of Global Public Health.

Many organizations employ just a handful of contact tracers long-term, bringing on additional workers like epidemiologists when there’s an “incredible need,” said Coyle, who formerly worked as a contact tracer for both the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and New York City’s Department of Health and Mental Hygiene.

The growth of university contact tracing stems from a need to contain the spread on college campuses. Over the past year, schools have grappled with how to reopen while preventing an outbreak. Many have failed, reopening only to shift online within a week. Now, universities face another semester of uncertainty.

Syracuse University began filling out its contact tracing program over the summer, employing about 30 students in the fall semester. Like other universities, program coordinator Dr. Mike Haynie worked closely with local county health officials to build the program, which included developing a database to share information.

Today, the program has expanded to 50 students across disciplines with four full-time case managers who conduct intake interviews. Students conduct secondary and tertiary interviews from the comfort of their dorm rooms, over Zoom, by telephone or from the university health center.

Many students involved in the program have worked as contact tracers for the state or New York City, said Haynie, the university’s vice chancellor for strategic initiatives and innovation, while others had “no idea” what public health was or any interest in entering the field.

“That’s going to be one of the silver linings of Covid,” Haynie said. “It really has opened up the eyes of folks to how significant it is to have the opportunity to make an impact.”

For others, working as a contact tracer has only re-affirmed their decision to join public health, which for Toquinto meant a reaffirmation of her decision to one day work as a physician’s assistant. Upon graduation, Fernández Nuñez hopes to pursue a career that helps reduce health disparities, an issue that has come to the forefront amid the pandemic.

“It was a way for me to help,” Fernández Nuñez said, reflecting on her experience over the past year as a contact tracer. “It was a way for me to rise to the moment and contribute some of the skills that I had.”

https://www.cnbc.com/2021/03/11/stopping-covid-on-campus-college-students-work-as-contract-tracers.html

Sonoma Media Investments (SMI), publisher of The Press Democrat, is relaunching its Spanish-language newspaper, La Prensa Sonoma, after a one-year hiatus. The relaunch is a joint effort, made possible by a new partnership between SMI and Comcast.

Originally launched in print in September of 2016, La Prensa Sonoma was developed to expand SMI’s content and advertising products and engage Sonoma County’s growing Latino community. The publication ran monthly until the March issue of 2020, when economic conditions due to COVID-19 were exacerbated by the departure of La Prensa’s then-editor, Ricardo Ibarra.

In the fall of 2020, SMI and Comcast began talks to revive the publication, as both companies have the mutual desire to inform and entertain the Latino community in Sonoma County.

Heading up La Prensa Sonoma is new editor, Joseph Treviño, a longtime journalist with a history in top Spanish and English-language newsrooms. Treviño’s experience includes reporting and editing positions at the Los Angeles Times, the nation’s largest Spanish-language publication, La Opinión, as well as at Telemundo’s Los Angeles bureau, among many others. Due to the pandemic, Treviño has started in the new role remotely, but will be relocating to Sonoma County when things begin to normalize. In the meantime, he has learned much about the area through video conferencing and colleagues in the SMI newsrooms. Treviño says, “Sonoma is not only one of the most fascinating areas in the country because of its natural wonders and geography, but because of its people. The Latino community there is just as fascinating and unique- it’s a great challenge for any journalist to cover Sonoma and meet the Latino community’s journalistic needs and all of this attracts me to La Prensa Sonoma and its readers even more.”

Sonoma Media Investments CEO and The Press Democrat publisher, Steve Falk, said this about relaunching the print edition in partnership with Comcast. “We appreciate and thank Comcast for their partnership and generosity in helping us get La Prensa Sonoma back into print. Like The Press Democrat and La Prensa Sonoma, Comcast is a vital link for the Latino community in Sonoma County and has always been generous in giving back.”

“Comcast recently announced a comprehensive, multiyear plan to allocate $100 million to fight injustice and inequality against any race, ethnicity, gender identity, sexual orientation or ability, continuing a deep and longstanding commitment to support diversity, equality and inclusion,” said Lorena Hernandez, Director of Community Impact for Comcast California. “Among the many diverse populations we serve, the Latinx community is one of our highest priorities. We know that the Latinx population has been disproportionately impacted by COVID-19 as well as by the social injustice that we are all fighting so hard against. It’s for all of these reasons that Comcast is excited to be a key partner in relaunching La Prensa Sonoma so that we can support, build up, inform and entertain our Latinx communities.”

La Prensa Sonoma will restart publishing in print February 23, 2021 and will continue on a monthly publication schedule of the last Tuesday of the month. The publication will be distributed free of charge to approximately 12,000 households in Latino-dominant neighborhoods throughout Sonoma County. An additional 8,000 copies will be distributed at markets, restaurants and other high-traffic areas in the Latino community.

LaPrensaSonoma.com will continue to be updated daily with original content and translations of articles from other SMI publications. Treviño chooses the stories to translate, based on the needs of the Latino community. He states, “Many local Latinos come from countries with great news media, journalists and writers, and we aim to give them the best from Sonoma County’s local news media in everything from news, culture, entertainment, sports and food.”

Aside from local news of interest to Latinos, La Prensa Sonoma also features utility pieces to help readers navigate the ins and outs of living in Sonoma County – especially for immigrants. As well, the website and printed publication will feature a comprehensive slate of entertainment, food, and humaninterest stories to engage Latino readers.

Along with the Pulitzer Prize-winning The Press Democrat, Sonoma Media Investments owns the Sonoma Index-Tribune, Petaluma Argus-Courier, North Bay Business Journal, and Sonoma Magazine. All of the publications have corresponding high-traffic websites that result in a combined readership that reaches 7 out of 10 North Bay residents.

https://www.santarosametrochamber.com/index.php?src=blog&srctype=detail&refno=650&category=Member

When Steffen Kuehr looks at discarded fire hoses, he envisions belts, dog leashes and drink coasters.

When he looks at vinyl event banners and all those billboards along highways, he sees totes, wine carriers and messenger bags.

Kuehr, through his Santa Rosa company TekTailor, takes other people’s garbage and repurposes it into functional items. It’s called upcycling — the transformation of waste into a product people want.

Among his most ambitious undertakings was to look at what might be done with thousands of pounds of fire hose from the 2019 Kincade Fire that burned in northern Sonoma County and the 2020 Glass Fire that ravaged parts of Napa and Sonoma counties. Once a hose has been damaged it cannot be used for another fire.

“The fire hose was not easy to work with because it’s thick and hard,” Kuehr, 46, said. “We have to create products around the characteristics of the material. With the fire hose we soak it in a tub with natural cleaning liquid, power wash it, and hang it to dry.”

The company had 4,700 pounds of hose from the Glass Fire and another 2,500 from the Kincade Fire.

The width and pattern in the hose help determine what it will be in its next life.

During the holidays the biggest seller for TekTailor was the coasters made from the fire hose. A set of six costs $20. To date nearly 700 have been sold.

Recology Sonoma Marin was the waste company responsible for disposing of those fire hoses.

“Steffen opened my eyes to all the reuses instead of burying (the hoses). It has awesome markings. He has made it into floor mats, into belts, dog leashes and wallets,” General Manager Fred Stemmler said.

The primary reason Recology wanted to partner with TekTailor was to keep the hose out the landfill. A bonus was not having to pay $560 to get rid of the material.

“Our company’s focus is on zero waste even though we are a garbage company,” Stemmler added. “I wish more people were thinking like (Kuehr) and making goods with resources that we think of as trash today.”

The business side

Kuehr doesn’t pay for the material he receives from a company. He makes his money by reselling the new products via the retail store in Santa Rosa and on the company’s website, as well as selling product back to the companies which gave him the reusable goods.

He shies away from putting products in other stores because at some point they cannot be reordered. That’s the nature of a constantly changing supply chain. Is the business financially successful?

“With regards to company revenue, I’d rather leave that information out. Not big enough yet to brag about it unfortunately,” Kuehr said. Plus, he is also into philanthropy, with some of the proceeds from fire hose sales being given to a nonprofit that benefits firefighters.

Kuehr admits what he needs to do is better tell his story and that of the products.

“Every project, every material, every banner has a cool story. That is what gets people’s attention,” he said.

To help tell that story most of the end products come with a tag showing what the original discarded item looked like and the company it came from.

For now, most of what TekTailor works on is from the North Bay. Kuehr would be willing to expand his territory if the business with the goods paid for the shipping. He also needs to know he can do something with the product and then sell it. He doesn’t want a lot of material hanging around either to be made into something or ready to be bought.

He is willing to experiment. Kuehr took a roll of artificial turf from Sonoma Raceway and didn’t ask for more. “It was so dirty there was not much we could do with it.”

TekTailor’s 12 employees have access to more than 60 industrial sewing machines in the 20,000-square-foot Sonoma County warehouse.

“We have a lot of different machines here,” Kuehr explained. “We have machines to set snaps and grommets on products. We have a heat stamping machine so we can do leather labels with embossed logos.”

Kuehr took over the company in 2010 from his in-laws. The Sonoma-USA arm of the company is being phased out to have all of the upcycle activities under the TekTailor brand.

A variety of products

Billboards, burlap sacks, vinyl banners, old linens and more are all products the seamstresses and tailors at TekTailor work with.

“Billboards tell part of the marketing story of a company,” Kuehr said. His background is in marketing so his creativity comes from that standpoint, not as someone who sews.

Clover has bought some of the mini-shopping bags made with its billboards as gifts for employees. The general public has access to the product via TekTailor’s website.

“His stuff is a much higher quality and has unique design features to it. It is generally in line with what we paid before, but much higher quality and cooler options,” Kristel Corson, chief revenue officer with Clover Sonoma, said. “The larger billboard tote bags are incredible in durability. They are far stronger than the typical Trader Joe’s shopping bag.”

Kuehr approached the Petaluma-based dairy company a couple years ago about repurposing the vinyl material on its billboards; something Clover had not realized was a possibility. The company has eight billboards throughout the Bay Area that are changed out quarterly.

When it is held, those who attend the Marin County Fair are able to buy products made from the banners used at previous fairs.

“The messenger bags are always popular, as are the tote bags, and the wine carriers,” Libby Garrison with the fair said. “During the holiday boutique the single bottle and double bottle wine carriers were really popular. I like the clutch purse. It’s a makeup case with a zipper pocket.”

In three years the fair has kept 258 yards of vinyl fabric from going to a landfill. This is from the pole and street banners used in 2017, 2018 and 2019 fairs.

“The advantage to working with Steffen and TekTailor is he picks up banners, cleans them, and remakes them and sells them through his website. The organization gets a percentage of sales so it’s a win-win all around,” Garrison said.

Weaver’s Coffee & Tea in San Rafael has given TekTailor burlap sacks from around the world that originally had more than 100 pounds of coffee beans in them. Some bags are more colorful than others, and the burlap is not all the same.

Alvarado Street Bakery in Petaluma has provided bags from wheat berries. Bags are 4 square feet in size, as well as 4 feet high when full of product.

At the fine linen rental company La Tavola in Napa decommissioned table clothes and other linens have been upcycled by TekTailor. Once the material is stained it is taken out of circulation and then repurposed by Kuehr’s people. Mostly the linens become tote bags. Some of the tablecloths are sold as fabric in TekTailor’s store. Custom napkins were created for one customer.

“We have made one-off products. A little architecture firm had three little pull out banners that we turned into six or seven tote bags that they bought for their team,” Kuehr said.

Sonoma Raceway has been a partner with TekTailor since May 2016 when it comes to signs at the track. Vinyl banners, which are not biodegradable, are what get repurposed. The best seller from the raceway has been the 50th anniversary banner from 2019.

Steve Page, who retired last year as the raceway’s general manager and president, initiated the relationship with TekTailor.

“It dawned on me we were sending a lot of material to the landfill when we were changing out the corporate banners,” Page said. “We have huge walls that face the track; I would say dozens. Some are more than 100 feet long. They are designed for the TV viewer from a distance.

“It’s an ingenious initiative on Steffen’s part. It’s wonderful for us to know we are not dumping all of this into the landfill and there are cool products on the market.”

Page has as an iPad case and a couple wine carriers from those banners. The track has given out wine carriers filled with wine to drivers, team owners and others.

“Our goal is to work with more big businesses to turn them into more meaningful corporate gifts, to move away from the old random swag. We can turn their banners into unique products that let their story live on,” Kuehr said.

BioMarin Pharmaceutical Inc. (Nasdaq: BMRN) on Thursday reported fourth-quarter profit of $22.1 million, up 9% from a year before.

The San Rafael, California-based company said it had net income of 12 cents per share. Earnings, adjusted for one-time gains and costs, were 21 cents per share.

“Despite the impact in 2020 from the COVID-19 pandemic and a delay in the potential approval of valoctocogene roxaparvovec for severe hemophilia A, demand for our current product portfolio continued to drive steady revenue growth and expansion of our pipeline,” said Jean-Jacques Bienaimé, chairman and CEO, a news release. “Excluding contributions from Kuvan, for which a generic became available during 2020, total revenues grew 13% in 2020, and generated $85 million of positive operating cash flows for the full year, underscoring the essential nature of our medicines.”

The results topped Wall Street expectations. The average estimate of nine analysts surveyed by Zacks Investment Research was for earnings of 17 cents per share.

The rare disease biopharmaceutical developer posted revenue of $452.1 million in the period, also surpassing Street forecasts. Ten analysts surveyed by Zacks expected $447.2 million.

For the year, the company reported net income of $859.1 million, or $4.53 per share, swinging to a profit in the period from a $23.8 million loss a year before. Revenue was reported as $1.86 billion.

BioMarin expects full-year revenue in the range of $1.75 billion to $1.85 billion.

BioMarin shares have fallen almost 7% since the beginning of the year. In the final minutes of trading on Thursday, shares hit $81.76, a decline of 10% in the last 12 months.