Category: Health

California University of Science and Medicine’s (CUSM) Women’s Health Department Chair, Guillermo Valenzuela, M.D., was selected to receive the Community Health Champion Award from the Time for Change Foundation, a local non-profit housing and transitional service for homeless and formerly incarcerated women on Thursday, April 8, 2021. Each year an individual has been chosen for their hard work and dedication. Dr. Valenzuela has been a supportive physician towards low-income women in the community. The foundation admires his overall support toward women’s health and well-being by going above and beyond to ensure that females have access to health care. “Dr. Valenzuela has selflessly contributed to the lives of women and children. We are honored to present this award for his generous contributions for women’s health and to organizations that support the well-being of all women,” said Vanessa Perez, Director of the Time for Change Foundation. “The Community Health Champion Award was given to Dr. Valenzuela because from a humble beginning, he swore as a child that he would become a doctor to provide medical care for his community. It is the dream of a young boy…

San Bernardino County this morning temporarily paused distribution and use of the Johnson & Johnson COVID-19 vaccine in accordance with recommendations made by state and federal health agencies. The pause was issued in response to six reported cases of a rare and severe type of blood clot in individuals after receiving the Johnson & Johnson/Janssen vaccine. None of the six cases were in California. More than 6.8 million doses of the Johnson & Johnson/Janssen vaccine have been administered in the U.S. “The county has no higher priority than the health and safety of our residents,” said Dr. Michael A. Sequeira, San Bernardino County Health Officer. “Although this condition is extremely rare among Johnson & Johnson recipients – much rarer than serious blood clots among those who contract COVID-19 – this pause is prudent pending further federal review.” “The Pfizer and Moderna vaccines remain widely available in our county and have proven to be safe and effective,” Sequeira said. “The public should remain confident in the nation’s COVID-19 vaccination effort.” Anyone who has received the Johnson & Johnson/Janssen vaccine and who develops a severe headache, abdominal…

BioLife Plasma Services held its grand opening in Rialto on Mar. 27 at 1346 W. Foothill Blvd. This is the second location the company, part of global biopharmaceutical company Takeda, has opened in California; two more are scheduled to open in Riverside and Corona. Plasma donations received at BioLife centers are used by Takeda to make established therapies that treat a range of rare and complex conditions for which there is often no alternative treatment. “Our expansion into California is part of BioLife’s mission as a leader in plasma donation to grow our network and address an urgent need for life-saving plasma used to develop therapies for people around the world,” said Hema Tallman, Global Head of BioLife Operations. “Plasma-based therapies are a lifeline for thousands of people with rare, chronic and complex diseases, and donors in Southern California now have a unique opportunity to make a difference in their communities through plasma donation.” As the demand for plasma-based therapies increases, BioLife is expanding to help meet the resulting need for plasma donations. The centers will contribute approximately $2-3 million annually to each local community…