More than 5,300 people with COVID-19 were hospitalized in California on Sunday, almost twice the number two weeks earlier.

The California Legislature has approved several Medi-Cal budget items that would remove barriers to care, such as the asset rule. Now it’s negotiating with the governor.

Will state’s bumpy vaccine rollout, more contagious virus mutations, and decision to open up send Covid-19 cases surging again?

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.

State leaders believe the rich and influential will have a hard time cutting in line to get the first precious doses of the vaccine.

It’s an ironic twist to the pandemic: When the health care system seems to need workers the most, it can’t afford to keep them all.