Bay Briefing: California has used only a third of its available vaccines as case count hits record - San Francisco Chronicle

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Good morning, Bay Area. It’s Tuesday, Jan. 5, and Big Sur could be in for some big changes. Here’s what you need to know to start your day.

Getting vaccines to people

California reported on Monday that only about a third of all coronavirus vaccine doses sent to the state — or about 450,000 doses of 1.3 million total — have been used so far. This matches a slower-than-expected rollout of vaccines across the country, but the state is below average in percentage of available doses used.

Meanwhile the surge that’s swept over California for the past two months leveled off last week — still near all-time highs of cases and hospitalizations. But Monday’s report of 70,000 new coronavirus cases made officials realize that the predicted “surge on top of a surge” from post-Christmas and New Year’s cases had arrived.

Read more on the latest from reporter Erin Allday.

• Why a Petaluma hospital is getting help from emergency workers elsewhere in California.

• Newsom to propose $300 million for coronavirus vaccine distribution in California budget.

• S.F. wants to cancel homeless count amid COVID-19 concerns.

Silicon Valley pushback

Workers protest against Google's handling of sexual misconduct allegations at the company's Mountain View headquarters.

More than 200 employees at Google parent company Alphabet announced plans to form a union with both full-time and contract workers on Monday.

It’s a rare move in the tech industry that comes after public walkouts and controversies over employee dismissals at Google in recent years. Disputes over government contracts, particularly work on drone technology with military applications, also created cause for pushing back, members of the unionization push said.

While only a small fraction of the more than 130,000 Alphabet employees worldwide are involved, Chase DiFeliciantonio reports, the union drive is less focused on striking a contract and more on creating a center of gravity for ongoing activism at the company.

What does Georgia have to do with California?

Vice President-elect Kamala Harris speaks at a drive-in rally in Savannah, Ga., during a campaign stop for Democratic candidates.

The results of the Georgia Senate elections Tuesday will ripple through California — especially if Democrats sweep the two races.

If that happens, the Democrats gain a 50-50 split in the Senate, and California’s most prominent national figure, Vice President-elect Kamala Harris, will become the tie-breaking vote in the Senate, gaining a lot more visibility than most veeps.

Reporter Joe Garofoli looks at more ramifications from an election on the other side of the country.

For this evening: Results from Georgia Senate elections.

Around the Bay

• Policy changes promised: The San Francisco District Attorney’s Office on Monday filed manslaughter charges against Troy McAlister, the parolee accused of fatally striking two pedestrians in downtown San Francisco on New Year’s Eve. The charges come as District Attorney Chesa Boudin and parole officials face intense scrutiny over the case.

• “Sledgehammer instead of a scalpel”: California freezes many people’s unemployment benefits to combat fraud, frustrating those in need.

• Q.R. Hand Jr.: Beloved Bay Area Black poet who blended verse and jazz dies at 83.

• Who’s on short list? San Francisco’s Board of Supervisors faces first task of 2021 — choosing a president.

• Shell company? Mysterious $500,000 contribution to Newsom recall effort is focus of complaint.

• Holy internet, Batman! We found the winner of 1960s Chronicle “Batmobile” contest. More: Library director Bill van Niekerken’s farewell column.

• A different look: The likely reality for the 49ers, Eric Branch writes, is that this core isn’t coming back.

• Not all quarantinis: Pandemic drinking did not save the wine industry's slowing sales, new data shows.

• Much to do, no time to waste: In 2020, San Francisco accomplished a major feat: enduring the COVID-19 pandemic with the lowest death rate of any major American city. Now it must tackle crises caused and overshadowed by the pandemic, Heather Knight writes.

In Case You Missed It

Tourists stop for selfies on the Bixby Bridge outside Big Sur.

“It’s a goat rodeo.”

That’s how Butch Kronlund, executive director of the Community Association of Big Sur, describes visitor behavior near Highway 1 at Bixby Creek Bridge over the past five years: parking in the narrow roadway, causing hours-long traffic delays and dangerously posing for pictures on the landmark bridge.

“Now the landscape is just a backdrop for people’s antics,” Kronlund says and, as a result, residents of the region are now considering a huge change in how tourists experience the 70-mile stretch of coast around Big Sur.