Media Coverage

A coronavirus antibody testing program and study is underway in Ventura County, aimed at determining the prevalence of people with antibodies in certain vulnerable populations to ensure the county is prepared for future responses to the virus.

“There’s still much we don’t know about the epidemiology of COVID-19,” said Dr. Paul Hsu, epidemiologist with UCLA, which is conducting the study. “We’re finding that this disease affects certain groups disproportionately, and this study will help us learn about populations that may not have been well-studied in the past.”

The uninsured, in many cases unemployed, people who lined up Wednesday at a Thousand Oaks free clinic for free produce, brown rice and antibody tests may be soldiers in the fight against COVID-19.

As part of a project expanding across Ventura County, patrons of the Westminister Free Clinic's health care and food distribution programs bared their arms for blood draws designed to reveal antibodies showing they once carried the coronavirus.

VENTURA COUNTY, Calif. - Since the outbreak of COVID-19, the County of Ventura said it has been actively working with community partners to obtain antibody tests for the area.

The county said there is a race throughout the nation to acquire point-of-care COVID-19 antibody tests. This antibody testing, which is also called serologic testing or immunity testing, can reportedly reveal whether a person’s immune system has already created a response to the coronavirus.

Santa Rosa Valley real-estate agent Rosemary Allison has been named 2020 Woman of the Year by Assemblywoman Jacqui Irwin, D-Thousand Oaks.

Irwin recognized Allison for her many efforts to help the community, both through volunteering and raising funds.

Ventura County is looking for donations of face masks and other protective equipment to help health care workers responding to the coronavirus.

This week, the Ventura County Office of Emergency Services began accepting donations at three drop-off locations: Assembly member Jacqui Irwin’s offices in Oxnard and Camarillo and the Ventura County Community Foundation in Camarillo. The county is requesting new and unused surgical masks, N-95 masks, procedure masks, isolation gowns, medical goggles, dracon culture swabs and Tyvek suits.

By Gretchen Wenner in the Ventura County Star

If you have spare protective gear used by medical workers, Ventura County wants it.

On Monday night, officials put out a plea to the public for donations. The request comes as local cases of the new coronavirus continue to rise and four staff members at Community Memorial Hospital in Ventura have tested positive for the virus.

Legislation to create a California Housing Agency that oversees all activities related to housing was introduced by Assemblymember Jacqui Irwin (D-Thousand Oaks) Feb. 19. “AB 2506 is a necessary reform which concentrates California’s efforts into one agency, allowing for more streamlined and timely action to increase our housing supply shortfall,” said Irwin.

Berkeley SkyDeck, UC Berkeley’s flagship startup incubator, will be sending to Sacramento seven of the startups it has graduated in a first-of-its-kind municipal partnership.

The agreement, announced this week, will let the companies, which each must have at least one founder who is an alumna of a University of California campus, get to know the Sacramento area and spread the energy of Berkeley’s entrepreneurs to other parts of the state.

November marked a year since the mass shooting at the Borderline Bar and Grill in Thousand Oaks that left 12 people dead. On this episode, we look at what steps have been taken to curb gun violence since the tragedy and the role that mental health plays in these shootings.

We speak with former Thousand Oaks Mayor and current state Assemblymember Jacqui Irwin about where she was when she received the news and the steps she is taking to curb gun violence. In the wake of the tragedy, she crafted several bills aimed at curbing gun violence.