NY Gov. Hochul Asks Supreme Court to Toss Lawsuit Over Covid-Era Vaccination Mandate
The New York State Department of Health issued an emergency rule in August 2021 requiring employers in the health care field to mandate COVID-19 vaccinations for their workers.
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New York Post
2 hours ago
- New York Post
Thousands of New Yorkers — including ‘Orange is the New Black' actor Matt McGorry — suffer from ‘Long COVID'
Tens of thousands of New Yorkers — including 'Orange is the New Black' actor Matt McGorry — suffer from 'long COVID' five years after the deadly once-in-a-century pandemic hit, shocking new data reveal. 'My actual daily survival is based on understanding and navigating [it],' said McGorry, a 39-year-old Manhattan native, who was part of a recent online city Department of Health series about the issue. A COVID and flu vaccination campaign conducted by the Health Department over the past year referred 21,805 residents to receive long-COVID-specific services during medical check-ups and outreach programs. Advertisement 3 'Orange is the New Block' actor Matt McGorry suffers from 'long COVID.' NYCHealth The department also is conducting an ongoing study of residents who have had COVID-19. Preliminary results from the study so far indicate that more than one in four of the adults has experienced long-term symptoms, meeting the definition for long COVID. Advertisement More than 80% of those with long COVID reported limitations in daily functioning, and more than 25% said they experienced employment changes because of related medical issues. An estimated 500,000 residents had lingering COVID-impacted illnesses that interfered with daily life in 2023, the department said. 'Together, these studies suggest that New Yorkers continue to experience the long-term effects of COVID-19, impacting not only health, but also work and daily life,' a Health Department spokesman said in a statement. 'Given the wide range and persistence of symptoms, the Health Department is continuing to analyze these data to better understand the burden of Long COVID and inform responsive public health strategies.' Advertisement 3 According to New York City Department of Health data, there are tens of thousands of New Yorkers are living with long COVID. BASILICOSTUDIO STOCK – Symptoms of long COVID include coughing or feeling short of breath, trouble thinking clearly or concentrating or having 'brain fog,' dizziness or a fast heart rate, sleep issues, anxiety or depression, fatigue, stomach problems, muscle pains or losing the ability to taste or smell. Long COVID also impacts blood vessels, raising the risk of heart ailments. Acting Health Department Commissioner Dr. Michelle Morse said long COVID is a serious problem that warrants monitoring of patients, the way the medical community has tracked the medical conditions of residents exposed to toxic fumes and debris from 9/11. Advertisement 3 'Brain fog' and having trouble concentrating is one of the symptoms of long COVID. Antonioguillem – She discussed the department's efforts during two video interviews with McGorry. 'Our data here in New York City suggests there are about one in three New Yorkers who say they had symptoms that had lasted more than a month after their COVID infection,' Morse said. Not all those cases meet the definition of long COVID, Morse said. McGorry, 39, said long COVID severely impacted his career, which has included roles in the hit Netflix series 'Orange is the New Black' and the TV series 'How to Get Away With Murder.' 'Fatigue was and still is the main issue,' he said. Every morning, the NY POSTcast offers a deep dive into the headlines with the Post's signature mix of politics, business, pop culture, true crime and everything in between. Subscribe here! He said he sometimes feels 'light-headed', has trouble sleeping and has blood vessel damage and micro-clots. Advertisement The actor said he decided to go public as part of a public-awareness and social-justice campaign to help others less well off than he is navigate lingering medical woes from the coronavirus. 'Essentially I have been locked out of my industry, and that has had big financial impacts,' McGorry told Morse. 'No one should have to choose between a paycheck and their life and safety. … I really want to raise as much awareness as possible.' Advertisement Over the past year, the department has sought to bolster COVID and flu vaccination rates in underserved neighborhoods through its Building Resiliency and Vaccine Equity program. The program reached 319,507 residents and referred 42,773 New Yorkers for COVID vaccination. Medical and social-service coordinators also referred 80,975 people to COVID-related services, and specifically 21,805 participants to long-COVID-specific services and 257,802 to other health and social services.
UPI
7 hours ago
- UPI
State Department to burn birth control worth $9.7M meant for poor nations
The U.S. government plans to destroy $9.7 million of contraceptives for poor nations, mainly in Africa, after the nation "explored all possible options to prevent the destruction." UPI file photo | License Photo July 27 (UPI) -- The U.S. government plans to destroy a stockpile of contraceptives worth $9.7 million for poor nations, mainly in Africa, after the State Department "explored all possible options to prevent the destruction." The contraceptives include nearly 2 million doses of injectables, 900,000 implantable devices and more than 2 million oral packets, according to internal auditing in April obtained by The Washington Post. Chelsea Polis, a researcher with Guttsmacher Institute, which supports abortion rights, told the newspaper that the contraceptives could provide more than 650,000 women with pregnancy protection for up to one year and 950,000 women for three years. U.S. laws and rules prohibit sending U.S. aid to organizations that provide abortion services, counsel about the procedure or advocate for the right overseas. "The State Department confirms that a preliminary decision was made to destroy certain abortifacient birth control commodities from terminated Biden-era USAID contracts," a spokesperson said in a statement. "Only a limited number of commodities have been approved for disposal. No HIV medications or condoms are being destroyed." The destruction will cost $167,000, the spokesperson said. Most contraceptives have less than 70% of shelf life before expiration, the spokesperson said. The Guardian contacted an aide who visited the warehouse in Belgium and found the earliest expiration date was 2027. Two-thirds didn't have any labels. Belgium, the United Nations and humanitarian groups said they unsuccessfully stopped the destruction plans for the contraceptives. The U.S. Agency for International Development, which Trump disbanded and merged into the State Department, was to have distributed them. They are part of a $9.5 billion program over 10 years to provide aid to more than 40 nations. The government said it based its decision on a policy that restricts funding for reproductive-related actions in the Mexico City Policy and the Kemp-Kasten amendment. President Ronald Reagan instituted the policy in 1985 and it has become a political issue. It has rescinded by Democratic presidents and reinstated by Republicans several times, including by President Donald Trump when he returned to office in January. A bipartisan group of U.S. legislators doesn't want the contraceptives to be destroyed, including Republican Sens. Lisa Murkowski of Alaska, and Democrats Jeanne Shaheen of New Hampshire and Brian Schatz of Hawaii. "This is a waste of U.S. taxpayer dollars and an abdication of U.S. global leadership in preventing unintended pregnancies, unsafe abortions and maternal deaths," said Shaheen, who in June sent a letter to the Secretary of State Marco Rubio about the matter. The U.N. Population Fund and the International Planned Parenthood Federation were interested in receiving the contraceptives. "UNFPA was in conversation with Chemonics about purchasing the contraceptives but didn't receive an answer from them," UNFPA spokesman Eddie Wright said. "It's the height of hypocrisy for a government to preach efficiency and cutting waste, only to turn around and recklessly destroy lifesaving supplies when the need has never been greater," Micah Grzywnowicz, regional director of the International Planned Parenthood Federation European Network, said in a statement MSI Reproductive Choices offered to pay for shipping and repackaging. MSI provides abortion services. "The complete dismantling of the world's largest donor for international family planning has been a catastrophe for the global supply chain of contraceptives," said Sarah Shaw, associate director of advocacy and for the organization. Sub-Saharan Africa has experienced an increase in teen births, according to a study at Columbia University in 2024. The number of births climbed from 4.5 million births in 2000 to 6.1 million in 2021as they decreased in the rest of the world. In Africa, 30% of all woman use birth control but more than half would use it if available, according to DebboAfrica, a healthcare company for African women. Worldwide, around half of women of reproductive age of 15-19 use some form of contraception, according to Focus2030. Foreign aid cuts could lead to more than 14 million additional deaths by 2023, including two-thirds children, according to a study published in Lancet earlier this month. Congress earlier this month passed legislation to remove $8 billion in foreign assistance. The Atlantic reported earlier this month that 551 tons of emergency food were expiring and will be incinerated rather than being fed to almost 1.5 million children in Afghanistan and Pakistan. Almost 800,000 Mpox vaccines to be sent to Africa also are not usable because they are past their expiration date, Politico reported earlier this month.
Forbes
11 hours ago
- Forbes
Canadian Wildfire Smoke: New York City Faces Air Quality Advisory for Second Day in a Row
New York City and other parts of the Northeast were placed under air quality alerts for the second day in a row as smoke from the wildfires burning in Canada again brings hazardous conditions to the region. New York City was placed under an air quality health advisory over the weekend. AFP via Getty Images New York City, Long Island and the Hudson Valley will all experience air quality within the 101-150 range on the air quality index Sunday, the state's Department of Environmental Conservation forecasted—meaning the air could contain fine particles and could be 'unhealthy for sensitive groups.' Sensitive groups include very young children and adults with preexisting conditions like asthma and heart disease, the New York State Department of Health said, recommending these individuals limit 'strenuous outdoor physical activity.' The state issued an Air Quality Health Advisory on Saturday afternoon as smoke began blanketing the region, and extended the warning through Sunday evening at 11:59 p.m. EDT. Parts of New Jersey, New England and Quebec could also experience similar air quality conditions, according to online tracker IQAir. 120. That was the air quality reading for New York City as of around 11 a.m. EDT on Sunday morning—the eighth worst among major cities in the world, according to IQAir, and the worst in North America. Key Background The smoke blanketing the Northeast over the weekend is primarily the result of massive wildfires burning in Canada. Over 3,300 have burned over 5.6 million hectares across Canada year-to-date, according to the Canadian Interagency Fire Centre's most recent report. Canada has suffered from severe wildfires since a record-breaking 2023 wildfire season, when fires burning in Quebec blanketed New York City in an orange haze. Earlier this month, a group of Republican members of Congress from Wisconsin and Minnesota wrote to Ambassador Kirsten Hillman, Canada's ambassador to the U.S., asking the country for more information about how it planned to combat the fires and implying a 'lack of active forest management' played a role in exacerbating the situation. Manitoba Premier Wab Kinew, the leader of the Canadian province where wildfires forced thousands to evacuate and trapped and killed two people in a rural area in May, criticized the group as 'ambulance chasers' and challenged them to visit and support the American firefighters involved in battling the blazes on the Canadian side of the border. The air quality readings in New York this weekend are just a fraction of what was recorded in 2023, when readings spiked above 400—a level considered hazardous for the entire population.
