2,905,611 VISITORS VISIT 8,324,077 TIMES 3 TIMES EVERY DAY IN ONE YEAR. HIGHEST ACTIVITY IN WPCNR HISTORY.White PlainsCitizeNetReporter lifted its worldwide visits from unique visitors to wpcnr.com to 8,324,077,a 1,306,419 increase in visits in one year from 7,017,658 visits to the site last year which covers White Plains and Westchester County. The 8,324,077 visits were made by 2,005,611 unique visitors who visited wpcnr an average of 3 visits a day. Today, January 20, 1,907 visitors have accessed wpcnr and made 3,072 visits an average of 1.6 visits. In the last week 33,495 individual vistors made 54,458 visits, averaging 1.6 visits. In the last month, 152,940 vistors recorded 229,338 visits (1.5 visits)
TODAY: IN THE WAKE OF SEVERE FLOODING, GILLIBRAND TO BRING SENIOR ADVISOR TO PRESIDENT BIDEN AND WHITE HOUSE INFRASTRUCTURE COORDINATOR MITCH LANDRIEU TO MOUNT VERNON FOR ROUNDTABLE ON RESILIENT INFRASTRUCTURE
MOUNT VERNON, N.Y. – TODAY, Friday, July 21st at 3:50 PM: In the wake of severe flooding that devastated the Hudson Valley, U.S. Senator Kirsten Gillibrand will bring Senior Advisor to President Biden and White House Infrastructure Coordinator Mitch Landrieu to Mount Vernon for a roundtable discussion with state and local leaders on federal investments in resilient infrastructure. Senator Gillibrand is committed to helping the Hudson Valley recover from the flooding and her visit with Mitch Landrieu will help support infrastructure investment throughout the region.
Senator Gillibrand and Mitch Landrieu will be joined by Mount Vernon Mayor Shawyn Patterson-Howard, Majority Leader Andrea Stewart-Cousins, State Senator Shelley Mayer, State Senator Nathalia Fernandez, Assemblymember J. Gary Pretlow, Assemblymember MaryJane Shimsky, Assemblymember Chris Burdick, and Westchester County Executive George Latimer.
JOHN BAILEY INTERVIEWS JOHN IORIS, AND EXECUTIVE PRODUCER STEPHEN FERRI ON THE WHITE PLAINS PERFORMING ARTS CENTER 20TH SEASON AND CHAIRMAN OF THE ORGANIZATION JOHN IORIS ON ITS FUTURE
JOHN IORIS, CHAIR & PRESIDENT HAVE THEIR SAY!
THE KEY TO TURNING AROUND THE THEATRE INTO A PROFITABLE OPERATION
THE NEW SHOWS COMING UP AT WESTCHESTER’S ONLY FULLTIME PROFESSIONAL THEATRE
TONIGHT’S PROGRAM MAY ALSO BE SEEN WORLDWIDE ON WWW.WPCOMMUNITYMEDIA.ORG
Our excellent YLE copy editor is out this week. So, I read and reread this about a thousand times and even downloaded an AI grammar program. I guarantee there are still mistakes. I think we will all live, but consider this your warning.
Yesterday, the New York Timessuggested the pandemic is over. We are in a very different place. And, I understand the desire for a “thank goodness that’s done” mindset. And I hope COVID-19 isn’t always on top of your mind.
But COVID-19 is still around. I hope you continue to join me on the scientific discovery ride. Here is your state of affairs.
United States
After a few quiet months, COVID-19 is increasing in the Southern and Western United States. Three early indicators—wastewater, ED visits, and test positivity— are increasing uniformly, albeit from low absolute levels. Using back-of-the-napkin math, this equates to ~1 in 1,180 people infected today. If you squint really hard, hospitalizations are starting to increase, too.
Note this is for Region 6— which includes several Southern states. Source: CDC
This isn’t surprising; we’ve consistently seen a Southern summer wave throughout the pandemic. While the latest Omicron subvariant soup may partly drive this uptick, it’s more likely behavior; people moving inside due to ridiculous heat.
SARS-CoV-2 wastewater by region (pink=South) with added annotations by KKJ
Since late January 2023, excess deaths have reached pre-pandemic levels. This has been a massive reprieve.
(CDC)
I am surprised; I always assumed that we would need to increase the excess death baseline given we added a new threat to our repertoire. But, for now, we don’t. Perhaps this is due to a combination of things:
You can’t die twice. COVID-19 has killed the most medically fragile people over the last three years, and those premature deaths lead to fewer deaths today. In this case, excess deaths could rebound in coming years;
Population-level immunity. Hybrid immunity is holding up greater than we expected, even among older Americans;
Relative. COVID-19 deaths are so small relative to the entire burden of death that it’s immaterial. It’s a fraction of all daily deaths and within the margin of error;
Another type of death could be decreasing, thus canceling out the impact of COVID-19. (I don’t think this is likely.)
This will be fascinating to follow given the upcoming respiratory season, COVID-19 still settling into seasonality, millions of people losing health insurance, and other things, like the heat wave. I don’t think excess deaths has settled just yet.
International surveillance
Zooming out, eyes are on two particular places around the globe:
Okinawa, Japan. COVID-19 hospitalizations continue to increase exponentially, surpassing their winter wave and overwhelming hospitals. This is driven by XBB, changing behavior (big holiday), and a large pool of susceptible people— it’s been about six months since their last wave. Everyone is waiting to see if this transpires outside of Okinawa.
The average number of COVID-19 patients per medical institution (Okinawa) by week, month, and year. Latest data from July 2. Source: Ministry of Health
Dominican Republic: A new Omicron variant— FL1.5.1— is showing its teeth by exponentially increasing quickly. This variant has the same spike protein as what’s currently circulating (XBB) but several non-spike mutations. It’s in its infancy, so it’s unclear if (and how) it will impact real-world metrics. It’s one to keep an eye on.
What’s next?
The COVID-19 Modeling Hub— eight academic teams across the U.S.— just released projections for the next two years: hospitalizations and deaths will likely stay within last year’s range.
Unfortunately, this means we should expect to lose 55,000 (optimistic model)- 450,000 Americans (pessimistic model) due to COVID-19.
Projected COVID-19 deaths in the United States for the next two seasons. Source here.
We’re waiting on a fall vaccine eligibility decision from CDC, which will happen in mid-September.
Whispers on the street suggest that everyone will be eligible.
The ACIP meeting should be fascinating because we will see the first cost-effectiveness analyses now that vaccines are privatized—are the benefits of the COVID-19 vaccines worth the individual cost for everyone? I would also love to see the updated CDC benefit/risk analysis for young males.
Bottom line
COVID-19 is increasing; don’t be surprised to hear more people getting infected around you. I already am. This isn’t enough reason to change my personal behaviors, but that time may come this fall.
Stay healthy (and cool) out there.
Love, YLE
“Your Local Epidemiologist (YLE)” is written by Dr. Katelyn Jetelina, MPH Ph.D.—an epidemiologist, wife. During the day, she is a senior scientific consultant to several organizations. At night she writes this newsletter. Her main goal is to “translate” the ever-evolving public health world so that people will be well-equipped to make evidence-based decisions. This newsletter is free, thanks to the generous support of fellow YLE community members. To support this effort, subscribe below:
Governor Hochul Also Requests Expedited FEMA Damage Assessment Process, As State Disaster Representatives Already on Ground Conducting Damage Assessments in Hardest Hit Communities
Governor Kathy Hochul Friday afternoon requested a Major Disaster Declaration from President Biden to support the ongoing recovery of communities impacted by devastating flooding stemming from this week’s heavy rainstorms, which spanned across much of Upstate New York.
If granted, this declaration would release critical federal financial assistance that will support recovery and reconstruction efforts in Albany, Clinton, Dutchess, Essex, Hamilton, Ontario, Orange, Oswego, Putnam, Rensselaer, Rockland, and Westchester counties, with the opportunity for additional counties to be added in the coming weeks as the damage assessment process continues.
Additionally, Governor Hochul is requesting federal support for homeowners in Ontario and Orange Counties, as well as an expedited damage assessment process. New York will also be engaging with the U.S. Small Business Administration to pursue low-interest recovery loans for impacted private businesses in the coming weeks.
“My administration is no stranger to extreme weather events and the weather of this past week has shown that not only do we need federal assistance to help recover from these storms, but government leaders at all levels need to prioritize making our infrastructure more resilient,” Governor Hochul said. “I have spoken with The White House, our Senators, and FEMA leadership about the need for a swift approval of this disaster declaration, so we can help New Yorkers recover quickly and efficiently.”
A Major Disaster Declaration secures financial assistance from the federal government, primarily through FEMA’s Public Assistance Program, to provide funding to local governments, tribes and eligible non-profits for debris removal, protective measures, and repairs to buildings and infrastructure, including roads, bridges, water and wastewater treatment facilities, critical infrastructure sites, schools, parks and other facilities.
THE PROCESS
Following a disaster, the Division of Homeland Security and Emergency Services’ (DHSES) Disaster Recovery Unit works directly with counterparts at the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) and impacted local governments to assess damages caused by, and costs related to, the disaster. Once these assessments are complete, FEMA validates whether the state and impacted counties have reached the required federal damage thresholds for a Major Disaster Declaration.
Division of Homeland Security and Emergency Services Commissioner Jackie Bray said, “New York was devastated with heavy rains and destructive flooding this week and we need to access federal funding to support the long term recovery of impacted communities. Thanks to the leadership of Governor Hochul, our teams are working hand in glove with our local and federal partners to support recovery efforts as quickly and efficiently as possible.”
THE STORM
From July 9-10, more than eight inches of rain was reported in parts of the Mid-Hudson Region and more than five inches of rain in Ontario County, in the Finger Lakes Region. From July 10-11, parts of the North Country saw several inches of rain in a short period of time, which caused devastating flooding, closing roadways and damaging infrastructure across impacted regions.
In advance of the storm, Governor Hochul directed State agencies to prepare emergency response assets and stay in constant communication with local governments to monitor weather impacts and respond to requests for assistance. As the storms moved across the state, the Governor continued to deploy disaster resources to impacted areas, including additional Department of Transportation staff, who worked to get State highways and bridges open as quickly as possible.
Additionally, Governor Hochul deployed staff from the State Department of Financial Services (DFS) to provide insurance assistance to residents affected by the flooding in Rockland and Orange Counties. Individuals can also call the DFS Disaster Hotline at (800) 339-1759.
WIVB TV BUFFALO LAST NIGHT REPORTED A MID-LEVEL STATE APPEALS COURT ON THURSDAY ORDERED NEW CONGRESSIONAL LINES BE DRAWN FOR NEW YORK FOR THE 2024 ELECTION
THE APPELLATE DIVISION OF THE STATE SUPREME COURT REVERSED A LOWER COURT AND DIRECTED AN INDEPENDENT STATE REDISTRICTING COMMISSION TO START WORK ON NEW PROPOSED STATE CONGRESSIONAL LINES.
THE PREVIOUS APPROVED 2022 DISTRICTS LET STAND BY THE NEW YORK STATE COURT OF APPEALS (UNDER CHIEF JUSTICE, JANET DIFIORI) RESULTED IN CREATING THE PRESENT REPUBLICAN MAJORITY IN CONGRESS. (THE NEW DISTRICTS IN 2022 COST THE DEMOCRATS 4 SEATS IN THE HOUSE).
WHAT KIND OF DISTRICTS WILL PEOPLE BE RUNNING IN 2024?
REPUBLICANS WHO BENEFITED FROM THE NEW 2022 DISTRICTS WILL APPEAL TO THE NY STATE COURT OF APPEALS.
“Communities throughout New York were devastated by heavy rainfall and massive flooding this week and unfortunately, Mother Nature isn’t through with us yet. The National Weather Service has increased the risk for severe thunderstorms for today through tomorrow morning in the Capital Region, Southern Tier, Mohawk Valley, and the North Country.
These storms bring the potential for damaging winds, downed trees, power outages, hail, and even tornadoes.
Even more concerning, the ground remains saturated so any additional rain could cause additional flooding. Our team continues to closely monitor the forecast and the State is fully prepared to support any of our local partners.
In the meantime, I’m asking New Yorkers in the impacted regions to stay vigilant and take common sense precautions: monitor your local forecasts, make sure you have supplies at home, and create a flood evacuation plan with your household. And remember, no matter where you are, never drive on flooded roads — the consequences could be deadly.”
