WHITE PLAINS CITIZENETREPORTER SETS RECORD VISITS FOR YEAR 7,017,658 VISITS! 2,098,003 VISITORS MADE 6 VISITS A DAY EVERY DAY. 63,330 UNIQUE VISITORS MADE 133,730 VISITS IN DECEMBER. WPCNR AVERAGED 17,284 VISITORS A WEEK, VISITING 31,270 TIMES.

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Governor Kathy Hochul today updated New Yorkers on the state’s progress combating COVID-19.    

Last week, Governor Hochul announced the availability of bivalent COVID-19 vaccine boosters from Pfizer-BioNTech for anyone age 12 or older and from Moderna for those 18 or older. To schedule an appointment for a booster, New Yorkers should contact their local pharmacy, county health department, or healthcare provider; visit vaccines.gov; text their ZIP code to 438829, or call 1-800-232-0233 to find nearby locations.   

Today’s data is summarized briefly below:   

• Cases Per 100k – 22.41 
• 7-Day Average Cases Per 100k – 20.42  
• Test Results Reported – 59,068  
• Total Positive – 4,380  
• Percent Positive – 7.47%**   
• 7-Day Average Percent Positive – 6.72%**      
• Patient Hospitalization – 2,063 (-77) 
• Patients Newly Admitted – 338 
• Patients in ICU – 217 (-5)  
• Patients in ICU with Intubation – 81 (-2) 
• Total Discharges – 341,702 (391) 
• New deaths reported by healthcare facilities through HERDS – 15  
• Total deaths reported by healthcare facilities through HERDS – 57,906 

** Due to the test reporting policy change by the federal Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) and several other factors, the most reliable metric to measure virus impact on a community is the case per 100,000 data — not percent positivity.      

The Health Electronic Response Data System is a NYS DOH data source that collects confirmed daily death data as reported by hospitals, nursing homes and adult care facilities only.     

Important Note: Effective Monday, April 4, the federal Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) is no longer requiring testing facilities that use COVID-19 rapid antigen tests to report negative results. As a result, New York State’s percent positive metric will be computed using only lab-reported PCR results. Positive antigen tests will still be reported to New York State and reporting of new daily cases and cases per 100k will continue to include both PCR and antigen tests. Due to this change and other factors, including changes in testing practices, the most reliable metric to measure virus impact on a community is the case per 100,000 data — not percent positivity.    

• Total deaths reported to and compiled by the CDC – 73,978  

This daily COVID-19 provisional death certificate data reported by NYS DOH and NYC to the CDC includes those who died in any location, including hospitals, nursing homes, adult care facilities, at home, in hospice and other settings.      

• Total vaccine doses administered – 40,164,502         
• Total vaccine doses administered over past 24 hours – 5,686
• Total vaccine doses administered over past 7 days – 31,682
• Percent of New Yorkers ages 18 and older with at least one vaccine dose – 93.3%
• Percent of New Yorkers ages 18 and older with completed vaccine series – 84.7%
• Percent of New Yorkers ages 18 and older with at least one vaccine dose (CDC) – 95.0%
• Percent of New Yorkers ages 18 and older with completed vaccine series (CDC) – 88.5%
• Percent of New Yorkers ages 12-17 with at least one vaccine dose (CDC) – 85.5%
• Percent of New Yorkers ages 12-17 with completed vaccine series (CDC) – 75.0%
• Percent of all New Yorkers with at least one vaccine dose – 83.4%
• Percent of all New Yorkers with completed vaccine series – 75.4%
• Percent of all New Yorkers with at least one vaccine dose (CDC) – 92.2%
• Percent of all New Yorkers with completed vaccine series (CDC) – 78.6%

Each region’s 7-day average of cases per 100K population is as follows:      

REGION	Tuesday, September 13, 2022	Wednesday, September 14, 2022	Thursday, September 15, 2022
Capital Region	17.74	19.15	19.03
Central New York	21.94	23.14	23.45
Finger Lakes	13.41	14.57	14.42
Long Island	24.37	24.19	24.26
Mid-Hudson	18.33	20.13	20.93
Mohawk Valley	22.73	23.20	22.61
New York City	19.89	19.80	19.69
North Country	20.66	21.82	22.71
Southern Tier	20.49	21.10	20.87
Western New York	18.17	18.53	19.03
Statewide	19.90	20.33	20.42

Each region’s 7-day average percentage of positive test results reported over the last three days is as follows**:      

Region	Tuesday, September 13, 2022	Wednesday, September 14, 2022	Thursday, September 15, 2022
Capital Region	9.04%	9.29%	9.54%
Central New York	9.85%	10.20%	10.50%
Finger Lakes	7.38%	7.38%	7.47%
Long Island	7.63%	7.72%	7.75%
Mid-Hudson	6.62%	5.93%	6.14%
Mohawk Valley	12.08%	11.56%	11.46%
New York City	5.34%	5.15%	5.22%
North Country	9.89%	10.03%	10.62%
Southern Tier	9.06%	8.70%	8.67%
Western New York	12.36%	12.17%	12.67%
Statewide	6.79%	6.60%	6.72%

** Due to the test reporting policy change by the federal Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) and several other factors, the most reliable metric to measure virus impact on a community is the case per 100,000 data — not percent positivity.      

Each New York City borough’s 7-day average percentage of positive test results reported over the last three days is as follows **:      

Borough in NYC	Tuesday, September 13, 2022	Wednesday, September 14, 2022	Thursday, September 15, 2022
Bronx	5.67%	5.58%	5.75%
Kings	4.47%	4.20%	4.29%
New York	5.07%	4.97%	5.08%
Queens	6.66%	6.52%	6.47%
Richmond	5.84%	5.56%	5.57%

** Due to the test reporting policy change by the federal Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) and several other factors, the most reliable metric to measure virus impact on a community is the case per 100,000 data — not percent positivity.      

Yesterday, 4,380 New Yorkers tested positive for COVID-19 in New York State, bringing the total to 5,981,280. A geographic breakdown is as follows:      

County	Total Positive	New Positive
Albany	72,059	60
Allegany	10,052	10
Broome	53,617	57
Cattaraugus	17,900	20
Cayuga	18,714	25
Chautauqua	27,327	33
Chemung	24,491	20
Chenango	10,865	12
Clinton	20,377	25
Columbia	12,415	13
Cortland	12,291	7
Delaware	9,283	9
Dutchess	76,308	98
Erie	249,505	260
Essex	6,940	9
Franklin	11,097	12
Fulton	15,039	22
Genesee	15,370	11
Greene	10,003	9
Hamilton	1,002	1
Herkimer	16,155	8
Jefferson	24,141	41
Lewis	6,852	4
Livingston	13,300	10
Madison	15,466	10
Monroe	177,507	116
Montgomery	13,788	21
Nassau	492,492	312
Niagara	55,606	31
NYC	2,783,789	1,747
Oneida	63,518	42
Onondaga	131,946	132
Ontario	23,723	17
Orange	125,362	110
Orleans	9,769	9
Oswego	31,421	51
Otsego	12,170	5
Putnam	28,375	34
Rensselaer	38,284	31
Rockland	107,876	56
Saratoga	56,413	55
Schenectady	40,078	31
Schoharie	5,991	4
Schuyler	4,032	2
Seneca	6,936	15
St. Lawrence	24,476	25
Steuben	23,281	20
Suffolk	508,614	342
Sullivan	21,999	20
Tioga	12,827	13
Tompkins	24,348	24
Ulster	38,611	53
Warren	16,978	20
Washington	14,355	13
Wayne	20,057	15
Westchester	302,716	214
Wyoming	9,332	8
Yates	4,041	6

Below is data that shows how many hospitalized individuals who have tested positive for COVID-19 were admitted for COVID-19/COVID-19 complications and how many were admitted for non-COVID-19 conditions:   

Region	COVID-19 Patients currently hospitalized	Admitted due to COVID or complications of COVID	% Admitted due to COVID or complications of COVID	Admitted where COVID was not included as one of the reasons for admission	% Admitted where COVID was not included as one of the reasons for admission
Capital Region	116	70	60.3%	46	39.7%
Central New York	77	45	58.4%	32	41.6%
Finger Lakes	198	74	37.4%	124	62.6%
Long Island	352	147	41.8%	205	58.2%
Mid-Hudson	230	77	33.5%	153	66.5%
Mohawk Valley	51	32	62.7%	19	37.3%
New York City	769	317	41.2%	452	58.8%
North Country	54	36	66.7%	18	33.3%
Southern Tier	98	48	49.0%	50	51.0%
Western New York	118	45	38.1%	73	61.9%
Statewide	2,063	891	43.2%	1,172	56.8%

The Omicron variant now represents more than 95% of the viruses in circulation. For more information on variant tracking, please visit here: (COVID-19 Variant Data | Department of Health (ny.gov).     

Yesterday, there were 15 total new deaths were reported due to COVID-19, bringing the total to 57,906. A geographic breakdown is as follows, by county of residence:  

County	New Deaths
Allegany	1
Broome	1
Erie	1
Genesee	2
Greene	1
Kings	1
Monroe	1
Nassau	1
Oswego	1
Queens	4
Ulster	1
Grand Total	15

New Yorkers looking to schedule vaccine appointments for 5-11-year-old children are encouraged to contact their child’s pediatrician, family physician, county health departments, Federally Qualified Health Centers (FQHCs), rural health centers, or pharmacies that may be administering the vaccine for this age group. Parents and guardians can visit vaccines.gov, text their ZIP code to 438829, or call 1-800-232-0233 to find nearby locations. Make sure that the provider offers the Pfizer-BioNTechCOVID-19 vaccine, as the other COVID-19 vaccines are not yet authorized for this age group.      

Visit our website for parents and guardians for new information, frequently asked questions and answers, and resources specifically designed for parents and guardians of this age group.      

A geographic breakdown of New Yorkers who have been vaccinated and boosted by region is as follows:  

Regional Vaccination Data by Provider Location
	People with at least one vaccine dose	People with complete vaccine series
Region	Cumulative Total	Cumulative Total
Capital Region	983,389	900,234
Central New York	658,869	609,542
Finger Lakes	886,407	820,364
Long Island	2,245,137	1,999,834
Mid-Hudson	1,761,818	1,544,798
Mohawk Valley	331,644	308,863
New York City	8,272,058	7,320,528
North Country	311,721	281,875
Southern Tier	454,546	414,507
Western New York	978,584	899,203
Statewide	16,884,173	15,099,748
Booster/Additional Shots
Region	Cumulative Total	Increase over past 7  days
Capital Region	598,993	401
Central New York	401,659	310
Finger Lakes	629,270	404
Long Island	1,433,771	1,027
Mid-Hudson	1,132,476	406
Mohawk Valley	209,547	114
New York City	3,721,123	4,195
North Country	188,449	65
Southern Tier	285,495	128
Western New York	666,973	481
Statewide	9,267,756	7,531

The COVID-19 Vaccine Tracker Dashboard is available to update New Yorkers on the distribution of the COVID-19 vaccine. The New York State Department of Health requires vaccinating facilities to report all COVID-19 vaccine administration data within 24 hours; the vaccine administration data on the dashboard is updated daily to reflect the most up-to-date metrics in the state’s vaccination effort. New York State Department of Health-reported data from NYSIIS and CIR differs slightly from federally reported data, which is inclusive of federally administered doses and other minor differences. Both numbers are included in the release above.

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THE NEW GREEN RATE AND BASIC ELECTRICITY RATES

WHAT IS NEXT IN SELECTING YOUR POWER SOURCE

MONEY SAVING PLANS THAT CUT SUMMER POWER BILLS

WHY THE NEW GREEN RATES HAVE INCREASED

WHY THE NEW BASIC RATES HAVE INCREASED

HOW PRICE FOR ELECTRIC RATES ARE SET IN NEW YORK STATE

THE FUTURE OF GREEN ENERGY–IS THERE ONE?

IS THERE INCENTIVE FOR NEW YORK ENERGY COMPANIES TO CONTINUE TO GROW GREEN

THE ADVANTAGES OF THE FIXED RATE SUSTAINABLE OFFERS.

WHY THE FIRST AUCTION FOR SUSTAINABLE RATES DID NOT WORK OUT?

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(White Plains, NY) – Beginning this Friday, September 16, the Westchester County Health Department will be offering the bivalent COVID-19 vaccine booster. The new bivalent vaccine, which contains pieces of both the Delta and Omicron strands of COVID-19, is designed to provide better protection than previous boosters against the virus.

The Health Department will have the Pfizer Bivalent Booster (12 and older) and the Moderna Bivalent Booster (18 and older) available. The Health Department has been directed by the FDA to no longer provide the monovalent booster, however all other vaccines for all other age groups will still be available.

The bivalent vaccine is only approved as a booster shot, and can only be administered two months after your previous booster or your original series of the COVID-19 vaccine.

The bivalent booster will be available at the Westchester County Health Department Clinic, 134 Court St, White Plains, NY 10601.

Vaccine clinics are held on Fridays from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m.

On Friday, September 16, the bivalent booster will be available from 1 to 3 p.m.

Appointments are required, and walk-ins will not be accepted.

For more information or to make an appointment, visit the Westchester County Health Department Website.

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WPCNR CORONA VIRUS SURVEILLANCE. From the New York State Covid Tracker. Observation & Analysis by John F. Bailey. September 13, 2022:

The week of September 4 to 10, the week after Labor Day 3-day weekend, ended with the NYS Covid tracker reporting 1,091 new persons testing positve for covid., down 155 cases from last week’s total of 11,246.

This was the sixth consecutive week since July 31-August 6 where weekly new infections in the county have stabilized. Over that period infections per week have been:

July 31-Aug 6: 2,062; Aug 7-13: 1,664 (down 20%); Aug 14-20: 1,299 (down 22%); Aug 21-27: 1,300 (Even); Aug 28-Sep.3: 1,246 (down 4%); and the week ended Saturday September 10: 1,091 (down 12%).

Total positives in these six weeks of decline in new cases numbered 8,662, 1,443 infections a week down from the 11,489 new covid-infectees the 4 weeks of July,where Westchester averaged 2,827 new cases a week. The covid infections continue at 1,000 a week now a decline of 1,384 new cases or 49%.

The possibility of getting infected now is less. Consensus of the leaders around the county is that covid is in decline. The county suspended covd updates beginning this week.

The last two weeks profiling the number of cases by community around the county shows lowering numbers of new cases. Instead of 17 communities averaging 100 new cases a week the numbers have improved but you should protect yourself. I had to take an in home test last week administered by Brenda Starr, and I want to tell you these at-home tests are not easy. You have to stick a swab up your nose just like Governor Cuomo, affix it to the plastic test strip which (looks like a flashdrive) and wait 15 minutes. The instructions have to be read carefully. If you have trouble reading English, and are nervous you may not get enough nose fluids to sample. The device shows you if you got enough. But mind you–if you have shaky hands you could hurt your nose if you go up too deep. It is as easy as it can be, I guess but at no time did I realize these at-home tests required easing a swab up your nose transfering to a small device that serves as a receptacle for your nose-retrieved sample, then you have to wait 15-20 minutes.

The wait is agonizing.

I wonder how many try the test throw up their hands because they need a second person, or get exasperated and do not complete it. I think that may be a reason why many persons seek out lab tests at medical centers and pharmacies– the discomfort of the tests and misunderstanding them. (Since we have no idea how many at-home tests are administered where people are positive, there is no way to tell whether the documented lab tests provided to the New York State Covid Tracker indicate a much higher rate of ghost infections in the general population than we saw during this diminution over the last six weeks.

Diminution is a very comfortable word leaving you with the feeling covid is dwindling like the summer wind.

The infection rates of persons since only lab-certified test results are being used, have been high in my opinion, landing heavy percentages of new infections a day across 7 counties of the Mid-Hudson Region , New York City and the hotbeds of covid spread, Nassau and Suffolk Counties. The infection rates I see leafing through my day-by-day percentage of infections per county are consistently above the infection rate level, (total persons newly infecting 1 other person or less than one other person) you need to stop covid spread.

The infections rates just last Friday, September 9 the infection rates for Westchester County and the 7 other counties in the Mid-Hudson and Long Island were:

September 9 POP 7-Day Avg Day Spread/100M Tests Positives Infection Rate

Westchester 1,004,000 20.3 (211/wk/844 Mo.) 2,913 196 5.7%

Rockland 338,329 20.3 ( 68/wk/476/Mo.) 766 66 8.2%

Orange 382,000 17 (65/wk/260/Mo.) 1068 65 6%

Dutchess 294,000 23.2 (68/wk./272/Mo) 504 68 14.2%

Ulster 70,088 18 ( 13/wk/52 /mo) 225 33 14%

Putnam 97,668 15.2 (15/wk./44/mo) 230 15 7.6%

Sullivan 78,624 17.2 (14/wk/56/mo) 208 13 6.4%

MID-HUD POP 2,264709 18.74(90/WK/360/MO) 5,914 455 8%

LONG ISLAND

NASSAU 444,967 31 (138/wk/551/MO) 4,767 420 6.5%

SUFFOLK 1,532,424 36.1 (553wk/2,212/MO) 5,313 534 6.4%

Sad to say, as long as Nassau and County continue their upwards of 1,000 new cases of covid a day to the tri state area, infections in New York City are not going to go down. As school begins with virtually no covid distancing and vaccination requirements, the disease will still be out there every day. Will it gain momentum? Will children be as resistant to the disease as anti vaccine and anti social restrictions advocates hope they are and hope is the operative strategy.

With a 25% infection rate in the White Plains Schools last year, with all precautions taken, masking and social distancing, I doubt if dropping all precautions against covid is wise. I hope so. That is what is at play here in politicians, leaders, parents, children: hope.

Though the spread is coming down, are there a lot of ghost cases out there? Is home testing a reliable way of finding out whether you have the disease or just a way of ignoring you might be positive and sort of self-quarantine?

If I had tested positive last week on that at-home test, I do not know what my reaction would have been. I had symptoms. But just knowing I should take the at-home test due to particular possible exposure, I had to take the test.

The greater doubt I have is that the high infection rates across all 9 counties surrounding New York City are not stopping new cases.

The average infection rate is 8.9% over all 7 Mid-Hudson Counties. 1% is the no-spread Holy Grail, and the 7 counties are running 10 times that on very low test quantities.

People are getting it who are vaccinated. People are spreading it who do not have symptoms. The lab tests may be lulling us into a false sense of security. The disease whips up more new variants than craft beers.

But I don’t think we should feel secure. I am apprehensive.

Instead the lab verified tests may be giving us a false definition of the true picture of infected persons every day out there. If the population at large is not testing and the low number of lab,medically conducted tests analyzed by the labs infect at 8% rates,–this could mean that if you were testing 10,000 a day in Westchester like we used to, you’d have 900 infections a day in Westchester alone, or the chaotic 6,300 cases a week levels we saw at the end of January. Even if you have a 4% average infection rate Westchester is getting

With the latest doubts being raised about the under 5 vaccine for kids, it calls into question how good is the FDA vetting process anyway and is it driven to be too hasty in order to advance political fortunes? The medical profession seems to be disagreeing right and left on covid medicines, seriousness, and disease ability to spread.

The information wars have spread to covid to everybody’s peril.

Under no circumstances should the state suspend publishing the daily covid new case counts. Right now it is the only reasonably explicit covid progress system for the state. If it is suspended to build public confidence, this would be a serious mistake.

Without a scoreboard we will not know the score.

Without a steady hand on the covid helm with willingness to act prudently, the disease will continue to afflict, cripple and impede the metropolitan area confidence.

It’s in your hands and mine, to take care of ourselves and loved ones.

T