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.

Hits: 947

Pittsfield, MA – Lawyers supported by Children’s Health Defense (CHD) are representing four families in a suit in Massachusetts Superior Court seeking to reinstate the Pittsfield Board of Health’s cease and desist order against Verizon. The case is the next step in the resident’s 24-month ordeal that began when Verizon turned on a cell tower in their neighborhood known as “Shacktown.” As soon as the tower went operational, people began getting sick. Almost 20 have been definitively identified, but more may be negatively affected.

The Pittsfield Board of Health issued the cease and desist on April 11, 2022, after a long and thorough investigation into the health impacts of Verizon’s tower.  It rescinded the order on June 1, 2022, after Verizon sued in federal court. W. Scott McCollough (McCollough Law Firm, PC) and Paul Revere, III (Law Offices of Paul Revere, III) are representing the Plaintiffs and argue in their suit that the interference of several city officials was improper, unlawful and tainted the entire process. 

The Pittsfield Board of Health studied the relevant scientific and medical information, including more than 1,000 peer-reviewed studies. The Board interviewed scientists and medical professionals. It took evidence from those and met with Verizon Wireless. The Board discovered the cell tower was making 17 individuals ill, and their homes were so uninhabitable that many had to move away, while others moved in with relatives, and some slept in their cars. The tower had rendered sleep elusive, cognition impaired, while some children were vomiting in their beds at night. Vertigo, heart palpitations and severe headaches were part of the constellation of neurological symptoms experienced by the affected neighbors.

On April 11, 2022, the Board issued an “Emergency Order” having found health and sanitary code violations and declared that the Verizon cell tower is a public nuisance. They gave Verizon seven days to request a hearing and, if it did not, then it had to discontinue operation. Verizon then filed a lawsuit contending the Board is powerless and cannot protect Pittsfield residents from the tower’s toxic wireless emissions.

The Board has bravely tried to resolve the problem, but Verizon has refused to admit to the harms it is inflicting, or to engage in collaborative efforts to resolve these harms. Even worse, the Board and the residents are not just having to deal with Verizon. Others in the city have persistently tried to prevent the Board from providing meaningful relief. Pittsfield Mayor Linda Tyer, City Solicitor Stephen Pagnotta and former Dir. of Community Development Deanna Ruffer have done all they could to frustrate the Board’s independent authority and duty to end the toxic wireless emissions, or at least mitigate them. The residents’ suit contends that these three officials have violated the state’s nepotism laws and the ethics standards for government employees and attorneys. The lawsuit extensively documents their specific actions and details the financial and legal conflicts of interest that are driving them.

Tyer, Pagnotta and Ruffer, in cooperation with Verizon, thwarted the Board’s efforts to secure outside counsel, thereby ensuring that the Board could not defend its Emergency Order. As a result, the Board was coerced into rescinding the Emergency Order on June 1, 2022. The residents’ lawsuit challenges the Board’s decision to rescind, but its principal focus is on Tyer, Pagnotta Ruffer. The complaint seeks a court declaration that their interference was improper, unlawful and tainted the entire process. If the Superior Court grants the requested relief, these individuals will have to stop their improper interference and the Board will be allowed the flexibility it needs to remediate the harms it has already found to exist.

“Pittsfield has previously taken on companies that were hurting its citizens,” said CHD president and general counsel Mary Holland. “The residents of the Shacktown neighborhood epitomize the reality that prosperity means nothing if your citizens are sick and even dying. The only difference here is that it is Verizon, not General Electric, and the toxin is wireless radiation not PCBs. When GE left Pittsfield, it created an economic vacuum but moving the tower to address the residents’ suffering, including three homeowners with cancer, does not create a hardship for anyone. Several commercial landowners in Pittsfield have offered their property for the tower. In this picturesque city in the Berkshires with 40% open space, Verizon can put their tower where it is not a potentially lethal nuisance.” 

“The Board is trying to do the right thing, but they have been prevented from carrying out their duties because of cronyism and favoritism,” continued Holland. “We hope that this suit will stop the interference and free up the Board so it can finally force Verizon to the negotiating table as the Emergency Order intended prior to its forced rescission.”

Hits: 528

WPCNR CORONA VIRUS BULLETIN. From the New York State Covid Tracker, Observation & Analysis by John F. Bailey, July 28, 2022:

Following the midweek Covid Surge Pattern of the last 19 weeks, The Covid Tracker reported 411 PRS (lab-verified) new persons tested with the corona virus in Westchester County.

Sunday the 24 to Wednesday, the 27th, on the last week of July, there were 266, 199, 327 and yesterday 411 new persons down with covid, an average of 300 new infections a day, which if continued through Saturday will give Westchester County 2,100 infections for the week . Last week Thursday through Saturday, the county had 3 days of 342, 344, and 349 new positives so we may have just short of the 2,360 infections last week.

There is small comfort from that because the county is only testing an average of 2,564 persons a day. At infection rates of 10% in those small quantities, you might assume if more tests were done that were PRS (lab verified) you would have far more infections that the average positives coming from these very low testing figures.

If the pattern swings up from the Thursday, Friday and Saturday levels the last week of July would be the 11th week in 14 weeks of “up” weeks in covid infections. With 2,100 infections for the week compared to 2,360 last week, the county would be just shy of 10,000 infections in July (9, 925)

In July of 2021, Westchester County had just 470 covid cases, 59 a day. Those 470 positives in June 2021 lead to the beginning of the 2nd wave of covid in July 2021 when cases went up to 1,782 in July 2021, each new positive infecting 4 persons.

This year because testing is down sharply to below 2,500 bonafide PRC (lab-analysed) tests you have no idea how many persons are out there relaxing, socializing, infecting. There is no bonafide infection rate.

Last month June 2022, using New York State Tracker figures, Westchester County totaled 9,642 new positives in 30 days, a spread rate of 321 new cases a day and they are spreading the cases faster testing positive within 2 days. not 10 to 14, the spread rate of the old covid. Since the B.A.5 Variant is at large, it is indeed proving much more contagiously covid this month.

What have those 9,642 positives in July done so far, created just about 10,000 infections in July, sustaining their spread to just about 1 other person. That is actually good news, but wait–testing is limited, they may seen more than one person. We do not know, because tracing has declined.

What we can expect in August is another 10,000 infections if not more. Because of the unknown universe of asymtomatic, positives walking around thinking they are cured.

The Midweek Covid Surge Pattern is continuing and it has continued consistently for 20 weeks since early March.

The syndrome reflects heightened social activity by all ages, outdoor recreation without restriction, no masking policies that are enforced, no penalties of any kind, expanded entertainment capacities, outdoor festivals and concerts.

With schools opening in one month, with no plans I have heard of by any school district for precautions of disease spreading even in view of the monkeypox situation; with much more of a universe of positives in a month hitting the schools potentially–Superintendents of Schools, the State Education Department and the New York State Health Department and communities across Westchester should give this some careful “what if scenarios?” and what they would do.

More to the point, what is the State Senate, the State Assembly think about the covid situation? And the Disease of the week, Monkeypox, which has gone from squibs to headlines in a week?

Since the State Houses in Albany relieved Governor Andrew M. Cuomo of the Governor ability to take emergency measures and invoke emergency powers, only the State Senate and State Assembly have the power to order statewide emergency measures (as Governor Cuomo did and his measures stopped the first wave of covid cold by April 1 of 2020, and then it came back after the restrictions were lifted.

Assemblyman Chris Burdick of the 93rd Assembly District told WPCNR this afternoon that the current state budget has set aside financial resources in the budget to fund possible covid expenses for emergency actions the two legislative houses deem necessary as conditions of covid appear to require, and now the Monkeypox threat is a source of serious concern.

I asked Assemblyman Burdick if the atmosphere in Albany during the special session just completed reflected awareness and concern for the infection surges in the Mid-Hudson, Long Island and in the five boroughs of New York City.

He said the concern in the Special Session only dealt with the Abortion legislation and crafting new “concealed carry” laws. He said he, since he does not sit on the Health Committee he could not comment on the Health Committee concerns, if any, about the covid spread and its new companion threat Monkeypox.

I asked under what circumstances would possible measures be taken up by the legislatures (in view of the legislature now in charge of approving Emergency y Measures, having relieved the former Governor Cuomo of that power.)

Burdick said that if Governor Kathy Hochul felt emergency measures and actions were necessary to handle the dual disease threat rolling into the fall, she would have to call an Emergency Session of the legislature to take up steps she felt were necessary for State Senate and State Assembly for approval.

Of course, with Governor Hochul apparently reluctant to seize the covid issue worried about getting elected, pushing for some mandatory covid and monkey pox containment will irresponsibly be seized by her opponent who comes from the area of the state that is responsible for bringing covid back, Nassau and Suffolk Counties. This week Nassau and Suffolk counties have combined for 4,683 new positives in 4 days, double that of Westchester County. This is not new.

And you know the legislators do not want to shut down schools, shut down businesses, shut down theatres and restaurants, and they desperately want to get people out of their homes back to work in the city to spur that city revenue driver.

Covid and Monkeypox are rising

As Frank Sinatra sang, “It’s up to you New York New York.”

Hits: 489

WPCNR YOUR LOCAL EPIDEMIOLOGIST . By Dr. Katelyn Jetelina Reprinted from Your Local EpidemIologist July 28, 2022: In two short months, more than 18,000 cases of monkeypox (MPV) and five deaths have been reported across the globe. This is a rapidly evolving situation, but clearly a public health crisis.While one takes hold (MPV) we concurrently fight another pandemic (COVID-19), so it’s tempting to compare the diseases and our responses. There are certainly similarities, but there are key differences, too. Differences MPV can be contained, but the window is closing. SARS-CoV-2 was (almost) impossible to contain because it was novel, mainly spread through the air, was very contagious, and spread asymptomatically. MPV doesn’t have these features, which means it can be contained and even eradicated. It’s not clear whether this window has already closed, though. We need to act fast. Response efforts seem to be effective in some countries, like the U.K. and Germany, as acceleration of reported cases has slowed, as shown in the log graph below. Acceleration in the U.S. continues. It’s hard to know whether this is because of increased testing capacity (which would be good) or because this is getting out of hand. It’s likely a combination of both, but we desperately need real time test positivity rate numbers to know. This is not a novel virus.  SARS-CoV-2 popped up out of nowhere, so we had to build everything from scratch: our knowledge base, tests, vaccines, and treatments. MPV has been around since the 1970s, and we already have all these tools. The frustrating part is that we need access to them, and this is moving slowly. Not everyone is at risk for infection. For now.  A virus that primarily spreads through the air (COVID-19) means everyone is at risk for infection. A virus primarily spread through close contact (MPV) means there is a social network phenomenon; some people are at higher risk for infection than others. Using WHO demographic data, 98% of cases are men who have sex with men (MSM). Sexual contact is the main mode of transmission (91%). Weekly European reports continue to confirm this: Cases are almost exclusively male, aged 18-50 years old, and 43% MSM (56% of sexual orientation data is unknown or missing). U.K. data shows that this is not due to biased testing either—men have a high test positivity rate while women and children have a very low rate.(UK Health Security Agency)But this could change. There is already a clear (but rare) spillover into other populations. For example, two children in the U.S. got MPV. (Note both cases were from in-home transmission, so maybe contact with infected sheets or clothes but not door handles.) A pregnant woman and her baby were also just infected (the story of how she got it is not public yet). We need to stop MPV from taking hold in high-risk groups or new animal hosts. Similarities Public health infrastructure.  The U.S. is somewhere in the middle between being prepared and unprepared. Just like with COVID-19, the MPV outbreak is highlighting our neglected, under-funded, fragmented public health system in the U.S. that desperately needs fixing: Data infrastructure Contact tracing capacity Community engagement Communication Bureaucratic coordination, Trust Fixing This is complicated, expensive, and takes time. It is certainly not fixed overnight, and it’s not fair to assume that we already had the time to fix it. Regardless, it’s hard to watch.But it’s important to acknowledge that we are also not starting from scratch. We’ve spent the last 30 months creating systems, building capacity, activating leaders, building scientific and communication teams, engaging stakeholders, and understanding faulty data. Unfortunately, much of this work started to unravel because funding was chipped away. We need to reactivate and/or adapt these efforts. We need to allow for local cross-funding too—we can use COVID-19 dollars for MPV. We also need a more aggressive, or at least faster, federal response: No more “wait and see”, declare an emergency (so we can get funding), and appoint a leader, a point person, someone to coordinate and communicate.Communication. In the beginning of COVID-19, I would argue we had close to zero communication. It’s still not great. With MPV, we have another added layer of complexity. Different groups need different messages. Everyone should be aware of how it’s transmitted and what to do if there’s an unexplained rash. But resources, vaccine messaging, and education need to be laser focused on the MSM (Males Sex with Males) network. However, we cannot pigeonhole ourselves to this group, because we need to prevent stigma and because the situation may change. That’s challenging to communicate. Misinformation gaining speed.  Just as it did with COVID-19, MPV misinformation is starting to spread. No, you cannot spread the virus with the new vaccine. (You could with the old vaccine, but that’s not being distributed right now.) Yes, the vaccine is safe. No, we don’t have effectiveness data among humans for MPV. We have 22 clinical trials showing that it works great with smallpox and primate studies for MPV. There’s a lot we don’t know.  Despite their warnings about MPV, scientists were not heard and MPV remained a neglected tropical disease. Because of this, there are still a lot of things we don’t know: What are the right doses and dosing intervals for vaccines?How effective is smallpox vaccination from the 1970s?What is the safety and effectiveness of the smallpox treatment TPOXX for MPV? Is the virus viable in wastewater?Is this a sexually transmitted infection? (We have preliminary evidence of live virus in semen, but need more data.) The NIH is starting clinical trials to answer these questions. We also need to get data systems in place yesterday to track real-world data. (Are we using V-safe for MPV vaccines?) But, like with COVID-19, we have to make decisions now with limited information. For example, NY moved to delay second MPV doses to get more coverage while we wait for more vaccines (the right call). We are, once again, building the ship as we drive. Bottom line MPV is very different from COVID-19, but it certainly continues to highlight our vulnerabilities. We cannot give up; we have to do all we can to contain this before it establishes itself as another health risk in our repertoire.Are we tired of this revolving door of panic and neglect yet?

Hits: 414

WPCNR EPIDEMIC ROUNDUP. Special from the Yonkers Tribune. From Assemblyman Nadir Sayegh, 90th Assembly District. July 27, 2022:

YONKERS, NY — July 27, 2022 —  On Wednesday, Assemblyman Nader Sayegh encouraged the New York State Department of Health to expand Monkeypox (JYENNOS) vaccine eligibility.

“The dramatic rise in reported monkeypox cases is concerning to all New Yorkers.” said Assemblyman Nader Sayegh. As this virus continues to take hold across the United States and in New York, it’s important that we remain ahead of the curve in helping mitigate community spread.”

Currently, the New York State Department of Health requires that prospective vaccine recipients meet specific criteria before receiving the vaccine.

Such criteria include being over 18, being a gay, bisexual, or other man who has sex with men, and/or transgender, gender non-conforming, or gender non-binary individual, and having had multiple or anonymous sex partners in the last 14 days.

However, public health and public policy experts believe that the criteria should be expanded to take into account the heightened spread among individuals who don’t meet the aforementioned criteria.

“I am hearing from members of the LGBTQIA Community that they find the vaccine eligibility requirements limit those who should get the vaccine and also serve as a barrier to those who are reluctant to come forward due to relationship and family issue,” said Sayegh.

“Additionally, New York State should be moving aggressively to obtain more of the JYNNEOS vaccine because once again, just like COVID-19, New York is where the outbreak is occurring and where we must move quickly to slow its spread.”

A member of the State Assembly Health Committee, when Covid-19 struck Yonkers Assemblyman Sayegh strongly advocated for testing sites and the mass vaccine site that was established at the Yonkers Armory.

# # #

FYI – Via Yonkers Tribune: Monkey Pox can be spread by mosquitos, children have been infected and can be carriers of Monkey Pox, adults need not engage in sex to become contacted. Not enough Monkey Pox vaccines are presently available to meet demand and many institutions have not advised those who are concerned about their well-being where and when vaccines will be available and where.

Hits: 380

WPCNR MONKEYPOX BULLETIN. July 27, 2022 UPDATED 2 PM EDT. UPDATED 4:45 P.M. EDT:

The United States reports most confirmed monkeypox case in the world, new data from Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has shows.

The U.S. has 3,846 known monkeypox cases as of Monday, July 25, federal and global data report.

Spain is second, with 3,100 cases counted, and Germany, 2,352 cases, third.

“The international community must work together to protect individuals that have been impacted by monkeypox, and those most at risk of contracting the virus,” White House COVID-19 Coordinator Dr. Ashish Jha said Tuesday.

WESTCHESTER HEALTH DEPARTMENT ON MONKEYPOX SHOTS (2 REQUIRED) CALL 914-995-8900 FOR APPOINTMENT:

Monkeypox Vaccine Clinics on Mondays Wednesdays at the County Department of Health, 134 Court Street, White Plains. Appointments are required.

ALL APPOINTMENTS HAVE BEEN FILLED TODAY, PERSONS WITH SYMPTOMS SHOULD KEEP CALLING PERIODICALLY FOR NEW CLINICS TO COME

People at higher risk for monkeypox infection may consider vaccination with the two-dose JYNNEOS vaccine. In accordance with CDC guidance, this includes those who:

• Had contact with someone who had a rash that looks like monkeypox or with someone who was diagnosed with confirmed or probable monkeypox
• Had skin-to-skin contact with someone in a social network experiencing monkeypox activity; this includes men who have sex with men who meet partners through an online website, digital application (“app”), or social event such as at a bar or party  
• Traveled outside the United States to a country with confirmed cases of monkeypox or where monkeypox activity has been ongoing

If you meet the CDC guidance outlined above, you are eligible to register for an appointment at one of our upcoming Monkeypox Vaccination Clinics . If appointments are unavailable, please check back regularly as more clinics will be added. 
Find out What to Expect After Your Monkeypox Vaccine.

Monkeypox Vaccine Clinic on Friday, July 29 from 11:00 am – 2:30 pm, by appointment only, at the HOPE Center (4th floor), Park Care Pavilion, 2 Park Avenue, Yonkers, NY 10703. Individuals must call Lorens Hidalgo at (914) 964-7725 to schedule the appointment.  Monkeypox vaccines are also available at Yonkers General Hospital where only 24 doses are available.

Monkeypox is a rare viral illness that does not usually cause serious illness, but can result in hospitalization or death.

Monkeypox typically begins with a flu-like illness and swelling of the lymph nodes and progresses to a rash on the face and body. Most infections last two to four weeks. The current outbreak appears to have spread through human-to-human contact. Transmission can occur through contact with body fluids, monkeypox sores, items that have been contaminated with fluids or sores, or through prolonged exposure to respiratory droplets. Because of this, transmission may also occur through sexual contact. More information can be found on the WCDH Monkeypox Information web page.