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Update to New York’s infectious disease weather report: RSV is finally going down 🙌
Figure from the NYC Respiratory Illness Dashboard, annotations by YLE.
MARCH 12–RSV NEW CASES FINALLY GOING IN NEW YORK CITY METROPOLITAN AREA
MARCH11– SPORTS BETTING BUSINESSES THREATEN COLLEGE BASKETBALL INTEGRITY AS MARCH MADNESS APPROACHES
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ACRED HEART UNIVERSITY NEWS
Contacts: Kim Swartz, 203-396-8047, swartzk2@sacredheart.edu
For Immediate Release
March 11, 2026
MAJORITY OF AMERICANS SAY SPORTS BETTING THREATENS COLLEGE BASKETBALL INTEGRITY, NEW NATIONAL POLL FINDS
Latest Sacred Heart and GreatBlue Research poll says 63% concerned college athletes may feel pressure from gambling activity
FAIRFIELD, Conn.—As March Madness approaches, a new, annual national poll from Sacred Heart University in partnership with GreatBlue Research finds widespread concern about the expanding influence of sports gambling on college athletics. A majority of Americans believe sports betting is affecting the integrity of college basketball, and nearly two-thirds worry college athletes may face pressure tied to betting activity surrounding their games.
According to the 2026 Sacred Heart University Nationwide Sports Gambling Poll:
· 56.9% of Americans say sports gambling affects the integrity of college basketball either “significantly” or “somewhat”
· 63.2% say they are at least “somewhat concerned” that college athletes may be pressured by gambling activity
· 51.2% believe college students are at higher risk for problematic gambling behavior compared to the general population
The findings highlight deepening public unease at the intersection of legalized sports betting and amateur athletics, particularly during high-visibility tournaments such as the NCAA men’s and women’s basketball championships.
“College athletics occupy a unique place in American sports culture,” said Andrew Miller, director of SHU’s sports communication & media graduate program. “Americans may accept legalized sports betting overall, but they clearly feel differently when the pressures associated with gambling reach student-athletes.”
Concerns Strongest Among Older Americans
Concern about athlete pressure increases with age. Nearly seven in ten Americans age 55 and older (69.0%) say they are concerned that college athletes may face gambling-related pressure, compared to roughly six in ten adults under 55.
Similarly, belief that college students face elevated risk for problematic gambling behavior is highest among older respondents, suggesting a generational divide over the speed at which sports gambling has expanded around college campuses.
Acceptance of Betting Does Not Eliminate Integrity Concerns
The college findings come amid broader normalization of sports gambling nationwide. A majority of Americans believe sports gambling is becoming more socially acceptable, and more than half support legalization nationwide.
Yet the poll suggests Americans draw distinctions between professional sports and college athletics, particularly when student well-being and competitive integrity are involved.
“Americans increasingly accept legalized sports betting, but this poll shows they remain uneasy when gambling intersects with college athletics,” said Josh Shuart, program director and professor for SHU’s sport management program. “The concern isn’t just about the games themselves, it’s also about the pressure that betting activity could place on student-athletes and the potential impact on the integrity of competition.”
About the Poll
The Sacred Heart University 2026 Nationwide Sports Gambling Poll was conducted February 2–5, 2026, among 1,500 U.S. adults. The survey has a margin of error of +/- 2.43% at a 95% confidence level. The sample was weighted according to age, gender, and U.S. Census region.
MARCH 11– STATE OF VACCINE COMPLIANCE FOR SCHOOLS FROM YOUR LOCAL EPIDEMIOLOGIST
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The most effective vaccine program in American history doesn’t require a single new drug, clinical trial, or breakthrough. It requires a form for school enrollment.
But that’s changing. School vaccination requirements are being threatened from multiple angles: rhetoric from the highest offices of the nation is trickling down to state legislatures, and more people are having questions at kitchen tables and in pediatricians’ offices.
We asked for your questions. We have answers.
1. What is the state of affairs for vaccine school requirements?
School and childcare vaccine requirements have always lived at the state level. For most of modern history, that didn’t matter much. All 50 states landed roughly in the same place: protect kids from measles, polio, chickenpox, and hepatitis B. Every state also has medical exemptions (a doctor confirms the vaccine isn’t safe for a specific child). The majority of states have non-medical exemptions (religious, philosophical, or personal belief).
But things are shifting.
The strictest states may be becoming more lenient. Five states—California, New York, Maine, Connecticut, and West Virginia—allow only medical exemptions. And this is fairly new. That’s now under legal pressure, including a Supreme Court case expected this summer and active debates in West Virginia.
On the other hand, states that were already lenient are looking to become more so. More than 200 bills are being introduced about vaccines, including school requirements:
- In 2025, Idaho passed a “medical freedom” law that bars schools from conditioning enrollment on vaccination, making its existing requirements challenging to enforce.
- Ten other states passed legislation or took administrative action to weaken or eliminate requirements. Iowa and Florida have seen the most serious pushes, though Florida’s most aggressive proposals stalled this cycle.
Our read: this debate will largely stay at the margins. Three out of four Americans still support school vaccination requirements, including two-thirds of Republicans. But the pressure is real and worth watching.
2. Do school-entry requirements actually work?
Yes, but the reason might surprise you. Most people assume the logic is simple: you have to vaccinate to enroll, so you do. But the evidence points to something more interesting.
Requirements work in part by creating a structured moment of connection to health care, which is often a catch-up opportunity for overdue preventive care. They remove the friction that keeps well-meaning families from staying up to date. That mechanism has real implications for what’s lost when requirements are removed.
Several findings support this:
- When families do come in to meet school requirements, they don’t just get the required vaccines. Requirements increase uptake of non-required vaccines like HPV, too.
- The biggest gains show up among children who were simply behind, not among children of vaccine-refusing parents.
- When states eliminate non-medical exemptions, families seeking medical workarounds barely budge (rising only about 0.4 percentage points).
- Some Canadian provinces and the U.K. achieve comparable vaccination rates without requiring school entry by delivering vaccines directly in schools.
This health care connection matters far beyond vaccines. Developmental delays, lead exposure, vision problems, food insecurity, and signs of abuse are all routinely caught at these same visits. Weakening requirements doesn’t just lower vaccination rates but also cuts off one of the few reliable ways for children to connect with a doctor.
That said, requirements are only as equitable as the system behind them. In a 2024 survey, almost 1 in 4 parents who sought an exemption cited logistics, not philosophy, as the barrier. That’s an argument for pairing requirements with robust access.
3. Is there any point where those of us with vaccinated kids need to be worried? Should vaccinated school staff be worried?
It depends on the disease we are talking about. Vaccines do not all work the same way. Some, like measles, are extraordinarily effective at preventing infection, while others are meant to protect from severe illness, and many have protection that wanes over time.
For measles, the MMR vaccine is insanely effective (97% effective after two doses). But a few nuances matter:
- Disruption. When measles enters a school, protocols require unvaccinated students and staff to be excluded for up to 21 days per exposure. Your vaccinated child may be fully protected, but still caught in weeks of school disruption.
- Who’s at home? Vaccinated individuals can carry the virus before their immune system clears it. If you have an infant too young to be vaccinated (MMR starts at 12 months) or an immunocompromised family member, a school outbreak can reach your home.
- Vaccine non-response. About 3–5% of people don’t develop full immunity after the MMR vaccine. You can check your antibody levels with a titer test, but even that doesn’t tell the complete story.
For diseases like whooping cough or mumps, the concern is different. The vaccines work well at preventing serious illness, but they’re not as effective at stopping the spread of disease. This means even vaccinated people can sometimes transmit these diseases without realizing it.
High vaccination rates in your community protect everyone, including the small percentage of vaccinated people whose immunity didn’t fully take.
4. Is this playing out elsewhere in the world?
Yes. Several countries have already gone through versions of this debate, and their experiences reveal a few consistent patterns worth understanding.
Italy’s story is possibly the most instructive. Italy had requirements on the books for decades, but rarely enforced them. A 2012 court ruling falsely linking MMR to autism went viral, and coverage collapsed. A 2017 outbreak with 5,000 measles cases and four deaths led to stricter requirements. However, the hard mandates also triggered fierce public backlash, giving the incoming populist government the political opening to weaken it almost immediately. Measles surged again. Italy has since reinstated stronger requirements, but the cycle illustrates two lessons: rollbacks will cause outbreaks, and how you implement requirements may shape whether they survive the next election.
5. What are tips for talking to neighbors, friends, and policymakers about vaccine school requirements?
How you talk about this matters just as much as what you say. The right approach also depends on who you’re talking to.
Talking to friends and neighbors
Don’t lead with science and data. When people feel like their values are being challenged, facts alone rarely change minds. Start with shared values, then let the evidence support the conversation.
Begin with common ground. Most parents, regardless of their politics, want their kids to be safe at school and for school to run normally. Saying “I just want to make sure schools aren’t shut down for weeks because of a preventable outbreak” is something almost everyone can agree with. Start there.
If someone brings up studies or claims that seem to contradict the evidence, resist the urge to debate every detail. Instead, acknowledge the concern and emphasize that what matters most is the totality of the evidence.
Words matter. Avoid the word “mandate.” It tends to put people on the defensive immediately. Try “school immunization requirements” instead, and use “immunizations” rather than “vaccines” to sidestep some of the charged associations from COVID-19 debates. This framing also helps because school immunization requirements are just one part of standard enrollment paperwork, like getting a vision screening or a physical. Framing it that way makes it feel less like a political battle and more like a routine part of keeping kids healthy.
Talking to policymakers
For policymakers, the financial argument is often the most persuasive when other arguments stall. The 2019 measles outbreak in New York cost over $8 million to contain. Requirements are cheap, and outbreaks are expensive.
It’s also worth emphasizing that there’s a range of middle-ground options that don’t require choosing between eliminating requirements entirely and keeping them exactly as they are. Policymakers can make exemptions harder to obtain without eliminating them, require families to complete vaccine education before receiving an exemption, or restrict exemptions on a disease-by-disease basis rather than all at once. As Italy showed, going too far too fast can turn supporters into opponents. The goal is durable policy, not just bold policy.
Bottom line
School vaccine requirements do important, quiet work: they keep preventable outbreaks out of classrooms, keep kids in school, and create reliable moments for families to access health care they might not otherwise get. Three out of four Americans support keeping these requirements. The challenge now is to make sure the majority is heard.
Love, YLE and DH
David Higgins, MD, MPH, is a practicing pediatrician and public health physician whose work focuses on vaccine delivery, health policy, and communication. He publishes the newsletter Community Immunity, where he writes about vaccines and public health. When he’s not seeing patients or writing, he’s coaching youth soccer or exploring the outdoors with his family. Find him on LinkedIn and Instagram.
Your Local Epidemiologist (YLE) is founded and operated by Dr. Katelyn Jetelina, MPH PhD—an epidemiologist, wife. YLE reaches more than 425,000 people in over 132 countries with one goal: “Translate” the ever-evolving public health science so that people will be well-equipped to make evidence-based decisions. This newsletter is free to everyone, thanks to the generous support of fellow YLE community members. To support the effort, subscribe or upgrade below:
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MARCH 9–PLAYLAND OPENS IN MAY
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PLAYLAND PARK SCHEDULED TO OPEN IN MAY
Meet us at the Dragon Coaster!
[Rye, NY] – The countdown is on! Playland Park is preparing to welcome guests back for another unforgettable summer filled with classic thrills, family fun and the unmistakable magic that has defined generations of Westchester memories. Visitors can once again soar above the shoreline on the iconic Gondola Wheel, take a spin on the historic Grand Carousel, and enjoy the timeless charm of Kiddyland rides – while savoring favorite park treats and new food offerings throughout the grounds.
• Preseason Opening Saturday, May 16 and Sunday, May 17
• Grand Opening Saturday, May 23
This year marks Playland’s 98th season, and with it comes the highly anticipated return of the beloved Dragon Coaster. The reopening of this historic landmark signals a major milestone and underscores the County’s continued commitment to preserving and revitalizing one of Westchester’s most treasured attractions.
Westchester County Executive Ken Jenkins said: “Playland is one of Westchester’s most cherished destinations and a place where many fond childhood memories are made. As we welcome the 2026 season, I’m excited for visitors to experience everything Playland has to offer, including rides and games, treats, and Friday night fireworks. It is sure to be a memorable summer for all. I’ll meet you at the Dragon Coaster!”
Commissioner of the Westchester County Department of Parks, Recreation and Conservation, Kathy O’Connor said: “Playland is synonymous with summer in Westchester and has been a source of pride for our community for nearly a century. Opening the park every year is special, but this year guests will experience the full Playland tradition they know and love.”
Fourth of July Fireworks will return this year, along with weekly Friday night fireworks thereafter.
Following Memorial Day Weekend from Saturday, May 23 through Monday, May 25, the park will follow a Wednesday through Sunday schedule for the remainder of the season, through Labor Day, Monday, Sept. 7. The park will also be open Saturday and Sunday Sept. 12 and 13. The beach will open on a preseason basis beginning Saturday, May 23 at 11 a.m., then will open on a full-summer schedule with the pool on Friday, June 26 and will be open daily, weather permitting, through Labor Day, Monday, Sept. 7. The park’s full schedule and operating hours are available here. Parking is $15 per car and $20 on holidays, park admission is always free, and rider wristbands are available and listed on the website.
For group sales, please call: (914) 813-7021. Season pass information will be announced soon.
Follow us on Facebook and Instagram to say up-to-date on all information as it becomes available.
MARCH 9–COUNTY EXECUTIVE JENKINS: NEW 2026 CENSUS CHANGES COULD UNDERCOUNT, UNDERFUND COUNTY AID
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COUNTY EXECUTIVE KEN JENKINS STATEMENT ON CENSUS TEST CHANGES THAT COULD UNDERCOUNT COMMUNITIES AND JEOPARDIZE FUNDING
“Westchester County has joined with leaders across the country in expressing concern about proposed changes to the 2026 Census Test. A fair and accurate census is essential to ensuring communities receive the representation and resources they deserve.
“Reducing the number of test sites and excluding areas with significant Hispanic populations raises serious concerns about the potential for an undercount, particularly in diverse communities like Westchester. An inaccurate count could have real consequences, affecting the distribution of federal funding and the ability of local governments to plan effectively for housing, transportation, education and public health.
“Westchester County is proud of its diversity, and every resident should be counted. We encourage federal partners to ensure the testing process reflects the full diversity of our nation so the 2030 Census can deliver the most accurate count possible.”
MARCH 8 — THE ORIGINAL UPPER EAST SIDE WALK-UP: THE JOSEPH BREWSTER HOUSE
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WPCNR TURNING BACK THE HANDS OF TIME. By John F. Bailey. March 8, 2026:
I walked back into New York City’s past Saturday.
I walked UP all 4 narrow steep red-carpeted stairs all 72 steps past a kitchen where Irish immigrant girls of the past cooked 8 course meals on a cast iron stove, responded to bells at all hours to the Joseph Brewster Family whims, three plush original Empire couch furnished parlors with cast iron fireplaces and feather-bed canopy bedrooms of the Brewster and Treadway families.
It is the 1832 Brewster House on East 4th Street.
As seen in 1936.
The narrow home built in 1832 as it looks today before scaffolding (now surrounding it) to repair the exterior
The Joseph Brewster House, today, NoHo, NYC..as seen today. It is currently surrounded with scaffolding but open to the public.
Perhaps the oldest home in New York City, now threatened by a developer who wants to build next to it. It is now at the mercy of the City Landmarks Commission. If anything is worth preserving it is this step (72 of them on the staircases) back in the early 19thCentury.
I like to think this is the first walk-up before the tenements of the Lower East Side, yet it is the first walkup where Jacob Brewster a hardware merchant built this house.
It was a mansion for its time. A house with servants, cooks, and a center of the social whirl of the high society of its time. Where ladies called on the ladies of the Brewster House presented personal cards and socialized with the mistress of the home in the posh parlors where Mrs. Brewster spend her day because her skirts were too wide to go up and down her stair 4 steps of stairs.
Where entertainments were held and eight-course dinners served out of a surprisingly efficient kitchen run by cooks and serving girls of the time who after immigrating from Ireland were able to find jobs as cooks and servants for 2 dollars to 7 dollars a day, and free lodging in the attic.
The Brewster exterior is being renovated at the present time, and you enter through the small park next to it on East 4th Street. If you are fascinated by the past it is a trip you must take to see.
The television and streaming programs that glamorize the past and make us long for the simpler days of this Hollywood-imagined elegance are put to shame by the realities of what life was like. Candlelight at night until gaslights came to the home in about the 1850s then electric lights in the late 19th century. One ancestor lived her entire life in the house (she died in 1933). The house is the first Designated Landmark building to be recognized in 1965 by the Landmark Commission.
THE KITCHEN ON FIRST FLOOR
THE FAMILY ROOM WHERE FAMILY ROOM ATE
The extremely knowledgeable guide taking the 10 person group on the kitchen to attic tour told the colorful history of the house with detailed vignette tales of parties, servant life, a homemaker’s routine and the advantages of rainwater water supply as opposed to city well water and how bathing was done, hotwater was not favored at that time. Showers were not available. I came away with the feeling that the glamorized past of Hollywood westerns and costume dramas paint a sanitized version of what it was like living distant times.
The Parlor for Receiving Visitors.
The Upstairs PARLORS RESERVED FOR ENTERTAINING
THE ENTRANCE TO THE SECOND PARLOR UPSTAIRS AND BELOW THE UNDERGROUND RAILROAD HIDING PLACE BUILT INTO THE WALLS OF THE HOUSE COMPLETE WITH LADDER LEADING TO STREET
PROOF of The underground railroad –hiding place on the fourth floor
Your guide explains the abolitionist movement of which Jacob Brewster was very much a supporter. You see the tunnel Brewster had built into the walls of his new home to hide runaway slaves to New York as they moved on in the Underground Railroad on their ways to Massachusetts and New England where slavery was abolished.
It is five-story tunnel with a latter for descending. Details on what runaway slaves from the South before the Civil War researched by the society running the Brewster House were sobering. ( Slavery was not, and is not the wholesome existence portrayed in the novel/movie Gone With the Wind.)
From Westchester The Brewster House is accessible by train to Grand Central $29 from White Plains and the Number 6 on the world’s greatest electric train set (the subway) to Astor Place and a short walk to 4th Street in Greenwich Village. All pictures from the Joseph Brewster organization.
MARCH 16– TONIGHT MONDAY at 7 “WHITE PLAINS WEEK” THE MARCH 6 REPORT FIRST EDITION OF THE NEXT 25 YEARS OF WESTCHESTER’S EMMY WORTHY NEWS REPORT FIOS CH 45 WPOPTIMUM CH 76 AND WWW.WPCOMMUNITYMEDIA.ORG
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KEN JENKINS MOVES AHEAD ON A NEW TERMINAL AT THE COUNTY AIRPORT
THE COUNTY MONEY WISH LIST FOR 2026 IS SENT TO ALBANY
THE 100TH ANNIVERSART OF WHITE PLAINS CITY HALL
MAYOR-EMERITUS TOM ROACH ON THE MEANING OF CITY HALL —
THE ROLE OF CITY HALL
COVID 19 CONTINUES TO STALK WESTCHESTER COUNTY SO DOES RSV
WITH JOHN BAILEY AND THE NEWS
THIS WEEK EVERY WEEK ON WHITE PLAINS WEEK
OUR 26TH YEAR REPORTING
THE NEWS YOU HAVE TO KNOW THAT YOU NEED TO KNOW
MARCH 6 — GUNS IN WESTCHESTER–D.A. SUSAN CACACE REPORTS. 72% OF ARRESTEES ARE UNDER 30
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MARCH 6– ASSEMBLYMAN BURDICK ON THE STATE BUDGET
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MARCH 6– MENTAL HEALTH CLINIC OPENS IN WHITE PLAINS AT 112 EAST POST ROAD
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WESTCHESTER COUNTY OPENS NEW MENTAL HEALTH SAFETY CLINIC IN WHITE PLAINS
Clinic to Help Address Service Gaps and Growing Demand for Mental Health Services
Watch the News Conference Here:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kqSmEqUfreQ
(White Plains, NY) – Westchester County Executive Ken Jenkins has officially opened a new Mental Health Safety Net Clinic in White Plains, restoring the County’s direct role in providing outpatient behavioral health services. The state-of-the-art facility, located at 112 East Post Road in White Plains, expands the County’s capacity to address service gaps, reduce waitlists, and respond to the growing demand for mental health care in Westchester County.
Jenkins said:
“Nearly 15 years ago, the doors of Westchester County’s Safety Net Clinic were forced to close. Restoring that system of care for our residents was not an option, it was essential. For too long, our hospitals and emergency rooms have been forced to carry a responsibility they were never designed to bear – but that ends now. This clinic will provide the consistent, compassionate outpatient treatment that people need to rebuild their lives, because in Westchester County, no one faces a mental health crisis alone.”
Since 2020, the demand for outpatient behavioral health services has increased significantly, contributing to extended wait times and added strain on emergency departments and hospitals.
The reopening of the Safety Net Clinic restores a critical community-based resource, and strengthens Westchester County’s broader strategy to improve access to care, and reduce unnecessary hospitalizations.
Department of Community Mental Health Commissioner Michael Orth a White Plains resident said:
“This clinic represents a major step forward in strengthening Westchester’s behavioral health continuum of care. I want to thank County Executive Jenkins for his steadfast commitment to expanding access for our residents. The reopening of the Safety Net Clinic compliments our crisis response system, including 988 services and hospital diversion efforts, and reflects the commitment to providing accessible, recovery-oriented, and integrated care for individuals with mental health and co-occurring substance use challenges. I also want to recognize the dedicated staff, under the leadership of Melanie Montalto, who worked tirelessly to make this day possible.”
The Clinic will provide comprehensive outpatient mental health services for adults age 18 and older. Services are trauma-informed, culturally responsive, and person-centered, with a focus on recovery, wellness and connection to community supports. Operating under a “no wrong door” philosophy, the Clinic will ensure individuals with complex or co-occurring mental health and substance use needs receive coordinated and integrated care.
Comprehensive services will include individual therapy, crisis intervention, medication management, group therapy, health assessments, referrals, peer services, referrals, peer services, interfaith support, integrated treatment for co-occurring mental health and substance use disorders. Spanish-speaking services are available, along with interpretation through Language Line for additional languages.
The Clinic accepts Medicaid and private insurance, as well as uninsured individuals. Services are provided in accordance with the New York State Office of Mental Health Article 31 regulations.
For more information or to schedule an appointment, please contact the Department of Community Mental Health
(914) 995-7200.