Massapequa, NY
News
COVID-19: Here's Percentage NY Cases Have Dropped Since First Week Of Month COVID-19: Here's Percentage NY Cases Have Dropped Since First Week Of Month
Covid-19: Here's Percentage NY Cases Have Dropped Since First Week Of Month The COVID-19 numbers in New York continue to show marked improvement as the state distances itself from the post-holiday seasons surge of new infections. After peaking on Friday, Jan. 7, COVID-19 cases in New York have dropped 90 percent, according to the latest update from the Department of Health, which is reporting improved virus-related data across the board. In the past 24 hours, the number of COVID-19 patients being treated for the virus in state hospitals is down by more than 550, and each of New York’s 10 regions has seen its average seven-day positive infection rate drop since the …

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by Zak Failla
Port Chester, NY
News
COVID-19: New Hudson Valley Numbers Encouraging, As Hochul Says Winter Surge Could End Soon COVID-19: New Hudson Valley Numbers Encouraging, As Hochul Says Winter Surge Could End Soon
Covid-19: New Hudson Valley Numbers Encouraging, As Hochul Says Winter Surge Could End Soon The light at the end of the winter COVID-19 surge could be fast approaching in the Hudson Valley as the region continues to see improved numbers as the calendar inches further away from the holidays. The seven-day average percentage of positive test results in the Hudson Valley continued its decline over the holiday weekend, from 16.31 percent on Saturday, Jan. 15, to 15.49 percent the following day and down to 15.16 percent of those tested on Monday, Jan. 17, continuing a two-week trend of improving COVID-19 data. Statewide, the positivity is also on the decline, from 16.37 percent to 15.…

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by Zak Failla
Mamaroneck, NY
News
COVID-19: Here's When Americans Can Order Free At-Home Tests COVID-19: Here's When Americans Can Order Free At-Home Tests
Covid-19: Here's When Americans Can Order Free At-Home Tests With the Omicron COVID-19 variant raging, Americans will soon have access to free at-home test kits that will be made available through a federal website. Beginning on Wednesday, Jan. 19, the White House announced that it will be distributing one billion tests that it plans to buy this year that will be provided to Americans in need for free. According to the White House, tests will take approximately seven to 12 days to ship, and can be requested at COVIDTests.gov beginning on Jan. 19. Officials said that "tens of millions” of tests are already on hand, and a half billion will be availabl…

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by Zak Failla
Brentwood, NY
News
COVID-19: Pfizer CEO Announces When Vaccine Targeting Omicron Variant Will Be Ready COVID-19: Pfizer CEO Announces When Vaccine Targeting Omicron Variant Will Be Ready
Covid-19: Pfizer CEO Announces When Vaccine Targeting Omicron Variant Will Be Ready A vaccine targeting the highly transmissible Omicron COVID-19 variant could be on the way from Pfizer. On Monday, Jan. 10, Pfizer CEO Albert Bourla said that booster targeting Omicron will be ready as soon as March, as the company has already begun ramping up production of the doses. “This vaccine will be ready in March,” Bourla told CNBC’s “Squawk Box.” “We (are) already starting manufacturing some of these quantities at risk.” Related story - COVID-19: Fauci Offers New Prediction On When Omicron Wave May Break The vaccine will not exclusively target Omicron, but will also be able to fig…

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by Zak Failla
Glen Burnie, MD
News
COVID-19: Researcher Discovers 'Deltacron' Strain Combining Parts Of Both Variants COVID-19: Researcher Discovers 'Deltacron' Strain Combining Parts Of Both Variants
Covid-19: Researcher Discovers 'Deltacron' Strain Combining Parts Of Both Variants A COVID-19 strain that combines both the Omicron and Delta variants has been discovered by a researcher, according to a brand-new report. The strain has been labeled “Deltacron” by the researcher, Leondios Kostrikis, a biological sciences professor at the University of Cyprus because of its omicron-like genetic signatures within the delta genomes, Bloomberg reported on Saturday, Jan. 8. Kostrikis told Sigma TV that "we will see in the future if this strain is more pathological or more contagious or if it will prevail” over Delta and Omicron. To date, 25 cases of Deltacron have been identif…

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by Joe Lombardi
Towson, MD
News
COVID-19: 12K+ Cases Reported In Maryland In 24 Hours COVID-19: 12K+ Cases Reported In Maryland In 24 Hours
Covid-19: 12K+ Cases Reported In Maryland In 24 Hours There are 12,735 new confirmed cases of COVID-19 in the state over the past 24 hours, according to the Maryland COVID-19 Dashboard. In addition, the total number of cases of the virus has soared to 788,965 in the state, the positivity rate is also now at  29.98%, an increase of 1.42%. Hospitalizations have also increased statewide by 54, with a total of 3,172 people now in the hospital with the Coronavirus. The highest number of COVID-19 deaths in Maryland is in Baltimore County, so far 1,971 residents there have died from the virus. Governor Larry Hogan says the highly infectio…

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by Joe Gomez
Massapequa, NY
News
COVID-19: Omicron May Be Milder, But Variant Can Still Lead To Long-Term Symptoms, Fauci Says COVID-19: Omicron May Be Milder, But Variant Can Still Lead To Long-Term Symptoms, Fauci Says
Covid-19: Omicron May Be Milder, But Variant Can Still Lead To Long-Term Symptoms, Fauci Says Symptoms of the highly transmissible COVID-19 Omicron strain may be milder, but the variant can still lead to so-called "Long Covid," according to Dr. Anthony Fauci."Long Covid can happen no matter what virus variant occurs," Fauci told Spectrum News. "There's no evidence that there's any difference between Delta or Beta or now Omicron." Fauci,  the director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases and the Chief Medical Advisor to the President, added that "We should always be aware that when people get symptomatic infection - anywhere from 10 to up to…

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by Joe Lombardi
White Plains, NY
News
COVID-19: Omicron Doesn't Attack Lungs As Strongly As Other Variants, Studies Show COVID-19: Omicron Doesn't Attack Lungs As Strongly As Other Variants, Studies Show
Covid-19: Omicron Doesn't Attack Lungs As Strongly As Other Variants, Studies Show Brand-new studies are suggesting why the highly contagious COVID-19 strain Omicron is not as severe as other variants of the virus. Omicron is milder because it doesn't attack the lungs as strongly as other variants, according to the studies. Omicron produced less damaging infections, often limited largely to the upper airway - the nose, throat, and windpipe - in testing conducted on mice and hamsters, The New York Times reports. “The variant did much less harm to the lungs, where previous variants would often cause scarring and serious breathing difficulty," the report says. The findings…

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by Joe Lombardi
Mount Vernon, NY
News
COVID-19: Mount Vernon School District Switches To Remote Learning COVID-19: Mount Vernon School District Switches To Remote Learning
Covid-19: Mount Vernon School District Switches To Remote Learning A large school district in the region will start the calendar year remotely due to an increase COVID-19 cases amid the emergence of the Omicron strain. The Mount Vernon City School District said it plans to reopen for in-person learning on Tuesday, Jan. 18. The district had switched to 100-percent virtual instruction on Wednesday, Dec. 22. Two other city districts in Westchester County -- New Rochelle and Yonkers Public School District have both also announced they will be closed this week for in-person learning. Both districts say they are switching to virtual learning …

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by Joe Lombardi
Bedford, NY
News
COVID-19: School District In Region Announces Delayed Starting Time COVID-19: School District In Region Announces Delayed Starting Time
Covid-19: School District In Region Announces Delayed Starting Time A school district in Fairfield County announced a change in the starting time for the first day of classes of the new calendar year amid a climb in cases as the highly contagious COVID-19 Omicron strain becomes more prevalent. Darien Public Schools Superintendent Alan Addley announced a two-hour delayed opening schedule on Monday, Jan. 3 to provide teachers with the opportunity to prepare remote and in-person learning for their students "given the expected but undetermined number of students to be quarantined." On Friday, Dec. 31, Westport Schools Superintendent Thomas Scarice said the…

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by Joe Lombardi
Darien, CT
News
COVID-19: Darien School District Announces Delayed Start For First Day Of Classes After Break COVID-19: Darien School District Announces Delayed Start For First Day Of Classes After Break
Covid-19: Darien School District Announces Delayed Start For First Day Of Classes After Break A school district in Fairfield County announced a change in the starting time for the first day of classes of the new calendar year amid a climb in cases as the highly contagious COVID-19 Omicron strain becomes more prevalent. Darien Public Schools Superintendent Alan Addley announced a two-hour delayed opening schedule on Monday, Jan. 3 to provide teachers with the opportunity to prepare remote and in-person learning for their students "given the expected but undetermined number of students to be quarantined." On Friday, Dec. 31, Westport Schools Superintendent Thomas Scarice said the…

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by Joe Lombardi
Yonkers, NY
News
COVID-19: 'Omicron's A Different Animal,' Says Expert, Sounding Alarm Over In-Person Learning COVID-19: 'Omicron's A Different Animal,' Says Expert, Sounding Alarm Over In-Person Learning
Covid-19: 'Omicron's A Different Animal,' Says Expert, Sounding Alarm Over In-Person Learning A pediatrician who is an expert on disease and vaccine development is sounding the alarm about the ability of schools to resume in-person learning during the height of the new wave of the COVID-19 pandemic sparked by a surge of cases from the highly contagious Omicron variant. Connecticut native Dr. Peter Hotez is the dean of the National School of Tropical Medicine at the Baylor College of Medicine and co-director of the Texas Children's Hospital Center for Vaccine Development. "Here's the problem," Hotez said in an interview on MSNBC Wednesday morning, Dec. 29. "We're kind of going off ol…

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by Joe Lombardi