White Plains, NY
Breaking News
COVID-19: JN.1 Subvariant Becomes Fastest Growing In US As WHO Issues New Advisory COVID-19: JN.1 Subvariant Becomes Fastest Growing In US As WHO Issues New Advisory COVID-19: JN.1 Subvariant Becomes Fastest Growing In US As WHO Issues New Advisory
Covid-19: JN.1 Subvariant Becomes Fastest Growing In US As WHO Issues New Advisory A new COVID-19 subvariant has become the fastest-growing in the US, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Click here for a new, updated story - COVID-19: Here Are Symptoms To Watch For With New Subvariant Spreading Fast JN.1, an offshoot of the highly transmissible Omicron strain and one of its subvariants, the BA.2.86 strain known as Pirola, now accounts for 21.4 percent of US cases, according to brand-new data. It's estimated that it makes up one-third of cases in the Northeast. The World Health Organization declared JN.1 to be "a variant of interest"…

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by Joe Lombardi
New Haven, CT
Breaking News
Surge In COVID-19, Flu, RSV Hospitalizations Leads To Winter Virus Warning By CDC Surge In COVID-19, Flu, RSV Hospitalizations Leads To Winter Virus Warning By CDC Surge In COVID-19, Flu, RSV Hospitalizations Leads To Winter Virus Warning By CDC
Surge In Covid-19, Flu, RSV Hospitalizations Leads To Winter Virus Warning By CDC The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) is sounding the alarm, warning that low vaccination rates for COVID-19, influenza, and RSV (respiratory syncytial virus) could strain healthcare systems across the nation in the weeks ahead. Hospitalizations among all age groups in the last month increased by 200 percent for influenza, 51 percent for COVID, and 60 percent for RSV, the CDC said. Meanwhile, coverage for the seasonal 2023-2024 flu shot is low in all age groups compared with the same period of the 2022–2023 season. Just 17 percent of adults had received the updated COVID vac…

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by Joe Lombardi
White Plains, NY
Breaking News
COVID-19: 'We're Going Back Up Again,' CDC Director Says Amid Post-Thanksgiving Increases COVID-19: 'We're Going Back Up Again,' CDC Director Says Amid Post-Thanksgiving Increases COVID-19: 'We're Going Back Up Again,' CDC Director Says Amid Post-Thanksgiving Increases
Covid-19: 'We're Going Back Up Again,' CDC Director Says Amid Post-Thanksgiving Increases Key metrics in weekly data indicate the first major nationwide COVID-19 uptick in months following the Thanksgiving holiday. Speaking at a Congressional hearing on Thursday, Nov. 30, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) Director Dr. Mandy Cohen said: "We are going back up again, which we expected after a lot of travel and gathering at Thanksgiving." Nationwide, in the latest data for the week ending Saturday, Nov. 25, there was a 10.6 percent increase in emergency room visits and 10 percent increase in hospitalizations. In addition, the test positivity rate went up 1.2 perc…

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by Joe Lombardi
Massapequa, NY
Breaking News
COVID-19: Cases Of Highly Mutated Pirola Strain Triple In 2 Weeks COVID-19: Cases Of Highly Mutated Pirola Strain Triple In 2 Weeks COVID-19: Cases Of Highly Mutated Pirola Strain Triple In 2 Weeks
Covid-19: Cases Of Highly Mutated Pirola Strain Triple In 2 Weeks Nationwide cases of the so-called COVID-19 Pirola subvariant have tripled in two weeks. The strain officially known as BA.2.86 has been particularly prominent in New York.  It now makes up 9 percent of COVID cases in the US, according to the latest data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). World Health Organization (WHO) authorities said they consider BA.2.86 to be part of the Omicron variant family, but that could change if the strain spreads more widely even though Pirola's 30 mutations are from the BA.2 lineage, which was the dominant Omicron strain …

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by Joe Lombardi
White Plains, NY
Breaking News
COVID-19: Symptoms Now Number 11; Here's Latest Rundown From CDC COVID-19: Symptoms Now Number 11; Here's Latest Rundown From CDC COVID-19: Symptoms Now Number 11; Here's Latest Rundown From CDC
Covid-19: Symptoms Now Number 11; Here's Latest Rundown From CDC When COVID-19 cases first were identified in the United States in March 2020, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) listed just three symptoms for the novel coronavirus: Fever Cough Shortness of breath Now, nearly five years later, the virus remains an everyday part of American life, with about 1,000 deaths from the disease nationwide each week. As COVID has evolved, mainly from the highly contagious Omicron strain and several of its subvariants, the CDC's updated list of symptoms for the virus now numbers 11. They are: Fever or chills Cough Shortness of breath or difficu…

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by Joe Lombardi
Brentwood, NY
Breaking News
5 Accused In Potentially 'Deadly' Scheme To Smuggle Fentanyl Into Jail On Long Island 5 Accused In Potentially 'Deadly' Scheme To Smuggle Fentanyl Into Jail On Long Island 5 Accused In Potentially 'Deadly' Scheme To Smuggle Fentanyl Into Jail On Long Island
5 Accused In Potentially 'Deadly' Scheme To Smuggle Fentanyl Into Jail On Long Island An elaborate scheme to smuggle a potentially deadly amount of fentanyl into a Long Island jail has landed five suspects behind bars, prosecutors said. Suffolk County District Attorney Raymond Tierney and Sheriff Errol Toulon outlined the alleged plot at a press conference at the county municipal campus in Riverhead on Thursday, Nov. 16. According to investigators, corrections officers at the Suffolk County jail first learned of the scheme in August 2023. They were tipped off that an inmate, 35-year-old Jyzir Hamilton, of Hauppauge, was arranging for his girlfriend to have fentanyl-laced pa…

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by Michael Mashburn
Brentwood, NY
Breaking News
‘I Got The Good Stuff’: Long Island Dealer Admits Selling Fentanyl Causing 2 Overdose Deaths ‘I Got The Good Stuff’: Long Island Dealer Admits Selling Fentanyl Causing 2 Overdose Deaths ‘I Got The Good Stuff’: Long Island Dealer Admits Selling Fentanyl Causing 2 Overdose Deaths
‘I Got The Good Stuff’: Long Island Dealer Admits Selling Fentanyl Causing 2 Overdose Deaths A Long Island drug dealer could spend decades in federal prison for selling fentanyl that contributed to two overdose deaths. Charles Carter, age 34, of Amityville, appeared in US District Court in Central Islip on Monday, Nov. 13, where he pleaded guilty to conspiring to distribute over 40 grams of fentanyl. The potent, synthetic opioid drug is 50 to 100 times stronger than morphine, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Carter, who also goes by the name “Chase,” admitted to selling the drugs between August 2020 and February 2021. Among his customers were a 2…

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by Michael Mashburn
Massapequa, NY
Breaking News
COVID-19: Here Are Symptoms For New Variant That's Now Most Dominant In US COVID-19: Here Are Symptoms For New Variant That's Now Most Dominant In US COVID-19: Here Are Symptoms For New Variant That's Now Most Dominant In US
Covid-19: Here Are Symptoms For New Variant That's Now Most Dominant In US A new COVID-19 variant has quickly become the most dominant in the nation just as respiratory virus season arrives. According to the latest data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), HV.1 now makes up 25.2 percent of COVID cases in the US, just ahead of the EG.5 variant (21.9 percent). The EG.5 strain, known as Eris, was first identified in August. It remains the most prominent strain worldwide at about 46 percent of cases across the globe.  HV.1 was also first identified over the summer but in low numbers. Like EG.5, HV.1 is an offshoot of the highly contag…

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by Joe Lombardi
Albany, NY
Breaking News
COVID-19: New Data Reveals How Many Americans Have Gotten Updated Vaccine Shots COVID-19: New Data Reveals How Many Americans Have Gotten Updated Vaccine Shots COVID-19: New Data Reveals How Many Americans Have Gotten Updated Vaccine Shots
Covid-19: New Data Reveals How Many Americans Have Gotten Updated Vaccine Shots New data is shedding light on how many Americans have received a dose of the new COVID-19 booster shot for 2023-24. The updated vaccine has now been available for about a month and a half. More than 1,200 people are dying of COVID each week in the United States  four years after the pandemic started, the CDC says. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recommended the newest vaccine targeting Omicron subvariants being provided by both Pfizer/BioNTech and Moderna for everyone 6 months of age and older. Another updated vaccine, this one from Novavax, b…

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by Joe Lombardi
Jersey City, NJ
Breaking News
'Charged Lemonade' From Panera Led To Death Of UPenn Student From Jersey City: Lawsuit 'Charged Lemonade' From Panera Led To Death Of UPenn Student From Jersey City: Lawsuit 'Charged Lemonade' From Panera Led To Death Of UPenn Student From Jersey City: Lawsuit
'Charged Lemonade' From Panera Led To Death Of UPenn Student From Jersey City: Lawsuit More than a year after a UPenn student from New Jersey died, her family  has filed a wrongful death suit against Panera. Sarah Katz, of Jersey City, died at Penn Presbyterian Medical Center on Sept. 10, 2022, according to her obituary.  The 21-year-old's death came shortly after she drank "Charged Lemonade" at the Panera located at 200 South 40th Street, in Philadelphia, according to the lawsuit filed on Monday, Oct. 23, by Kline & Specter, P.C. on behalf of Jill and Michael Katz. Sarah went into cardiac arrest at a table in the Panera surrounded by her friends shortly after drinking t…

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by Jillian Pikora
White Plains, NY
Breaking News
COVID-19: Here's How Many Americans Have Gotten Updated Vaccine Compared To Last Year's Booster COVID-19: Here's How Many Americans Have Gotten Updated Vaccine Compared To Last Year's Booster COVID-19: Here's How Many Americans Have Gotten Updated Vaccine Compared To Last Year's Booster
Covid-19: Here's How Many Americans Have Gotten Updated Vaccine Compared To Last Year's Booster More than seven million Americans have received a dose of the newly released COVID-19 booster shot for 2023-24, according to federal authorities. In mid-September, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recommended the newest vaccine targeting Omicron subvariants being provided by both Pfizer/BioNTech and Moderna for everyone 6 months of age and older. Another updated vaccine, this one from Novavax, became available this month and is recommended for those aged 12 and over.  The rollout of this year's booster was marked early on by some distribution of…

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by Joe Lombardi
Glen Burnie, MD
Breaking News
New Rabies Alert Issued In Maryland Neighborhood After Raccoon Tests Positive New Rabies Alert Issued In Maryland Neighborhood After Raccoon Tests Positive New Rabies Alert Issued In Maryland Neighborhood After Raccoon Tests Positive
New Rabies Alert Issued In Maryland Neighborhood After Raccoon Tests Positive A fresh alert has been issued in Anne Arundel County after another raccoon tested positive for rabies. The Anne Arundel County Department of Health issued an alert this week warning that anyone who came into contact with a raccoon near the 100 block of Natalie Lane, near Pasadena Road in Millserville may have been exposed to the virus. The raccoon, which was found on Thursday, Oct. 5, tested positive, according to the agency. Anyone who may have had contact with the infected animal, or whose pets have unexplained wounds, is being instructed to contact the Department of Health. Rabies is a…

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by Zak Failla