Good Thursday morning.
Between the seemingly never-ending Covid crisis and now the rise of monkeypox, there are a lot of other viruses falling through the cracks. Members of the public only have so much bandwidth when it comes to scary health-related news to which one really ought to be paying attention.
So, this seems like as good a time as any to do my civic duty and remind you that viral Hepatitis is still very much a thing. In fact, it may well one of the least recognized — and most widespread — global health crises, and it is the leading cause of chronic liver disease and other liver-related problems across the globe.
Happy World Hepatitis Day! Or maybe that’s not the right greeting? Too upbeat?
Anyway.
While we were otherwise engaged battling the coronavirus pandemic, Hepatitis quietly spread its deadly self across continents, infecting hundreds of millions of people. A Hepatitis-related illness claims a life every 30 seconds, and more than 350 million people are living with viral Hepatitis.
Depending on which strain we’re talking about, Hepatitis is both preventable and/or treatable. There is a vaccine and effective treatments for both Hepatitis A and B, treatments for Hepatitis D and E and, and an outright cure for Hepatitis C.
The World Hepatitis Alliance is aiming to eliminate Hepatitis as a public health threat by 2030, which really isn’t that far in the future, when you think about it.
Generally speaking, you can get all the Hepatitis strains through contact with an infected person. A lot of people are infected and don’t know they have the virus, which makes thing particularly difficult. The symptoms of all three are pretty common, too, and can include: fever, fatigue, loss of appetite, nausea, vomiting, abdominal pain, dark urine, light-colored stools, joint pain, and jaundice.
Even though I kicked things off here by saying that Covid and monkeypox are sucking all the air out of the room, Hepatitis has been in the news lately.
More than 1,000 children in 35 countries have developed an unidentified type of severe acute hepatitis — or liver inflammation — since the first case was reported in January. Just this week, scientists in the U.K. announced they believe that they’ve identified the likely cause, and – surprise, surprise – it’s Covid-related.
New research suggests that a lack of exposure to two common viruses during the Covid-19 pandemic may have increased the chances of children becoming severely ill with acute hepatitis. There’s also a genetic component that, frankly, I find difficult to follow.
The theme of this year’s World Hepatitis Day is “I Can’t Wait” – in other words, don’t wait to get tested, or treated, or vaccinated. And also, we can’t wait to end the stigma surrounding this virus that might be preventing individuals who are at risk from coming forward and/or serving as a disincentive to investment necessary to eradicate it.
We’re in for a stretch of not fantastic weather. There’s rain in the forecast tomorrow, but also the possibility of thunderstorms in the afternoon, accompanied by gusty winds and…”small” HAIL?? Yeah. OK. Hail. Temperatures will be in the high 80s.
Oh, and in case you’re confused about hail (I was) and have a few minutes to spare, click here.
In the headlines…
West Virginia Sen. Joe Manchin announced he had changed his mind and agreed to include hundreds of billions of dollars for climate and energy programs and tax increases in a package to subsidize health care and lower the cost of prescription drugs.
The package would set aside $369 billion for climate and energy proposals – Congress’ most ambitious climate action – and raise about $451 billion in new tax revenue over 10 years, and cut prescription drug spending by $288 billion, according to a summary.
The bill stands a serious chance of becoming law as soon as August – assuming Democrats can pass the bill in the House and that it passes muster with the Senate parliamentarian to allow it to be approved along straight party lines in the budget process.
“Holy shit,” said Tiernan Sittenfeld, senior vice president of government affairs with the League of Conservation Voters. “This deal is coming not a moment too soon.”
The White House announced two new programs aimed at expanding access to “community solar” projects among subsidized housing residents and households that receive federal assistance to pay their utility bills.
President Joe Biden returned to work in the Oval Office after getting a negative COVID test yesterday, and credited the drug Paxlovid for helping him beat the virus.
“My symptoms were mild, my recovery was quick and I’m feeling great,” Biden said in a short speech at the White House before he went back to work in the West Wing.
“The same treatment that I got is available to you.” Biden said. “You can live without fear by doing what I did: get boosted, get tested, and get treatment.”
In two new preprints, scientists found people infected with COVID-19 remained infectious after five days. One from the Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston showed one-quarter patients may still be infectious eight days after first testing positive.
A new poll of voters in deep-blue Massachusetts shows the Biden is about as popular in the Bay State as the Yankees and Manhattan clam chowder — with his approval rating among Democrats dropping by 13 percentage points in three months.
The United States has made an offer to the Russian government for the release of WNBA star Brittney Griner and former U.S. Marine Paul Whelan, Secretary of State Antony Blinken said.
Blinken’s statement, at a press conference, was the first time a White House official has confirmed negotiations to bring Griner home from Russia, where the WNBA star has been detained since Feb. 17.
At the conclusion of its July monetary policymaking meeting, members of the US central bank once again approved a supersized interest rate hike of three-quarters of a percentage point, voting unanimously on the aggressive move to tackle white-hot inflation.
The Fed enacted its second consecutive 0.75 percentage point interest rate increase as it seeks to tamp down runaway inflation without creating a recession.
The actions taken by the Fed in recent months have fueled concern among some economists of a looming recession.
The U.S. Senate passed a bipartisan bill that would provide $52 billion in subsidies to domestic semiconductor manufacturers and invest billions in science and technology innovation.
The bill is meant to entice companies to expand chip manufacturing in the U.S., reducing the risk of the supply chain disruptions that hampered production of everything from cars to appliances and helping the U.S. compete overseas, particularly with China.
The vote reflected growing concern in both parties that the U.S. lacks a long-term response to Beijing’s technological and economic rise, a view galvanized when the Covid-19 pandemic disrupted chip supplies from Asia, with fallout across major industries.
The CHIPS and Science Act of 2022 would spend $52.7 billion on direct financial assistance for the construction and expansion of semiconductor manufacturing facilities, as well as other programs. It adds $24 billion in tax incentives and other provisions.
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s husband sold up to $5 million worth of chipmaker Nvidia shares as the House prepares to vote on a bill focusing on the domestic chip manufacturing industry.
More than 1.5 million people became infected with H.I.V. last year, roughly three times the global target, the United Nations reported
The Food and Drug Administration signed off on a Bavarian Nordic A/S monkeypox vaccine plant, a move that allows use in the U.S. of 786,000 doses made at the facility in Denmark.
The World Health Organization recommended that gay and bisexual men limit their number of sexual partners to protect themselves from monkeypox and help slow transmission of the rapidly spreading virus.
Easing a shortfall that has plagued the fight against monkeypox for weeks, the FDA announced it had cleared nearly 800,000 additional doses of vaccine for use. The Biden administration said it would announce allocations for states and jurisdictions today.
The head of the New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene called on the WHO to rename monkeypox to prevent the “potentially devastating and stigmatizing effects” that the virus’s name could bring about.
New York’s COVID hospitalization rate has soared to a five-month high, fueled by a New York City admission rate unseen since mid-February and a Long Island streak that has topped state charts daily for the last month at least.
Gov. Kathy Hochul’s controversial plans to overhaul Penn Station and the surrounding area took a key step forward, getting approval for its state and city financing arrangement.
The three-member Public Authorities Control Board voted unanimously to allow the state to let developers around the transit hub to forego city property taxes and pay the state fees to partially fund renovations at the busy transit hub.
The vote came after State Comptroller Tom DiNapoli urged it to delay taking action on the controversial $7 billion plans to overhaul Penn Station that have been pushed by Hochul.
Hochul is extending a contract with an outside law firm for a year to continue allowing Executive Chamber employees to have access to private legal counsel for any potential complaints involving unlawful workplace discrimination, harassment or retaliation.
New York Court of Appeals Judge Jenny Rivera has finally agreed to get vaccinated against Covid — just in time to apply for her outgoing boss’ job.
Adams was joined by Hochul for a groundbreaking ceremony for a $189 million affordable and supportive housing development in the Morris Heights neighborhood of the Bronx.
Adams said that he had a “great” talk with Assembly Speaker Carl Heastie about rolling back the state’s bail-reform law to target the unrepentant criminals terrorizing the Big Apple.
US Attorney General Merrick Garland said that he’s addressed the gun violence plaguing New York City with Adams, calling the rise in violent crime across the county a “matter of concern” — but stopping short of labeling it a crisis.
A City Hall staffer borrowed money from Ingrid Lewis-Martin, Adams’ chief adviser, prior to her appointment and has yet to pay it back, according to a financial disclosure form that could raise ethical concerns for the top mayoral aide.
New York’s network of more than 550 community gardens have increasingly become neighborhood outposts in the city’s efforts to control flooding.
MTA board member David Mack voted against an element of the agency’s plans to move forward with congestion pricing in what transit sources described as a vindictive fit over the revocation of his agency parking placard.
A Manhattan judge reaffirmed his decision to temporarily block the city Education Department from proceeding with hundreds of millions of dollars in budget cuts.
MTA Chair and CEO Janno Lieber announced that his agency has appointed five members to a Traffic Mobility Review Board that will recommend price for tolls, as well as any discounts and exemptions, for its congestion pricing plan.
Judge Lyle Frank issued the order yesterday after the city filed a motion earlier in the week, arguing that delaying the cuts would be disruptive to school principals who are currently developing budget plans based on the reductions in funding
City Schools Chancellor David Banks wants to keep funding New York’s new expanded summer school even after the federal pandemic aid that’s keeping it afloat dries up.
The Department of Sanitation wants buildings and businesses to put their garbage bags out later in the evening as part of an effort to trash the city’s rat problem.
Chris Cuomo has been hired by NewsNation to host a prime-time news show on the backseat network.
Former Democratic New York City mayoral candidate and presidential candidate Andrew Yang has joined forces with former Republicans, Democrats and independents on the Forward Party.
Once a kingmaker of Western New York politicians, G. Steven Pigeon appeared before a federal judge yesterday who sentenced him to four months in prison followed by one year of supervised release for making an illegal political donation.
The spokesperson for Carl P. Paladino’s congressional campaign was convicted of drug possession in 2014 – the second Paladino campaign associate in nine days revealed to have had a criminal record before joining the campaign for NY-23 seat.
Organizers at the Great New York State Fair confirm smoking marijuana will be allowed this year, but only at six designated outdoor smoking areas around the perimeter of the NYS Fairgrounds, a move parents are calling smart and helpful.
The developer who bought the former Kenwood Convent on Albany’s Southern Boulevard is attempting to sell the property as part of a bankruptcy proceeding.
The Saratoga County Department of Health will hold a monkeypox vaccine clinic at its offices on Saturday.
Acting state Supreme Court judge Richard Koweek has ruled that Saratoga Economic Development Corp., a privately run job attraction organization, is not subject to financial oversight by the New York State Authorities Budget Office.
GlobalFoundries secured the last local approval needed to construct a $6 billion to $8 billion computer chip factory in Saratoga County, amid an industrywide sprint to increase capacity and overcome a semiconductor shortage.
A high-stakes trial is scheduled this fall between the owner of Crossgates and the town of Guilderland. Syracuse-based Pyramid Management Group is fighting the town in court over the tax assessment for the Albany region’s biggest shopping mall.
The United States Geological Survey reports a preliminary magnitude 2.5 earthquake struck near Saint Regis Falls yesterday.
The man accused of opening fire on a July Fourth parade in Highland Park, Ill., faces more than 100 felony counts after a grand jury handed up indictments in the case.
Two former Minneapolis police officers were sentenced to about three years in federal prison for violating the civil rights of George Floyd, who was killed in police custody in May 2020, setting off a summer of protests and unrest across the U.S.
Tony Dow, who became a star at 12 as Wally Cleaver, the barely teenage older brother on the popular 1950s and ’60s comedy series “Leave It to Beaver,” died yesterday at his home in Topanga, Calif. He was 77. (This time, it’s confirmed).
