NYC NOW - January 18, 2024: Midday News

Episode Date: January 18, 2024

The National Weather Service says to expect 2-3 inches of snow in the New York City region on Friday. Meanwhile, pregnant migrants staying in New York City shelters during their third trimester will now be allowed to stay until their babies turn 6 months old. Plus, New York City’s Department of Health and Mental Hygiene is launching a multi-year study on the long term outcomes among people affected by COVID. They’d like to follow up with 10,000 participants over several years. WNYC’s Sean Carlson sits with the department commissioner, Dr. Ashwin Vasan, to learn more about this study.

Welcome to NYCNNR, your source for local news in and around New York City from WNYC. It's Thursday, January 18th. Here's the midday news from Michael Hill. The city's due for snow again tomorrow. The National Weather Service meteorologist James Tomasini says the metro area is forecast to get two to three inches starting tomorrow morning. Snow could start as early as about 4 or 5 a.m., but it would be very light and just a chance of snow. at that time. Snow is then likely after about 7 or 8 a.m., mainly starting after the morning commute. Central Park's 701-day streak without at least one inch of daily snowfall ended this week,

when nearly two inches were recorded on Tuesday. Evening temperatures tomorrow and Saturday are expected to drop into the teens with windchill in the single digits. Forecasters predict it will gradually warm up after that, bringing time. temperatures in the low 40s, Tuesday, and Wednesday. Pregnant migrants staying in New York City shelters during their third trimester have been granted a reprie by the Adams administration. They will not face eviction until their babies turn six months old. The policy change was first reported by the online news outlet, the city. It comes as City Hall is implementing new 60-day stay limits for migrants' families.

The administration was criticized by housing advocates for uprooting pregnant migrants and newborns in the winter cold. A city hall spokesperson says 1,600 families will be required to leave their shelters by the end of the month. Migrants unable to find new housing on their own may reapply for a shelter bed elsewhere. 30 and cloudy now, mostly cloudy today, a high of 32. Slim chance of overnight snow. Then tomorrow, as you heard, there, snow mainly after 7, 8 o'clock at the morning and a high of 32. Stay close.

There's more after the break. I'm Sean Carlson for WNYC. New York City's Department of Health and Mental Hygiene is launching a multi-year study on the long-term outcomes among people affected by COVID. They'd like to follow up with 10,000 participants over several years. Here to talk more about the New York City-based study is Dr. Ashwin-Vasen. He's the commissioner of the New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene. Hey, doctor, can you tell us more about how the study is going to work and why it's important for the city? to do it? Sure, happy to. You know, we're very proud of launching this study, this long-term

study on long-COVID, because, you know, as we end the worst of COVID, the emergency, we also have to really start to begin a long-term process of learning and understanding. So we're both better prepared for any new novel pathogens that might arrive, but also we can support COVID survivors over time. What's clear is that there are. are a significant proportion of New Yorkers who have had COVID who are reporting long-term symptoms. Over 30% of New Yorkers in our 2022 community health survey said that they believe they have long-term physical health symptoms and 16% reported that they're having long-term emotional or mental health effects. And what we need to understand with this cohort is what is really

tied to this brand new virus that entered our country and our world and our city for years ago and what might not be. The department has a track record of doing exactly this kind of work. When 9-11, when the tragedy of 9-11 happened, we developed the World Trade Center Health Registry where we have followed a cohort of people who were directly exposed first responders at Ground Zero, as well as their families, as well as people who had less amount of exposure. And we've followed their health over time. And that work has not only led to scientific advancements in environmental health and toxicology, but has led to major advances in legislation and disability benefits and payments to those who were affected. And so we're hopeful that this

long COVID study will lead to the same understanding. and the same solutions. What does the city plan to do with the data once it's collected? Well, I think number one, there's a lot of research that has to occur, and that research has to be in the public domain. As you mentioned, we plan to enroll about 10,000 adults living in New York City who report long COVID-like symptoms. We'll follow them over time and publish important research,

but share that information with the public so that we can advance understanding. It's also important to share that information with providers, with health care providers, with social service providers so that they understand how to ask questions about and really take into account the symptoms of people who might be experiencing long COVID. And lastly, we need to ensure that our, if indeed there is a link between COVID and long-term disability, that our disability systems and our benefit systems are able to account for that. So we'll be sharing this data and the results of these analyses in a variety of ways. What's the incentive for people to be a part of this? Are they going to get paid?

Well, you know, we haven't designed what the incentive at a person level is, you know, so we'll have more to announce on that soon. But, you know, we already have a representative survey sample called, NYC Health Panel, which we use routinely for regular surveys, and that's 35,000 New York City residents. And as we expect, many of them will report long COVID symptoms. Some will not, and we'll have a useful comparison group as well to see what are the differences between the two groups. And, you know, I think the message to New Yorkers who may want to participate, whether you are or you're not a person who it might be experiencing symptoms of long COVID,

you're really contributing to understanding, to knowledge, so that we can not only support people living with these potential symptoms now, but really long-term understanding of how we might respond in the future if we're faced with a similar challenge. In our last 30 seconds, doctor, where are we at right now in New York City when it comes to COVID diagnoses? Yeah, I have some good news. We've seen high levels of circulation for RSV, flu, and COVID-19.

We hit our peak of RSV back in December, and we've been consistently on a downtrend there. That peak was similar to the peak last year. The influenza, we seem to have peaked in influenza as well, and that's really good news because we're seeing a consistent downtrend in influenza cases. And we think we're approaching the peak and we might have already reached the peak. of COVID-19 cases. And again, these peaks are not as high as they have been in previous years, but they were significant as New Yorkers' experience, particularly coming out of the holidays. But the recommendations are exactly the same as they've always been. It's not too late to get your flu and your COVID shots. Stay home with, stay home if you're sick. Wash your hands frequently

with soap and water. Wear a mask, especially in crowded settings. High-grade masks are better than surgical masks are better, and certainly better than cloth masks. your mouth and your nose when you're sneezing. If you have symptoms of a virus of any kind of respiratory like symptoms, get tested frequently. Call your provider, call 311, or call 212 COVID-19, where you can not only get a range of test, or you can get evaluated for treatment if you test positive. You can also visit one of our department express testing sites where we can get you in and out very quickly for COVID flu and RSV testing. can get through the rest of this together. We have all the information and the tools that we need to live

with COVID. It's Dr. Ashwin-Vosson, Department of Health and Mental Hygiene Commissioner. Dr. Thanks for joining us. Thanks so much for having me. Thanks for listening. This is NYC now from WNYC. Be sure to catch us every weekday, three times a day, for your top news headlines and occasional deep dives, and subscribe wherever you get your podcasts. We'll be back this evening.