Some experts believe that part of the reason the current BA.2 uptick isn’t as severe as the drastic Omicron surge in January is because so many people were infected then that, vaccinated or not, they have immunity.
New York State has $34 million in federal funding awards for over 1,000 homes to become more energy efficient. The money is to reduce energy costs for low-income homeowners and renters.
A spike in COVID intensity will likely mean a corresponding spike in COVID case counts and percent positivity in the near future, according to Albany County’s health department.
Currently, just 36 percent of children ages 5 to 11 have been fully vaccinated while 73 percent of adolescents aged 12 to 17 have, according to state figures.
Albany Medical College scientists have been awarded a $3 million, five-year grant from the National Institutes of Health to develop a vaccine that could protect against plague.
As health departments in New York State and elsewhere are no longer doing the contact tracing they did for most of the first two years of the pandemic, the federal government has launched a website to help Americans figure out, as individuals, how to deal with COVID-19. The “toolkit” has links to find test-to-treat locations, vaccine sites, and how to order masks and self-administered tests.