By Aaron Besecker
Read the full article from Buffalo News, here.
The debate about the appropriate role police should take in mental health response often gets oversimplified, but most agree police involvement should be limited, said Elizabeth L. Mauro, CEO of Endeavor Health Services, a local nonprofit that provides mental and behavioral health services, including alongside city police.
By Charlie Specht & Dan Herbeck
Read the full article from Buffalo News, here.
A Buffalo City Hall agency that was raided two years ago by federal agents has given $20 million in funds over the past eight years to contributors to Mayor Byron W. Brown’s campaign.
It has also sold property or awarded exclusive development rights to campaign contributors without public bidding, though the Brown administration says campaign cash has nothing to do with getting city contracts.
The Buffalo News analyzed eight years of spending by the Buffalo Urban Renewal Agency, at whose offices the FBI executed a search warrant in 2019. The agency doles out millions of dollars in anti-poverty money and economic development funds the city receives from the federal government each year.
By Kynala Phillips
Read the full article from NBC News, here.
Black Covid patients are less likely to receive medical follow-ups after being hospitalized and more likely to experience longer waits until they can return to work, according to a University of Michigan study published Tuesday.
The study surveyed the health outcomes of 2,217 Covid patients in Michigan 60 days after hospitalization. The results found that more than 50 percent of patients of color were readmitted to the hospital within 60 days after being released. Patients of color were also more than 65 percent more likely to experience moderate to severe financial impact because of Covid-19.
Black patients, in particular, experienced challenges returning to the workplace after recovering from Covid. On average, it took Black patients 35.5 days to return to work, the longest delay of any racial group. Black adults were also less likely to be offered workplace accommodations when they returned to work in comparison to other racial groups, according to Dr. Sheria G. Robinson-Lane, a gerontologist and the lead researcher.
By Katie Rogers
Read the full article from The New York Times, here.
Biden administration officials, anticipating that regulators will make the vaccines available to 5- to 11-year-olds in the coming weeks, are laying out plans to ensure that some 25,000 pediatric or primary care offices, thousands of pharmacies, and hundreds of school and rural health clinics will be ready to administer shots if the vaccine receives federal authorization.
By Robert J. McCarthy & Tom Precious
Read the full article from Buffalo News, here.
The hot contest for mayor of Buffalo is suddenly dominating New York’s political agenda as one of the state’s top figures plunges into the race and another clings to the sidelines.
The Buffalo News learned Tuesday that Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez of the Bronx will campaign in Buffalo on Saturday for a like-minded progressive, Democratic nominee India B. Walton, who is challenging four-term incumbent Byron W. Brown. At the same time, Gov. Kathy Hochul is making headlines by sitting out the race and expressing no preference for mayor of her hometown.
By Nia Prater
Read the full article from Intelligencer, here.
When asked why several leaders in his party have yet to endorse Democratic primary winners such as Buffalo’s socialist candidate India Walton, the head of New York’s Democratic Party answered with an analogy that invoked an unexpected figure: David Duke, the former grand wizard of the Ku Klux Klan. He quickly received backlash from some of his fellow Democrats.
By Zolan Kanno-Youngs and Emily Cochrane
Read the full article from The New York Times, here.
The lifting of the bans will effectively mark the reopening of the United States to travelers and tourism, signaling a new phase in the recovery from the pandemic after the country closed its borders for nearly 19 months.
But the new requirements also indicate that the United States will welcome only visitors who are vaccinated. Unvaccinated travelers will continue to be banned from crossing the borders with Mexico or Canada, officials said. Those who were never banned from traveling across the land borders, including commercial drivers and students, will also need to show proof of vaccination when crossing starting in January, giving them some time to adjust to the new rules, officials said.
By Deidre Williams & Mark Sommer
Read the full article from Buffalo News, here.
Housing and development emerged as a theme for both mayoral candidates as they hit the campaign trail less than a month before the general election.
Walton touted land trusts, and Brown acknowledged they have a role in the city’s future – to a degree.
Brown said he would continue working with developers on housing and commercial initiatives, and Walton acknowledged they also have a role in the city’s future – to a degree.
By Joseph Choi
Read the full article from The Hill, here.
Merck has said that its pill, which targets the enzyme that allows the COVID-19 virus to make copies of itself, is likely effective against COVID-19 variants, including the highly infectious delta variant.
The U.S. government already has a supply agreement with Merck to acquire about 1.7 million courses of molnupiravir if it receives emergency use authorization from the FDA.
By Rebecca Robbins
Read the full article from The New York Times, here.
Moderna, whose coronavirus vaccine appears to be the world’s best defense against Covid-19, has been supplying its shots almost exclusively to wealthy nations, keeping poorer countries waiting and earning billions in profit.
After developing a breakthrough vaccine with the financial and scientific support of the U.S. government, Moderna has shipped a greater share of its doses to wealthy countries than any other vaccine manufacturer, according to Airfinity, a data firm that tracks vaccine shipments.