Governor Hochul Updates New Yorkers on State's Progress Combating COVID-19 - DECEMBER 29, 2022

 

Governor Encourages New Yorkers to Keep Using the Tools to Protect Against and Treat COVID-19: Vaccines, Boosters, Testing and Treatment

33 Statewide Deaths Reported on December 28

 Governor Kathy Hochul today updated New Yorkers on the state's progress combatting COVID-19 and outlined basic steps they can take to protect against the spread of viral respiratory infections that become more common during the cold weather months.

"As New Yorkers prepare to welcome the new year, I urge everyone to remain vigilant and continue to use all available tools to keep themselves, their loved ones and their communities safe and healthy," Governor Hochul said. "Stay up to date on vaccine doses, and test before gatherings or travel. If you test positive, talk to your doctor about potential treatment options."

Governor Hochul is urging New Yorkers to take common prevention measures — like staying up to date on vaccines and practicing proper hygiene — to protect from Respiratory Syncytial Virus (RSV), the flu and COVID-19 and reduce the patient burden on local hospitals. The Governor recently updated New Yorkers on the state's winter health preparedness efforts.

Last week, the New York State Department of Health (DOH) announced new guidance for bivalent COVID-19 booster doses, which are now available for eligible children down to 6 months of age. The updated boosters are the first to be targeted to the original virus strain and recently circulating variants and are recommended for young New Yorkers and all those eligible.

The Health Department's weekly flu surveillance report, with data through Dec. 17th, shows influenza remains widespread throughout the state, with a total of 217,094 positive cases across all 62 counties reported to date and five pediatric deaths. Additionally, there were 61 outbreaks in acute care and long-term care facilities, announced yesterday in a DOH press release.

Outside of New York City, week-over-week lab-confirmed flu cases are up 4 percent, rising from 34,599 cases to 36,047. The report also found that confirmed cases in New York City dropped 19 percent, while overall hospitalizations were down 3 percent from the previous week ending on December 17th at 2,709 hospitalizations across the state.

Governor Hochul previously launched a public awareness campaign featuring New York State Health Commissioner Dr. Mary T. Bassett speaking directly to New Yorkers about the three viruses now circulating in the state with similar symptoms and the potential to cause serious illness. Produced by the New York State Department of Health, the videos include a short clip and a longer version geared toward parents; and a version aimed specifically at health care providers.

The Governor also asked New Yorkers to get their bivalent COVID-19 vaccine boosters. To schedule an appointment for a booster, New Yorkers should contact their local pharmacy, county health department, or healthcare provider; visit vaccines.gov; text their ZIP code to 438829 or call 1-800-232-0233 to find nearby locations.

In addition, Governor Hochul encourages New Yorkers to get their annual flu vaccine as flu season is widespread across New York State. The flu virus and the virus that causes COVID-19 are both circulating, so getting vaccinated against both is the best way to stay healthy and to avoid added stress to the health care system.

The State Department of Health is continuing its annual public education campaign, reminding adults and parents to get both flu and COVID-19 shots for themselves and children 6 months and older. Advertisements in both English and Spanish language began running last month.

For information about flu vaccine clinics, contact the local health department or visit vaccines.gov/find-vaccines/.

Today's data is summarized briefly below:

• Cases Per 100k - 30.47
• 7-Day Average Cases Per 100k - 23.22
• Test Results Reported - 63,415
• Total Positive - 5,955
• Percent Positive - 8.39%**
• 7-Day Average Percent Positive - 8.29%**
• Patient Hospitalization - 3,908 (+49)
• Patients Newly Admitted - 676
• Patients in ICU - 419 (+16)
• Patients in ICU with Intubation - 177 (-2)
• Total Discharges - 380,617 (+541)
• New deaths reported by healthcare facilities through HERDS - 33
• Total deaths reported by healthcare facilities through HERDS - 60,341

** Due to the test reporting policy change by the federal Department of Health and Human Services and several other factors, the most reliable metric to measure virus impact on a community is the case per 100,000 data -- not percent positivity.

The Health Electronic Response Data System is a NYS DOH data source that collects confirmed daily death data as reported by hospitals, nursing homes and adult care facilities only.

Important Note: Effective Monday, April 4, the federal Department of Health and Human Services is no longer requiring testing facilities that use COVID-19 rapid antigen tests to report negative results. As a result, New York State's percent positive metric will be computed using only lab-reported PCR results. Positive antigen tests will still be reported to New York State and reporting of new daily cases and cases per 100k will continue to include both PCR and antigen tests. Due to this change and other factors, including changes in testing practices, the most reliable metric to measure virus impact on a community is the case per 100,000 data -- not percent positivity.

• Total deaths reported to and compiled by the CDC - 76,728

This daily COVID-19 provisional death certificate data reported by NYS DOH and NYC to the CDC includes those who died in any location, including hospitals, nursing homes, adult care facilities, at home, in hospice and other settings.

Each New York City borough's 7-day average percentage of positive test results reported over the last three days is as follows **:

Borough	Monday,   Dec.   26, 2022	Tuesday,   Dec.  27, 2022	Wed.   Dec.  28, 2022
Bronx	9.19%	9.20%	9.32%
Kings	5.88%	6.39%	6.43%
New York	8.13%	8.41%	8.56%
Queens	10.07%	9.91%	10.33%
Richmond	8.42%	7.89%	8.20%

Department of Justice Files Nationwide Lawsuit Against AmerisourceBergen Corp. and Subsidiaries for Controlled Substances Act Violations

 

Complaint Alleges Companies’ Years of Repeated Violations Contributed to Opioid Epidemic

 In a civil complaint filed today, the Department of Justice alleges that AmerisourceBergen Corporation and two of its subsidiaries, AmerisourceBergen Drug Corporation and Integrated Commercialization Solutions, LLC (together “AmerisourceBergen”), collectively one of the country’s largest wholesale pharmaceutical distributors, violated federal law in connection with the distribution of controlled substances to pharmacies and other customers across the country, contributing to the prescription opioid epidemic.

The complaint alleges that this unlawful conduct resulted in at least hundreds of thousands of violations of the Controlled Substances Act (CSA). The Justice Department seeks civil penalties and injunctive relief.

“AmerisourceBergen, a wholesale drug distributor, flagrantly and repeatedly violated its obligation to notify DEA of suspicious orders for controlled substances, which directly contributed to the epidemic of prescription opioid abuse across the United States,” stated United States Attorney Peace.

“The Department of Justice is committed to holding accountable those who fueled the opioid crisis by flouting the law,” said Associate Attorney General Vanita Gupta. “Companies distributing opioids are required to report suspicious orders to federal law enforcement. Our complaint alleges that AmerisourceBergen—which sold billions of units of prescription opioids over the past decade—repeatedly failed to comply with that requirement.”

“AmerisourceBergen, one of the largest wholesale distributors of opioids in the world, had a legal obligation to report suspicious orders to the Drug Enforcement Administration, and our complaint alleges that the company’s repeated and systemic failure to fulfill this simple obligation helped ignite an opioid epidemic that has resulted in hundreds of thousands of deaths over the past decade,” said DEA Administrator Anne Milgram. “The men and women of the DEA will stop at nothing to hold accountable registrants that fail to uphold their responsibility of saving American lives by filing suspicious order reports.”

To prevent the unlawful distribution of opioids and other controlled substances, the CSA requires that wholesale drug distributors like AmerisourceBergen report suspicious orders of controlled substances to DEA. An order is suspicious if it has an unusual size, deviates substantially from a normal pattern, has an unusual frequency, or carries other signs that the order is suspicious, such as suspicions about the legitimacy of the customers’ business practices.  

The complaint filed in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania alleges that over the course of nearly a decade, from 2014 through the present, AmerisourceBergen violated the CSA by failing to report at least hundreds of thousands of suspicious orders of controlled substances to the DEA as required by law. The alleged unlawful conduct includes filling and failing to report numerous orders from pharmacies that AmerisourceBergen knew were likely facilitating diversion of prescription opioids.  Today’s filing is the result of a multi-year investigation by the DEA, the Civil Division’s Consumer Protection Branch and several U.S. Attorneys’ Offices.

The government’s complaint specifies several pharmacies for which AmerisourceBergen allegedly was aware of significant “red flags” suggesting the existence of diversion of prescription drugs to illicit markets.  The complaint asserts that AmerisourceBergen nevertheless continued to distribute drugs to the pharmacies for years and reported few suspicious orders to the DEA.  The five examples include: two pharmacies, one in Florida and one in West Virginia, for which AmerisourceBergen knew the drugs it distributed were likely being sold in parking lots for cash; a New Jersey pharmacy that has pleaded guilty to unlawfully selling controlled substances; another New Jersey pharmacy whose pharmacist-in-charge has been indicted for drug diversion; and a Colorado pharmacy that AmerisourceBergen knew was its largest purchaser of oxycodone 30mg tablets in all of Colorado. The government further alleges that for this Colorado pharmacy, AmerisourceBergen specifically identified eleven patients as potential “drug addicts” whose prescriptions likely were illegitimate. Two of those patients subsequently died of overdoses.

The complaint further alleges that AmerisourceBergen not only ignored red flags of diversion, but also relied on internal systems to monitor and identify suspicious orders that were deeply inadequate, both in design and implementation. These systems allegedly flagged only a tiny fraction of suspicious orders, thereby enabling diversion and AmerisourceBergen’s failure to report orders it was legally obligated to identify to the DEA. In fact, the complaint asserts that in the midst of the opioid epidemic, AmerisourceBergen intentionally altered its internal systems in a way that reduced the number of controlled substances reported as suspicious. Even for the small percentage of orders that AmerisourceBergen did identify as suspicious, the company routinely failed to report them to the DEA.

The government’s complaint alleges that for years AmerisourceBergen flouted its legal obligations and prioritized profits over the well-being of Americans.

If AmerisourceBergen is found liable, it could face escalating civil penalties depending on when each violation occurred and the type of controlled substance at issue. Specifically: up to $10,000 for each reporting violation before November 2015, up to $16,864 for each violation between November 2015 and October 2018 and for each violation relating to a suspicious order for a non-opioid controlled substance not reported after October 2018, and up to $109,374 for each violation relating to a suspicious opioid order not reported after October 2018, potentially totaling billions of dollars in penalties. The court also may award injunctive relief to prevent AmerisourceBergen from committing future CSA violations.

The claims made in the complaint are allegations that, if the case were to proceed to trial, the government must prove by a preponderance of the evidence.

Senator Gustavo Rivera on Governor Hochul's Veto of his Bill to Reform New York's Public Assistance and Medicaid Overpayment Recovery Process

 

"I am disappointed by Governor Hochul's administration's decision to veto my bill (S4540A) to reform New York's New current Medicaid and Public Assistance overpayment recovery and collections processes. This bill would have put protections in place to prevent New Yorkers from being railroaded into debt for overpayment of benefits they rely on and were deemed eligible for, through no fault of their own and often without opportunity to effectively counter these claims.  While these reforms will not be enshrined into law, I am glad Governor Hochul's veto memo recognizes that change is necessary in our State's callous overpayment recovery system and that the administration intends to implement some of the measures in this bill, including altering current policies and ceasing recovery of medical assistance payments from Medicaid recipients incorrectly paid as a result of agency error. Her veto memo further directs the State Health Department to issue a directive on retroactive recovery following final clarification from the Federal Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) regarding federal provisions allowing recovery of incorrectly paid Medicaid benefits, an effort that we will be monitoring.  Social safety net programs are supposed to uplift New Yorkers out of poverty by providing them basic yet critical benefits. No family should fear that the state will renege on benefits eligibility and wrongfully tie their hands with unwarranted and overwhelming debt for accepting health services or household assistance. I hope the administration and my team can work together to further restrain aggressive and often predatory actions towards public assistance recipients who are not at fault for the agencies’ errors."

NY State Senator Gustavo Rivera | rivera.nysenate.gov

MAYOR ADAMS ANNOUNCES DONATION OF SANITATION COLLECTION TRUCKS TO ASSIST PUERTO RICO’S RECOVERY FROM HURRICANE FIONA

 

Donation Follows Mayor’s Trip to Visit Island, Survey Needs with Local Delegation After Hurricane Fiona Hit in September

New York City Mayor Eric Adams today announced the donation of two standard-size New York City Department of Sanitation (DSNY) collection trucks to the municipal governments of Vieques and Yabucoa in Puerto Rico. The donations come as Puerto Rico continues recovery efforts from Hurricane Fiona, which devastated the island in September. The donation is being coordinated by the New York City Department of Citywide Administrative Service (DCAS) in close collaboration with the New York City Office of Emergency Management (NYCEM) and DSNY. The trucks are expected to arrive in Puerto Rico by January 2023.

 

“Immediately after Hurricane Fiona hit Puerto Rico earlier this year, my team and I were on the ground assessing needs for New York’s ‘sixth borough’ and providing the resources necessary to offer what assistance we could to those impacted,” said Mayor Adams. “Though the hurricane and its aftermath may have faded from the headlines, this donation of two sanitation trucks underlines our unwavering commitment to our Puerto Rican brothers and sisters amid their ongoing recovery process.”

 

 “Our hearts are with the people of Puerto Rico as they continue to recover from the devastation of Hurricane Fiona,” said DCAS Commissioner Dawn M. Pinnock. “DCAS is proud to coordinate this donation with NYCEM and DSNY, and will continue to explore avenues to provide needed support using city assets.”

 

“When New Yorkers see the iconic white collection truck — whether getting trash off our streets or fighting extreme weather — they know it means one thing: Help is on the way,” said DSNY Commissioner Jessica Tisch. “Soon, the people of Puerto Rico will be able to feel that same sense of relief as these trucks begin to provide critical infrastructural capacity for communities beset by recent natural disasters. New York stands with Puerto Rico, and DSNY is proud to do our part.”

 

“New York City is always ready to spring into action and assist those in need. Soon after Hurricane Fiona devastated Puerto Rico, we sent a multi-agency team to assess the damage,” said NYCEM Commissioner Zach Iscol. “We admire the resiliency of the people of Puerto Rico and we are proud to donate two sanitation trucks in support of the people of our honorary sixth borough.”

 

Puerto Rico has been reeling from the effects of natural disasters since Hurricanes Maria and Irma made landfall in 2017. This past September, Hurricane Fiona brough torrential rainfall to some areas of the island, severely impacting the government’s ability to provide critical services to its residents. Among these major issues is the inability to effectively collect waste. Puerto Rico’s sanitation trucks have suffered major mechanical failures and the necessity to use alternate routes have impeded their service. With the donation of these two trucks, Puerto Rico stands to make strides in improving its collection service and mitigating this serious public health issue.

 

DSNY has identified the collection trucks that will be sent to Puerto Rico and is working collaboratively with DCAS and NYCEM to deliver them to the island. The two Mack trucks, manufactured in 2015 and 2016 respectively, will be transported directly from New York City to Puerto Rico and are worth more than $500,000 together.

 

New York City has a strong track record of stepping up to assist other regions here and abroad in the wake of natural disasters. The city donated fleet and construction equipment to Indonesia in 2004 following the tsunami that ravaged the nation. It also donated a New York City Police Department rescue truck to Greenburgh Police Department in Westchester, New York and a Fire Department of the City of New York FDNY fire truck to the West Hamilton Volunteer Fire Department in Howard Beach, New York in 2015.

 

“At DCAS, we know how critical municipal fleet trucks and equipment are to emergency response,” said New York City Chief Fleet Officer and DCAS Deputy Commissioner Keith Kerman. “On behalf of all of New York City’s fleet professionals, we are proud to work with DSNY and NYCEM to extend this support to our friends in Puerto Rico. “ 

 

“My heart is so grateful for the response of all New Yorkers in the efforts to help our Puerto Rican brothers and sisters in the aftermath of Hurricane Fiona,” said New York State Senator Luis Sepúlveda. “The history of our people goes hand in hand and is united by a brotherhood of many years. When the hurricane tragedy struck, Mayor Eric Adams put all his efforts to help Puerto Ricans here and there. He visited the island and brought needed resources for our people. As a Puerto Rican, as a Latino, as a New Yorker, I thank the mayor and the city agencies for this new donation that reaffirms our commitment to our brothers and sisters and is a sign of the importance that this administration has given to our people.”

 

Governor Hochul Announces First Adult-Use Cannabis Retail Sales Made in New York State History

 

Housing Works Cannabis Co, a Non-Profit Supporting Formerly Incarcerated New Yorkers, Makes First Cannabis Sale Today in Manhattan to NYS OCM Executive Director Chris Alexander

Cannabis Supply Chain Started by the Seeding Opportunity Initiative is Now Complete

New Yorkers Can Now Purchase Legal, Safer Cannabis

 Governor Kathy Hochul today announced the first sales of legal, regulated adult-use cannabis in New York State history. The first sale occurred at Housing Works Cannabis Co, a dispensary owned by Housing Works, the nation's largest minority-controlled HIV/AIDS service organization and largest community-based HIV/AIDS service organization. The first purchase today was made by Chris Alexander, Executive Director of New York's Office of Cannabis Management, a former advocate who spent years fighting for, and crafting, the bill that legalized cannabis in the Empire State. Housing Works, based in New York City, operates a range of direct and support services for people living with HIV/AIDS, the homeless, formerly incarcerated, and justice-involved individuals. It also operates a network of charitable retail storefronts.

"The first legal adult-use cannabis sales mark a historic milestone in New York's cannabis industry," Governor Hochul said. "Today is only the beginning, and I look forward to continuing our efforts to solidify New York as a national model for the safe, equitable and inclusive industry we are now building."

The first adult-use retail dispensary, Housing Works Cannabis Co, which is located at 750 Broadway just north of Astor Place in Manhattan, will be open seven days a week, with the first public sales beginning today at 4:20 p.m. Regular hours thereafter will be from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. and will adjust in the coming weeks. More dispensaries are expected to follow shortly after the Cannabis Control Board issued the first 36 adult-use retail licenses on November 21, 2022.

As the first Conditional Adult-Use Recreational Dispensary (CAURD) licensee in the state to open its location for business, today's sales serve as both the official opening of New York's legal cannabis market and the start of a new stream of tax revenue that will be invested in communities across the state to support public schools, addiction services, mental health services, housing, and other community-based programs. It will also support the development of programs to build equity throughout the cannabis supply chain.

Cannabis Control Board Chairwoman Tremaine Wright said, "Today is truly a historic day in the history of New York State. For years we fought to make sure New York not only legalized cannabis but did so in a way that ensures this cannabis market is driven and led by social equity. I am proud to say, with non-profit Housing Works making today's first cannabis retail sale, we are well on our way to achieve that goal and fulfill our commitment to all New Yorkers. I cannot thank Governor Kathy Hochul, the rest of the Cannabis Control Board, or the staff of the Office of Cannabis Management enough for their ongoing work to achieve these goals"

Today's historic event marks a critical milestone in the Seeding Opportunity Initiative, completing the supply chain which was designed to set New York on a path to fulfilling the goals of New York's Cannabis Law by building an adult-use cannabis industry that works to offset the harms resulting from the disproportionate impact of cannabis prohibition. Announced by Governor Hochul in March, the Initiative has provided for the licensing of 280 family farmers to grow the first adult-use cannabis in New York State. These tested, safer cannabis products will be sold by the first licensed adult-use dispensaries in New York, which are either owned by successful business operators, a close family member, who has a cannabis conviction (justice involved); or non-profit organizations that provide services to individuals who have been harmed by the unequal enforcement of cannabis prohibition.

To qualify, non-profits such as Housing Works also needed to have at least one justice-involved board member and must create vocational opportunities for those with a marijuana conviction. Housing Works has served justice-involved New Yorkers since its inception in 1990 through direct services and advocacy initiatives, providing critical services for people living with HIV/AIDS. Today, Housing Works' Justice Initiative, tailors the non-profit's services to meet the needs of formerly incarcerated individuals, including those with cannabis convictions.

Profits from sales at Housing Works Cannabis Co will be reinvested in the non-profit's services. Founded in 1990 to address the dual crises of HIV/AIDS and homelessness, Housing Works, a self-sustaining nonprofit, provides job opportunities, legal advocacy and comprehensive housing and health services funded. With a focus on compassion and dispelling stigmas, Housing Works endeavors to move the cannabis industry forward by supporting the needs of their community through an equity-driven and harm reduction approach.

Spanning 4,400 square feet, the iconic building where the dispensary will be, 1 Astor Place, was completed in 1883. Housing Works Cannabis Co will welcome patrons with an introductory shopping experience upon opening, with plans to carefully build out an expanded and thoughtfully curated space as cannabis products become more available. Learn more at hwcannabis.co.

To date, the New York State Cannabis Control Board has approved 36 Conditional Adult Use Retail Dispensary Licenses, including 28 for qualifying businesses and 8 for non-profits. Earlier this month, the Office of Cannabis Management released guidance to support retail businesses in starting their operations with delivery service to help jumpstart sales.

Attorney General James’ Office of Special Investigation Releases Report on Death of Chatuma Crawford

 

New York Attorney General Letitia James’ Office of Special Investigation (OSI) today released its report on the death of Chatuma Crawford in Cicero, Onondaga County. Following a thorough investigation, including review of physical evidence, eyewitness accounts, crash reconstruction analysis, and body-worn camera (BWC) footage, OSI concluded that the officer involved in this case did not commit a crime.

In the evening of December 17, 2021, an off-duty police officer with the Town of Cicero Police Department (CPD) was driving with a passenger in an SUV on Northern Boulevard in Cicero. According to the officer, while he was driving in the left lane, he noticed that a car was stopped on the right shoulder of the road and that a person was standing outside the car on the driver’s side. After he passed the stopped car — while staying in the left lane — he hit something with his car. The officer stopped the car and immediately called 911. The officer and his passenger both later said they did not see anything in front of the car prior to impact. An off-duty member of the Syracuse Police Department, responding CPD officers, and paramedics performed life-saving measures, but Mr. Crawford was pronounced dead at the scene. 

Based on the medical examiner’s report and accounts from several witnesses, Mr. Crawford was dressed in all dark clothing and there were no streetlights along Northern Boulevard. The person the officer had seen standing outside the stopped car on the right shoulder of the road said that Mr. Crawford threw a cellphone in the street towards the left lane of traffic (where the officer was driving) and was walking towards the cellphone to retrieve it when he was struck. Based on the location of injuries to Mr. Crawford’s body, the medical examiner said it was likely that Mr. Crawford was bent over at the time of the collision. 

As part of the investigation, the New York State Police conducted a collision reconstruction that concluded that the officer was traveling at a reasonable speed, was not impaired, and that the lack of street lighting in addition to Mr. Crawford’s dark clothing contributed to the officer’s inability to see Mr. Crawford. 

The officer also submitted to an alcohol test following the incident, which was negative. 

Under New York law, proving criminally negligent homicide requires proving beyond a reasonable doubt that a person failed to perceive a substantial and unjustifiable risk that death would occur; that the failure to perceive the risk was a gross deviation from a reasonable person’s standard of care; and that the person engaged in blameworthy conduct. In this case, there is no evidence that the officer was speeding or impaired, and therefore OSI concluded that criminal charges for the officer are not warranted.