Governor Hochul Updates New Yorkers on State's Progress Combating COVID-19 - MARCH 17, 2023

 

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

11 Statewide Deaths Reported on March 16

COVID-19/Vaccine Update News Releases to Be Sent Weekly on Fridays Ahead of Federal Public Health Emergency Expiration in May; Latest Data Remains Available Online 24/7

 Governor Kathy Hochul today updated New Yorkers on the state's progress combating COVID-19 and outlined basic steps they can take to protect against the spread of viral respiratory infections.

"Every New Yorker must 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 be sure to test before gatherings or travel. If you test positive, talk to your doctor about potential treatment options."

Starting today, March 17, and ahead of the federal government's planned expiration for the COVID-19 public health emergency on May 11, New York State's COVID-19/vaccine news release will be issued weekly on Fridays until further notice. The latest COVID-19 and vaccine data will continue to be available 24/7 on the New York State Department of Health's online tracker.

Additionally, the State Department of Health is assessing changes to COVID data collection and reporting in collaboration with local health departments and health care providers, in order to alleviate the burden on providers and leverage other data sources to maintain its ability to monitor the state of the disease and health care delivery system capacity. The agency remains committed to responding to the COVID-19 threat and continues to encourage New Yorkers to use the tools to protect against and treat COVID-19: Vaccines, boosters, testing and treatment.

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 the flu and COVID-19. The Governor also continues to urge New Yorkers to get their bivalent COVID-19 vaccine boosters, which target both the original virus strain and circulating variants.

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.

The New York State Department of Health is continuing its 12-week COVID-19 campaign on television, social media and streaming services to encourage New Yorkers with underlying medical conditions to recognize the importance of getting and staying up-to-date with the recommended bivalent booster to avoid serious illness or death. These conditions including being 65 or older, pregnant, obese, diabetic, or suffering from heart or lung disease, or having a weakened immune system.

Additionally, the Department of Health released its weekly flu surveillance report for the week ending March 11 and showing influenza remaining geographically widespread throughout the state for a twenty-second consecutive week, with a total 321,116 positive cases reported this season to date. The report found that confirmed cases statewide increased 1 percent to 1,866 for the week, while overall hospitalizations were down 16 percent from the previous week, at 151 hospitalizations across the state.

There were three outbreaks in acute care and long-term care facilities, the report determined. There were no influenza-associated pediatric deaths reported for the week, for a total of 11 statewide.

The Health Department 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. 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 - 6.03
• 7-Day Average Cases Per 100k - 5.36
• Test Results Reported - 37,599
• Total Positive - 1,179
• Percent Positive - 2.92%**
• 7-Day Average Percent Positive - 2.54**
• Patient Hospitalization - 1,340 (-10)
• Patients Newly Admitted - 203
• Patients in ICU - 146 (-12)
• Patients in ICU with Intubation - 52 (-3)
• Total Discharges - 407,272 (+219)
• New deaths reported by healthcare facilities through HERDS - 11
• Total deaths reported by healthcare facilities through HERDS - 62,078

** 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 state Department of Health data source that collects confirmed daily death data as reported by hospitals, nursing homes and adult care facilities only.

• Total deaths reported to and compiled by the CDC - 78,962

This daily COVID-19 provisional death certificate data reported by state Department of Health and New York City to the CDC includes those who died in any location, including hospitals, nursing homes, adult care facilities, at home, in hospice and other settings.

• Total vaccine doses administered - 43,880,106
• Total vaccine doses administered over past 24 hours - 1,689
• Total vaccine doses administered over past 7 days - 18,283
• Percent of New Yorkers ages 18 and older with completed vaccine series - 85.5%
• Percent of New Yorkers ages 18 and older with completed vaccine series (CDC) - 90.7%
• Percent of New Yorkers ages 18 and older who are up to date - 16.2%
• Percent of New Yorkers ages 12-17 with completed vaccine series - 74.6%
• Percent of New Yorkers ages 12-17 with completed vaccine series (CDC) - 76.4%
• Percent of New Yorkers ages 12-17 who are up to date - 6.5%
• Percent of New Yorkers ages 5-11 with completed vaccine series - 40.1%
• Percent of New Yorkers ages 5-11 with completed vaccine series (CDC) - 41.0%
• Percent of New Yorkers ages 5-11 who are up to date - 3.9%
• Percent of New Yorkers ages 0-4 with completed vaccine series - 7.9%
• Percent of New Yorkers ages 0-4 who are up to date - 7.9%
• Percent of all New Yorkers with completed vaccine series - 76.5%
• Percent of all New Yorkers with completed vaccine series (CDC) - 80.9%
• Percent of all New Yorkers who are up to date - 14.1%

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

Borough	Tuesday,   March   14, 2023	Wed.   March   15, 2023	Thursday,   March   16, 2023
Bronx	1.65%	1.58%	1.52%
Kings	0.92%	1.12%	1.39%
New York	2.16%	2.13%	2.16%
Queens	2.00%	1.90%	1.83%
Richmond	1.58%	1.56%	1.57%

Governor Hochul Launches Statewide Listening Tour on Youth Mental Health

 

State-Moderated Listening Sessions to Explore Youth Mental Health Issues

Youth Mental Health and Wellness Summit to Advise Future Policy

Recommendations; Coincides with Mental Health Awareness Month in May

Initiatives Build on the Governor's $1 Billion Plan to Overhaul New York State's Continuum of Mental Health Care

 Governor Kathy Hochul today announced a statewide series of listening sessions and a spring summit aimed at exploring the issues impacting the mental health of youth throughout New York State. Together, these initiatives will build on the Governor's $1 billion plan to overhaul New York State's mental health continuum of care and provide an opportunity for experts to advise state leaders on future policy recommendations to improve youth wellness. 

"As New York State's first female governor and the only mother to hold this office, I'm deeply disturbed by recent reports on instances of teen depression - especially following the isolation and uncertainty of the COVID-19 pandemic," Governor Hochul said. "It's time we put the mental well-being of our youth at the forefront and listen what they're going through to gain a deeper understanding of this issue and meaningfully address the problems young New Yorkers face."

Coordinated by the state Office of Mental Health and the Office of Children and Family Services, the listening sessions are expected to be scheduled throughout the state this Spring. Each session will be moderated by representatives from these agencies and will involve a cross section of school-age youth from each host community.  

Governor Hochul will also convene a Summit on Youth Mental Health and Wellness in May, coinciding with Mental Health Awareness Month. The summit will bring together youth and parents with a broad array of subject experts from the mental health, education, technology, and law enforcement fields to discuss the challenges and opportunities impacting the well-being of our youth, including the role social media plays in their lives.

The Governor launched these new initiatives by hosting the first listening session with teens at the New York State Psychiatric Institute. Teens participating from schools in New York City were asked to discuss how the pandemic impacted their mental health; the evolving role social media has played in their lives; how schools can promote wellness among their students; the types of mental health programs they could envision helping them at school; and the advice they'd give to their peers struggling with mental health issues. Last month, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control issued its Youth Risk Behavior Survey, which found alarming mental health trends among school-aged youth between 2011 and 2021 - especially among teen girls. Nearly a third of teen girls seriously considered attempting suicide in 2021, an increase from 19 percent the prior decade; about three in five felt persistently sad or hopeless in 2021, which was twice the rate of teen boys and represents a nearly 60 percent increase over the rate recorded in 2011.

The report also found that youth from marginalized populations are more likely to suffer mental health issues: More than half of LGBTQ+ students expressed having poor mental health, with one in five reporting having attempted suicide in the past year. Suicide attempts were also elevated among Black youth when compared to White youth, according to the report. 

Among the investments included to help youth, Governor Hochul's budget provides $30 million to expand mental health services for school-aged children throughout the state, including $20 million for school-based mental health services and $10 million to implement wraparound services training, and $8.3 million for new and existing school based health centers. Additionally, the budget includes $10 million to strengthen suicide prevention programs for high-risk youth. 

The budget provides $18 million over two years to reimburse providers for family preventive mental health services for parents and their children; and $24 million over two years to reimburse providers for adverse childhood experience screenings. The Governor's budget also builds on investments in the FY 2023 Enacted Budget, including $12 million allocated for the HealthySteps and home-based crisis intervention programs to promote early childhood development and treatment for children and teens; and $3.1 million to bolster treatment for individuals with eating disorders.

Governor Hochul also proposed a measure that will prohibit insurance companies from denying access to medically necessary, high-need, acute, and crisis mental health services for both adults and children. In addition, the Governor has advanced legislation to close gaps in coverage for behavioral health services to improve the well-being and success of individuals after they leave hospitals or emergency departments.

NYS Office of the Comptroller DiNapoli: Federal Housing Aid Going Unused Despite New York's Affordable Housing Crisis

 

Audit Finds State’s Affordable Housing Agency Should Maximize Use of Federal Housing Vouchers New York state’s affordable housing agency, Homes and Community Renewal (HCR) can do more to help low-income New Yorkers find housing by making full use of available federal funds for vouchers, according to an audit released today by New York State Comptroller Thomas P. DiNapoli. “New York is in the midst of a housing crisis and Homes and Community Renewal’s management of its programs is critical to New York’s efforts to help individuals and families access affordable housing across the state,” DiNapoli said. “This audit found that HCR has not made full use of the federal funds that support vouchers and needs to maximize participation in the programs it oversees. Too many New Yorkers are struggling with housing costs to allow available resources to go unused.” DiNapoli’s audit examined a five-year period, from 2017 to 2021, which included the height of the COVID-19 pandemic when the need for affordable housing intensified. During that time, HCR administered about $9.4 billion in federal housing funds, including $6.8 billion for the Section 8 Performance-Based Contract Administration Program (PBCA) and $2.6 billion for the Section 8 Housing Choice Voucher Program (HCV). HCR received an additional $31.7 million from the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act (CARES) for the HCV. HCR also used about $47.2 million in CARES funding to administer the COVID Rent Relief Program.  HCV and PBCA help low-income households cover rent and homeownership costs through federally-funded vouchers. In addition to HCR, municipalities, including New York City, counties and towns administer HCV programs at the local level. DiNapoli’s audit found that improvements were needed in HCR’s administration of available vouchers and its management of reserves. HCR failed to take full advantage of the available Housing and Urban Development (HUD) authorized HCV vouchers. For every year from 2017 to 2022, HCR did not meet HUD’s standard that states should use at least 95% of vouchers it funds. The audit also found that the number of areas with low rates of voucher use has increased significantly since 2018. During State fiscal year (SFY) 2017-18, 30% of the state’s 53 areas receiving HCV funding through HCR used less than 95% of available vouchers. That percentage increased to over 76% in SFY 2021-22. In some areas of New York, voucher use fell far short of HUD’s performance threshold, with many areas, in both rural and urban communities, consistently utilizing less than 85% of their available vouchers. In Brooklyn (classified by HCR as part of “Eastern New York City"), it distributed about 82% of the available vouchers during that five-year period, despite high demand, as auditors found 99% of the families in that region that received vouchers used them to help with their housing costs. This contrasts with Schuyler County, where 99% of allocated vouchers were issued but only 87% of the vouchers were used by the families they were issued to. HCR also acknowledged that finding suitable housing has become more challenging but hasn’t fully investigated the specific reason why vouchers remain unutilized. In some areas, low rates of use are related to the lack of affordable housing, whereas in others it is related to issues with the local administration of the program. Determining the specific obstacles is a necessary first step for HCR to begin addressing the problems. Auditors also found that HCR had significant funding reserves that could have been used for housing subsidies and to increase participation in the programs. Auditors estimate that HCR could have used up to $36 million in surplus funds to fund up to 3,062 additional vouchers in 2021. Also, some of HCR’s excess administrative fee reserves (which doubled to about $131 million during the scope of the audit) could have been used to increase program participation including outreach activities and program awareness efforts, and to help participants find affordable housing. Auditors determined that HCR could improve how it addresses health and safety concerns in housing units where tenants are receiving rental assistance. Under HCV, local program administrators are required to conduct physical inspections of units under contract with HCR. Inspections are supposed to occur at a tenant’s initial occupancy and at least annually to determine if the unit meets HUD minimum housing quality standards (HQS). Local administrators are required to maintain a log of inspections that failed one or more HQS, submitting logs of failed inspections to HCR, remedying issues within certain time frames, and providing documentation of such to HCR. While HCR has developed some controls to monitor compliance with inspection standards, improvements are needed. Auditors found 36 instances where an owner and/or tenants failed to remediate deficiencies within the appropriate time frames, exposing tenants to prolonged safety risks. Deficiencies included no gas, exposed electrical wires, faulty carbon monoxide detectors and the presence of vermin. DiNapoli’s audit recommended that HCR: Determine what barriers are preventing the full use of HCV vouchers and funding. Increase use of available housing funds and prevent potential reduction or loss of federal funds, including but not limited to the increased use of reserve funds. Improve the reliability and usability of programmatic financial data by developing and implementing better IT systems. Strengthen oversight of Housing Quality Standards inspections to ensure that the problems they find are fixed within HUD’s timeframes and that inspection standards are consistent across local administrators. In its response, HCR officials generally agreed with most of the audit’s findings and recommendations except for the characterization of the HCV utilization findings. Audit Housing Trust Fund Corporation: Internal Controls Over and Maximization of Federal Funding for Various Section 8 Housing Programs and the COVID Rent Relief Program