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NYC Officials Say City Will Not Shut Down as Pfizer and Merck COVID-19 Pills Get FDA Approval

By Jessica Easthope

Endless lines at testing sites have people fed up and the trend isn’t just at New York’s CityMD – it’s national.

President Joe Biden, in an interview with ABC News, again responding to suggestions that his administration failed to anticipate the need for more tests.

“No I don’t think it’s a failure, I think you could argue that we should’ve known a year ago, six months ago, two months ago,” he said.

But in the new year people could be able to treat COVID-19 at home – two pills now have the green light from the FDA: Pfizer and Merck.

“I’ve purchased several million already. I think it’ll be a matter of weeks to a month to get the pills,” President Biden said.

Both pills are recommended to treat mild to moderate symptoms of COVID-19 at home but Merck only narrowly passed through FDA approval. Data shows it cuts the risk of hospitalization by 30 percent among high risk adults – lower than earlier testing that showed that number could be up to 50 percent.

As for Pfizer, the Biden administration is indicating that 250,000 treatment courses will be available starting in January, the first of 10 million courses purchased.

And in South Africa where the Omicron variant was first detected, one of the country’s top researchers says they’ve passed the peak of their Omicron outbreak and are now seeing a rapid decline me in cases.

In the U.S., Dr. Anthony Fauci also pointed to new data on the severity of Omicron.

“It appears that in the context of South Africa there is a decrease in the severity compared to delta,” Dr. Fauci said.

Fauci says more research is needed to know if that could end up being the case in the U.S. but here in New York City officials are keeping up confidence. Mayor Bill de Blasio reminded New Yorkers about the severity of the issue.

“I want to be really clear with everyone, it’s going to be a tough few weeks, but it will only be a few weeks. Omicron has come on real fast but it will be over soon. I am adamant and I’ve had this conversation with Mayor-Elect Adams and I know he feels the same way, we are not shutting down, we are not falling back, we are going to fight our way through this,” said Mayor Bill de Blasio.

Mayor de Blasio says Monday starts the most aggressive vaccine mandate for private sector employees in the country. He says that is what will see the city through this rampant spike.

FDA Authorizes First Pill to Treat COVID

Currents News Staff

Big news coming from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) Wednesday, Dec. 23 with the authorization of the first antiviral pill for COVID patients.

Omicron has taken over the past two weeks, and now accounts for 90-percent of new cases in several regions of the U.S. The FDA granted Pfizer’s new antiviral pill – Paxlovid – emergency use authorization.

“Folks that took paxlovid early, within three days of symptom onset, had a 90% reduction in hospitalization or death compared to those that took the placebo,” said Professor of Medicine and Surgery at George Washington University, Dr. Jonathan Reiner. “So this is a very, very potent agent.”

One problem? The highly-effective treatment has to be administered within the first five days of symptoms, making hard-to-come-by tests all the more important, even as retailers like Walgreens and CVS limit the number of tests customers can buy at once in the face of sky-high demand.

Meanwhile, the now-dominant, highly contagious Omicron variant – first detected in the U.S. just weeks ago – is helping drive new COVID-19 case numbers back up to levels last seen three months ago in the midst of the Delta surge.

New infections are jumping more than 20 percent over last week with nearly 70,000 people hospitalized with the virus.

“I’m pretty worried that the surge that we’re going to see in the coming weeks is going to be worse than the surge that we saw last winter said Emergency Medicine Physician Dr. Richina Bicette-Mccain.

COVID deaths are rising 11 percent over last week as the CDC reports COVID-19 was the third leading cause of death in 2020 and life expectancy dropped by nearly two years.

Despite the spike in cases, holiday travelers do not seem deterred, with the TSA screening around 2 million or more people a day for the past six days.

The CDC director is reminding holiday travelers to stay safe.

“How safe your holiday is is about how safe you are in the time leading up to the holiday,” said Director Of The US Centers For Disease Control And Prevention, Dr. Rochelle Walensky.

As Israel considers rolling out a fourth dose of Pfizer’s COVID-19 vaccine for medical workers, the immunocompromised and people over 60, U.S. health officials say, they will follow the science.

“Right now we feel confident if you have a booster that you have a high level of protection against overall infection,” said U.S. Surgeon General Dr. Vivek Murthy, “particularly against hospitalization and death, the most severe outcomes of COVID.”

Meanwhile – after the United Kingdom reduced the required isolation period for vaccinated people who test negative twice for COVID from 10 days to seven, new debate arose over whether the U.S. should follow suit.

“We’re actively examining those data now,” said Dr. Rochelle, “and doing some modeling analyses to assess that. And we anticipate that we’ll have some updates soon.”

 

Catholic News Headlines for Wednesday, 12/22/21

A former city worker living a NYCHA nightmare. Charles Hertzog was a repairman for the New York City Housing Authority for decades – he says the protocols he once helped keep in place are not being met.

 

Two years into the pandemic and most Americans are still not sure when and how to get tested, how long to quarantine if they are vaccinated, or where to get take home tests.

Ahead of Christmas, Pope Francis is pleading with political leaders across Europe to protect migrants and refugees. The plea comes as 160 people drowned in the stretch of sea between Libya and Lampedusa.

Brothers Battle NYCHA Over Neglect and Decade of Damage Inside Red Hook Houses Apartment

By Jessica Easthope

Eric Hertzog is fighting for his family. That’s because the place they call home is falling apart, but he’s alone in that battle.

“I had to do something to reach out to them, I tried to reach out to them, they didn’t have any gas or electricity they gave them hot plates, for months, I had to do something about it, I had to intervene and help them,” said Eric.

Eric’s three brothers live together in a New York City Housing Authority (NYCHA) apartment inside the Red Hook Houses. Mold, mildew and crumbling paint plague the $1,700-dollar-a-month apartment where the men have lived for close to 20 years. Eric said he was told by someone who works for NYCHA there’s lead paint in the apartment.

“They said the work was completed and they never even showed up and that really ticked me off,” he said.

After trying to expose the issues in the apartment, NYCHA sent someone out to do repairs even though close to 100 work order tickets were ignored over a period of years. Eric said all they did was a patch job – painting over the mold instead of removing it.

Eric says his brother Charles, who was a NYCHA repairman himself for 25 years, has been having cognitive issues because of the conditions inside the apartment. According to the CDC, prolonged exposure to mold can cause memory loss, confusion and trouble concentrating.

“Coming in here, seeing my brother having difficulty breathing, being disoriented, coming in seeing the conditions of the apartment, the mold, the asbestos, the mildew, the living conditions are horrible,” Eric said.

Eric is trying to have his brothers moved to another building but he says NYCHA suggested a dangerous area of Brooklyn far from family and their doctors – but he’s not giving up.

“I give myself to my Lord and savior Jesus Christ and that’s where I get my faith and I hope something can be done immediately,” he said.

Editor’s Note: Currents News reached out to NYCHA about all of the Hertzog’s issues, but our requests were not answered. At the time of airing – there was an UPDATE from NYCHA: “NYCHA staff is en route to this apartment to assess what repairs are needed and will schedule accordingly. We ask that all residents continue to use the MyNychaApp or call the Customer Contact Center at 718-707-7771 to create a work order ticket for any maintenance needs.”

Life After Being Kidnapped in Haiti: Oregon Missionary Returns Home

Currents News Staff

Seventeen American and Canadian missionaries kidnapped in Haiti are now free. Some were released and others made a daring escape. One man who got away from the gang is from about 100 miles outside Portland, Oregon and now — he’s finally home.

“It was with great joy and deep thankfulness to God that I confirm that all seventeen staff members of Christian Aid Ministries who were held hostage in Haiti by the 400 Mawozo Gang are free,” said David Troyer, General Director of the organization.

Angela Rhodes is running her store with a lot more ease knowing Austin Smucker, one of the kidnapped missionaries, is home.

“She texted me first thing and told me that they were, that they were out,” Angela said.

Angela opened up “Penelope’s Soap and Such” last February and sells homemade candles from her friend Laura Smucker. When she found out Laura’s 27 year old son Austin was kidnapped in Haiti, it didn’t seem real.

“All these simple things that you think about when you go out of the country,” she said, “and then it’s like one day, and she tells me that he’d been taken, and I’m like, ‘What? And we were worried about antibiotics?'”

News spread about Austin, and people from all over the country started donating money and buying Laura’s candles.

But Austin’s safety was always the main focus.

“She’d just come,” Angela said, “and, and I’d say, ‘What’s happening?’ And she goes either, ‘I don’t know,’ or ‘I can’t talk to you about any of it because it just puts their life in, in danger if I say a word.'”

Austin and the other Christian Aid Ministry Members were initially captured on Oct. 16 when a violent Haitian gang surrounded them at a road block.

After two months in captivity, the group slipped out the door, put the three young children on their back, and hiked nearly 10 miles using just a landmark and the moonlight to find their way. The group discussed escaping several times, but Austin never felt like it was the right moment. On the day they finally escaped, it was Austin who gave the group the okay.

“And he’s like, ‘Nope, I think we should go,” Angela said, “and they just walked out.'”

She says Austin lost 20 pounds while being held hostage, but something else in him changed as well.

“And then something that stuck out to me was probably at the beginning of this,” she said, “he was not in a leadership position cause he was just a kid, and there was older people, but um, he was in the end because they listened to him.”

Bishop Brennan Celebrates Mass at Brooklyn Church with Historical Family Ties

Currents News Staff

Brooklyn’s Bishop Robert Brennan just made a special visit to his own father’s parish growing up. 

The parishioners of St. Brigid’s Church in Bushwick greeted the bishop with music and homemade signs. Bishop Brennan was feeling as if they were family, even though it has  been decades since his father and grandparents attended Mass there. 

The bishop made time to celebrate two Masses there and blessed newly renovated confessionals in the back of the church.

Catholic News Headlines for Tuesday, 12/21/21

Just four days until Christmas and Catholic Charities Brooklyn and Queens is making sure every child in the diocese has a merry one!

As the Omicron variant continues to spread, President Biden says the government will buy 500 million rapid tests and ship them out next month.

As some people get set to travel for the holidays, reports of unruly passengers are on the rise.

Here’s a hundred reasons why Christmas at the Vatican is like nowhere else in the world — there are 100 nativity scenes on display!

President Biden Unveils Omicron Variant Strategy Including Free At-Home Tests

Currents News Staff

With a new surge comes a new plan: the White house is taking extra measures against COVID-19.

“We all want this to be over, but we’re still in it,” President Joe Biden said. “And this is a critical moment. We also have more tools than we’ve ever had before.”

Among the new initiatives is 500 million free at-home rapid tests to be made available to Americans starting next month; new or expanded vaccination and testing sites with increased access; the deployment of 1,000 service members and additional medical teams in January and February to hospitals overwhelmed by the surge.

The Director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, Dr. Anthony Fauci, says there will be new testing sites.

“We’re putting up about 20,000 testing sites,” Dr. Fauci said. “We’re getting half a billion tests very quickly, literally within the next few days.”

The president is also reassuring people who are vaccinated, but also warning those who are unvaccinated about the potential threat of severe illness.

“If you’re not fully vaccinated, you have good reason to be concerned,” President Biden said. “You’re at a high risk of getting sick. Almost everyone who has died from COVID-19 in the past many months has been unvaccinated.”

The White House is moving quickly as the Omicron variant surges nationwide. The Center for Disease Control (CDC) projects 73 percent of new cases across the country to be the Omicron variant.

“If you are vaccinated and follow the precautions,” the president said, “we know well you should feel comfortable celebrating Christmas and the holidays as you plan to.”

Catholic Charities Brooklyn & Queens Helps Keep Christmas Magic Alive at Annual Toy Drive

By Jessica Easthope

Isa Maldonado says lately she’s hardly felt like supermom. In and out of work since the pandemic began, when it comes to her four-year-old daughter – she’s had to sacrifice the extras to pay for increasingly expensive essentials like food and utilities. But on Tuesday, that changed.

“It’s a wonderful feeling, because when you don’t have it you’re sad,” Isa said. “They believe in Christmas but it’s a beautiful feeling.”

Isa’s family is one of 900 who registered to be part of Catholic Charities Brooklyn & Queens’ annual toy drive. This year the need was greater than ever – one of the toys might be the only thing 3,000 children see under the tree this year.

“We’re saying to them you’re not alone, we’re here with you and we’ll walk with you as long as we have to,” said CEO of Catholic Charities Brooklyn & Queens, Msgr. Alfred LoPinto.

As COVID spikes once again, the future is uncertain and people are grateful – to say the least.

“Things like this make you believe, it’s a miracle, there has to be something out there looking out for us,” said Isa.

For Roberto Ramirez, he says it’s a gift from above.

“It’s a gift from God,” Roberto said. “You can never lose hope and faith in others because good things can come.”

This year, the toy drive was set up at Our Lady of the Angelus Church in Rego Park, Queens. People walked in, were given an elf to shop with inside Santa’s toy shop and picked one gift for each child from a selection that made it look and feel like the real thing.

At a time of the year that’s financially hard on most – these families say Catholic Charities has restored their faith and belief in the magic of Christmas.

“This is a blessing,” said Kenia Chamorro. “Having 5 kids it’s difficult, it’s expensive and to find this is very hard but thank God I did.”

In addition to toys, every family was given a bag of food. It’s a little extra – that goes a long way.