SERINO PROPOSES AMENDMENT TO REQUIRE COMPTROLLER AUDIT OF COVID CRISIS IN NURSING HOMES nysenate.gov - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from nysenate.gov Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
4:35
A New York state senator from the Hudson Valley is calling for the state budget to include funding for Lyme and tick-borne diseases research, education and prevention initiatives. It comes as other lawmakers and advocates share her hope that the COVID-19 pandemic is not distracting from other health issues, like Lyme.
Republican state Senator Sue Serino’s 41st District includes a large portion of Dutchess County and part of Putnam County areas with high incidents of Lyme and tick-borne diseases.
“Approximately 8,000 of Lyme disease and more than 1,200 cases of other tick-borne diseases are reported to the New York state Department of Health each year,” says Serino.
The New York Times, revealing that top Governor Andrew Cuomo aides altered a COVID-19 report, purposefully withholding the complete number of nursing home resident deaths.
On July 6, State Health Department Commissioner Dr. Howard Zucker sat down in front of cameras and released a detailed report showing that 6,432 nursing home residents died from COVID-19 and blamed the spread of the virus on COVID-positive staffers that unknowingly carried it in with them from the community.
However, according to the WSJ, the initial report that was scrubbed by Cuomo advisors showed the actual number of COVID-related nursing home deaths was nearly 10,000 by July of last year. The Cuomo administration in a response late Thursday evening said the data could not be verified in time for the report s release.
Calls for Budget Funding, Works to Raise Awareness
HYDE PARK, NY With this year’s Executive Budget Proposal including no funding expressly dedicated to combating the spread of Lyme and tick-borne diseases (TBDs), (TBDs), Senator Sue Serino today brought lawmakers, researchers, and advocates from across the state together at a virtual press conference to put a spotlight on the need to invest in research, education and prevention initiatives. The coalition is asking the state to commit at least $1.5 million to the cause in the final enacted State Budget.
At the event, Serino pointed to the fact that after years of fighting for acknowledgement, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has recently updated its reporting measures and now estimates that approximately 476,000 Americans are diagnosed and treated for Lyme disease each year, a significant increase from their previous estimate of approximately 300,000. Serino argues that with New Yorkers sp