Health

Despite the feeling of calm that has settled in after mask mandates were lifted, despite the significantly lower case numbers and deaths across the United States, Covid is not finished with us — or we with it.

East Hampton Town's Covid-19 testing site at the former Child Development Center of the Hamptons on Stephen Hand's Path will continue operating at least through April 15, as concerns about the BA.2 subvariant and the upcoming April school break spark renewed interest in tests.

Stony Brook Medicine’s three hospitals, including two on the East End, have once again been named LGBTQ+ Healthcare Equality Leaders by the Human Rights Campaign Foundation.

An awful lot of people are getting sick with one thing or another in the weeks since New York State's mask mandate was lifted. “In prior years, this is when flu season is just ending, but right now, it’s just starting,” said Dr. Gail Schonfeld, whose East End Pediatrics practice in East Hampton has seen an average of five cases of flu each day over the past two weeks.

Earlier this month state and local authorities began to roll back mask mandates in a variety of settings including schools and public spaces like restaurants. After two years of such mandates, these changes have given many a feeling that the end of the Covid-19 pandemic may finally be upon us. But is it soon to set aside our masks?

With Covid-19 transmission falling to levels not seen since last year, East Hampton Town has lifted a mask requirement for those entering town offices and other facilities. 

East Hampton and Southampton Towns are offering free Covid-19 rapid antigen home test kits to residents this week and next. 

Effective Thursday, a New York State mandate that people wear masks or show proof of vaccination at restaurants, gyms, theaters, offices and stores will be lifted, but individual businesses and municipal governments will be able to set their own policies.

While the pandemic’s trajectory remains uncertain, the Omicron variant’s tendency to cause milder sickness, combined with the sheer number of those with a degree of protection through prior infection or vaccination, signal a period of transition for the virus that has upended life for the past two years.

As Covid-19 hospitalizations among children skyrocketed in December, particularly impacting children who aren’t eligible for vaccine shots yet, health experts and educators are keeping a watchful eye and doing everything they can to keep kids safe. “It’s really important that if you’re thinking about herd immunity, children are part of the herd,” a chief at Stony Brook Children's Hospital said.

More and more people are visiting health professionals to discuss anxiety and depression, and what's striking is not the new onset of these symptoms and conditions or the severity with which they are presenting but instead that so many people are almost apologetic when they bring up these concerns.

The Omicron variant of Covid-19 continues to surge through Suffolk County, but there may be signs of a coming decline in cases, which reached an all time high last week.

East Hampton High School students will have at least two more days of remote lessons this week, Monday and Tuesday, with administrators planning a return to in-person classes on Wednesday.

The push to expand access to Covid-19 vaccines continues on the South Fork, with East Hampton Town adding five additional vaccination clinics in February and Stony Brook Southampton Hospital moving its clinics to the Greek Orthodox Church of the Hamptons to accommodate more appointments.

As we enter a new year and come upon the second anniversary of the beginning of the Covid-19 pandemic, it is time once again to review the most current guidelines for testing, quarantine after exposure, and isolation while infected with Covid-19. This is particularly necessary as the Centers for Disease Control recently updated their guidelines to reflect the latest known data about the rising Omicron variant, which has spread at an incredible pace.

Spurred by an avalanche of positive Covid-19 cases over the holiday season among families, kids, and teachers, virus-related impacts have been fast and furious in coming to South Fork schools.

Founded in 2005 by Douglas Mercer, the Wellness Foundation announced its closing just before Christmas. The organization worked closely with local school districts, helping to make healthy food a priority, and ran Wellness Challenges for adults that encouraged a holistic approach toward a healthier lifestyle.

The Eleanor Whitmore Early Childhood Center has become one of the first educational institutions here to announce a pause on in-person attendance following the holiday break, with planned closures Monday and Tuesday.

As the highly contagious Omicron variant emerges as the dominant strain of Covid-19 infecting New Yorkers, comments from weary physicians here underscored the surprising speed with which the virus has been spreading.

Gov. Kathy Hochul urged parents to have their children vaccinated against Covid-19 while schools are closed this week, noting a rise in pediatric hospitalizations as the infection rates across the state climb ever higher, and for those who are ready, there's a pediatric vaccine clinic planned at the Children's Museum of the East End next week.

The omicron variant of Covid-19, known to be more contagious than previous variants, is causing virus cases and hospitalizations to rise fast.

If there’s any doubt that people are concerned about rising Covid-19 numbers on the South Fork, countywide, and across the state, one need only drive by East Hampton Town’s Covid testing site on Stephen Hand’s Path. The facility ran out of tests and closed early on Tuesday, and Wednesday morning, the line of people waiting for tests was 50 cars long.

Starting Monday, Dec. 20, East Hampton Town's Covid-19 testing will move to the East Hampton Center for Humanity, the former Child Development Center of the Hamptons, at 110 Stephen Hand's Path.

In discussions with patients about whether to get vaccinated against Covid-19, the people who express hesitation worry that the risks of the vaccinations outweigh either the risk from being infected with Covid-19 or the risk to communities by allowing continued spread of the virus. Yet there are plenty of things we do everyday without a second thought that are far riskier.

In New York State as of Monday, Dec. 13, masks will be required in all indoor public places unless businesses or venues implement a vaccine requirement. The action comes amid yet another surge in Covid-19 cases, hospitalizations, and deaths, with Suffolk County's seven-day average of positive tests reaching 6.5 percent on Dec. 8.

Fond memories of Bella Adlah, who lived and attended school here up until a few years ago, have led to a swell of support for her family following her diagnosis in June with functional neurological disorder, which causes daily seizures, loss of vision and ability to eat, and left her unable to talk above a whisper or use her limbs and torso from her shoulders down.

Even though Stony Brook Southampton Hospital has the largest number of admitted Covid-19 patients it has seen in about two months — 11 people as of Tuesday afternoon, none in the intensive care unit — there is good news to be had, the hospital’s chief medical officer said this week.

With demand for Covid-19 vaccinations continuing to be high, East Hampton Town has added several additional vaccination clinics to its calendar this month. 

People seeking Covid-19 vaccines have two new upcoming opportunities at East Hampton Town Hall: on Monday and Wednesday. Appointments for clinics later in the month are already spoken for.

Testing for Covid-19 has resumed at the East Hampton Town Hall campus, now provided by CareONE Concierge. Appointments are not required. Testing is no longer being offered at the former Child Development Center of the Hamptons on Stephen Hand's Path.