Use of incentives aimed at boosting numbers of vaccinated people  People wait to get a COVID-19 vaccine outside Suffolk County's H. Lee Dennison Building in Hauppauge. The county has offered tickets for free drinks to get more people inoculated. Credit: Debbie Egan-Chin Officials across New York State have tried a variety of incentives to boost the number of people getting vaccinated, as the pace of vaccinations has slowed in recent weeks. Where people once spent hours scouring the internet in a frustrating search for vaccination appointments, now they can walk into locations all over Long Island and the state and receive the shot. That's because many people eager to get the vaccine have already done so, experts said, leaving those who are reluctant or may face logistical hurdles. Others have said they won't get vaccinated. The jury is out on whether the freebies are getting more people to offer their arms. "Whatever gets more people to come here and get the vaccine," said 24-year-old Eric Blechschmidt of Commack, who was waiting for his second dose at the Suffolk County site outside the H. Lee Dennison Building in Hauppauge. "If it works, it works." Read more about the state's progress, and what experts say, in this story by Newsday's Lisa L. Colangelo. The latest incentive: The state will raffle off 50 full scholarships — including tuition and room and board — to any public college or university, in an effort to encourage young people to get vaccinated, Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo announced Wednesday. The program will start Thursday and run through July 7, and anyone age 12 to 17 who gets their first Pfizer shot during that time will be eligible. Get more details. The number of new positives reported today: 56 in Nassau, 42 in Suffolk, 346 in New York City and 936 statewide. | | | Newsday readers support our strong local journalism by subscribing. Please show you value this important work by becoming a subscriber now. | | | The chart below shows the seven-day average positivity rates in New York City and in the state this month.  This chart shows what percentage of coronavirus tests were positive for the virus on average each day over a seven-day period. Search a map of new cases and view charts showing the latest local trends in vaccinations, testing, hospitalizations, deaths and more. COVID-19 grant program for small firms opens June 10  $800 million in grants will be available to help small businesses recover from the pandemic, Cuomo said Tuesday. Credit: Daniel Brennan The state will begin taking applications next month for $800 million in grants to help the smallest businesses recover from the pandemic, Cuomo announced Tuesday. Empire State Development, the state's primary business-aid agency, will open the online application portal on June 10 for the COVID-19 Pandemic Small Business Recovery Grant Program. The funding was included in the 2021-22 state budget that was adopted last month. Besides small businesses, the grants will be available to small for-profit arts and cultural organizations. The maximum grant amount is $50,000 per applicant and will serve as reimbursement of employee wages, rent and mortgage payments, taxes, utility bills and other operating expenses from the pandemic. The minimum grant is $5,000. Newsday's James T. Madore has more details in this story. 4 dogs who lost owners to COVID-19 settle in new home Four dogs were orphaned after their Plainview owners died of COVID-19 earlier this year. Now, they're settling into a new Pennsylvania home. "It was very clear that their original owner, the young woman, she was obviously a very loving dog mom, because they are very loving; they're becoming very close to me," said Lisa Heath, 57, a real estate appraiser who stepped forward after reading about their plight. The four dogs previously all lived with Jennifer Stein and her father, Barry Stein, according to the SPCA. The SPCA took the dogs in temporarily, thinking the family would recover — when they did not, Maria Mora, the nonprofit's executive director, was determined to place them together. Read more about their journey in this story by Joan Gralla. Oyster Bay teen donates hundreds of sanitation kits to LI homeless  James Bodian, 16, of Oyster Bay, displays some sanitation kits he's been donating to homeless mothers at a women's shelter in Glen Cove. Credit: Newsday/Thomas A. Ferrara Watching stories on TV about how hard the pandemic hit the homeless, James Bodian, 16, of Oyster Bay, got an idea. "My dad's a dermatologist," the teen said last week. "He gets all these samples at work — masks, soaps, hand sanitizers." So what if, Bodian asked himself, he got together some cash, got toiletry travel cases, and packaged the items as needed sanitizer kits for the homeless? In August, Bodian, a sophomore at the Portledge School in Locust Valley, delivered many of those kits to MOMMAS House, an organization that provides shelter and care for expectant and new mothers and their babies who are homeless, at their shelter at the Church of St. Rocco in Glen Cove. Read more about this act of kindness in this story by Newsday's John Valenti. More to know Long Island's unemployment rate fell to 5.4% in April, a stark contrast to the record 17.5% rate hit a year ago when the pandemic led to massive layoffs. Rent relief applications will start getting accepted on June 1, Cuomo announced Tuesday, under the new $2.7 billion rental assistance program. Henry Schein Inc. has won a $53.4 million contract to supply personal protective equipment and other COVID-19 products for the Strategic National Stockpile, the company announced Wednesday. News for you  Ditch Plains in Montauk is one beach people can visit this summer. Credit: Randee Daddona Your summer beach guide is here. Whether you're looking for a place to swim, sunbathe, surf, fish or look for wildlife, you can find the right spot for you at one of these Long Island beaches, from Jones Beach to Long Beach and more. Popular summer festivals are back after lockdown. Some Northeast summer festivals are returning this year in "a celebration of theatrical imagination." Here are highlights from some of the best-known festivals. Eternal Con is on for August. The Long Island comic con is returning on Aug. 7 and 8 at a new location: Hofstra University's David S. Mack Sports and Exhibition Complex in Hempstead. Tickets are on sale now. The Stony Brook Film Festival will be live. Passes are now on sale for the upcoming Stony Brook Film Festival, which will take place this summer as a live, in-person event. It was held online last summer, but will return to its traditional home at Stony Brook University's Staller Center from July 22 to 31. Get the details. Plus: Getting back to work? You won't have to leave your dog home alone with these pet boarding centers offering day care options. Sign up for text messages to get the most important coronavirus news and information. Commentary  A sign greets customers at a business on Main Street in Huntington Village in September. Credit: Newsday/Steve Pfost No wonder we can't let go of masks. Ed O'Brien, an associate professor of behavioral science at the University of Chicago Booth School of Business, writes for The Washington Post: At long last, experts and authorities have shouted the two words we've longed to hear: Masks off. So why are so many staying on? Last year, millions of Americans dutifully masked up once the pandemic officially hit. Now, as things are looking up here at home, and as the warm summer air officially returns, many of those same people are choosing to stay shrouded. And even as states lift crowd restrictions in indoor spaces, many are still avoiding movie theaters, grocery stores and crowded bars and restaurants, masked or not. This behavior may seem surprising — even frustrating to some. But psychologists understand the cautious behavior. A full return to normal — not just in how things look out there but in how things feel inside — is probably going to take a while. Keep reading. | 
No comments:
Post a Comment