Posted inCovid-19

Omicron in NY; the future of mandates

Many of you may already have heard about the new variant known as Omicron. The ominous name and the prospect of yet another mutation that has the potential to evade vaccine protections has upended what many people saw as sort of the final sprint against the pandemic, but the most important thing to note right now is how little we have in the way of certainties. We simply don’t know how worried we should be about it, which is definitely a problem for health authorities and policymakers tasked with preemptively responding to the latest winding turn in an already two-year-long catastrophe.

Posted inHealth

NYC and the opioid epidemic

I’m journalist Felipe De La Hoz, and today we’re going to discuss the epidemic. No, not Covid-19—I’m referring to the other epidemic, the one that has flown under the radar, overshadowed by the glare of the pandemic, but which seems to be intensifying even as Covid-19 deaths in New York have waned: opioid addiction and overdose.

Posted inSchools

The fight to save UNIS Queens

On the morning of Nov. 1, parents of students who attend the UNIS received an email notifying them that the school would be closing its doors on June 22, 2022. The message cited falling enrollment, financial losses and demographic changes as reasoning. The families, who were told the decision had been made without their input, felt as though the Manhattan leadership couldn’t care less about their demands.