Health

The big question on everyone's lips this month seems to be whether or not they should receive a third (in the case of the Pfizer or Moderna mRNA vaccines) or second (if they opted for the Johnson and Johnson vaccine) "booster" dose against Covid-19.

Yoga enthusiasts and equestrians alike may find appealing a pair of retreats being organized by a local woman whose professional training and teaching experiences are rooted in both worlds.

Stony Brook Southampton Hospital remains convinced that a 4.5-acre parcel on Pantigo Place in East Hampton is the most appropriate site for its proposed emergency room annex, and it hopes to break ground on the project by the end of the year, according to Robert Chaloner, the hospital's chief administrative officer.

In so many ways, the fact that we are still having to deal with the Covid-19 pandemic feels like a kick to the gut, but here we are. At this juncture in the pandemic, it is worthwhile to once again review some of the current public health guidelines aimed at stopping the spread and protecting yourself and your community.

"We all want this to be over," New York State Gov. Kathy Hochul said on Wednesday as she announced a mask mandate for child care centers, residential health programs, and other state-run health facilities as well as a vaccination initiative that will enable emergency medical technicians to administer Covid-19 shots.

Booster shots of Covid-19 vaccines may be on the horizon, but until the federal Food and Drug Administration determines whether additional doses are safe and effective for the general population, only people with moderately or severely impaired immune systems should seek a third dose, according to health care professionals.

An East Hampton medical practice is participating in a research project aimed at accelerating medical breakthroughs for Lyme disease, the most common vector-borne infectious disease in the United States and one of several illnesses that can be transmitted by an infected tick. 

Kids agreed that wearing masks is a small price to pay for what they hope is a normal school year filled with meaningful classroom activities, academics, field trips, and friendships.

Just a week into the fall sports season, one East Hampton High School football player has tested positive for Covid-19 and is in quarantine, the district announced Sunday morning.

Nurses and other members of the health care workers union at Stony Brook Southampton Hospital picketed on Thursday in an effort to get the hospital to agree to contract demands. The union's current contract ends on Sept. 30.

On her first day in office on Tuesday, New York State Gov. Kathy Hochul directed the state Health Department to institute a universal mask requirement for all children and adults in schools and an expanded testing protocol for all, and said she is also looking into the possibility of mandating vaccines for all school employees with an option to test out weekly.

A recent surge in Covid-19 infections on the East End is predominantly among those who are unvaccinated, and the Delta variant of the virus is the cause of more than 90 percent of cases, according to Dr. Fredric Weinbaum, the chief medical officer at Stony Brook Southampton Hospital, who described the variant as a "survival of the fittest" version of Covid-19.