Health

From the parking lot in the mall to the emergency room in the hospital, community members are showing how kindness — any time, any place, to anyone — can be a real shot in the arm during the pandemic.

There are few, if any, absolutes in medicine. For example, the medical establishment spent years telling people that low-fat diets would lower their risk of dying, particularly by lowering high cholesterol and decreasing the risk of cardiovascular disease.

All too often, it seems, the story of Covid-19 is told through statistics and trends. Beyond those numbers are hundreds of thousands of human beings — real people — who lost their lives to the pandemic across the world. As told to The Star by their families, here are some of their stories from the East End.

For those who need help coping with pandemic-related losses and other issues, a number of organizations and medical facilities continue to offer resources. Here are a few.

East Hampton Town on Tuesday formally launched a vaccine "hub" website for town residents to sign up to receive Covid-19 vaccine appointments. It is accessible at ehtownvaccine.org.

A senior Stony Brook Southampton Hospital official said this week that the post-holiday surge of Covid-19 patients is over, and now it's a matter of public vigilance until vaccinations yield widespread immunity to the virus.

Despite the frustrating nature of wearing a mask, multiple studies have shown over the past year that doing so can significantly decrease the transmission of the novel coronavirus SARS-CoV-2 by more than 70 percent.

More than 250 people from communities of color received Covid-19 vaccinations at a pop-up clinic in East Hampton organized by the Organizacion Latino-Americana of Eastern Long Island, part of a state effort to make sure minority communities receive access to the vaccine.

On Tuesday, Suffolk County Executive Steve Bellone pledged to work with local municipalities and nonprofit organizations on the East End to get Covid-19 vaccines to a region that is widely considered underserved.

Covid-19 continues to disrupt local tradition, with the Montauk Friends of Erin's St. Patrick's Day parade, gala, and grand marshal's lunch the latest victims of the pandemic. The Friends had announced plans to hold the parade on March 28, a Sunday, but yesterday, about five weeks out, word came of its cancellation. The 2020 parade had met the same fate.

A new Covid-19 testing site in Montauk is expected to begin operation next week and will be open every day. “Knowing that we’re trending in a positive way toward summer, the state will be looking for negative tests” in order for weddings and other large gatherings to be held safely, East Hampton Councilman David Lys said.

At the beginning of September, four South Fork college students talked with The East Hampton Star about their expectations and experiences so far attending school during the Covid-19 pandemic. One semester later, this is how it's going.

In an initial effort to oversee local Covid-19 vaccinations, East Hampton Town opened a vaccination clinic at the former Child Development Center of the Hamptons Building on Saturday and provided shots to 332 residents, including first responders, teachers, and people who work in food and grocery stores.

In an effort to make sure communities of color have equal access to Covid-19 vaccinations, New York State and Organizacion Latino-Americana of Eastern Long will open a pop-up vaccination site at Most Holy Trinity Catholic Church in East Hampton on Friday.

Bars, restaurants, and other businesses licensed by the New York State Liquor Authority can now remain open until 11 p.m., giving them an extra hour to do business. More New Yorkers with certain conditions now qualify to get the vaccine, and East Hampton Town vaccinated 300 people at its own distribution site on Saturday.

East Hampton Town will receive 300 Covid-19 vaccine doses from Suffolk County on Friday, and on Saturday will use them to vaccinate firefighters, teachers, and other members of the b eligibility group at the town's new mass vaccination site at the former Child Development of the Hamptons building.

Having read and written about the vaccines and their safety, efficacy, and side-effects profile, I knew that more significant side effects were possible when I went back to the hospital four weeks later for my second dose. And they definitely happened. 

Policing during Covid comes with a world of unprecedented stress, challenges that are exponentially greater, and the added worry of bringing the virus home to family members. "If you saw it in a movie or book you wouldn't believe it," one South Fork chief said.

During the pandemic, physical education teachers here have jumped through some hoops in order to keep students safe while at the same time active.

A round of Covid-19 testing for East Hampton High School athletes and a more general testing session at the Springs School have turned up good results for both schools, officials announced this week.

Connecticut? Fuhgeddaboutit. Frustrated by an inability to get a Covid-19 vaccination close to home, South Fork residents have been traveling by road and sea to try their luck elsewhere, with some having far more success than others.

In the first of two rounds of Covid-19 testing at the Springs School, there were no positive results in the 55 people tested, the school district announced Monday.

In many ways, there are few things in medicine as dangerous as the passage of time. By this, I mean that inexorable movement toward a place where the status quo holds reign. Patients who come in to discuss their concerns about a recent 5 or 10-pound weight gain over a month or two will often be fired up with the desire to make positive changes in their lives.

Data released Monday by New York State shows the seven-day average rate of positive Covid-19 cases in Suffolk County has been ticking downward now for nearly a month. The rate reflects the number of cases that are positive as a percentage of the total tests administered.

There are a number of questions as to why local doctors' offices haven't yet been able to vaccinate people 65 and older, when health care providers expect to be able to do so, and what has been taking so long.

Jeff Nichols, the Sag Harbor School District superintendent, reported Thursday that there is actually evidence of school-related transmission in these two cases — an unusual finding given that that has not been the case in most other school districts on the South Fork.

For East End residents hoping to book an appointment online for a vaccination at Stony Brook University, the nearest state-run site, the message has been a consistent: "No appointments available." On the websites of urgent care facilities in Riverhead and Huntington run by Northwell Health, which is overseeing vaccine administration on Long Island, the message is even less encouraging.

High-risk high school sports including wrestling, basketball, and competitive cheerleading can resume again in Suffolk, County Executive Steve Bellone announced Monday. The season will run from Feb. 1 through Feb. 27.

On two Wednesdays in Feburary, the school will offer tests to students and staff who have indicated their willingness. Like many schools, Springs has been plagued by Covid-related disruptions and staff and student quarantines.

East Hampton High School and Middle School will return to their usual hybrid learning plan starting Monday, but the John M. Marshall Elementary School will continue with remote learning through at least Friday, Jan. 29.