| Protecting Yourself One of the most important things you can do right now is getting your vaccine or booster. People who are unvaccinated are 38-times more likely to be hospitalized with Covid. But only 87% of New Yorkers are vaccinated, and a frighteningly low 38% are boosted. Don’t delay any longer – get vaxed/boosted NOW. People who are 50 or older are eligible for a second booster at least four months after their first, and the second booster is highly recommended for people who are 65+. Schedule your initial vaccine series or booster here. At the yellow level, it’s also recommended to wear high-quality masks when indoors. Masks are still required on subways and buses; on MetroNorth, LIRR, and PATH trains; in Ubers, Lyfts and yellow taxis; and at JFK and LaGuardia airports. Where To Get TestedTesting is much easier now than it was during December’s omicron wave. The City continues to provide free testing sites across every borough, and free home tests are easy to come by. Get tested before and after gatherings, if you were exposed, or if you begin to feel sick.Free City-run testing sites Pick up free at-home test kits at these libraries and cultural institutions (scroll to the bottom of the page)If you haven’t ordered your household’s eight free test kits from the federal government yet (mailed directly to you!), order them here. Your health insurance provides eight home test kits each month. Every person covered by your plan gets eight monthly tests each. (Note that a two-pack, like the popular BinaxNow tests, counts as two tests, so you could get four two-packs per month.) You can contact your insurance company to find out if they have an agreement with certain pharmacies to pay for the tests directly; if not, save your receipts to submit to your health insurer for reimbursement. If you have Medicare Part B, including Medicare Advantage, you can pick up your tests for free when you show your Medicare card – no receipt-submitting necessary. Participating pharmacies include CVS, RiteAid, Walgreens, and Costco; see more here. Medicaid and CHIP also cover the eight monthly tests with no out-of-pocket costs to patients at in-network pharmacies. Contact your plan to find out which pharmacies can provide your tests. What to Do if You Test PositiveIf you have a severe case of Covid or are high risk, you can now take a free oral antiviral medication called Paxlovid. It’s important that you act fast – if started within five days of symptom onset, Paxlovid reduces the risk of hospitalization and death by 88%. Call your doctor or the City’s Covid hotline at 212-COVID19 (212-268-4319) to have the medication prescribed and delivered to you. You can also contact the NYC Covid hotline to get a free “Take Care” package with high-quality masks, sanitizer, a thermometer, and two at-home tests for household members. Call 212-COVID19 (212-268-4319).The flyer below answers FAQs about testing positive. |
Stay Up to DateNYC has a robust Covid data-tracking system. You can see if we upgrade to an orange alert level or (hopefully!) downgrade to green here. NYC’s Covid data portal shows vaccine, case, hospitalization, and death rates, including by ZIP code. Explore it here. |
East Harlem Little League
The East Harlem Little League is still registering young people for the 2022 season. Our season is starting a bit late but we are still guaranteeing a great experience. The Little Leaguers will only play on Saturdays and Sundays so it will not interfere with any summer programs that they are enrolled in.
Our league is sponsored by The Boys’ Club and run by First Responders (NYPD and FDNY) in our community. With the help of our City Council Member, Deputy Speaker Diana Ayala, we are able to hire teenagers to be a part of the team allowing them to make some extra money for the summer while we mentor them and give them work-ready skills for the future. This will not affect their summer youth employment. Some teens do both. We also guarantee a fun-filled Opening Day that the entire community is welcome to come and enjoy. Information, dates, location, etc… will all be available next week.
We are also looking for volunteers. If anyone has coaching experience, wants to engage younger kids doing activities like Read Alouds, arts & crafts, or some other fun activity- while their older siblings are playing, want to help us sell t-shirts and snacks on a weekend or two, help give out water to our players and coaches, etc… We have a flyer for that too.
