From Councilman Mark Gjonaj
BY SANDI LUSK
Before I begin, we would
like to say that we have deliberately
refrained from inserting
politics into our columns.
The poison, lies, and vitriol
that has passed as political
discourse over the past 4 years
has been unprecedented. We
strongly feel that this has no
place in a civic center column,
but is better expressed as a
letter to the editor.
We have not written in a
long time, as our programs
have been suspended due to
COVID 19 this past year, and
we do not know when they
will resume. However, there
are a few pertinent things to
say about the crazy times we
live in that directly relate to
the COVID situation.
The message for today:
There have been a lot of lies
and half-truths being spread
about COVID prevention, testing,
and vaccines. We would
like to say a few words about
this.
First, there is no doubt that
wearing a mask (or masks)
helps protect against COVID:
“CDC recommends that everyone
wear a mask over their
nose and mouth when in public,
including on public transportation
and in transportation
hubs such as airports
and stations. Masks slow the
spread of COVID-19 because
they help keep people who are
infected from spreading respiratory
droplets to others
when they cough, sneeze, or
talk. Medical masks and N-95
respirators are for healthcare
workers and other fi rst responders,
as recommended by
current CDC guidance.” Feb
2, 2021.
From the FDA: https://
www. fda.gov/medical-devices/
coronavirus-covid-
19 -and-medical -devices/
face-masks-including-surgical
masks-and-respiratorscovid
19#:~:text=Masks%20
may%20help%20prevent%20
p e ople , f rom%2 0 spr e ading%
20the%20virus.
This is not a political or
“freedom of expression” issue.
This should never have
been politicized in the fi rst
place, that was highly irresponsible.
We are in the middle
of a massive pandemic.
This is a public health issue.
Nearly 500,000 lives have been
lost in the United States alone.
Each one of us has a responsibility
and a duty to ourselves
and the community to help
stop the transmission of this
deadly disease. Please wear
the mask for all our sakes.
Vaccines: As of now, 2 vaccines
are being given in NYC,
the Pfi zer vaccine and the
Moderna vaccine. There are
others on the horizon: From
the CDC website:
Currently, two vaccines
are authorized and recommended
to prevent COVID-19:
Pfi zer-BioNTech COVID-19
vaccine
Moderna’s COVID-19 vaccine
Vaccines in Phase 3
Clinical Trials
As of December 28, 2020,
large-scale (Phase 3) clinical
trials are in progress or being
planned for three COVID-19
vaccines in the United States:
AstraZeneca’s COVID-19
vaccine
Janssen’s COVID-19 vaccine
BRONX TIMES REPORTER, F 42 EB. 26-MAR. 4, 2021 BTR
Novavax’s COVID-19 vaccine
For more information on
vaccine types and how they
protect you go to https://www.
cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-
ncov/vaccines/different-vaccines.
html.
Both Pfi zer and Moderna
vaccines work the same way:
mRNA vaccines contain material
from the virus that causes
COVID-19 that gives our cells
instructions for how to make
a harmless protein that is
unique to the virus. After our
cells make copies of the protein,
they destroy the genetic
material from the vaccine.
Our bodies recognize that the
protein should not be there
and build T-lymphocytes and
B-lymphocytes that will remember
how to fi ght the virus
that causes COVID-19 if we
are infected in the future.
In other words, the vaccine
is giving your immune
system a suit of armor to deal
with the virus, because your
immune system will already
have antibodies that can recognize
the COVID virus and
attack it if you become infected.
These vaccines have
gone through the FDA required
clinical trials: phases
1,2,3 and we really now are
in phase 4. To see how this
works you can view this slide
presentation:
ht t ps://www.youtube.
com/watch?v=d s f POpEGEs&
feature=emb_title.
Phase 1 studies of a new
drug are usually the fi rst
that involve people.
Phase I studies are done
to fi nd the highest dose of the
new treatment that can be
given safely without causing
severe side effects. Although
the treatment has been tested
in lab and animal studies, the
side effects in people can’t be
known for sure. These studies
also help to decide on the
best way to give the new treatment.
Phase 2 clinical trials:
Does the treatment work?
If a new treatment is found to
be safe in phase 1 clinical trials,
a phase 2 clinical trial is
done to see if it works against
the specifi ed disease.
Phase 3 clinical trials:
Is it better than what’s already
available? Treatments
that have been shown to work
in phase 2 clinical trials must
succeed in one more phases
before they’re approved for
general use. Phase 3 clinical
trials compare the safety
and effectiveness of the new
treatment against the current
standard treatment (in this
case though, there was none,
so vs placebo).
Because doctors do not yet
know which treatment is better,
study participants are often
picked at random (called
randomized) to get either the
standard treatment or the
new treatment. When possible,
neither the doctor nor
the patient knows which of
the treatments the patient is
getting. This type of study is
called a double-blind study.
Phase 4 clinical trials:
What else do we need to
know? Drugs approved by the
FDA are often watched over a
long period of time in phase 4
studies. Even after testing a
new medicine on thousands
of people, all the effects of the
treatment may not be known.
Some questions may still need
to be answered.
This information is from
this site: https://www.cancer.
org/treatment/treatmentsand
side-effects/clinical-trials/
what-you-need-to-know/
phases-of-clinical-trials.html.
Although there was expedited
approval, these vaccines
have gone through the above
steps. Please take the vaccines,
it can be a matter of life
and death, literally.
It is not easy getting an appointment
for the vaccine. I
took me 2 weeks of getting on
the computer everyday at 7 am
to get an appointment, and I fi -
nally got my fi rst shot a week
ago. You can go to this link
to search for an appointment:
https://vaccinefi nder.nyc.gov/
locations. Eligibility has recently
been expanded, please
check if you are eligible.
One caveat: Even after
you are fully vaccinated, you
should still follow CDC precautions,
eg, mask and social
distancing, until most of us
gain immunity.
We are sharing this information
with you in the hope
it will help keep all of you
healthy and safe during this
trying time. We are all in this
together. This is not politics;
it is a matter of being a responsible
member of the community.
With the crazy weather
lately, our thoughts have
turned to Texas; part of the editorial
team I work with at my
job had been without water,
power, and heat much of last
week. My thoughts are with
them, and I was refl ecting
on how things are changing.
The South may have to adapt
to colder weather, just as we
up North may have to adapt
to much hotter weather in the
summer. The only thing certain
besides death and taxes
in this world is change.
So, in closing, we look forward
to a better year, and we
will hopefully meet again
on the other side of this pandemic.
Take care, so we can.
TTFN.
CIVIC CENTER
Westchester Square
Zerega Improvement
Organization
BY COUNCILMAN
MARK GJONAJ
Following the tremendous
success of previous years’
offerings, I, in cooperation
with Urban Upbound, am
once again offering free tax
preparation for those Council
District 13 residents with
income of $68,000 per year or
less. Completing tax forms
and fi ling them can be a complicated
and laborious process,
and one that particularly
disadvantages those
that are lower income. It
doesn’t need to be that way,
though, and to that end my
offi ce is committed to helping
those that need get the tax assistance
they require.
This year at two locations
(Morris Park and City
Island), one can receive free
tax preparation assistance.
On Wednesdays, those eligible
can go to the Morris
Park Community Association
from 10am to 5pm. On
Thursdays, constituents can
go to the City Island Community
Center from the hours of
10am to 4pm. Tax experts are
ready and eager to help make
this process as painless as
possible for you.
There are also virtual tax
preparation services offered
for those unable to make an
in-person appointment, and
are once again, making less
than $68,000 a year. This virtual
option can be accessed
at https://urbanupbound.
lpages.co/uutax/.
However appointment
slots for free tax preparation
are limited, so please
do not hesitate to make one
if require the assistance. To
make an appointment for
free tax preparation assistance
or to ask any related
questions, please contact
my district offi ce by phone
at (718) 931-1721 or by email
at MGjonaj@council.nyc.
gov<mailto:MGjonaj@council.
nyc.gov>.
Ordinarily, tax preparation
assistance services can
be extremely expensive, far
beyond the means of people
that perhaps need the service
the most. I am pleased to be
able to provide this valuable
service to our community
again this year.
link
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