As tuberculosis cases rise, city boosts disease control efforts

Mar 25, 2024

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Good morning and welcome to the Weekly New York Health Care newsletter, where we keep you posted on what's coming up this week in health care news, and offer a look back at the important news from last week.

Beat Memo

Tuberculosis is on the rise in New York City.

The city Health Department confirmed 684 cases of the infectious disease in 2023, up 28 percent from the prior year, according to data released Friday.

That’s the highest number of TB cases the city has seen since 2011.

Staffers in the Health Department’s tuberculosis control bureau sounded the alarm last year, telling POLITICO that widespread vacancies were undermining the city’s ability to handle an increased caseload.

As a result, the Mayor’s Office of Management and Budget gave the bureau an exemption from a hiring freeze across city agencies, clearing the way for Health Department officials to fill 26 lingering vacancies, a department spokesperson told POLITICO. Half of those slots have now been hired.

Many of the new employees are public health advisers, who are responsible for interviewing TB patients, performing contact tracing and monitoring patients’ monthslong course of care to ensure they complete treatment. Patients who do not finish their medication regimen are at risk of developing drug-resistant tuberculosis.

“The heroic efforts of the Health Department and its world-class tuberculosis program over decades has resulted in tuberculosis largely fading from the everyday memory of New Yorker's minds. But tuberculosis control, prevention, care, treatment and control require constant upkeep, support, and resources,” Health Commissioner Ashwin Vasan said in a statement to POLITICO.

The disease has been relatively scarce in the U.S. since cases peaked decades ago during the AIDS epidemic, but it is still a leading killer globally.

IN OTHER NEWS:

— A Nassau County resident has become the state’s first confirmed case of measles outside of New York City this year, which has already reported two cases of the highly contagious respiratory disease, the state Health Department announced Friday. The person was identified as an unvaccinated child under the age of 5.

Anyone who was in the emergency department of Cohen Children's Medical Center in New Hyde Park, part of Northwell Health, between Wednesday evening and Thursday mid-afternoon may have potentially been exposed to measles. The hospital is identifying patients who are at high risk who may require timely treatment.

Health Commissioner James McDonald is urging all New Yorkers, especially young children, to get the two-dose measles-mumps-rubella vaccine as soon as possible, if they have not already gotten it.

ON THE AGENDA:

— Thursday at 10:15 a.m. The Public Health and Health Planning Council’s Committee On Establishment and Project Review meets.

— Thursday at 3 p.m. NYC Health + Hospitals’ board of directors hosts its monthly meeting.

GOT TIPS? Send story ideas and feedback to Maya Kaufman at mkaufman@politico.com.

A message from United University Professions (UUP):

SUNY Chancellor John B. King Jr. announced a plan Jan. 16 to make drastic changes in the structure and operation of SUNY Downstate University Hospital. SUNY’s plan would relegate this safety net hospital to a wing in Kings County Hospital Center. Other healthcare services performed at Downstate would be farmed out to other neighboring hospitals. This plan will unequivocally result in the closure of SUNY Downstate. NO BUILDING, NO HOSPITAL!

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What you may have missed

— State Health Commissioner James McDonald signed a standing order last week authorizing pharmacists to dispense three different kinds of birth control — oral contraceptives, vaginal rings and hormonal patches — without a prescription. Pharmacists who choose to participate will be able to give out up to a 12-month supply.

“Starting a family is a deeply personal decision and New York State will always be a place where people can access safe and effective contraceptives,” Gov. Kathy Hochul, who joined McDonald at an Albany pharmacy for the signing, said in a statement.

To participate, pharmacists must self-attest to a set of competencies developed by the state Education Department. While New York expects 85 percent of pharmacists to do so, other states with similar policies have just 10 to 13 percent of pharmacists participating, according to the New York Birth Control Access Project.

McDonald’s action follows the passage of state legislation last year to allow pharmacists to dispense self-administered hormonal contraceptives if given a non-patient specific order.

A message from United University Professions (UUP):

Odds and Ends

NOW WE KNOW — Grab the tissue box — allergy season is starting sooner than expected.

TODAY’S TIP — Spending too much time on your phone? Ask yourself, “Do I really need to do this right now?”

STUDY THIS — Via CNN: Almost half of the tap wate r in the U.S. is contaminated with “forever chemicals,” a government study found.

What We're Reading

— In these state prisons, addiction treatment is out of reach, New York Focus reports.

— New bill would revive a de Blasio-era mental health initiative, Crain's New York Business reports.

— States' drug pricing boards have yet to bring down costs, Axios reports.

— Via STAT: Hospitals turn to sports performance centers to offer athletes elite care — for the right price.

Around POLITICO

— New York cannabis regulators waive fees, approve more licenses, Mona Zhang reports.

— Via Alice Miranda Ollstein: “How is abortion shaping 2024? Look at Arizona.”

MISSED A ROUNDUP? Get caught up on the New York Health Care Newsletter.

A message from United University Professions (UUP):

SUNY's portrayal of its Downstate closure plan as a "transformation" is wrong. This is flawed public policy that will risk Brooklyn’s healthcare and harm its communities. Central Brooklyn needs more quality healthcare, not less. SUNY's proposal would result in the loss of essential healthcare professionals in Central Brooklyn, undermine medical education, and financially strain its medical school vital for supplying professionals to New York's hospitals. As a public teaching hospital, SUNY Downstate treats all patients regardless of their ability to pay. Yet, the state has ceased operational funding for its teaching hospitals. New York should fulfill its duty to Central Brooklyn's vulnerable population by supporting SUNY Downstate. *Join UUP to advocate for saving and revitalizing SUNY Downstate, precisely tailored to serve Brooklyn and New York City effectively.*