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AGENCY TESTIMONY
COVID-19 impact and ongoing public health challenges
3:38:40
ยท
47 sec
Dr. Graham reflects on the fifth anniversary of the first recorded COVID-19 death in New York City and discusses the ongoing impacts of the pandemic, particularly the rise in unintentional overdose deaths.
- The pandemic's effects continue to reverberate through communities
- OCME is coping with a 30% increase in caseloads compared to pre-pandemic years
- Overdose fatalities, driven by the fentanyl crisis, have become a major public health concern
- The elevated caseload has become the 'new normal' for OCME
Jason Graham
3:38:40
This month marks the fifth anniversary of the first recorded death from COVID nineteen in New York City.
3:38:45
While we remember all those we lost and honor all those who served in the response, we also recognize how the impacts of the pandemic continue to reverberate throughout our communities.
3:38:55
Indeed, as I previously stated in these chambers, if not for the COVID nineteen pandemic, the number of unintentional overdose deaths following in its wake would be the public health emergency of our times.
3:39:07
OCME continues to cope with a thirty percent increase in caseloads compared to the immediate years before the pandemic, driven in large part by overdose fatalities stemming from the fentanyl crisis.
3:39:18
This elevation is now our new normal, and the administration has acknowledged the urgency of our need in the FY twenty six budget.