Mental Illness, COVID-19 and Rats: An Update From NYC’s Health Commissioner

Over the past three years, New York City has been hit with not one, but a handful of health crises. The COVID-19 pandemic trapped residents in their apartments, or prompted them to flee the city altogether. Monkeypox, shortened to “mpox” by the World Health Organization, sent some lining up for even more vaccine doses. And mental illness—particularly as it plays out on the streets—has become an agenda item for politicians at all levels of government.

“Because of everyone coming together the way we are, I think we’re going to get through this,” said Council Member Erik Bottcher, who represents the West Village, Chelsea and Hell’s Kitchen. On Monday, Feb. 6, he hosted a virtual Q&A with Dr. Ashwin Vasan, commissioner of the city’s Department of Health and Mental Hygiene (DOHMH), to address locals’ concerns and shed light on new policies.

Mental Health

A new push by Mayor Eric Adams to involuntarily remove a larger swath of people suffering from severe mental illness from the city’s streets has proven controversial. At the end of November, he announced that first responders and outreach workers could transport New Yorkers to psychiatric hospitals not only for posing a threat to themselves or to others, but also for not demonstrating an ability to meet their own “basic human needs.”

“You can no longer just walk away from someone in need and just shrug your shoulders,” Vasan said, adding that frontline workers have already received new training. In a City Council hearing, it was revealed that at least 42 New Yorkers were involuntarily removed from the streets in December.

Meanwhile, Vasan said “voluntary engagement” has increased and people are being relocated to crisis centers and shelters, not just hospitals. “In and of itself, it’s not our plan,” he said of the directive from Adams, explaining that a more comprehensive plan will be announced at the end of the month.

Bottcher is a proponent of the “clubhouse model,” a work and community-oriented care method started by Hell’s Kitchen’s Fountain House, of which Vasan was formerly the president and CEO.

5G Towers

5G towers are beginning to crop up across the city—and they’re on residents’ radar. Some fear potential health-related side effects, suspecting the devices could be a source of radiation or cause balance and hearing disturbances, according to Vasan.

“The impact of 5G towers is not my area of expertise,” he cautioned, explaining that the devices are regulated by various other city agencies. “Honestly, they’re very new and frankly, we don’t have a ton of information about them,” he said.

Mpox

The mpox outbreak is over in the city, with zero new cases counted in the past several weeks, Vasan confirmed during the virtual Q+A. “Our actions and our urgency really drove the national response,” he said. “It’s a testament to public health.” More than 100,000 New Yorkers were vaccinated with over 150,000 doses, according to Vasan.

But in the summer, “social and sexual networks will reopen again,” he cautioned—so it’s still recommended that those at risk receive both doses of the vaccine if they haven’t done so already.

COVID-19

While pandemic-era precautions wind down, “the city is still committed to making tests affordable and free of charge,” Vasan said. It’s an approach that likely won’t last forever, in the wake of an announcement from the Biden administration that the COVID-19 public health emergency status will expire in May.

On the topic of a future mask mandate, Vasan explained that the initial go served its purpose. “They’re implemented at times of real emergency” he said. “We’re just at a different place now, in the pandemic. We’re no longer in an emergency.” There’s been a “steep decline” in transmission in recent weeks, he added.

On Feb. 6, Adams announced that city workers would no longer be required to be vaccinated against COVID-19, effective Feb. 10.

Opioid Crisis

After years of living with COVID-19, “people are in pain,” Vasan said—evidenced by the city’s opioid crisis. He said there’s a “rapidly shifting drug supply,” with fentanyl and xylazine causing a high percentage of fatal overdoses.

All too often, “that drug use is happening in the shadows, it’s happening on streets, in playgrounds, in single-room occupancy flats, in subway stations...because we stigmatize and push drug use so far away from each other, instead of humanizing it,” he said. “People are dying before they even get a chance to recover.”

Two new prevention centers in the city, one in East Harlem and the other in Washington Heights, provide a glimmer of hope. In one year, the sites have stopped 700 overdoses, Vasan said.

Noise Pollution

Noise pollution is also of concern to residents in Bottcher’s district, the council member said. “Chronic exposure to high levels of noise above a certain threshold...is associated with things like hearing loss, with balance issues, with chronic headaches, and of course, worsening mental health,” Vasan said.

The DOHMH doesn’t regulate the issue, according to Vasan, which usually falls under the Department of Environmental Protection or Department of Buildings’ purview. But Bottcher has taken it up as one of his own priorities, with the implementation of a sensor to enforce traffic noise limits in his district.

Smoke Shops

The legalization of mairjuana in New York has ushered in a proliferation of less-than-legal pot shops. That’s not in the DOHMH’s control—but Vasan still expressed concern about what could be lining the shelves. “Synthetic cannabinoids are very hard to regulate and can be dangerous if overused,” he said.

Rats

Since a job posting for a “rat czar” to lead the city’s charge against rodents drew attention at the end of last year, new methods for exterminating the furry pests have taken the spotlight.

Removing their food sources remains a crucial step. “Our recommendation is that you never put raw trash out on the streets, that you containerize it,” Vasan said. Bottcher backed composting as a complementary tactic.

But other possible methods at quelling the problem are more scientific; anticoagulants, birth control and sterilization could all play a part. “It can get quite gruesome, so I don’t want to gross anyone out,” Vasan said.