Senator Serino Calls for Budget Funding, Works to Raise Awareness
Early this month, Senator Sue Serino brought lawmakers, researchers, and advocatess from across NY state together (via virtual press) to put a spotlight on the need to invest in research, education and prevention initiatives for Lyme and tick-borne diseases (TBDs). The coalition is aimig NY state to commit at least $1.5 million to the cause in the state budget. Senator Serino mentioned that after years of fighting for acknowledgement, the CDC has recently updated its reporting and now estimates that approx. 476,000 Americans are diagnosed and treated for Lyme disease each year. This is a significant increase from their previous estimate of approximately 300,000 per year. Senator Serino said “Funding for public health has never been more important, and that includes taking the necessary steps to protect New Yorkers against Lyme and tick-borne disseases…With New Yorkerss hitting our parks and traillss in droves and a need to prevent exposure to any illnesses that may have similar symptoms to COVID-19, now more than every, we need to be doing all that we can to ensure that combating the sprad of Lyme and TBDs remains a top priority.” Learn more about the conference from the press release
here.