Families will need to take extra precautions to stay safe this holiday season with variants such as Omicron spreading more easily. Vaccination, testing and masking are all key. Learn more: http://ynh.care/6180JLvqG.

The Connecticut Department of Public Health has announced the holiday hours of operation for its state-sponsored COVID-19 testing sites. Read more here: https://portal.ct.gov/DPH/Press-Room/Press-Releases---2021/DPH-Announces-Holiday-COVID-19-Testing-Hours

One million Jobs

Today, we are featuring Donasia who is our amazing intern to the Q House Advisory Board! Donasia has been a mentor for our Youth Directors and has supported the board in so many ways!  Dixwell Q House

Six grader saved classmate from choking

Mayor Justin Elicker with an important message for residents in Beaver Hills, Edgewood, and Westville about a community meeting in your area. Por

favor espere para escuchar este mensaje en espanol.

Tomorrow, November 9th at 5:30 PM I will be hosting a meet the mayor community meeting and you’re invited. The meeting will take place at Edgewood Park in the Pavilion located at the corner of Whalley and West Rock. I will be joined by representatives from city departments, such as Livable Cities Initiative, Engineering, Public Works, and Police. We invite you to join us for a conversation about your neighborhood. City staff will be on hand to answer questions and offer assistance.

I hope to see you there!

Initially, confusion stemmed from advice against vaccination for many women, said Marielle Bouyou Akotet, who leads the COVID-19 immunization plan in the central African nation of Gabon.

“As we did not know the effect of the vaccine on pregnant women, breastfeeding women and women who want to have a baby in the next six months, we recommended not to vaccinate this category,” said Bouyou Akotet, a professor at the University of Health Sciences in Libreville.

That recommendation was updated after several months, but many women in Gabon and elsewhere have still decided to skip vaccination altogether.

By KRISTA LARSON and MARIA CHENG

today

Oumie Nyassi shows a video circulating on the internet and that has been confirmed as fake news of a woman claiming she was magnetized after receiving the COVID-19 vaccine, in a doctors office at Serrekunda, Gambia hospital, Thursday Sept. 23, 2021. (AP Photo/Leo Correa)

“‘If I take this vaccine, can I still conceive?’” patients ask Mariama Sonko, an infection control specialist at the Bundung hospital. “We tell them the research says it has nothing to do with that.”

But many women listen to stories instead of research. They hear about a woman who miscarried after her vaccination, at 11 weeks, and the fear spreads, even though pregnancy losses are common in the first trimester.

“What makes me afraid is what I heard on social media,” said Binta Balde, 29, who has been married for two years and has struggled to conceive. “That if you take the shot, you will not get pregnant.”

She’s visited the local health clinic and a traditional spiritual healer, who counseled her to swallow pieces of paper with Quranic verses and to drink tea made from herbs to boost fertility.

“When you get married and go to your husband’s house, you have to have a child,” she said. “If not, he could divorce you or leave you at any time. He may say, ‘She cannot give me a child, so I should look for another.’”

The rumors about COVID-19 and fertility have been especially troublesome in predominantly Muslim countries such as Gambia and Somalia, where polygamy is common.

“For Somali women, it means a lot to them,” said Abdikadir Ore Ahmed, a health specialist with CARE. “For you to stay in a family and a marriage, it’s expected you should be able to give birth to more children. The more children you have, the more acceptance you get.”

In Gambia, husbands must give permission for their wives’ medical procedures. Most women tell health care workers they won’t get the COVID-19 vaccine unless their spouse consents. But few husbands come to prenatal visits — only about half even attend their children’s birth at the Bundung hospital.

The hospital recently held an information session for fathers, where Manneh tried to explain the vaccine’s proven effectiveness.

“All the pregnant women coming here are not getting the vaccine because the husbands haven’t given their authorization,” he told the men. “Two of them have died. We are not forcing anybody, but lots of vaccine will expire soon.”

Fatoumata Nyabally’s job as a security officer puts her at heightened risk of contracting COVID-19, and she hasn’t been vaccinated. She’s seven months pregnant, but her husband did not attend Manneh’s presentation. He’s already refused to consent for his wife’s vaccination.

So Nyabally declined the Johnson & Johnson vaccine, telling workers: “He’s the head of the family, so I have to obey him in anything we do.”

Of the 100 women approached that day at the hospital, only nine agreed to be vaccinated.

Carrying bananas for sale, a woman waits for the boat to cross the Gambia river in Bansang, Gambia, Tuesday, Sept. 28, 2021. (AP Photo/Leo Correa)

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Cheng, an AP medical writer, reported from London. AP journalists Yves Laurent Goma in Libreville, Gabon; Cara Anna in Nairobi, Kenya; and Mohamed Sheikh Nor in Mogadishu, Somalia, contributed.

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This story is part of a yearlong series on how the pandemic is impacting women in Africa, most acutely in the least developed countries. AP’s series is funded by the European Journalism Centre’s European Development Journalism Grants program, which is supported by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. AP is responsible for all content.

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Follow AP’s multiformat Africa news on Twitter: https://twitter.com/AP_Africa

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See the full series on how the pandemic is affecting women in Africa: https://apnews.com/hub/women-the-eyes-of-africa

today

TrueExclusives

#SheekLouch #Jadakiss #StylesP

After one of the most Hip-Hop Verzuz battles we have seen since its inception, Sheek Louch calls into Sway In the Morning to breakdown how the battle went, some guest appearances that would've been crazy and weighs in on where the Lox are to be remembered in hip-hop history

#SavageXCaramelCurves #SavageXFenty

#Verzuz #THELOX #DIPSET

Verzuz: Keith Sweat vs Bobby Brown

Edith Johnson Renovation 114 Bristol Street, New Haven   Beacon Communities Developer Keith Construction -CM Fall- 2021 Start Private Project

June 30, 2021- Wednesday -6:00PM

200 Orange Street- New Haven, CT. G-2  Hearing Room- (Ground Floor)

FREE PARKING- Orange/Elm Parking Lot -Pull a parking ticket - Bring it in to the security guard at 200 Orange

Receive a validation stamp on parking ticket- When exiting parking, scan barcode on parking ticket and then scan the validation sticker to receive $0 (FREE) parking –

RSVP- lsnyder@newhavenct.gov

Summer is upon us, but its not too late to sign up your child or loved one for one of our exciting Youth Summer Camps.

Earlier this year, the City of New Haven dedicated $1.5 million toward youth engagement as part of our Summer Reset Program. Those funds are helping us expand summer camps, create a counselor-in-training programs, as well as expand the options of outdoor youth activities – such as kayaking, biking, and archery.

This past year has presented a number of challenges, particularly challenges shouldered by young people. Summer camps are a great way for children to exercise their mind and body, re-connect with old friends, and make some new friends along the way.

Summer camps begin June 28^th with additional sessions starting in mid and late July. Camps are open to all kids and are available for kids 5 years of age or older.

You can find more information on how to sign up your child for summer camp online by visiting the Youth and Rec department’s page on Newhaven.gov or by calling (203) 946-7582