LIFE SCIENCE JOBS: A city-run internship program to encourage life science job growth has placed 1,000 students since it launched seven years ago, the Economic Development Corporation said Tuesday. Since 2017, the city has placed undergraduate and graduate students in paid internships at pharma and biotech companies, digital health firms, research organizations and various startups, with nearly half of those internships resulting in employment offers, the city said. The internship program is funded by Mayor Eric Adams’ $1 billion LifeSci NYC initiative, which aims to create 40,000 life science jobs in the city in the next decade.
SECONDHAND SMOKE: The state Department of Health has launched a public education campaign focused on the risk of secondhand smoke to children with asthma. Children breathing secondhand smoke are more likely to experience asthma attacks and other respiratory problems, including infections like bronchitis and pneumonia, as well as ear infections, the Health Department. Babies exposed to secondhand smoke in their first year and those whose mother smoked while pregnant are at heightened risk of sudden infant death syndrome. According to the department, 2,000 people die in New York each year due to secondhand smoke.
WTC HEALTH PROGRAM: A bipartisan group of federal lawmakers from New York plan to introduce legislation to close a projected funding shortfall for a health care program for survivors of the September 11th attacks. Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand, a Democrat, and Reps. Andrew Garbarino and Dan Goldman, a Republican and Democrat, respectively, announced they were sponsoring bills Wednesday to extend funding for the World Trade Center Health Program, which is expected to close enrollment to new participants and cut services for existing members by October 2028, according to an advisory for the announcement.
