PHARMA LAYOFFS: Pharmaceutical company Bristol Myers Squibb plans to start laying off more than 500 workers at its office in Lawrenceville, New Jersey this week, marking the third round of cuts at the site this year, according to a notice filed with the New Jersey Department of Labor and Workforce Development. Bristol Myers Squibb has laid off more than 800 employees from its New Jersey office since January as part of a restructuring plan that aims to slash $2 billion in expenses by 2027.
MENTAL HEALTH TEAMS: The state has allocated $4.5 million to create 10 new assertive community treatment teams to provide intensive mental health services to youth in crisis, Gov. Kathy Hochul said Wednesday. The ACT teams, which operate around-the-clock, are staffed by mental health clinicians, psychiatric prescribers, peer support workers and clinical staff for young people with serious mental illnesses. The funding will create five new teams in the city, two in Long Island and three in areas north of the city to serve 360 additional young people, the governor’s office said.
FLU DEATHS: The state recorded its largest-ever number of pediatric flu-associated deaths during this year’s respiratory illness season, with 25 kids dying with the illness, State Health Commissioner James McDonald said Wednesday. Only one of the children who died received a flu vaccine and five were too young to get their shot, McDonald said, pointing to an uptick in vaccine misinformation that has led to increased hesitancy and declining immunization rates.
