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Vol. 112 No. 48 | December 2, 2021 - December 8, 2021
THE NEW BLACK VIEW
©2021 The Amsterdam News | $1.00 New York City
COVID ALERT
(Nayaba Arinde photo)
Impact of Omicron variant of COVID unknown, but health officials keep eye on it By STEPHON JOHNSON Amsterdam News Staff Global concern over the spread of the Omicron variant of the coronavirus has made its way to American shores with the first case confirmed in California as the San Francisco and state health departments confirmed the first case on Wednesday. Dr Anthony Fauci, director of the Na-
tional Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, told reporters that the person is fully vaccinated and has mild symptoms that are “…improving at this point.” This variant of the coronavirus was first sequenced in South Africa, and subsequently the U.S. banned all travel from South Africa (and neighboring countries) and has maintained the bans despite scientists later dis-
covering cases in Europe a week before the variant was discovered in South Africa. During a media briefing earlier this week, U.S. President Joe Biden reassured the public that the Omicron variant wasn’t anything to worry about for now. In a statement last week, the president said, “…For those not yet fully vaccinated: get vaccinated today. This
NYPD Chief of Department Rodney Harrison to retire By CYRIL JOSH BARKER Amsterdam News Staff The NYPD announced last Thursday that Chief of Department Rodney Harrison is retiring at the end of the year. A native of Jamaica, Queens, Harrison started in the NYPD in 1991 as a cadet before being sworn in as a police officer in 1992 at age
23. During his early years as an officer while working undercover, he was shot by a drug dealer and received the Departmental Combat Cross. Harrison worked his way up the ranks to chief of patrol in 2018 before being promoted to chief of detectives in 2019: becoming the first African American to hold the title. In March, he was promot-
ed to chief of department, the third African American to hold the position. Harrison oversaw CompStat, directed and coordinated recovery efforts after last year’s protests, and coordinated with community leaders to improve relationships while the ongoing COVID-19 outbreak continued to impact residents of this city. See NYPD on page 23
includes both children and adults.” For those vaccinated? “…The best way to strengthen your protection is to get a booster shot, as soon as you are eligible,” stated the president. On Monday, the president told the public, “We’re throwing everything we have at this virus, tracking it from every angle…I’m sparing no effort, removing all roadblocks to keep the See OMICRON on page 6
Holiday Time NYC!
(Bill Moore photo)
See STORY on page 8