By Trenton Daniels

The New York City Council on Thursday passed a package of bills seeking to do more to educate parents about the safety and effectiveness of vaccines as immunization rates show signs of starting to dip.

The five bills aim to make it easier for schools to disseminate accurate information about vaccines to parents, as well as to require the Department of Health and Mental Hygiene to develop a plan by year’s end that will educate New Yorkers about the importance of childhood and adolescent vaccinations.

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By Elizabeth Kim

The New York City Council is flexing its oversight powers over a mental health response program that Mayor Zohran Mamdani has made a key part of his new approach to changing how the city handles 911 calls involving people in mental distress.

The Council on Thursday passed legislation requiring the Mamdani administration to submit regular performance reports on the Behavioral Health Emergency Assistance Response Division, also known as B-HEARD.

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By Maya Kaufman

The City Council unanimously passed legislation Thursday to require more comprehensive and frequent data reporting on the B-HEARD initiative, which sends specially trained emergency medics and social workers to respond to select 911 calls about a mental health crisis.

The bill would require relevant city agencies to share aggregate data every six months on mental health-related 911 calls and B-HEARD dispatches, in addition to the program’s average response time and demographic information of the individuals in crisis.

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By Bob Hennelly

The radical rollback by the Trump administration of the schedule of vaccines required for the nation’s tens of millions of children and a resurgence in measles nationally, prompted the New York City Council’s Health Committee to convene hearings this week to hear from New York City Health Commissioner Dr. Alister Martin.

WBAI carried these hearings LIVE as well as a LIVE call-in show hosted by Jenna Flanagan and Dr.

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