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	On Wednesday, Gov.&nbsp;Kathy Hochul announced masks are no longer required on the Long Island Rail Road and other transit systems in New York.
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A lot has changed in the three years since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic. For those who lost loved ones and for those who have lingering effects from the virus, life seems to have stood still. NewsdayTV's Shari Einhorn reports.

COVID on LI: Three years later 

Memorial Presbyterian Church in Roosevelt had to adapt to the decrease in in-person membership due to the pandemic. Nearly three years later, the church still offers virtual services. 

'Maybe the church didn't need to be in the four walls'

Long Island parents who have children with underlying conditions speak about the pandemic and "tripledemic" and how it affects them. 

Doctors warn about 'tripledemic' for children with underlying conditions

Timothy Heaton, a former Suffolk County correction officer who spent more than five months hospitalized battling COVID-19, was given his retirement shield by Suffolk County Sheriff Errol Toulon Jr. Thursday, Jan. 5, 2023. Toulon Jr. 

A second chance at the rest of his life

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Answers could lie in differences in how men's and women's immune systems react to viruses and function generally, experts say.

Long COVID more prevalent in women, survey shows

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Officials were forced to incinerate pallets of masks, gowns and face shields ruined by weather exposure, according to the state.

NY veterans home wasted up to $1.6M of PPE, report says

Newsday asked four medical experts to weigh in on questions surrounding the virus and holiday get-togethers.

Will holiday gatherings bring new cases of COVID-19?

"I wouldn't recommend something I wouldn't recommend for my own parents, for my own daughters," Dr. Mandy Cohen said after a tour of Nassau University Medical Center.

In return to Nassau, CDC director urges flu, COVID, RSV vaccinations

Vaccine fatigue, less concern about getting infected, supply issues and the politicization of the pandemic contribute to lower interest, experts said.

Muted interest in region for latest COVID vaccine, poll shows

Scientists long have been perplexed about why young children are among those least likely to get severe COVID-19, even though they are more vulnerable to serious illness from other viruses like the flu and RSV.

Why are children spared from severe COVID illness?

Two Suffolk County residents were arrested on felony charges Thursday for fraudulently obtaining COVID-19 Economic Injury Disaster Loans from the federal government, the Suffolk County District Attorney's Office said.

Two charged with engaging in alleged pandemic relief fraud, Suffolk DA says

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State health and education officials are urging people to wear masks indoors as COVID-19, flu and RSV infections increase on Long Island. Newsday TVs Steve Langford reports. 

LIers speak out on masking recommendation

Opera Night Long Island, an open-mic event that brings together talented singers with different repertoire and styles, has returned to St. Paul's United Methodist Church in Northport after a pandemic hiatus. Singers hail the event as a way to help keep music alive for the community.

LI opera lovers keep music alive at open mic night in Northport

The executive director of the Southampton Animal Shelter of Hampton Bays, Pat Deshong, discusses the effects of the COVID boom in pet adoptions years later, and how it is now impacting that animal shelter and others.

COVID boom in pet adoptions

Patrice Piretti, 63, from Huntington Station, worked as a nurse and then a nurse leader at two Northwell Health hospitals, but then had to leave her job because Long COVID prevented her from working successfully. NewsdayTV's Shari Einhorn reports.

The new normal means figuring out life with Long COVID

On Wednesday, Gov. Kathy Hochul announced masks are no longer required on the Long Island Rail Road and other transit systems in New York.

Summer is winding down and kids are preparing to return to school. NewsdayTV's Shari Einhorn reports.

Kids look forward to returning to school minus COVID-19 restrictions

"The days of sending an entire classroom home because one person was symptomatic or tests positive, those days are over," Gov. Kathy Hochul said Monday.

Hochul announces new COVID-19 requirements for schools 

Meter parking fees in Babylon Village were increased Monday from a quarter for two hours to a quarter for one hour. The parking fee increases, among others, were a result of money lost due to the pandemic. Newsday TV's Cecilia Dowd reports.

Parking and other fees going up in Babylon Village

Patients who test positive for COVID-19 can get the antiviral oral medication Paxlovid from the vaxmobile, a partnership between Mt. Sinai South Nassau and the town of Hempstead..

First COVID-19 'Test and Treat' vaxmobile hits LI streets

Gov. Kathy Hochul on Wednesday said children will not be required to wear masks in school when classes resume in the fall, but that could change depending on virus numbers.

Hochul: Masks not required to start school

Local doctors discuss possible side effects for kids six months to five years old, whether newly approved vaccines protect against newer strains of the virus and more.

What parents should know about COVID vaccines for young children

Children under 5 years old are eligible to be vaccinated against COVID-19 after recent approval from federal authorities.