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by some African states and tacit support from such countries as France and Israel, the Nigerian Federal Military Government (FMG) refused to allow the oil-rich east to secede.

An increasingly vicious war followed. The Nigerian military with its superior forces ruthlessly drove back the Biafran fighters. Appalling hardship ensued for the civilian population of Biafra: massacres were reported as the FMG’s soldiers advanced, and famine took hold after the Nigerian government blockaded Biafra and banned Red Cross aid.

The world appeared to ignore the developing humanitarian disaster leaving hundreds of thousands to die of malnutrition before Biafran resistance was ended in 1970 and its officers surrendered.

Although the secessionist rebellion was defeated, the movement has seen a revival under Kanu. Its adherents face persecution by the current Nigerian regime.

Health

Continued from page 16

immunosuppressed patient’s body—without restriction—leads to the evolution of many variants.”

This is supported by the authors of the New England Journal of Medicine article “SARS-CoV-2 Variants in Patients with Immunosuppression.” According to the authors, patients that are immunocompromised have a greater possibility of persistent SARS-CoV-2 infection, leading to the possibility of a multitude of variants. “Such patients should be prioritized for anti-COVID-19 immunization not only to protect them from SARS-CoV-2 but also to mitigate persistent SARS-CoV-2 infections.”

What can people who are immunocompromised do to protect themselves and guard against pervasive COVID-19 infections? Several things. First, as stated above, they should get vaccinated and get boosters if safe and medically indicated for them to do so. According to Dr. Torian Easterling, the first deputy commissioner and chief equity officer for the New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene, in an interview with the AmNews, “We know that the guidance has been updated” and people who are immunocompromised are now encouraged to get more than one booster shot. According to Easterling, that is “step one.” Easterling’s comments are supported by other experts regarding the ability for people who are immunocompromised to get more than one booster shot.

Second, according to Easterling, “There are treatments available…there are monoclonal antibodies that health systems do have available that can really support an individual who is immunocompromised and is affected with COVID.”

Third, if someone who is immunocompromised does test positive for COVID-19, they should talk with their healthcare provider about options and treatments. According to Easterling, “[It’s important that] individuals know where they can get tested and [check] in with their provider that in the event that they do become positive with COVID-19 that they speak with their provider about what's the right treatment for them.”

Other safeguards include: ensuring that people around the person that is immunocompromised have been recently tested for COVID-19, continuing to wear masks that are well fitting, hand-washing, and avoiding large indoor crowds.

Updates on COVID-19 prevention and treatment for individuals who are immunocompromised can be found on the NYC DOH page COVID-19: Prevention and Groups at Higher Risk: https://www1.nyc.gov/site/doh/ covid/covid-19-prevention-and-care.page

For more information regarding vaccines and boosters in New York City, please go to www1.nyc.gov/site/doh/covid/covid-19-vaccines.page. These and other resources can also be accessed on the AmNews COVID-19 page: https://amsterdamnews.com/covid/

Nnamdi Kanu (GIN)

Yankees outfielder Giancarlo Stanton is a central figure in his team’s best-of-seven ALCS series versus the Houston Astros (MLB.com photo)

By JAIME C. HARRIS AmNews Sports Editor

The Yankees season could have ended in abject disappointment after a crushing 6-5 road loss to the Cleveland Guardians on Saturday. The defeat put them down 2-1 in the best-of-five divisional series facing elimination back at Yankee Stadium for Game 4. If they ever needed Gerrit Cole to live up to the nine-year, $324 million contract he signed with the team in December of 2019, it was Sunday.

The 32-year-old, five-time All-Star, who led the American League in wins last season with 16 and all of Major League Baseball in strikeouts this season tallying 257, responded to the charge, unleashing a repertoire of pitches that shut down the Guardians batters. Cole went seven innings, striking out eight in giving up two runs. Outfielder Harrison Bader’s three-run homer in the second was enough offense to power the Yankees to a 4-2 win.

Still facing the prospect of an early playoff exit, the Yankees jumped on the Guardians early in the decisive Game 5 in the Bronx on Tuesday afternoon. Giancarlo Stanton crushed a three-run homer in the first inning and they never looked back, tacking on two more in a 5-1 victory as starter Nestor Cortes and three relievers shut down their determined but overmatched opponent to send the Yankees to the American League Division Series.

“We definitely had to throw the first punch in a game like this,” said Stanton afterwards.

There, they will take on a different beast in the Houston Astros, guided by manager Baker, who is only missing a World Series title on what is inarguably a Hall of Famer resume. This is the third time the Yankees and Astros are meeting in the ALCS in the last six years.

The Astros had the best regular season record in the AL at 106-56. The Yankees registered the second most, going 99-63. Game 1 was last night in Houston, with Justin Verlander, one of the greatest pitchers in the game’s history, and baseball’s earned run leader this season at 1.75, facing the Yankees’ Jameson Taillon, who was 14-5 with a 3.91 ERA during the regular season.

Game 2 is tonight in Houston while Games 3, 4 and 5 are scheduled to be held at Yankee Stadium Saturday, Sunday and Monday respectively.

BMCC volleyball thriving under new head coach Nia Bell

Coach Nia Bell has made BMCC volleyball a powerful presence (John Kelly Jr. photos)

By LOIS ELFMAN

Special to the AmNews

Heading into the City University of New York Athletic Conference (CUNYAC) Volleyball Championship next Monday, Borough of Manhattan Community College (BMCC) is looking to dominate. The Panthers have already secured the CUNYAC regular season title by going an undefeated 8–0 in conference play. Leading the team to success is first-year head coach, Nia Bell.

Growing up, Bell’s mother, Dr. Linda J. Bell, worked as a volleyball coach and then in athletic administration. When her mother coached, Bell often trained with the team. She spent time in the Northeast visiting her grandparents, and decided she wanted to try out New York City. “I’ve always been a country girl…so I wanted to experience something else,” said Bell, 25.

She held two assistant coaching positions prior to BMCC. “I’m very passionate about coaching and passionate about the sport in general,” Bell said. “I really wanted to share my story with younger girls and help them.”

Bell is inspired by the camaraderie on the BMCC team. Despite the many demands on the players’ time, including jobs and family obligations, they make time to be together. “Sometimes it’s hard for teams to have that bond. I love the great energy that they have and being positive about playing together,” she said.

She encourages her players to go for what they want on the court and in life with gusto just as she’s going for her goals. “I want this experience to help them in their futures,” Bell said. “I know that a lot of them want to go on to fouryear schools, so I’m showing them what it is to be at a fouryear and be a student-athlete, how much work you have to put in if you really want to play. … Some of them are not quite ready for that next level, so I’m training them for that.”

During this season BMCC has had two CUNY Player of the Week honors and four Rookie of the Week honors. Bell said sophomore outside hitter Josanne Lewis helps her teammates boost their confidence. Freshman setter Emmanuella Aurel is an all-around awesome athlete, who pushes hard in everything she does.

BMCC volleyball has been Bell’s total focus for the season. She’s been in touch with some local volleyball clubs, and she will explore club coaching once the season is done. “My biggest goal is to be CUNYAC champ,” she said. “As long as the girls improve and play to their best abilities, I’m happy.”

The Jets’ surprising 4-2 success tour heads to Denver

By VINCENT DAVIS

Special to the AmNews

It’s still too early to make a strong case for the Jets being a playoff team. But they are moving in the right direction. Trending up as they ride a three-game winning streak into Denver to face the Broncos this Sunday.

Going into Week 7, the Jets, who haven’t been Super Bowl champions since 1969, have already won the same amount of games, four, that they did all of last season. They improved to 4-2 with a 27-10 road win last Sunday over the 3-3 Green Bay Packers and the NFL’s reigning MVP, quarterback Aaron Rodgers.

The Jets are off to their best start since going 4-2 in 2015 under former head coach Todd Bowles, who is now the head coach of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, and general manager Mike Maccagnan. Secondyear head coach Robert Saleh and current GM Joe Douglas have the Jets sitting right behind the 5-1 Buffalo Bills in the AFC East race. The Miami Dolphins and New England Patriots are both 3-3.

The Jets’ and Packers’ offense struggled to score points for the first two quarters and went into halftime tied at 3-3. Jets quarterback Zach Wilson one day hopes to match the success of his boyhood idol Rodgers but didn’t resemble the future Hall of Famer in passing for just 28 yards in the first half.

“As long as I can remember playing football, I was a big fan,” said the 23-yearold Wilson. “I wouldn’t say I was a Packers fan, but I was just an Aaron Rodgers fan. I grew up watching him.”

Wilson got to watch Rodgers from the sidelines under attack from Jets defensive lineman Quinnen Williams, who consistently put pressure on the 38-year veteran. Williams had five tackles, two for losses, two sacks, three quarterback hits and a forced fumble.

“He’s playing at a different level,” said Saleh of the 24-year-old Williams, who the Jets drafted with the third overall pick in 2019. “Obviously, we’re only six games in, so he’s got to continue. We’ve got 11 more left. But [if] he keeps doing this, there’s no reason he shouldn’t make the Pro Bowl, be All-Pro and earn all the accolades he can get.”

Williams said his performance is part of a collective team effort. “It was coming in and doing our job, playing football on Sunday as a unit.” The Jets’ defense held Rodgers to just one touchdown and sacked him a total of four times.

“As a team,” added Williams, “the biggest thing for us is execution and communication week in and week out. We know our downfall is when we don’t communicate, but when we do, 100%, all 11 on the field, we’re a great defense.”

Wilson didn’t need to put up big numbers guiding the offense. He finished only 10-18 for 110 yards and no touchdowns. The offense was carried again by the running game led by sensational rookie Breece Hall. He had 116 of the Jets’ 179 yards on the ground.

“I feel like a lot of people expected that it would be a surprise if we won this game,” said Hall, “but we expected to come in and win this game.”

Resolute Giants stake their claim in the NFC East race

By JAIME C. HARRIS AmNews Sports Editor

Who saw this coming?

Surprising may not be a strong enough adjective. Shocking is a more apt characterization of the Giants’ 5-1 start to the season. They are too far out of the gate to describe their record as a fluke. The parity that permeates the NFL dictates the Giants may indeed have staying power.

Where they end up when their final regular season game on Jan. 8 versus the Eagles in Philadelphia is in the books, less than three months away, is to be determined. But today, as the Giants head into Week 7 to face the 2-4 Jacksonville Jaguars on the road, they are one of the top teams in the league.

After defeating the Baltimore Ravens 24-20 at MetLife Stadium last Sunday, the Giants, second in the NFC East, are one of only three teams with just one loss, along with the 5-1 Buffalo Bills of the AFC East and the 5-1 Minnesota Vikings of the NFC North. The 6-0 Eagles are the NFL’s lone undefeated squad. Execution, limiting mistakes and a fine attention to detail have been the most important aspects of the Giants playing as well as any team in the fourth quarter of games. They have overcome deficits of 10 points or more three times thus far.

“We just focus on the things we need to do, which is to make sure we understand what we need to do as a team, first and foremost,” said Giants head coach Brian Daboll on Monday as reported by the team’s website. “Study our opponents, go out there, practice well, put everything you have into the week leading up to the game.

“If you do that, you can live with the results,” Daboll expanded. “If you’re doing things right during the week and putting everything you have into it, your preparation and coaching staff, support staff, players, and trainers. There’s only one game a week obviously and it’s not many of these things. So, everything we’ve got each week and that’s really where we focus.”

The Giants doubled the Ravens’ points in the fourth quarter, scoring 14 to Baltimore’s seven, and pressured their dynamic quarterback Lamar Jackson into an interception by safety Julian Love with 3:04 remaining followed by rookie defensive lineman Kayvon Thibodeaux forcing a Jackson fumble at 1:40 which was recovered by fellow lineman Leonard Williams that closed out the win.

Offensively, Giants quarterback Daniel Jones was middling but effective, going 19-27 for 173 yards, the longest passes 18 yards—one apiece to wide receivers Darius Slayton and Marcus Johnson. The statistics that mattered most were Jones had two touchdowns and no interceptions.

“It’s just a tough group,” said Jones after the win. “We’ve got a competitive spirit, a competitive stamina, something Dabs has preached since he got here in the spring.

“I think guys have really taken to that and really tried to make that something we show every time we get on the field. It’s a tough, gritty group. It wasn’t perfect again today, a lot of things we can clean up and do better but found a way to win down the stretch.”

Quarterback Daniel Jones and the Giants will go into their matchup with the Jacksonville Jaguars on the road this Sunday 5-1 and in second place in the NFC East (Bill Moore photo)

St. John’s is looking to improve (Lois Elfman photos) Seton Hall wants to build on last season’s success

By LOIS ELFMAN

Special to the AmNews

Picked to finish seventh in the Big East Conference Preseason Coaches’ Poll, the players of St. John’s University are ready to hit the court and show their stuff. Fifth-year forward Rayven Peeples said she believes the Red Storm has the right pieces to be successful and the veterans will be an asset.

“We’ve worked on what’s needed to be worked on,” said fifth-year guard Kadaja Bailey, who was named to the Preseason All-Big East Team. “We try to stay focused on what we can do, what we do on the court. Basically, just staying locked in.” Sixth-year guard Mimi Reid is a transfer, choosing to utilize her COVID bonus year (she missed her freshman year due to injury) to finish out her playing days at St. John’s after playing at Ole Miss. “The teammates made me feel welcome,” said Reid, who is from the Bronx. “I’m excited to play with them.”

Senior guard Lauren Park-Lane and graduate student post player Sidney Cooks of Seton Hall University are ready to play hard and win this season. Both were named to the Preseason All-Big East Team. Coach Anthony Bozzella said Park-Lane, and improbable basketball hero due to her petite size, is one of the most competitive players he’s ever seen. Cooks said they will build on last year’s run to the title game of the post-season WNIT. “It’s a big confidence-booster,” said Cooks, who promised to bring personality, colorful hair and great lashes. “We’re trying to get everyone on board. We’ve worked really hard. The whole summer, we rarely went home. Me and Lauren wanted to stay in the gym so much. Finding that consistency so this year can be so much easier because we already know what we’re capable of. … By the time it’s my last college game, I want to be proud of myself.” Park-Lane said she’s excited about the Pirates’ depth. “We have a lot of talented players this year,” she said, giving props to freshman guard/forward Shailyn Pinkney and junior guard Amari Wright. “Of course, our transfers are very talented. Once we put it all together and we’re meshing…I feel the sky’s the limit for this team and I can’t wait.”

After three years impacted by the pandemic, Park-Lane is looking forward to a senior year with everyone healthy and no game cancellations. “Just being able to hoop with my teammates and have fun,” she said.

As always, expectations are high in the Big East

The coaches of the Big East are motivated for tough competition (Lois Elfman photos) Georgetown plans to dispel its low ranking DePaul players are ready for action

By LOIS ELFMAN

Special to the AmNews

This season marks the 41st year of NCAA women’s basketball play in the Big East Conference. At Tuesday’s basketball media day at Madison Square Garden, players and coaches spoke of their hopes and preparations for the big season ahead. As expected, University of Connecticut is the unanimous preseason favorite, but the Huskies are without Paige Bueckers, who will miss the season due to a knee injury.

Georgetown University players are pleased to embody all that a student-athlete can be. Senior forward Graceann Bennett said when she was being recruited it was important to pick a school with intense academic rigor. “Have a degree that has a lot of value after I stop playing basketball. It’s totally worth it,” said Bennett.

Junior guard Kelsey Ransom took part in the Big East’s recent Transition Game program, which gave players a glimpse of life after college. “I appreciate being at a school that prepares us for the time after basketball,” she said.

Marquette University head coach Megan Duffy said she enjoyed being back in Madison Square Garden seeing all the other coaches. “It will be an interesting year for the Big East,” said Duffy. “We have a lot of new faces. I think it’s going to be extremely competitive and you’ll see different styles of play. Our job in nonconference is go out and make some statement wins and set the tone. Once we get into conference play…we jockey for position. This year is unique because I think a lot of teams have a great opportunity to have a successful year.”

This is DePaul University head coach Doug Bruno’s 37th season. His players are ready to take in his expertise and deliver on the court. “I think this is going to be a very competitive season,” said senior guard Kierra Collier. “We’ve got a lot of newcomers, so we’re building that team chemistry to being the best team that we can be.” After three years impacted by the pandemic, Collier wants to enjoy bonding with the fans this season. “Being able to take in the full experience,” she said.

Even without Bueckers, Connecticut is strong and has height, athleticism and an intense focus on winning its 12th NCAA title. Three players—sophomore guard Caroline Ducharme, junior forward Aaliyah Edwards and sophomore guard Azzi Fudd—are all named to the Preseason All-Big East Team.