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Across the East End, the threat of further crackdowns by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement teams is concerning to the region's agricultural businesses. Many are now preparing for more intense work schedules as spring approaches, in greenhouses, in the fields and at farm stands. Mark Harrington reports in NEWSDAY that the isolated crackdowns across Long Island are playing out against higher-profile campaigns targeting migrant workers across the country with the toll on workforces becoming more evident as the Trump administration deportation efforts enter their second year.

At family-owned Pindar Vineyards in Peconic, the work continued through winter, and pruning must get done in advance of budbreak on the vines that takes place in April and May. Pindar, as of early March still had 50 acres to prune. Pindar had two of its workers apprehended by I.C.E. last month in Greenport and they have not returned.

"Of course, we’re very concerned," said Bill Zalakar, executive director of the Long Island Farm Bureau, noting that many farms are just now beginning to ramp up spring work schedules. Zalakar, former general manager for a large greenhouse grower on Long Island, knows the importance of a seasonal workforce, the pressures of losing workers and facing the uncertainty of a workforce shortage.

The Farm Bureau estimates that upward of 65% of the Long Island agriculture and related workforces are seasonal migrants, a force that Zalakar said numbers as many as 2,000 people. Pay for the workers starts at the minimum wage of $17, he said, but the more experienced can make $20 to $25 or more an hour.

Pindar Vineyards General Manager Pindar Damianos told NEWSDAY that the most frustrating part of all is that the workers, many from Guatemala, are extremely good at their work, are paid a fair wage and there is no one else to do it.

"I don’t think we’ve ever had an American work in the vineyard," he said, certainly not a local high-schooler seeking employment.”

Anthony Sannino, who heads the family-owned Sannino Vineyards in Cutchogue, has had three workers pruning through the winter, with breaks for the weather, and he’s been looking for two more as the work opens up. He hasn’t been impacted by enforcement actions.

"None of my guys are concerned," he said.

Sannino said he’s on the Southold Town Agriculture Advisory Committee and thus far hasn’t heard of a labor shortage impacting farmers.

Zalakar, of the farm bureau, said farmers and their advocates are walking a very fine line. "We're all cautious with what we'll say because right now they haven't really targeted the local farms. What we’re faced with is if we start screaming about this, they could easily turn around" and target the farm industry’s seasonal workforce.

Zalakar said he holds onto the hope that the federal government will "separate out the agriculture reform process and don’t lump it in with everything else because there are so many variables."

"We're all on board with immigration reform," he said. "We all realize it's such a large controversial issue, but the agriculture industry is so reliant on immigrants and workers that we'd hope that the federal government would pull out the agriculture aspect and work on it separately to help the industry." Zalakar added, "It’s still a little bit early...you’ll see a lot happen in the next 30 days. Most greenhouses are just ramping up now, but most of the workforce really starts toward the end of March."

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The pharmaceutical companies testing out a new Lyme disease vaccine said yesterday they plan to seek approvals from the federal government even though the latest clinical trial results were not as successful as they had hoped. Lisa L. Colangelo reports in NEWSDAY that Long Island, with its large tick population, has been a hot spot for Lyme disease, the most common tick-borne illness in the nation. Suffolk County had the highest number of Lyme disease cases in New York State in 2024.

This is the first time in more than a decade that a Lyme disease vaccine could be rolled out to the public. The vaccine was developed by Manhattan-based Pfizer Inc. and Valneva SE, which is based in France. It is designed for people 5 years old and up.

The companies said the vaccine was 73% effective in reducing the rate of Lyme disease 28 days after the fourth dose and 75% effective in reducing that rate one day after the fourth dose.

But in a statement, Pfizer said “fewer than anticipated" Lyme disease cases were reported over the study period and a statistical criterion was not met.

Instead of hitting their goal of showing the vaccine had a 95% to 20% “confidence interval,” or effective rate, it resulted in 95% to almost 16%.

Pfizer said other trials have met the 20% threshold and it is “confident in the vaccine’s potential and is planning submissions to regulatory authorities.”

Lyme disease is caused by the bite of an infected blacklegged tick. Not all blacklegged ticks carry the disease, which results in a bacterial infection. Symptoms include fever, headache, fatigue and a rash that sometimes takes the form of a bullseye.

If caught in time, it can be treated with antibiotics.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said over 89,000 cases of Lyme disease were reported in 2023, the most recent numbers available. They said some estimates show the actual number of people diagnosed and treated may be closer to 476,000.

In New York State, 21,632 cases of Lyme disease were reported in 2024. The highest number of cases was found in Suffolk, with 3,152. Nassau reported 521 cases.

Dr. Andrew Handel, a pediatric infectious disease specialist at Stony Brook Children’s Hospital who has a focus on tick-borne illnesses said it may not be clear how effective the vaccine is until there are larger studies or it comes to market and people start using it.

Awareness and reporting of Lyme disease have grown significantly recently. In December, U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. pledged to focus federal attention and resources on the disease. During his 2025 confirmation hearings, Kennedy said he would work hard for treatments or vaccines for Lyme disease.