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New COVID Variant Sends NYC Case Rates Soaring; Hospitalizations High – NBC New York

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What to Know

  • You’ve probably heard about the XBB.1.5 variant; it’s the latest “most transmissible COVID variant yet” and appears to be better at binding to human cells, which may make it more adept at infecting
  • There’s no evidence at this point that the strain, a combination of two prior omicron subvariants, is more lethal or more likely to cause COVID complications, but as a top White House official said last week, if you haven’t been vaccinated or infected lately, your protection probably isn’t so good
  • Nowhere is XBB.1.5 more prevalent than in the northeastern United States, according to the CDC — and rolling hospitalization and death rates, along with cases, are climbing accordingly

COVID-19 hospitalizations in New York and New Jersey have soared to 11-month highs as the most transmissible variant yet, a combination of two prior omicron strains, fuels yet another infection wave nearly three full years into the pandemic, the latest federal health data show.

Deaths are also climbing, with weekly fatality reports for both states currently at their highest levels since early last year, according to the CDC. In New York City, the rolling COVID fatality average is the highest it’s been since February 2022, while rolling hospitalizations are at a height not seen since the downswing of the initial omicron wave.

CDC COVID guidelines say face masks should be worn across the board in New York City, Long Island and much of the Hudson Valley, given the high spread rate. And the entire state of New Jersey is at the agency’s highest risk level, its latest data shows. While elected officials and their health departments have advised people to follow those guidelines, especially if they’re more vulnerable in terms of age or underlying conditions, no new mandates have been issued.

CDC

COVID community levels in NY


CDC

COVID community levels in NJ

And no new mandates are expected, either, at this point in the pandemic.

New York Gov. Kathy Hochul and New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy, both of them Democrats, are each set to deliver their State of the State addresses on Tuesday. It remains to be seen whether the ongoing COVID response will once again play a feature role in those speeches. Given these charts, the odds are fairly likely.

NEW YORK STATE COVID TRENDS (via CDC)

HOSPITALIZATIONS



CDC

CASES AND DEATHS


CDC

COVID cases and deaths in New York via CDC

Last week, New York state’s Department of Health announced the XBB.1.5 variant is far and away the most dominant strain locally, accounting for more than 50% of statewide infections. That share is likely considerably higher, given the relatively low proportion of positive tests that undergo the exhaustive genetic sequencing process to isolate variants.

The same can be said for New Jersey, where the 38.4% share of sequences cases tied to XBB.1.5 reflects data not updated since mid-December. In New York City, where data also lags, XBB.1.5’s prevalence is likely well above the 68% share that the health department last updated on Christmas Eve.

NEW JERSEY COVID TRENDS


CDC

New Jersey COVID hospitalization trends


CDC

New Jersey COVID case and death trends

The latest CDC data suggests that XBB.1.5 is spreading in the northeastern United States at a much higher rate than the rest of the country, accounting for up to 81% of cases in the region comprising New York and New Jersey compared with a 43% high estimate for the nation.

While there is “not yet clear evidence,” according to New York state, that XBB.1.5 significantly affects COVID’s virulence or disease severity, early data does indicate it is more infectious than other circulating variants. The fact it has emerged at a time when both COVID and flu cases remain high is further cause for heightened caution, it says.

New York City positivity rates are bearing out the transmissibility concerns, with more than a third of neighborhoods across the five boroughs seeing those numbers in excess of 20% — and some spots topping 30% positivity.

NYC COVID VARIANT AND HOSPITALIZATION DATA


NYC

This chart represents COVID variants in NYC. The top line is XBB.1.5.


NYC Health Department

NYC COVID hospitalization trends

Omicron is still classified as a variant of concern according to the CDC and the World Health Organization. That strain, which first emerged in South Africa in November 2021, though likely was there earlier, is the only variant of concern currently in circulation, according to WHO.

To be a variant of concern, WHO says a strain must be associated with one or more of the following changes at a degree of global significance:

  • Increase in transmissibility or detrimental change in COVID-19 epidemiology; OR
  • Increase in virulence or change in clinical disease presentation; OR
  • Decrease in effectiveness of public health and social measures or available diagnostics, vaccines, therapeutics

The CDC said the new COVID-19 variant is responsible for 75% of new cases.

Given their level of infectiousness and ongoing mutation, WHO advises each omicron descendant be monitored distinctly. That’s what officials in New York and New Jersey continue to do as they plead with the public to double down on the mitigation factors that have proven to work since the onset of the pandemic, from hand-washing and staying home when sick to vaccination, masking up in crowded areas and getting tested regularly.

Hochul continues to urge New Yorkers — and so does the White House — to get their updated bivalent booster shots if they haven’t already (see vaccine data). The head of the White House Task Force on COVID recently underscored the point, saying if you haven’t been infected lately or had that booster, you’re likely not protected from XBB.1.5.

Overall, experts say that healthy, vaccinated people still are at much lower risk for COVID complications than immunocompromised or un- and undervaccinated people.

As Hochul said in her latest COVID update, “I urge everyone to remain vigilant and continue to use all available tools to keep themselves, their loved ones and their communities safe and healthy. Stay up to date on vaccine doses, and test before gatherings or travel. If you test positive, talk to your doctor about potential treatment options.”

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Study Finds Hemp Compounds Prevent Coronavirus Infection – NBC New York

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Some of the compounds in cannabis may prevent the entry of the coronavirus into healthy human cells, according to a study published in the Journal of Nature Products. 

The research was conducted at Oregon State University and led by Richard van Breemen, a scientist with Oregon State’s Global Hemp Innovation Center, College of Pharmacy, and Linus Pauling Institute.

The study suggests two compounds found in commonly found in hemp — cannabigerolic and cannabidiolic acid — prevent coronavirus from entering cells that typically line internal organs and skin in a lab setting.

In the study, these acids were able to bind to the SARS-CoV-2 spike protein — the same target used in COVID-19 vaccines and antibody therapy. Once bound, this step could block a critical step in the pathogen process used to infect the cell.

“That means cell entry inhibitors, like the acids from hemp, could be used to prevent SARS-CoV-2 infection and also to shorten infections by preventing virus particles from infecting human cells. They bind to the spike proteins so those proteins can’t bind to the ACE2 enzyme, which is abundant on the outer membrane of endothelial cells in the lungs and other organs,” said van Breemen in a statement.

Both cannabis compounds were found equally effective against the SARS-CoV-2 alpha and beta variants.

Van Breemen hopes this trend seen in his findings will apply to other existing and future COVID-19 variants.

Hemp, part of the species Cannabis sativa, is one of the cannabis species grown for industrial and medicinal use, including in dietary supplements, animal feed, and cosmetics.

Van Breemen states these compounds can be taken orally. To him, they have the potential to prevent and treat infection by SARS-CoV-2.

“CBDA and CBGA are produced by the hemp plant as precursors to CBD and CBG, which are familiar to many consumers. However, they are different from the acids and are not contained in hemp products,” van Breeman noted.

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Omicron Breakthrough Infections Stoke NYC Shutdown Fears – NBC New York

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Almost exactly one month after Mayor Bill de Blasio triumphantly announced tens of thousands of fully vaccinated people could return to Times Square to celebrate New Year’s Eve in person this year, the state saw it’s highest single-day reporting of new COVID infections.

The previous record, set 11 months ago on Jan. 14, crumbled when Gov. Kathy Hochul announced 21,027 new positive cases statewide Friday. The old record for most cases in a single day was 19,942. New York reported close to the same number of tests taken last Friday, but of that batch (over 260,000), there were 10,000 less positive cases one week ago.

In an effort to combat rising cases of either variant, the state is rushing to acquire millions of at-home tests for New Yorkers living in communities with lower vaccine rates. On CNN Friday, the governor confirmed 1 million cases were already in hand with another 2 million on the way.

The unprecedented omicron-fueled COVID surge enveloping the former epicenter of the pandemic now has the mayor willing to reconsider the end of year festivities. However the mayor decides to handle the event, Hochul said it’s a decision best left up to the localities and that de Blasio will “make the right decision.”

Asked about the planned end-of-year bash Thursday night on CNN, de Blasio said the party is on for now but that could change at some point if the data warrants it.

“We made the decision a few weeks back when things were much better. But we said vaccinated people only,” the Democrat said. “Everyone’s been told for weeks and weeks, don’t even show up in Times Square unless you’re vaccinated.”

“Now we’re going to reassess constantly with the new information. We’re going to follow the data and the science,” he added. “Right now, it’s on. You know, we’ll make a decision as we go, get closer as to what should finally happen.”

While that full vaccination requirement is what fueled de Blasio’s confidence in a safe, jam-packed Crossroads of the World to close out 2021, a growing number of people who planned to go may be wondering if it is still enough.

The omicron COVID variant is a growing cause of concern during the holiday season as New Yorkers anticipate travel and group events, but should we cancel plans? Here’s what several experts suggest. News 4’s Linda Gaudino reports.

A day ago, the mayor’s top health adviser, Dr. Jay Varma, tweeted, “Um, we’ve never seen this before in #NYC” regarding COVID positivity rates. The share of people testing positive doubled in three days this week, and Varma said it was an indication of omicron evading immunity in a way no other variant had before.

The city’s rolling daily case average is up almost 57% over the rolling averages for the previous four weeks and COVID hospitalizations are up nearly 31%. Delta is the variant believed to be fueling the spike in more severe cases, while omicron is thought to be behind the surge in infections. Both are called “variants of concern.”

The latter accounts for only 1% of tested COVID samples in New York City currently, though its prevalence is likely far higher. Delta remains dominant (97%), but experts expect omicron to overtake it as the dominant U.S. strain in a matter of weeks.

The city does not report how many of the new cases are breakthrough infections. They are still believed to be a very small fraction of new COVID cases, and a minute fraction of new hospitalizations, but both of those fractions have been steadily rising since the emergence of omicron in November, state data shows.

New Daily Cases Over Time by Vaccination Status

New Daily Hospital Admissions Over Time by Vaccination Status


The anecdotal evidence is there, too. Breakthrough infections have rattled New York City’s entertainment industry resurgence to its core, with the Rockettes becoming the latest casualty Friday.

A range of Broadway shows, from “Hamilton,” to “Moulin Rouge” to “Mrs. Doubtfire” and others, are canceling performances for the same reason. In some cases, the breakthrough cases in the companies are discovered so late and unexpectedly that audiences are in their seats when they learn the show will not go on.

While the first U.S. omicron case was only confirmed 16 days ago, health officials believe it was in America — and New York, which is detecting it at four times the rate of the rest of the country, the CDC said this week — well before that.

About 75% of the first 40 U.S. confirmed omicron cases were breakthrough infections, CDC Director Dr. Rochelle Walensky has said.

Still, she and other leading health experts, including Dr. Anthony Fauci, say the vast majority of those cases are mild and the existing vaccines are still overwhelmingly effective at preventing severe COVID-related illness and death. De Blasio agrees.

“If someone’s vaccinated, particularly if they have gotten that booster, they’re a hell a lot safer,” de Blasio said on CNN. “They still might get COVID. I might get COVID. You might get COVID. But we’re going to live through it. We probably don’t end up in a hospital, which is not only good for you and me, it’s good for the whole society.”

“COVID has taught us a lesson. It changes all the time. So, the reason you want to be extra careful is because you don’t know what the next curve ball’s going to be,” he added — and of omicron said, “This is a whole new animal and we got to be honest about the fact that it’s moving very fast and we have to move faster.”

Dr. Anthony Fauci said Wednesday that new data show booster shots of COVID-19 vaccines offer protection against the omicron variant and there is no current need to reformulate shots for variant-specific boosters.

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Study: Omicron could be more transmissible due to sharing genetic material with common cold

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The omicron variant may have evolved from the virus associated with the common cold, researchers out of Cambridge, Mass., said in a preliminary study released Friday, which suggests the variant could be much more transmissible than previously thought.

Nference, a biomedical company, released data revealing that omicron shares similar genetic material to HCoV-229E, a human coronavirus that causes common cold symptoms. Researchers posit that omicron evolved from an individual who was “co-infected” with Sars-CoV-2 and HCoV-229E.

The authors of the study found both viruses inside gastrointestinal and respiratory tissues of infected individuals. They wrote that “genomic interplay,” or the exchange of genetic material, could have led to omicron’s emergence. No other Sars-coV-2 variants have similar cross-genetic material with HCoV-229E.

Nference also compared omicron’s genetic material to other Sars-CoV-2 variants, including the highly transmissible and dominant delta variant. They found omicron hosts 26 mutations distinct to the variant.

Omicron first appeared in South Africa on Nov. 24 before it spread to more than two dozen countries on six continents, including the U.S., in roughly a week.

The variant has not yet been declared more deadly or more transmissible by the World Health Organization or the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, but its spread — much faster than delta — has alarmed the world and public health experts. The U.S. is among a number of countries restricting travel from multiple southern African countries.

South Africa, which had seen a lull before omicron was detected, saw cases jump from roughly 2,000 daily on Thanksgiving to more than 11,000 daily on Thursday.

Anthony FauciAnthony FauciThree omicron cases of COVID-19 identified in Maryland: Gov. Hogan FDA eyes rapid review for omicron vaccines, drugs: report Fauci calls out Fox News for letting host compare him to Nazi doctor: ‘Astounded’ MORE, the director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, said during a press conference on Wednesday that omicron’s deadliness and transmissibility, as well as the ability of vaccines to combat it, are still unclear. 

“We’re going to get that information,” he added. “We’re going to get a lot more information.”



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NYC COVID Transmission, Hospitalization Rates Ease as Delta Drives 97% of New Cases – NBC New York

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What to Know

  • The delta variant now accounts for 97% of all NYC samples tested in the last four weeks, though for the second straight week, transmission rates appear to be easing, new health data released Friday shows
  • All five counties of NYC are still considered high transmission rate areas by the CDC, but hospitalization rates are declining in all five boroughs and transmission rates are down in three of the five
  • The picture nationally is grimmer: the U.S. reported more than 2,000 daily COVID deaths (2,152) on Thursday for the first time since early March, marking a five-month high, according to NBC News data

The highly contagious delta variant continues to spread through New York City, now accounting for 97% of all positive samples tested — but for the second straight week, transmission rates are easing, a sign the latest wave may be turning the corner. The national picture, though, remains grimmer.

Transmission rates citywide are down 7% since last week, while the rolling daily case average is stable. The rolling hospitalization average is down 14% compared with the average for the four weeks prior, perhaps the strongest indication yet that the five boroughs may be emerging from the weeks-long delta-fueled spike.

Death rates are increasing slightly, according to the city’s latest data, but fatalities are a lagging indicator. As New Yorkers saw painfully in the spring of 2020 and to a lesser degree in the winter wave, before vaccinations rollout out, death rates continue to rise well after new daily cases level off.

The fact that hospitalizations are now declining is strong hope that recent increases in daily deaths will soon level off, too.

All five boroughs of New York City are still considered “high transmission” areas by the CDC, meaning they have at least 100 new daily cases per 100,000 residents, but CDC data shows hospitalizations rates for all five boroughs are down by double-digit percentage points over the last seven days.

Transmission rates are declining in three of the five boroughs. Over the last seven days, they’re down 16.7% in Manhattan, 8.3% in Queens and 13.2% in Staten Island, CDC shows. They’re up marginally in Brooklyn (0.23%) and more so in the Bronx (3.96%), viral spread likely linked to cases in low vaccination rate areas.

For New York City, the one-time epicenter of the pandemic, the delta surge may have peaked. Nationwide, it’s a different picture.

Dr. Jennifer Haythe, an assistant professor of Medicine in the Division of Cardiology at Columbia, answers your questions about COVID-19 and going back to school.

More than 92% of all U.S. counties fall into that “high transmission” rate category, an increase of 5.6% over the last seven days, according to the CDC. Another 4.16% of U.S. counties are considered “substantial transmission” rate areas. Under CDC guidance, that means universal indoor mask-wearing is still recommended for more than 96% of all counties in America regardless of vaccination status.

Lower vaccination rate states like Texas and Kentucky are still seeing COVID hospitalizations soar amid a rising toll on children.

On Thursday, the U.S. reported more than 2,000 daily COVID deaths for the first time since early March, according to NBC News data. At least 2,152 deaths were reported on Thursday. The last time the daily U.S. toll topped 2,000 was on March 5, with 2,235 lives lost due to COVID-19, data shows.

The U.S. is projected to see nearly 100,000 more COVID-19 deaths between now and Dec. 1, according to the nation’s most closely watched forecasting model. But health experts say that toll could be cut in half with some changes in behavior.

Vaccination rates as reported to the CDC have been steadily climbing since mid-July, when officials at all levels of government pleaded with the non-immunized to get vaccinated, citing the delta threat. That variant has been linked to more severe outcomes and deaths, especially among the unvaccinated, and accounts for nearly 99% of all samples tested by the CDC in the latest two-week period.

Vaccination efforts appear do appear to be working, also thanks in part to new measures increasingly closing daily life to the unvaccinated. The number of doses administered daily in New York doubled this month compared with July, but doctors say it will take several weeks for the latest spike in hospitalizations to level off.

New data released by New York City this week suggests vaccines are highly effective at preventing COVID infection and even more infective at preventing severe illness and death. A study put out by the Department of Health found .33% of new COVID cases in the city between Jan. 17 and Aug. 7 were breakthrough infections, meaning people who had been fully vaccinated contracted the virus, though that study considered months of data logged before the delta variant had a stranglehold on the city.

When NBC 4 New York asked Mayor Bill de Blasio if the data was too skewed to pre-delta conditions and therefore misleading, he said, “it is abundantly clear that unvaccinated people are in real danger and vaccinated people protected. We’ve got to keep showing people those facts.”

City health officials noted, “the most recent data show the crude case rate for unvaccinated people remains 3.1 times higher than it is for fully vaccinated people.”

The study also found unvaccinated people were 13 times more likely to be hospitalized with COVID than those who have been fully vaccinated.

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NYC Now ‘High Transmission’ COVID Area as Delta Tops 80% of All Strains – NBC New York

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What to Know

  • The delta variant has been found in 83% of positive NYC samples studied, up from 72% in the health department’s last report and 57% the week prior
  • That strain is now the dominant one in New Jersey as well
  • Existing vaccines have proven effective protection against the variant, though the government and vaccine makers now say booster shots will be necessary soon

The highly transmissible delta variant continues to burn through New York City, now accounting for 83% of all positive samples — and every key indicator in the city is moving in the wrong direction.

The situation is deteriorating so quickly, in fact, that as of Friday, all five boroughs of the city now meet the CDC guidelines to be considered “high transmission” areas where extra precautions should be taken, including universal indoor masking.

New confirmed plus probable cases are up 25% in the city versus a week prior, and up 70% versus two weeks prior. The seven-day rolling averages for positive tests in general, positive tests as a percentage of all tests, hospitalizations and deaths are all higher than the 28-day averages, suggesting a steepening curve.

To be sure, there are some faint signs of optimism — the daily new case totals did finally drop a bit this week after weeks of unabated increases. Vaccinations are on the rise too, spurred by the city’s offer of $100 for every first dose, as well as new measures increasingly closing daily life to the unvaccinated.

But the fight against the delta variant isn’t anywhere close to over, it’s only just beginning, as Mayor Bill de Blasio and other city leaders have made clear.

An unreleased CDC presentation, obtained by NBC News, underlines the rising severity of the situation — an estimated 35,000 symptomatic infections a week nationwide among those who are already fully vaccinated.

(Even so, the unvaccinated are still eight times more likely to get infected, and 25 times more likely to be hospitalized or die, the CDC has said.)

New York will require all state employees to get vaccinated against the coronavirus by Labor Day or undergo weekly COVID-19 testing. Gov. Andrew Cuomo announced the policy Wednesday in a Zoom call. NBC New York’s Adam Harding reports.

As of Friday, the delta variant that first devastated India before spreading globally — and is thought to be up to far more contagious than that first widely tracked alpha variant — accounts for 83% of citywide samples tested in the last four weeks, according to the latest weekly data from the city’s health department.

It took only 14 days for delta to vault from the fourth most common COVID strain in the city to the first, overtaking first the so-called New York City strain that initially emerged in Washington Heights before spreading elsewhere, as well as other fast-spreading variants that first emerged in the UK and Brazil. Those latter two “variants of concern” now account for less than 10% of new city cases.

As delta spreads, worsening what the CDC has called a “pandemic of the unvaccinated,” almost all of the key metrics are worsening in New York City — still absolutely nowhere near the city’s darkest days, but rising nonetheless.

Over the last two weeks, the percentage of people getting tested who test positive for the virus has almost doubled, and now stands at nearly 3.3%.

Pandemic of the Unvaccinated

Delta, the variant that was first found in India and is now in at least 104 countries, has dramatically increased its prevalence across the U.S. over the last month, accounting now for well more than 80% of tested samples, according to the CDC.

Scientific evidence has shown delta spreads far more easily than earlier strains of the virus and causes more severe outcomes for those infected, prompting renewed pushes at all levels of government to get people vaccinated if they haven’t been.

Officials now believe the delta variant may be more contagious than a common cold and just as contagious as the chickenpox — well known to generations of parents as one of life’s most catchable viruses.

Vaccinated people infected with delta may have the same viral load as an infected unvaccinated person, and be just as contagious, the CDC says.

The World Health Organization, which has called it the “fastest and fittest” variant yet, expects it to become the dominant strain globally.

Given the relatively minute subset of positive samples sequenced to assess potential strain variations, both CDC and local experts believe the prevalence of delta, which is classified as a variant of concern, to be much higher than reported.

The Delta variant of COVID-19 is in New York City – and Staten Island is seeing a higher caseload than any other part of the city. Chris Glorioso talks with health officials about the issue.

The variant is being blamed for a surge in cases across the United States that has seen daily confirmed new cases rise six-fold since July 1 — now more than 120,000 people a day testing positive nationwide, back to levels last seen in early March. While hospitalizations and daily deaths remain comparably low, those are lagging indicators and may rise as delta spreads in unvaccinated areas.

The latest data from the CDC shows they already are on the increase.

“There is a message that is crystal clear: this is becoming a pandemic of the unvaccinated,” CDC Director Rochelle Walensky said recently. “We are seeing outbreaks of cases in parts of the country that have low vaccination coverage because unvaccinated people are at risk.”

The White House says the Biden administration believes cases will continue to increase in the weeks ahead because of viral spread within low vaccination rate communities.

As the “hypertransmissable” Delta variant surges in communities across the U.S., CDC director Dr. Rochelle Walensky issued a stark warning to those who remain unvaccinated against the coronavirus, saying, “Our biggest concern is that we’re going to see preventable cases, hospitalizations and sadly, deaths among the unvaccinated.”

Existing vaccines are expected to protect people against delta and other variants of concern that have emerged, but with less than 60% fully immunized, delta’s heightened transmissibility and associated risk has renewed concerns.

The situation is so urgent that New York City will now pay unvaccinated people $100 to get their first dose at a city-run site. As of mid-September, vaccines will be required to dine indoors, work out at a gym or attend any sort of indoor entertainment.

The city has also expanded its referral bonus program for local nonprofits and focused acutely on driving private practicing doctors to encourage their patients who haven’t yet gotten vaccinated, for whatever reason, to get dosed now.

Now is an opportunity to sustain the city’s progress against COVID-19, de Blasio says, and leverage existing vaccine effectiveness to curtail delta’s spread.

Statewide, new daily COVID counts are closer to 3,000 the last few days than the roughly 300 to 400 the state was reporting in early July. Daily deaths, for now, have reminded low.

Not sure how the process works? Check out our handy tri-state vaccine site finder and FAQs here

New York City and New Jersey Vaccine Providers

Click on each provider to find more information on scheduling appointments for the COVID-19 Vaccine.

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New NYC COVID-19 Case Average Soars 62% as Delta Becomes Dominant Strainficials Push Vaccination – NBC New York

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What to Know

  • The delta variant has been found in 41% of positive NYC samples studied, up from 26% in the health department’s last report; the week before that, delta was found in 17.1% of samples tested
  • That strain is now the dominant one in New Jersey as well, accounting for 40.7% of samples sequenced in the last four weeks, up from 26.8% a week ago and 7.3% two weeks before that.
  • Existing vaccines have proven effective protection against the variant; virtually all new COVID deaths and hospitalizations are among unvaccinated people, officials at all levels of government say

The highly transmissible delta variant is now the most dominant COVID-19 strain in New York City, soaring from about a quarter of tested positive samples to more than 40% in a week as the five boroughs’ rolling seven-day case average surged 62%, according to new health department data out Friday.

As of Friday, the delta variant that first devastated India before spreading globally — and is thought to be up to 60% more contagious than that first widely tracked alpha variant — accounts for 41% of citywide samples tested in the last four weeks.

That’s up from 26% in the city’s variant report a week ago and up from 4.9% in about six weeks, a rise reflective of a national trend that saw delta emerge as America’s most dominant COVID variant last week.

It took only 14 days for delta to vault from the fourth most common COVID strain in the city to the first, overtaking first the so-called New York City strain that initially emerged in Washington Heights before spreading elsewhere, B.1.526, then gamma, formerly known as the Brazilian strain, P.1 and now alpha.


Handout

Delta is by far now the most dominant COVID variant in New York City.

Scientific evidence has shown delta spreads far more easily than earlier strains of the virus and causes more severe outcomes for those infected, prompting renewed pushes at all levels of government to get people vaccinated if they haven’t been.

Delta, the variant that was first found in India and is now in at least 104 countries, has dramatically increased its prevalence across the U.S. over the last month, accounting now for well more than 50% of tested samples, according to the CDC.

The World Health Organization, which has called it the “fastest and fittest” variant yet, expects it to become the dominant strain globally.

Given the relatively minute subset of positive samples sequenced to assess potential strain variations, both CDC and local experts believe the prevalence of delta, which is classified as a variant of concern, to be much higher than reported.

The Delta variant of COVID-19 is in New York City – and Staten Island is seeing a higher caseload than any other part of the city. Chris Glorioso talks with health officials about the issue.

The variant is being blamed for a surge in cases across the United States that has seen cases double over the last three weeks following months of decline. All but two states — Maine and South Dakota — have reported case increases in the past two weeks. While hospitalizations and daily deaths remain comparably low, those are lagging indicators and could rise as delta spreads in unvaccinated areas.

In New York City, the new seven-day case average this week is up 62% from the seven-day average the four weeks prior, city health data shows. Last week, that average was up just 32% in the same time frame. Hospitalization and daily death averages are both down in the latest period of study versus the previous week.

Existing vaccines are expected to protect people against delta and other variants of concern that have emerged, but with just about 68% of U.S. adults having received at least one vaccine dose and less than 60% fully immunized, delta’s heightened transmissibility and associated risk has renewed concerns.

In New York City, where state data shows almost 65% of the adult population is fully vaccinated and more than 70% have had at least one shot, officials are warning of delta and doubling down on their message to get vaccinated with a sense of urgency that has been absent from the mayor’s briefings the last month.

“We see overwhelmingly people have done the right thing,” Mayor Bill de Blasio said when asked Friday on his weekly radio segment on WNYC whether restrictions need to be reinstated. “What’s working for us is to constantly report the facts as we’re seeing them, and if we see something we need to change we’ll call people to arms.”

De Blasio pointed to a preprint analysis of a new, not-yet-peer-reviewed study out of Yale and the Commonwealth Fund earlier this week that he says shows New York City’s vaccine rollout has saved more than 8,000 lives and prevent hundreds of thousands of new cases of COVID in the five boroughs.

In a lengthy Twitter thread, he outlined a number of steps the city was taking to get vaccination rates even higher, including deploying mobile sites to under-vaccinated communities, unleashing door-to-door canvassers to spread the message and offering in-home vaccination services to any eligible New Yorker who wants them.

The city has also expanded its referral bonus program for local nonprofits and focused acutely on driving private practicing doctors to encourage their patients who haven’t yet gotten vaccinated, for whatever reason, to get dosed now.

Now is an opportunity to sustain the city’s progress against COVID-19, de Blasio says, and leverage existing vaccine effectiveness to curtail delta’s spread.

Core viral rates are consistently at or near all-time pandemic lows in New Jersey as well. Like New York, the Garden State does monitor variant data, and like New York, it has seen the prevalence of delta rise throughout the state in recent weeks.

That strain is now the dominant one in New Jersey as well, accounting for 40.7% of samples sequenced in the last four weeks, up from 26.8% a week ago and 7.3% two weeks before that.

Gov. Phil Murphy has repeatedly declared new COVID cases, hospitalizations and deaths in New Jersey to reflect “a pandemic of the unvaccinated.”

Not sure how the process works? Check out our handy tri-state vaccine site finder and FAQs here

New York City and New Jersey Vaccine Providers

Click on each provider to find more information on scheduling appointments for the COVID-19 Vaccine.



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COVID-19 variant first seen in UK is detected in Stanislaus County

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A MORE CONTAGIOUS VARIANT HAS MADE ITS WAY TO STANISLAUS COUNTY. HEALTH OFFICIALS SAY SO FAR ONLY ONE CASE HAS BEEN CONFIRMED. BUT, THEY WANT FAMILIES TO KNOW, THAT THIS IS THE TIME TO BE EVEN MORE VIGILANT. GULSTAN: KCRA 3’S KAY RECEDE SPOKE TO A WOMAN WHO RECOVERED FROM THE VIRUS, AND SHARES THE STEPS SHE AND OTHER FAMILIES ARE RECOMMENDED TO TAKE. THIS IS — AND 2020, FIGHTING FOR HER LIFE AS WELL AS HER UNBORN SON’S. >> I THINK MY WHOLE WORLD JUST DROPPED WHEN THEY TOLD ME YOU WERE POSITIVE FOR COVID. >> I WAS 28 AND PREGNANT. >> IT TOOK MONTHS FOR THE TURLOCK MOTHER TO RECOVER AND EVEN LONGER BEFORE SHE GOT TO MEET HER BABY. >> IT WAS HARD WAKING KNOWING HE WAS BORN AND I WAS UNAWARE. >> SINCE THEN, SHE AND HER FAMILY ADAPTED NEW SAFETY MEASURES TO PROTECT HERSELF AND HER FAMILY. >> LET’S PROTECT EACH OTHER. >> EXTRA CAREFUL, ESPECIALLY WITH A MORE DANGEROUS VARIANT FIRST FOUND IN THE UNITED KINGDOM. >> WITH THIS NEW STRAIN AND HOW QUICKLY IT CAN SPREAD, IT IS HARD. >> NOW IN STANISLAUS COUNTY. >> IT WAS JUST A MATTER OF TIME WHEN THESE VARIANTS GOT TROUBLING TO OTHER COUNTIES AROUND US. >> SHE SAYS SO FAR, THE VARIANT B117 WHICH RESEARCH’S SUGGESTS COULD LEAD TO A HIGHER RISK OF DYING HAS BEEN DETECTED IN ONE CASE. >> THE STRAIN IS KNOWN TO SPREAD FASTER. THE SERIOUS OF THE DISEASE TENDS TO BE HIGHER. >> SHE RECOMMENDS FAMILIES MASK UP AND A DISTANCE. >> AVOID GATHERINGS, MAINTAIN YOUR PHYSICAL DISTANCE. >> AS WELL AS VACCINATE IF AND WHEN THEY CAN. AS FOR — SHE SAYS SH DOES NOT TAKE CHANCES WHEN IT COMES TO HER FAMILY’S HEALTH. >> I AM JUST HAPPY. I’M REALLY HAPPY YOU GET TO APPRECIATE THE LITTLE THINGS IN LIFE. >> KAY RECEDE, KCRA3 NEWS. GULSTAN: HEALTH OFFICIALS AT SINCE THE VARIANT HAS BEEN FOUND, THEY HAVE BEEN LOOKING TO SEE MAY BE LINKED TO THIS IF ANY CASES MAY BE LINKED TO THIS VARIANT. SHE SAYS HOSPITALIZATIONS DID GO UP LAST WEEK. EDIE: HEALTH LEADERS HAVE SAID, VACCINATIONS ARE KEY TO KEEPING NEW VARIANTS FROM SHOWING UP AND SPREADING. THE U.S. IS CLOSING IN ON PRESIDENT BIDEN’S GOAL OF 100 MILLION VACCINATIONS, AHEAD OF SCHEDU

‘This pandemic is not over’: COVID-19 variant first seen in UK is detected in Stanislaus County

The first known case of an apparently more contagious COVID-19 variant first seen in the United Kingdom has been confirmed in Stanislaus County.”The detection of the B.1.1.7 variant in Stanislaus County is a sobering reminder that this pandemic is not over,” Dr. Julie Vaishampayan, Stanislaus County’s public health officer, said in a statement on Thursday. “The best way to prevent this variant from spreading, and prevent more variants from developing, is to stop the virus from circulating in the community. It is vital that everyone, even people that have been vaccinated, continue to follow recommendations that prevent the spread of disease, which include testing, masking, distancing, and getting the vaccine when it is your turn.”Kamlesh Kaur with the county’s public health department said it was “just a matter of time” that the variant arrived in Stanislaus County and surrounding counties, “This particular strain is known to spread faster and the seriousness of the disease tends to be higher,” she said. Recent research suggests the variant could be tied to a higher risk of dying from COVID-19.The B.1.1.7 variant has now been found in more than 70 countries and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has projected it will become the dominant variant in the U.S. But Stanislaus County’s release noted that studies also suggest that Pfizer, Moderna, and Johnson & Johnson’s vaccines all provide strong protection against the B.1.1.7. variant. According to state data, there have been 265 cases of the variant detected in California, as of March 11. The B.1.1.7 variant has already been found in Southern California, the Bay Area, and Davis. It’s just one of several variants that health officials are tracking. More than 6,620 cases of two California variants known as the “West Coast Strain” have been detected in the state. | MORE from the CDC | US COVID-19 cases caused by variantsThe CDC has labeled the West Coast Strain as “variants of concern.” The variants may be about 20% more transmissible, the agency said citing early research, and some treatments may also be less effective against the strains. The CDC did not say that vaccines would stop working against them.”It’s going to be a close call,” Dr. Ashish Jha, dean of the Brown University School of Public Health, told CNN Tuesday about the risk of variants leading to another surge in COVID-19 cases. “We are vaccinating really well, that’s the good news. These variants are spreading pretty quickly across the country, that’s the bad news.”| More | COVID-19 vaccine in Stanislaus County: Where to find the latest info–CNN contributed to this story

STANISLAUS COUNTY, Calif. —

The first known case of an apparently more contagious COVID-19 variant first seen in the United Kingdom has been confirmed in Stanislaus County.

“The detection of the B.1.1.7 variant in Stanislaus County is a sobering reminder that this pandemic is not over,” Dr. Julie Vaishampayan, Stanislaus County’s public health officer, said in a statement on Thursday. “The best way to prevent this variant from spreading, and prevent more variants from developing, is to stop the virus from circulating in the community. It is vital that everyone, even people that have been vaccinated, continue to follow recommendations that prevent the spread of disease, which include testing, masking, distancing, and getting the vaccine when it is your turn.”

Kamlesh Kaur with the county’s public health department said it was “just a matter of time” that the variant arrived in Stanislaus County and surrounding counties,

“This particular strain is known to spread faster and the seriousness of the disease tends to be higher,” she said.

Recent research suggests the variant could be tied to a higher risk of dying from COVID-19.

The B.1.1.7 variant has now been found in more than 70 countries and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has projected it will become the dominant variant in the U.S.

But Stanislaus County’s release noted that studies also suggest that Pfizer, Moderna, and Johnson & Johnson’s vaccines all provide strong protection against the B.1.1.7. variant.

According to state data, there have been 265 cases of the variant detected in California, as of March 11. The B.1.1.7 variant has already been found in Southern California, the Bay Area, and Davis.

It’s just one of several variants that health officials are tracking. More than 6,620 cases of two California variants known as the “West Coast Strain” have been detected in the state.

| MORE from the CDC | US COVID-19 cases caused by variants

The CDC has labeled the West Coast Strain as “variants of concern.” The variants may be about 20% more transmissible, the agency said citing early research, and some treatments may also be less effective against the strains. The CDC did not say that vaccines would stop working against them.

“It’s going to be a close call,” Dr. Ashish Jha, dean of the Brown University School of Public Health, told CNN Tuesday about the risk of variants leading to another surge in COVID-19 cases. “We are vaccinating really well, that’s the good news. These variants are spreading pretty quickly across the country, that’s the bad news.”

| More | COVID-19 vaccine in Stanislaus County: Where to find the latest info

–CNN contributed to this story

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‘Be Skeptical:’ Top NYC Health Officials Race to Quell Concerns After NYT Variant Report – NBC New York

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What to Know

  • The NYT reported, in part citing unpublished research from Columbia University, that a new variant seemed to be popping up in the city with a mutation that could weaken the effectiveness of vaccines
  • Neither city nor state officials had previously spoken publicly about the research; Dr. Jay Varma, the mayor’s senior health adviser, encouraged skepticism: ‘Not all variants are of public health concern’
  • The paper didn’t immediately respond to criticism over the story; the Columbia doctor quoted in it said, ‘It’s odd that we are being criticized for doing good science to alert the city what’s going on’

A New York Times report on a possible new COVID variant spreading in New York City is making waves, but scientists and City Hall were quick to criticize what they said was the potentially premature release of unfinished research.

The Times reported Wednesday, in part citing unpublished research from Columbia University, that a new variant seemed to be popping up in the city with a mutation that could weaken the effectiveness of vaccines.

Neither city nor state health officials had previously spoken publicly about this new development, and it immediately raised concerns about the prospect of another surge of illness.

But prominent figures were quick to criticize both Columbia and the Times for reporting what they suggested was unfinished work.

“This wasn’t even a ‘pre-print’ – I was asked to provide comment on someone’s draft manuscript that still had tracked changes and didn’t include the figures. Based on this, the NYT wrote a story. This is an absolute mess,” Nathan Grubaugh, a professor at the Yale School of Public Health, wrote on Twitter.

With new, more contagious variants of the coronavirus circulating, health experts are adjusting their recommendations for face masks. NBC News medical correspondent Dr. John Torres joined LX News to explain why you should make sure your face mask is well-fitted and double up.

City Hall also keyed in on the early release of data, with Mayor Bill de Blasio’s spokesman taking both the university and newspaper to task.

“It’s great that Columbia and other academics are looking into COVID variants. But please, please for the love of all that is holy share the data with public health officials before you publicize pre-writes that still have track changes with the NY Times. That’s all,” Bill Neidhardt tweeted Thursday morning.

One of De Blasio’s top scientific advisors also criticized the reporting, and others like it, as “pathogen porn” that was unhelpful to public health efforts.

“Plea to academics: please review high impact studies w/govt health depts before marketing it to media. We’re left to decipher science from journalist’s abstract while fielding calls from electeds, public, media how this changes policy. Pathogen porn isn’t helping public health,” Dr. Jay Varma tweeted early Thursday.

In an interview with LX News, Dr. Anthony Fauci addressed the multiplying mutations of the coronavirus, including a U.K. variant that is thought to be more deadly as well as more contagious. Watch the full interview with Dr. Fauci on NBCLX this Tuesday at 8 a.m. and 8 p.m. ET.

He expounded upon the point later in the mayor’s daily coronavirus briefing, encouraging New Yorkers to “be a little skeptical” of what they read.

“Not all variants are of public health concern. Some variants are just that — they’re variants, they’re just a little bit different. Some variants are variants of interest — they have changes in their structure that might change the virus’ property,” Varma, senior public health adviser to the mayor’s office, said. “And some variants are variants of what we call public health concern — they have these mutations and we have enough data to show that they change whether the virus is more infectious, whether it’s more lethal, whether it can change immunity.”

As far as the Columbia report, Varma said, “We need to just consider this a variant of interest — something that is interesting that we need to follow and track. But it doesn’t change anything about our public health concern. We need more data and studies to understand that.”

Dr. Dave Chokshi, the city health commissioner who himself battled COVID-19 earlier this month, said there is no evidence at this point to suggest the variant identified in the Columbia report has contributed to the trajectory of cases, which he emphasized continue to decrease from their latest holiday spike.

Daily Percentage of Positive Tests by New York Region

Gov. Andrew Cuomo breaks the state into 10 regions for testing purposes and tracks positivity rates to identify potential hotspots. Here’s the latest tracking data by region and for the five boroughs. For the latest county-level results statewide, click here

“We also don’t have any evidence that the variant is concentrated in any part of the city,” Chokshi said. “The science around this is just less established compared to other variants like the U.K. variant, which we’re closely tracking as well. As we get the information from these new studies, they remain quite exploratory with respect to the real-world effects — and that’s the most important thing from the public health perspective.”

With new COVID-19 variants from the U.K., South Africa and Brazil now spreading, doctors are rushing to vaccinate as many Americans as possible before more mutations arise. Dr. Natasha Bhuyan, a regional director of One Medical, joined LX News to talk about why vaccines are so important right now and how she encourages her patients to overcome their skepticism about it.

One scientist, Eric Topol, took to Twitter to question why the report on a possible “scariant” had been published without review in the biomedical community. (The story, in addition to the Columbia research, also cited publicly available but pre-publication data from Caltech as well.)

The author of the Times story responded to Topol with her reasoning.

“To be fair, I convinced them to let me write about it so that readers could see both lines of evidence at once. And everyone I quoted saw the manuscript and thought it looked legit. It should be out soon! (It’s been submitted),” Apoorva Mandavilli tweeted Wednesday night in response to Topol.

The paper was not immediately available to comment on criticisms of the story.

The Columbia University doctor quoted in it, Dr. David Ho, who heads up the Aaron Diamond AIDS Research Center, told News 4, “It’s odd that we are being criticized for doing good science to alert the city what’s going on. City officials were notified couple of weeks ago. The NY Times began with another preprint from Caltech that appeared days ago.”

Dr. Anthony Fauci on Thursday said new data indicated the existing COVID-19 vaccines were still effective against new variants. “Right now from the reports we have literally as of today, it appears that the vaccines will still be effective against them with the big caveat that you want to play close attention to it,” Fauci said.

New York City officials, while taking issue with the Times’ report on any locally emergent variant, have repeatedly expressed concern about other more transmissible coronavirus strains that have grown more prevalent in the U.S.

Varma encouraged information-sharing to continue, even in the wake of criticism; it’s just a matter of qualifying the data, should it be released to the public.

“We definitely want all of our academic partners to be working closely with us, sharing their data, sharing their findings, because this is a challenging battle and public health is a team activity,” he said.

The B.1.1.7 variant, which first emerged in the United Kingdom last year, has spread to nearly every state in America, 45 as of the CDC’s latest report. To date, New York state has confirmed at least 154 cases of that strain, which city officials say may be more lethal, according to preliminary U.K. evidence, than previously believed, as well as more contagious. New Jersey has confirmed 50 such cases.

The South African variant has different mutations on top of the ones present in the U.K. strain, prompting concern about the efficacy of current vaccines against it. Moderna will soon begin clinical trials of a COVID booster shot for the South African variant, citing a weaker immune response for its two-dose regimen against this particular strain. That variant is still relatively rare in the U.S.

New York has confirmed two cases so far, both in Nassau County, while the CDC reports 46 detected cases in 14 states. By comparison, the U.K. strain has been found in nearly 2,000 U.S. samples.

Dr. Anthony Fauci highlighted preliminary studies which indicate that coronavirus vaccines will have a positive impact in slowing the spread of COVID-19. “Vaccine is important not only for the health of the individual to protect them against infection and disease… but it also has very important implications from a public health standpoint for interfering and diminishing the dynamics of the outbreak.”

The CDC only updates its variant numbers three times weekly, so the latest federal data may not reflect the latest local data. New York City and state have ramped up their testing and investigation of potentially new strains in recent weeks. The CDC is expected to update its numbers later Thursday, though.

In an interview with Sirius XM radio Thursday, Dr. Anthony Fauci, the nation’s top infectious disease expert, acknowledged federal genetic sequencing is not yet at the level “we want to be yet” as far as identifying and tracking COVID variants.

“But the CDC is really ramping up a lot, much more than we had previously, to get a much greater percentage of the isolates,” Fauci said. “We start sequencing them, put them in a common data bank so that we could really determine what the pattern of prevalence or not of a particular variant. They’ve really accelerated considerably over the last several weeks.”

Overall, vaccines are expected to work on the variants that have emerged and new strains that will emerge over time. City officials said engaging in the core mitigation efforts that curbed the spread in the first place — mask-wearing, socially distancing, washing hands and staying home when sick — remain the most effective means of protection against more transmissible strains as well.

Not sure how the process works? Or when you might be able to get an appointment? Check out our handy tri-state vaccine site finder and FAQs here

New York City and New Jersey Vaccine Providers

Click on each provider to find more information on scheduling appointments for the COVID-19 Vaccine.

“The single most important message that New Yorkers need to hear is that we need you to continue to do all of the things that we’ve been doing. We realize this is painful and difficult but persistence is really important,” Varma said. “Follow the guidance on that, particularly the guidance on potentially wearing two masks if you don’t have a well-fitting mask. when your turn’s up, get vaccinated.”



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