Health
In May, the COVID-19 emergency was officially declared over — but the coronavirus is still a significant concern, according to some in the medical community.
The latest data from the New York State Department of Health, released on August 2, shows that COVID cases have spiked by 55% since the previous week, with an average of 824 reported cases per day across the state.
Hospital admissions for the disease have also increased by 22% compared to the previous week, translating to more than 100 admissions a day.
Furthermore, a new variant called EG.5, or eris, has emerged as the dominant strain, causing approximately 17% of COVID cases nationwide, according to a new alert from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
As new variants continue to appear, health experts are concerned about the lack of preparedness, especially for a worst-case scenario.
“The most frightening thing is if the virus was more deadly,” said Anna Bershteyn, assistant professor in the Department of Population Health at NYU’s medical school. “That’s really scary if a virus had the transmissibility of COVID and was as deadly as the MERS coronavirus,” she added, referring to Middle East respiratory syndrome, a disease with a fatality rate of over 30%.
However, Dr. Ashwin Vasan, the NYC health commissioner, stated, “The good news is that we’re not seeing anything in the virus that suggests it’s getting more transmissible or more lethal. What this really is, is just waning immunity. This is part of living with COVID and these fluctuations are to be expected.”
As cases rise, some blame ‘Barbie’
The increase in COVID-19 cases is not limited to New York. According to the CDC, there were 8,000 hospital admissions for COVID-19 in the week ending July 22, representing a 12% increase from the previous week.
Past data from the CDC indicates that each year since the beginning of the pandemic in 2020, there is a winter spike in cases followed by a smaller increase in the middle of the summer. The emergence of the omicron variant caused a significant surge in infections during the winter of 2021-22.
“The most frightening thing to me is, we don’t know where that [omicron] variant came from,” said Bershteyn, expressing concern about the possibility of an even deadlier variant emerging without warning. “That event could happen anytime,” she added. “That thought sends chills down my spine.”
The rise in cases this summer may be fueled in part by the popularity of two movies, “Barbie” and “Oppenheimer,” which have been drawing large crowds to theaters nationwide.
“A movie theater or a big party where there isn’t much air circulation could develop into a superspreader event,” said Bershteyn. She added that “probably 80% of all COVID cases” arise from such events.
Lack of testing frustrates health experts
Despite the increase in cases and the gathering of people for summer travel, movie screenings, and other events, COVID-19 tests are not as readily available as they once were.
In June, the Biden administration discontinued the mailing of free test kits, and the ones people stockpiled over the past year or two have either expired or will expire soon.
Without testing, it will be difficult for people to know if their symptoms are due to COVID-19, according to Bershteyn.
While the antiviral Paxlovid is readily available for treating cases of COVID-19, testing remains crucial in taking advantage of these medications, stated Bershteyn. She also pointed out that even though the number of COVID-19 deaths has decreased, “1 out of every 100 deaths is still something,” referring to the CDC’s estimate that 1% of US deaths are due to the disease.
Furthermore, many health insurance plans have stopped covering over-the-counter test kits since the requirement to do so ended with the lifting of the emergency declaration.
The lack of available test kits could contribute to an increase in COVID-19 hospitalizations and deaths, warn health experts.
“We’re going to continue to see people hospitalized for COVID… that could have been prevented had testing been freely and widely available,” said Dr. William Schaffner, an infectious diseases specialist at Vanderbilt University Medical Center.
New booster shots available this autumn
Fortunately, the rise in cases this summer is not due to a highly virulent strain of the coronavirus.
NYC health commissioner Vasan and other public health experts are encouraging people to get the updated booster shot when it becomes available.
“We’re going to have a new booster coming online in September or early October, per the CDC, and that’s going to be updated to match the current variants, and it’ll give us protection going into the winter and fall season,” Vasan said.
Vasan emphasized that “this is part of living with COVID, and these fluctuations are to be expected.”
“As we once again see an increase in cases of COVID-19 in the state, I urge all New Yorkers to remember COVID is a treatable disease,” said New York state Health Commissioner Dr. James McDonald in a news release.
“COVID tests are easy to use as well as highly accurate. If you test positive, speak with a healthcare provider about treatment, which can prevent hospitalization and death,” McDonald added.