What you should know
- The Delta variant has been found in 17.1% of the New York City positive samples studied, up from 10.3% in the latest health department report; the previous week, delta was found in 5.6% of the samples analyzed.
- New York’s old COVID-19 state of emergency has expired and daily deaths are at nine-month lows, but authorities say the pandemic is not over yet, especially in neighborhoods with low vaccination rates.
- The White House said Thursday that it is deploying response teams across the United States focused on fighting the highly contagious COVID strain.
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NEW YORK – The highly transmissible variant of COVID delta now accounts for nearly one in five New York City samples tested, up from one in 10 a week ago, and has become the second most dominant strain in the US. five counties, according to new health data released Friday.
As of Friday, the delta variant that first devastated India before spreading globally, and is believed to be up to 60% more transmissible than the widely tracked first contagious variant that emerged in the UK last year, represents 17.1% of citywide samples, tested in the last four weeks. That’s a 10.3% increase from the city’s health officials’ previous report and 5.6% from their alternate report issued two weeks ago.
Delta outperformed two other strains that had been more prevalent than New York City in the past week (the so-called New York City strain that first emerged in Washington Heights before spreading elsewhere, B.1.526, and gamma, formerly known as the Brazilian strain, P.1). It is now second only to the Alpha (UK variant).
New data from the health department released Friday shows Delta emerging as the second most dominant COVID strain in New York City.
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Delta, which scientific evidence has shown spreads much more easily than previous strains of the virus and causes more severe outcomes for those infected, is expected to become the dominant variant in the United States in no time.
It now accounts for more than a quarter of COVID cases in the US, according to CDC estimates, compared to about 20% a week ago, and has been roughly doubling its proliferation every two weeks, according to the agency and the national expert. in infectious diseases, Dr. Anthony Fauci has said.
Given the relatively small subset of positive samples that are genetically sequenced to test for potential strain variations, both the CDC and local experts believe that the prevalence of delta, which is classified as a variant of concern, is much higher than reported.
Existing vaccines are expected to protect people against delta and other variants of concern that have emerged, but only two-thirds of American adults have received at least one dose of vaccine and less than 58% are fully immunized, the highest transmissibility and Risk associated with delta has renewed the concerns of experts.
New daily cases, along with hospitalizations and deaths, plummeted nationally in recent months as more Americans got vaccinated, but the seven-day average new cases increased about 10% this week compared to the last week. Hospitalization and death rates continue to decline week by week, but those are lagging indicators.
The latest increases are almost entirely limited to neighborhoods with low vaccination rates, which again is proof, officials say, that existing vaccines provide protection against the delta, especially when it comes to hospitalizations and deaths.
There are 1,000 counties in the US where less than 30% of the population is vaccinated, federal officials say. The White House said Thursday it will deploy response teams across the United States to the communities most at risk.
With unvaccinated people accounting for nearly all new COVID deaths in the United States, officials are tripling an urgent message for everyone eligible to receive the dose.
In New York City, nearly 70% of adults have received at least one dose of vaccine, while 64% are fully immunized. Statewide, those numbers are 72.1% and 65.4%, respectively.
The city’s Office of Emergency Management issued a notification to New Yorkers about the delta variant on Thursday, saying, “The variants of COVID-19 that make COVID-19 more communicable are circulating in New York. Get vaccinated to protect yourself. himself, his loved ones and those “. around you. Vaccines have been shown to be effective against COVID-19 variants. Find a place near you to get the vaccine. “
Both the city and the state have maintained their viral declines even as delta presence increases in areas with low vaccination rates. That’s where New York officials have turned their attention. The state now reports vaccine data by zip code.
Hospitalizations and death rates also remain at pandemic record lows. Governor Andrew Cuomo reported 370 hospitalizations statewide on Thursday. That metric started at 410 when the governor began reporting it daily at the start of the pandemic and rose to nearly 19,000 at its peak in April 2020.
On Thursday, Cuomo reported just two new COVID deaths statewide, the lowest number in a single day since Sept. 20. None of them were in New York City, which was the second time the state had reported zero new daily deaths across the five boroughs in weeks.
Core viral rates are consistently at or near pandemic record lows in New Jersey as well. Like New York, the Garden State monitors variant data and, like New York, has seen the prevalence of the delta variant rise statewide in recent weeks.
That strain now accounts for 15.6% of samples sequenced in the past four weeks, up from 7.3% in the previous report by New Jersey health officials.
Governor Phil Murphy has repeatedly stated that the new COVID cases, hospitalizations and deaths in New Jersey reflect “an unvaccinated pandemic” and joins Cuomo and national leaders in their united request to receive the dose as you mass vaccination sites are decreasing.
The New York governor issued another reminder on that front Thursday.
“New York State is getting closer to finally defeating the COVID-19 pandemic, and the key to our success is making sure we vaccinate as many New Yorkers as we can,” Cuomo said in a statement. “Getting vaccinated helps families, friends, and communities stay healthy, and that is why we continue to offer exciting incentives to get vaccinated across the state. If you haven’t been vaccinated yet, it’s easy to schedule an appointment or get in. a site and I encourage you to do so today. “
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