If you know someone who has had to stay home because of COVID-19, you’re not alone. Cases of the virus have been rising in New York City.
However, experts say this was expected, as there was a spike in cases last summer. More important, the number of hospitalizations is below the previous spikes that have appeared regularly over the last four years, and nowhere near the highest levels recorded in 2020 and 2022.
“The good news is the peak is not as high,” says Bernard Camins, MD, MSC, Professor of Medicine (Infectious Diseases) at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai and the Medical Director for Infection Prevention for the Mount Sinai Health System.
One thing that’s different right now is that a new vaccine is on the way, and the experts say you should plan to get that as soon as it’s available. The Food and Drug Administration approved the new vaccine on Thursday, August 22, sooner than anticipated. The new vaccine is expected to be available shortly.
Dr. Camins and Judith A. Aberg, MD, Dean of System Operations for Clinical Sciences and Chief of the Division of Infectious Diseases at Icahn Mount Sinai, who have been tracking the virus since it arrived in New York City in March of 2020, offer three key takeaways about COVID-19 and what you need to do to stay healthy.
Another summer surge, but less so: Experts believe cases tend to rise in the summer as more people get out and travel around, exposing more people to new variants. In addition, lots of people still tend to gather indoors during the summer.
Hospitalizations in New York, one of the key measures of the virus, have been rising through June and July, but they began to decline in late July, according to the New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene.
Health authorities have stopped tracking the number of individual cases of COVID-19 because health care providers are no longer reporting them and because so many people are testing themselves and so positive results are not officially recorded. Also, the government has stopped giving out free testing kits, so that’s discouraged some from testing. (Another measure of the growing number of cases has been the presence of the virus in wastewater, which is tracked by health authorities.)
Your best defense against a COVID-19 infection remains the same: Keep up to date with your vaccinations, consider taking steps to limit your exposure to large indoor crowds, wear a well-fitting mask at public gatherings or in tight spaces such as an airplane or subway, and talk with your health care provider if you are feeling sick.
The new variant: The latest dominant variants of the virus causing COVID-19 in New York, known as KP.3 and LB.1, do not seem to be any more worrisome than others that came before it, and existing treatments work well against it.
“We will continue to see more variants as the virus that causes COVID-19 mutates,” says Dr. Aberg, who has been seeing more cases among her patients and writing more prescriptions for antiviral medication. “You just have to accept there is always going to be a new variant.”
The time for a new vaccine is approaching: In fact, the rise of new variants is why it is important for everyone six months and older to get the new vaccine once it is available, experts say. COVID-19 vaccines typically provide protection for up to 20 weeks before their effectiveness begins to decline. Data continue to show the importance of vaccination to protect against severe outcomes of COVID-19, including hospitalization and death, according to the CDC.
To explain to her patients why getting the new vaccine is important, Dr. Aberg will often draw a simple diagram. The diagram looks like the branches of a large tree spreading out. What’s important is that the recent variants all extend off the same main branch, so a vaccine that is effective against the variant on the preceding branch will be effective against the variants that follow that branch. The latest variants stem from a different branch than the variants in 2023 that were dominant when the 2023 formulation of the COVID-19 vaccine was developed. So the vaccine you received last year will not be as effective against the most recent variants.
One other point to consider if you plan to get the new vaccine in the fall: After you get the vaccine, it takes about two weeks for the antibodies to build up in your system. So if are getting the vaccine because you are planning to take a trip or attend a large family gathering, be sure to get it at least two weeks in advance if possible.
• Those at risk for complications from respiratory infections may want to wear a more protective mask in crowded areas, such as riding the bus or subway or shopping. A surgical mask provides some protection but not as much as a higher quality N95 or KN95 mask.
• Individuals at high-risk should talk with their health care provider and have a plan for how to get antiviral medications if they become infected with COVID-19 or the flu, as these prescription medications must be taken within the first days of symptom onset. Those at high-risk include older adults, those with chronic medical conditions, such as diabetes, and those with reduced ability to fight infections, such as those being treated for some cancers.