What to know
- Major variants and worrying variants account for more than 70 percent of all new business in NYC, up from about ten percent in January
- The British and Brazilian variants are considered variants of concern because the first is proven to have serious consequences, while the second is more resistant to vaccines.
- New York City health officials say they are investigating whether the Washington Heights variant poses a higher risk of reinfection by other variants or is more resistant to vaccines.
More contagious variants keep the daily COVID case of the five districts on a ‘high plateau’, even though vaccination is accelerating rapidly, and city officials are investigating whether one that first appeared in Washington Heights last year is more likely to re-infection among people who previously had the virus, health officials say.
They are also still looking at whether it is more likely than other types of people to infect people who have been fully vaccinated and whether the Washington Heights variant, known as B.1.526, contributes to worse outcomes in terms of deaths, hospitalization and illness. , reads a new analysis from the Department of Health published.
The Washington Heights variant, together with the UK (B.1.1.7), Brazilian (P.1) and South African (B.1.351) strains, has proven to be more transmissible than earlier strains of COVID, therefore it is known as “variants of concern” or “variants of interest.”
The B.1.1.7 strain is described as a “variant of concern” because evidence shows that it causes worse infections than earlier strains. It can also be more deadly. The P.1 variant is also considered a source of concern because evidence shows that antibodies from previous infection or from vaccination may be less effective against it.
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While research is underway to assess the potential threat level from B.1.526, health officials say it accounts for about 34 percent of all positive samples studied since January. The prevalence of all varieties has increased dramatically since January.
At that time, concerned variants and variants of interest were about 10 percent of all cases studied. By mid-March, they represented more than 70 percent of cases in genetic order in laboratories. The Brazilian variant accounts for only about 2 percent of the samples studied since January, but city officials believe its presence is growing.
Handout The city recently updated its variant data.
The B.1.526 and B.1.1.7 variants have been detected in all five districts, although the former is slightly more common in the Bronx and parts of Queens. The British tribe is slightly more common in south Brooklyn, eastern Queens and Staten Island.
So far, the city has found no evidence to date that one of the two strains has reduced the effectiveness of vaccines, health officials said. But further study is needed.
Handout This map shows the detection of the Washington Heights variant.
Handout This map shows the appearance of the British variant.
“To date, re-infection cases and cases in people who have been fully vaccinated are rare. It is too early to know whether one of these variants is more likely to cause re-infection or breakthrough by vaccines, compared to other variants that were previously in circulation. , “the dr. Chave, health commissioner, said. Chokshi said. “The increase in the number of cases that are variants suggests that it may be more transmissible, so New Yorkers should continue to be vaccinated when they qualify and stick to the Core Four.”
While new daily cases, hospitalizations, and confirmed virus deaths all decrease over the past two-week period, cases decrease less (20 percent) than hospitalizations (41 percent) and deaths (30.5 percent).
City officials said the decline in more serious outcomes could be associated with higher vaccination rates among the most vulnerable population. Similar trends are taking place across the country, which is reducing the death rate and hospitalization among older people, but the proportion of younger people in COVID emergency rooms is increasing.
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New cases and emergency visits are in younger adults, most of whom have not yet been vaccinated, said dr. Rochelle Walensky, director of the CDC, said.
Walensky says the cause of the increase is still being investigated, but she is among experts who have expressed concern that COVID-19 variants are contributing to a higher distribution rate at a critically vulnerable time in the national vaccine explosion.
The British tribe is now the dominant tribe in the United States. With the latest report from the CDC, nearly 21,000 positive US samples contain the British variant, known as B.1.1.7, in all 52 US jurisdictions. The variant was 27 percent of all positive samples tested in the last two weeks, compared to 12 percent the previous two weeks.
The South African and Brazilian variants, B.1.351 and P.1., Remain less common, but the prevalence of each is still rising nationally. The South African variant was detected in 363 American samples in 36 states, while the P.1. strain has been found in nearly 500 samples in 31 states, the CDC says. Genomic sequencing to detect variants is a complete process. The CDC has only judged a small fraction of cases for a few months; then the presence of more transmissible strains increased.
New York and New Jersey, which count among the five states, were 44 percent of all new daily cases a week ago, according to Johns Hopkins data. They also increased their efforts at genomic sequencing. The city has followed up more than 5 percent of the samples from confirmed cases in recent weeks, which is high.
Health officials in New Jersey say they hope to be able to follow a similar percentage all week; previously, scientists evaluated only 2 percent of the samples.
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To date, New Jersey has reported nearly 960 cases in total. The British tribe makes up 98 percent of it. Health Commissioner Judy Persichilli said on Monday that strain B.1.1.7 appears to be associated with worse outcomes in the state, based on hospitalizations and death rates. Hospitalizations are also on the rise among people aged 18 to 24, which is in line with Walensky’s warnings.
In New York City, the B.1.1.7 variant was identified in 1,586 samples during the most recent seven-day period studied, an increase of 169 percent from the data reported two weeks earlier for a seven-day period. . Genomic sequencing of a subset of virus samples taken from city residents during the week beginning March 22 found that there were an estimated 29.5 percent B.1.1.7, according to the latest city data.
Daily percentage of positive tests by region New York
Governor Andrew Cuomo breaks up the state into ten regions for testing purposes and monitors positivity rates to identify potential hotspots. Here is the latest tracking data by region and for the five districts. Click here for the latest rural results across the country
More than 34 percent of the samples studied in the same period were the B.1.526 variant. The tribe presumably first originated in Washington Heights before spreading to other districts and states. The New York variant was present in 6 percent of all U.S. cases that tested the two-week period ended March 13, compared to 4 percent the previous two-week reporting period, according to the CDC.
It is generally said that the three vaccines authorized internationally for emergency use are very effective in reducing serious outcomes and deaths associated with COVID-19; they also believe that it is effective in preventing new infections. Here’s everything you need to know about the Big 3, including how effective each one is and how it compares.
The hope – and the plan – is that increased vaccinations will eventually exceed the spread of variants and that people will adhere to the precautions until they do. To date, New York City has vaccinated about 22.4 percent of its population, while 35.4 percent have had at least one shot. Across the country, 24.9 percent of the population was fully vaccinated, while 37.9 percent had at least one shot.
In New Jersey, about a quarter of the population is fully vaccinated. The Garden State will be eligible for all residents 16 years and older on Monday. New York did the same early last week, while Connecticut made universal pressure last week.
President Joe Biden has set a deadline of April 19 for all states to make vaccines universally available to adults. Nationally, about 46.5 percent of U.S. adults 18 years and older received at least one dose, while 28.6 percent are now fully vaccinated.
Pfizer and its German partner BioNTech have asked the FDA to extend the emergency use of their COVID-19 vaccine to 12- to 15-year-olds.
The U.S. reported 4.6 million doses of vaccines administered on Saturday, a new one-day record, as the country sees an average of nearly 69,000 new COVID cases per day, according to Johns Hopkins data. The figure is 7 percent higher than about a week ago.
The seven-day average of new daily deaths is about 962, which is also similar to summer 2020 levels, the university says.
It is still unclear how long protection will last for those vaccinated, says the CDC, although new research suggests that the protection of the vaccine for Moderna lasts at least six months. It takes about two weeks after the final shot to build up immunity.
Recent research suggests that even one Moderna or Pfizer shot is up to 80 percent effective in preventing infection, but experts believe Americans should still get both doses. A single dose of one of the vaccines at a site where more infectious variants multiply is less effective at preventing infection, city health officials say.