A Message from Our Chief Medical Officer: Communicable Disease Update

Dear New York Tech Students, Faculty, and Staff:

As of August 4, 2022, there are approximately 91.67 million cases of COVID-19 and 1,027,370 cumulative total deaths have been reported in the United States by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) since the start of the pandemic. Over the past seven-day period, the state reporting the highest number of cases per 100,000 people is West Virginia (355.9), with the state of Vermont reporting the least (79.3). For comparison, New York State has 177.6 per 100,000, New York City 320.5, and Arkansas 267.2.

Locally, Long Island is now at 9.7 percent for the seven-day average positivity rate testing for COVID-19 compared to an 8.0 percent positivity rate for all of the boroughs of New York City. In New York State, new hospitalizations have increased to 2.01 per 100,000 people from two weeks ago. This rate is slowly beginning to decrease over the past three days.

The surveillance continuum for the coronavirus usually starts with increased transmission demonstrated by increased cases, followed by increased hospitalizations, and finally increased mortality rate (rate of death). In the last seven-day period, Oregon is currently the state with the highest mortality rate at 2.8 deaths per 100,000 people. Wyoming, Alaska, and Kentucky have the lowest mortality rate at 0. For comparison, Arkansas has 1.7 and New York State 0.7 deaths per 100,000 people.

Nationally, it is being forecast that mortality rates “will remain stable or have an uncertain trend over the next four weeks, with 1,700 to 5,200 new deaths likely reported in the week ending August 27, 2022.”

The vaccine rollout continues, with more than 603 million doses administered in the U.S. As of July 27, 78.8 percent of the population have received at least one dose, 67.2 percent are now fully vaccinated, and 48.3 percent of the population have received one additional booster. In New York State, as of July 29, the CDC reports that 91.6 percent of the total population have received at least one dose and 78.1 percent are fully vaccinated. There continues to be a decreasing trend in the number of people being vaccinated. The new protein-based (non-mRNA) vaccine called Novavax is now available for those who remain concerned about the side effects of the new technology mRNA vaccines. Facilities that offer the new vaccine can be found on the CDC website by entering your zip code.

New York Tech continues to obtain guidance from CDC. The CDC uses a combination of metrics to assign a specific county level of high, medium, or low risk: 1) case rate per 100,000 population, 2) new COVID-19 hospital admissions per 100,000 population, and 3) the percentage of staffed inpatient beds in use by patients with confirmed COVID-19. Based on these metrics, all five boroughs of New York City as well as Nassau, Suffolk, and Westchester counties, have attained the “high” category, requiring masks indoors. However, there have been no state or local mandates in regards to mask-wearing.

The most rapidly growing variant, BA.5, accounts for approximately 85 percent of cases in the U.S. In federal Region 2 (New York/New Jersey/Puerto Rico/Virgin Islands), BA .5 also represents approximately 85 percent of COVID-19 variants. The clinical implications of this new variant are still being assessed.

Monkeypox continues to be another virus of global concern. The monkeypox virus is spreading mostly through close, intimate contact with someone who is infected. Infected patients may remain contagious until the rashes resolve, which can take up to four weeks. This can create challenges for self-isolation. The World Health Organization has declared the current monkeypox outbreak a Public Health Emergency of International Concern. The White House has declared monkeypox a national health emergency and appointed a National Monkeypox Coordinator to assure that tests, vaccines, and treatment are available and distributed in an equitable fashion.

As of August 3, 2022, there are 6,617 confirmed monkeypox cases in the U.S. with 1,666 cases coming from New York State. In New York City, the health department has created a website to learn more and obtain information on vaccine availability. Similar sites have been created for Nassau and Suffolk counties.

Communicable diseases have always been present in society and we should do all we can to mitigate the transmission. Therefore, activities such as vaccinations, isolation, quarantine, and mask-wearing as necessary, will likely remain in our daily lives for the near future as we attempt to prevent the transmission of SARS CoV-2 as well as other communicable microbes.

As a reminder, please note that all members of the New York Tech community must continue to report to contacttracing@nyit.edu if they have tested positive. As always, those who may feel anxious or uneasy can reach out to Counseling and Wellness Services at our campuses in Long Island (516.686.7683) or New York City (212.261.1773) to talk or make a virtual appointment. Our medical students can reach out to NYITCOM’s Counseling and Wellness in Long Island (516.686.7636) or Arkansas (870.680.8839).

Sincerely,

Brian L. Harper, M.D., M.P.H.
Chief Medical Officer, NYIT College of Osteopathic Medicine