COVID wave this summer came sooner, was larger than expected, experts say
Positive test results account for only a small number of tests that are administered. Many people use over the counter COVID-19 test kits that are not reported. Credit: Newsday / William Perlman
The wave of COVID-19 cases this summer came earlier and impacted more people than in previous years, Long Island experts said Friday.
On a positive note, most people infected with the current variant of COVID-19 are recovering after experiencing mild or moderate symptoms and not becoming severely ill, according to health officials.
Across the country and on Long Island, visits to the emergency department, hospitalizations and even wastewater surveillance show a steady increase in COVID-19 infections since early June.
Hospitalizations for COVID-19 in Nassau and Suffolk counties were 1,180 as of Thursday — more than double the number since early June. Wastewater surveillance for the State of New York is currently showing a moderate level of the virus. This time last year, that level was low.
It is difficult to compare positive COVID-19 test results from this year with last year because they account for only a small number of tests that are administered. Many people use over the counter test kits that are not reported.
But the seven-day average of positive cases on June 30, 2023, was 3.6%. A year later on June 30, the seven-day average was 10.3%.
“In June, I started to notice we were getting a bunch of COVID cases coming in after several months without cases,” said Dr. Marc Lashley, a pediatrician with Allied Physicians Group who sees patients in Valley Stream and Rockaway.
While the symptoms for COVID-19 range from fever and chills to cough, fatigue and body aches, Lashley said their young patients are coming in mostly with sore throats.
“That can be problematic because a lot of things cause sore throats including strep throat,” he said. “And there are other viruses circulating, so we have the PCR test, which is very accurate.”
The summer wave is clearly larger than most people anticipated, said Dr. Bruce Farber, chief of public health and epidemiology at Northwell Health. The KP variant of the SARS-Co-V2 virus that causes COVID-19 accounts for more than 50% of cases currently circulating, according to the state Health Department.
Farber said the variants are very different from the ones around last year or in the winter when people received their updated COVID-19 vaccine or developed natural immunity from an infection.
“Immunity doesn't last that long,” Farber said. “So now we're seeing this. I anticipated that it would happen more when people went indoors, and I suspect that it'll grow when that happens.”
Farber encouraged people to get the updated COVID-19 vaccine, which is expected to be available in September, pointing out it will better match the latest circling variants and provide more protection.
He’s concerned that not enough people will get the updated vaccine, which could impact people who are more prone to serious illness from COVID-19 because of existing medical conditions or are immunocompromised. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommend the vaccine for everyone over the age of 6 months.
Only 22.5% of adults reported receiving the updated vaccine between Sept. 14, 2023, and May 11 of this year, according to the CDC. The number for children 17 years of age and younger was even smaller at 14.4%.
“Even if COVID isn’t hospitalizing or killing a lot of people, there is a very vulnerable part of our population and this can tip them over,” Farber said. “There’s a simple measure everyone can take to avoid COVID, make sure immunity stays up to limit the number of people missing school and work and that’s taking the vaccine that is coming out in September.”
Lisa joined Newsday as a staff writer in 2019. She previously worked at amNewYork, the New York Daily News and the Asbury Park Press covering politics, government and general assignment.
