Dear New York Tech Students, Faculty, and Staff:

As of July 14, 2022, approximately 88.7 million cases of COVID-19 and 1,017,391 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 Florida (374.8); Vermont reported the least (66). In comparison, New York State reported 173.9 per 100,000; New York City reported 379.5, and Arkansas reported 349.3. s The seven-day average COVID-19 testing positivity rate in Long Island is now 10.5 percent, compared with a 9.5 percent positivity rate for all boroughs of New York City. In New York State, new hospitalizations continue to steadily increase and are now at 1.86 per 100,000 people.

The surveillance continuum for the coronavirus usually starts with increased transmission, demonstrated by increased cases, followed by increased hospitalizations, and finally, increased mortality (death) rate. In the past seven-day period, the state with the highest mortality rate is Nevada, at 2.2 deaths per 100,000 people. Oklahoma, Alaska, and North Dakota have the lowest mortality rate at 0. In comparison, Arkansas has 0.7 deaths per 100,000 and New York State is at 0.6.

Nationally, mortality rates are again forecast to “remain stable or have an uncertain trend over the next four weeks rates, with 1,000 to 4,800 new deaths likely to be reported in the week ending August 6, 2022.”

As of July 6, more than 597 million doses of COVID-19 vaccines have been administered in the U.S.: 78.4 percent of the population has received at least one dose, 67 percent is fully vaccinated, and 47.9 percent has received at least one additional booster. In New York State, as of July 8, the CDC reports that 91.2 percent of the population has received at least one dose and 77.9 percent is fully vaccinated. Overall, the rate of people receiving vaccines continues to decline. However, a new protein-based (non-mRNA) vaccine, Novavax, has received FDA emergency use approval and may be more acceptable to many in the general public. Because some people remain concerned about the side effects of mRNA vaccines, they may be more likely to use this vaccine once the CDC approves it.

New York Tech continues to seek and follow guidance from the CDC, which 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, the five boroughs of New York City as well as Nassau and Westchester Counties have attained the “high” category, in which masks are required indoors. Suffolk County is categorized as “medium.” There are currently no state or local mandates regarding mask-wearing.

As a demonstration of how rapidly some predominant variants of COVID-19 can evolve, within a few months we have gone from being concerned about the dominant variant BA.2.12.1 to now addressing the most rapidly growing variant, BA.5, which accounts for approximately 65 percent of cases in the U.S. In federal Region 2 (New York/New Jersey/Puerto Rico/Virgin Islands), BA.5 represents 63.9 percent of COVID-19 variants. The concern with BA.5 is that key mutations improve its ability to infect cells and evade immune defenses, which increases transmissibility. In just over two months, BA.5 outcompeted its predecessors to become the dominant variant of COVID-19 in the U.S., representing almost 2 out of every 3 new infections. The clinical implications of this new variant are still yet to be determined. Therefore, monitoring hospitalization rates becomes increasingly important.

Despite the hope that COVID-19 will simply disappear, it is clear that it remains a formidable public health concern that, unfortunately, continues to mutate and transmit. Therefore, irrespective of government or other mandates, it is prudent to wear masks as appropriate, continue frequent handwashing, remain at home and avoid large crowds when ill, test for COVID frequently, and isolate as appropriate. Incorporating these activities into our daily lives will help prevent the transmission of SARS Cov-2 as well as other communicable microbes.

As a reminder, New York Tech requires proof of vaccination from all students, faculty, and staff. Please find more information about our vaccination and testing policies and how to upload proof of vaccination here.

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