New York COVID cases plummet 16% as new bivalent omicron booster arrives
New York's weekly COVID-19 tally plummeted nearly 16% last week as students returned to classrooms and the new COVID-19 vaccine booster targeting omicron variants arrived at vaccination sites statewide.
New York reported 24,714 new COVID-19 cases in the week ending Sunday, down from 29,251 cases the prior week.
New York ranked 26th among the states where coronavirus was spreading the fastest on a per-person basis, a USA TODAY Network analysis of Johns Hopkins University data shows.
Nationally, COVID-19 cases decreased nearly 5% from the week before, with 507,209 cases reported. Across the country, three states had more cases in the latest week than they did in the week before. The Labor Day holiday, however, may have altered some test timing and reporting, potentially skewing week-to-week comparisons.
Meanwhile, thousands of pharmacies, health clinics and other medical providers on Wednesday began offering the new COVID-19 bivalent vaccine booster that targets both the original virus and the omicron BA.4 and BA.5 subvariants, which are currently driving nearly all the infections in New York. The booster is available for all New Yorkers ages 12 and above whose last COVID-19 vaccine dose was at least two months prior, health officials said.
New Yorkers can find local sites offering the new booster via the vaccines.gov website, or by calling 1-800-232-0233.
In New York, 131 people were reported dead of COVID-19 in the week ending Sunday, down from 168 deaths the prior week. The count of COVID-19 patients admitted to New York hospitals was nearly 3,400, holding flat from the prior week.
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How COVID is spreading in New York
- In the latest week, Westchester County saw its COVID-19 cases fall 16%, reporting 1,046 cases and four deaths.
- Rockland County's cases dropped 6%, reporting 404 cases and two deaths.
- Putnam County's cases declined 13%, reporting 119 cases and zero deaths.
- Dutchess County's cases held flat, reporting 305 cases and three deaths.
- Orange County's cases fell 14%, reporting 605 cases and zero deaths.
- Upstate, Monroe County's COVID-19 cases held flat, reporting 619 cases and two deaths.
- Broome County's cases fell 12%, reporting 274 cases and four deaths.
- Oneida County's cases leaped 22%, reporting 348 cases and one death.
Across New York, cases fell in 43 counties, with the best declines in Queens County, Kings County, and in Bronx County.
>> See how your community has fared with recent coronavirus cases
Within New York, the worst weekly outbreaks on a per-person basis were in:
- Cortland County with 193 cases per 100,000 per week.
- Cattaraugus County with 163.
- Suffolk County with 159.
The Centers for Disease Control says high levels of community transmission begin at 100 cases per 100,000 per week.
Weekly case counts rose in 18 counties from the previous week. The worst increases from the prior week's pace were in Oneida, Steuben and Onondaga counties.
A total of 6,027,498 people in New York have tested positive for the coronavirus since the pandemic began, and 71,311 people have died from the disease, Johns Hopkins University data shows. In the United States 95,250,705 people have tested positive and 1,050,323 people have died.
>> Track coronavirus cases across the United States
New York's COVID-19 hospital admissions staying flat
USA TODAY analyzed federal hospital data as of Sunday, Sept. 11. Likely COVID patients admitted in the state:
- Last week: 3,362
- The week before that: 3,334
- Four weeks ago: 3,781
Likely COVID patients admitted in the nation:
- Last week: 60,585
- The week before that: 61,376
- Four weeks ago: 69,436
Hospitals in 16 states reported more COVID-19 patients than a week earlier, while hospitals in 22 states had more COVID-19 patients in intensive-care beds. Hospitals in 19 states admitted more COVID-19 patients in the latest week than a week prior, the USA TODAY analysis of U.S. Health and Human Services data shows.
The USA TODAY Network is publishing localized versions of this story on its news sites across the country, generated with data from Johns Hopkins University and the Centers for Disease Control. If you have questions about the data or the story, contact Mike Stucka at mstucka@gannett.com.