Since early July, the average number of coronavirus cases in New York City has quadrupled, from about 250 to more than 1,000 per day, as the more contagious variant Delta has spread.
Hospitalizations are also rising, though not as quickly, thanks to vaccinations and improved treatments.
Still, hospitalizations are up 90 percent since July 4, and more than 300 people are now hospitalized in New York City with Covid-19. They are, for the most part, unvaccinated, or vaccinated but immunocompromised, doctors say.
City officials provided The New York Times with an age breakdown of people being admitted with Covid-19 between June 15 and July 12. Two of the main hospital systems operating in the New York City area, Mount Sinai and Northwell, also provided demographic and vaccination data for their patient population. Here’s what the information shows:
Patients are younger. Citywide, young adults, 25 to 34 years old, were the age group with the most people hospitalized with Covid-19 between June 15 and July 12, according to the city’s Department of Health. Of the 627 people hospitalized during that stretch, 18 percent were 25 to 34 years old.
Some hospitalized patients are vaccinated. The coronavirus vaccines are highly effective in protecting against serious disease, but they are not a guarantee. In the Northwell system, 10 to 15 percent of patients hospitalized with Covid-19 in recent weeks have been vaccinated. As at Mount Sinai, those who are vaccinated and severely ill are on chemotherapy, high-dose steroids, elderly or otherwise immunosuppressed.
The racial breakdown of admitted patients also seems similar to earlier waves, with a few exceptions. Northwell noticed a small uptick in the percentage of patients who were unvaccinated and white. Mount Sinai noticed fewer Asian American patients, but cautioned the sample size was too low to draw conclusions yet.