TUESDAY COVID UPDATE: 53,276 new infections, over 10,400 in the hospital as Omicron surge continues

On Tuesday, Governor Kathy Hochul gave an update on the state’s progress combatting the winter surge of COVID-19 cases, as the Omicron variant continues to drive up total infections.

“The best way to protect ourselves and our children from getting hospitalized with COVID is with the vaccine and booster,” Governor Hochul said. “As we continue to fight the winter surge, let’s continue to use these tools: Get your second dose and booster when eligible, get your children vaccinated, remember to wear a mask and stay home if you’re not feeling well. If we don’t, many more New Yorkers will continue to get sick.”

Here’s a look at Tuesday’s data from the state:

• Test Results Reported – 236,904
• Total Positive – 53,276
• Percent Positive – 22.49%
• 7-Day Average Percent Positive – 21.81%
• Patient Hospitalization – 10,411 (+848)
• Patients Newly Admitted – 1,758
• Patients in ICU – 1,302 (+94)
• Patients in ICU with Intubation – 625 (+28)
• Total Discharges – 235,245 (+887)
• New deaths reported by healthcare facilities through HERDS – 99
• Total deaths reported by healthcare facilities through HERDS – 48,798
  The Health Electronic Response Data System is a NYS DOH data source that collects confirmed daily death data as reported by hospitals, nursing homes and adult care facilities only.
• Total deaths reported to and compiled by the CDC – 61,607
  This daily COVID-19 provisional death certificate data reported by NYS DOH and NYC to the CDC includes those who died in any location, including hospitals, nursing homes, adult care facilities, at home, in hospice and other settings.
• Total vaccine doses administered – 33,869,900
• Total vaccine doses administered over past 24 hours – 76,279
• Total vaccine doses administered over past 7 days – 640,460
• Percent of New Yorkers ages 18 and older with at least one vaccine dose – 89.3%
• Percent of New Yorkers ages 18 and older with completed vaccine series – 80.7%
• Percent of New Yorkers ages 18 and older with at least one vaccine dose (CDC) – 95.0%
• Percent of New Yorkers ages 18 and older with completed vaccine series (CDC) – 82.9%
• Percent of all New Yorkers with at least one vaccine dose – 78.2%
• Percent of all New Yorkers with completed vaccine series – 69.9%
• Percent of all New Yorkers with at least one vaccine dose (CDC) – 84.0%
• Percent of all New Yorkers with completed vaccine series (CDC) – 71.8%

Each region’s 7-day average of cases per 100K population is as follows

Each region’s 7-day average percentage of positive test results reported over the last three days is as follows:

Each New York City borough’s 7-day average percentage of positive test results reported over the last three days is as follows:

Yesterday, 53,276 New Yorkers tested positive for COVID-19 in New York State, bringing the total to 3,722,540. A geographic breakdown is as follows:

Given the rate of spread of Omicron, it is more meaningful to report the percentage of Omicron variants uploaded to the public COVID-19 sequence databases, than to report counts of individual cases. This percentage can then be related to the total positive COVID case count in the state. This process is consistent with how the New York State Department of Health has reported on all other variants online: https://coronavirus.health.ny.gov/covid-19-variant-data

Data this morning in the GISAID database, the largest repository of SARS-CoV-2 sequences in the world, show the Omicron variant comprised 93.8% of uploaded sequences from NYS between 12/21/21 and 1/3/22. This indicates that Omicron continues to circulate at an extremely high level across the state although there may be regional differences. These cannot be measured with statistical precision due to low sample numbers in the data from the last several days, which is a result of the inherent time lag from sample collection to testing, sequencing and data upload.

It should be noted that similar data reported from the CDC, updated this week, uses a statistical model to project the variant percentages for a more recent timeframe.

Yesterday, 99 New Yorkers died due to COVID-19, bringing the total to 48,798. A geographic breakdown is as follows, by county of residence:

All New York State mass vaccination sites are open to eligible New Yorkers aged 12 years and older for walk-in vaccination on a first-come, first-serve basis, with 10 sites open to eligible New Yorkers aged 5 and older. People who would prefer to schedule an appointment at a state-run mass vaccination site can do so on the Am I Eligible App or by calling 1-833-NYS-4-VAX. People may also contact their local health department, pharmacy, doctor or hospital to schedule appointments where vaccines are available, or visit vaccines.gov to find information on vaccine appointments near them.

New Yorkers looking to schedule vaccine appointments for 5-11-year-old children are encouraged to contact their child’s pediatrician, family physician, county health departments, Federally Qualified Health Centers (FQHCs), rural health centers, or pharmacies that may be administering the vaccine for this age group. Parents and guardians can visit vaccines.gov, text their ZIP code to 438829, or call 1-800-232-0233 to find nearby locations. Make sure that the provider offers the Pfizer-BioNTechCOVID-19 vaccine, as the other COVID-19 vaccines are not yet authorized for this age group.

Visit our website for parents and guardians for new information, frequently asked questions and answers, and resources specifically designed for parents and guardians of this age group.

Yesterday, 17,911 New Yorkers received their first vaccine dose, and 12,902 completed their vaccine series. A geographic breakdown of New Yorkers who have been vaccinated by region is as follows:

The COVID-19 Vaccine Tracker Dashboard is available to update New Yorkers on the distribution of the COVID-19 vaccine. The New York State Department of Health requires vaccinating facilities to report all COVID-19 vaccine administration data within 24 hours; the vaccine administration data on the dashboard is updated daily to reflect the most up-to-date metrics in the state’s vaccination effort. New York State Department of Health-reported data from NYSIIS and CIR differs slightly from federally-reported data, which is inclusive of federally-administered doses and other minor differences. Both numbers are included in the release above.

Staff Report

FingerLakes1.com is the region’s leading all-digital news publication. The company was founded in 1998 and has been keeping residents informed for more than two decades. Have a lead? Send it to [email protected].