NYC Virus Cases ‘Still Higher Than We Want’ Amid Variant Unknowns; New Research

COVID-19 cases and positivity rates in New York appear to have leveled off following a rapid descent from post-holiday highs earlier this year. Local officials have expressed some wariness over the height of the plateau, as the head of the CDC recently shared similar worry on her part as it applies to the national level.

Mayor Bill de Blasio addressed the plateau most recently in his Monday briefing, when he announced high schools would resume in-person learning this month.

Questioned as to why parents wouldn’t have another opt-in period for in-person learning given the imminent development, de Blasio said the numbers are “still higher than we want them to be.” He also said there are too many unknowns right now around the variants, and given the heightened complications that come with enforcing COVID rules at the high school level, health officials advised that the city move forward with the students currently enrolled for in-person right now.

With new, more contagious variants of the coronavirus circulating, health experts are adjusting their recommendations for face masks. NBC News medical correspondent Dr. John Torres joined LX News to explain why you should make sure your face mask is well-fitted and double up.

New York City has been tracking the three main “variants of interest” currently being analyzed at the national scale — the U.K., South African and Brazilian strains. The health department has also begun a scientific assessment of the so-called “New York City variant,” which is thought to have originated in Washington Heights last year before spreading to other boroughs.

Though two unpublished studies about that New York City variant made headlines in recent weeks, city health officials warned the strain could simply be a different strain and advised the public to rely too much on data only produced in a lab.

The city says it hopes to share its initial findings on the variant, also known as the B.1.526 variant, by the end of the week. Specifically, health officials have been looking into whether this strain is more contagious and whether it changes the nature of the illness caused by the virus. Those variables are key in assessing whether a variant poses any extra public health threat and shape the concern.

The mayor’s office urged the city to stay calm regarding a possible new variant found in the city, telling people to continue doing what they are already doing to stop the spread of the virus. That comes as the city says it has enough vaccine dosages to start adding appointments. NBC New York’s Andrew Siff reports.

The U.K. strain remains the most prevalent “variant of interest” in the United States; the CDC had confirmed more than 3,030 such cases across 49 states as of its latest report, which is due for an update by Tuesday night.

New York state accounts for at least 154 of those cases, at least 116 of them in the city, according to the city’s latest data. New Jersey’s count is up to 134, while Connecticut has reported 65 U.K. variant cases to date. Both New York and Connecticut have detected the rarer South African variant, two in Nassau County residents and one in a Fairfield County resident. Nationally, just 81 South African variant cases have been found in 20 states, according to the latest from the CDC.

Far more rare is the Brazilian variant. Only 15 cases of that strain have been reported in positive U.S. samples in nine states. New Jersey is one of them, reporting two Brazilian variant cases in Hudson County but no other details.

Ultimately, tri-state health officials seek to make clear two key points around the variants: First, not all variants are of public health concern. Most are just that — variants. Some are of “interest,” like the U.K., South African and Brazilian ones.

Second: Vaccines are expected to work on the variants that have emerged and those that will over time. The Johnson & Johnson vaccine raised some eyebrows among Americans eligible to be vaccinated when they saw that that single-dose shot was less effective overall in clinical trials than Moderna or Pfizer vaccines.

Not sure how the process works? Or when you might be able to get an appointment? Check out our handy tri-state vaccine site finder and FAQs here

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