Most-vaccinated New York sees COVID hospitalisations shoot 70%

New York, one of the most vaccinated states in the US with 70.5 per cent of people fully jabbed compared to the US average of 60.9 per cent, is seeing a 70 per cent surge in COVID hospitalisations since Thanksgiving.

Alarmed, authorities have invoked a new state-wide indoor mask mandate for businesses without a vaccine requirement, according to a report in Bloomberg. Officials and businesses are also reassessing policies in the wake of the Omicron variant.

Governor Kathy Hochul spoke of a 58 per cent jump in cases per 100,000. “If I sound a little frustrated, perhaps I am. Despite our desires to have this behind us, we aren’t quite there yet,” she was quoted as saying at a briefing on Tuesday, adding that Omicron didn’t factor directly into her mask mandate but it’s an area of concern.

While cases and hospitalisations had been going up mostly in upstate New York earlier in the month, the increasing trend levels are now present across the state.

Also read: Omicron spreading faster than any other variant, warns WHO

The state has identified 38 Omicron cases, and the US Centre for Disease Control and Prevention said the variant now makes up 3 per cent of all sequenced cases in the US, up from 0.1 per cent in early December, Bloomberg reported.

From December 27, a vaccine requirement for all private-sector employers in New York City also goes into effect. “My objective with this mask or vax mandate has been to keep you open, to keep your doors open, so you can continue to resume what you do every day. You’re a critical part of our economy,” the Governor was quoted as saying.

According to her, hospitalisations are concentrated among people who haven’t yet received both shots, and efforts are on to increase the vaccination rate.

There have been 179,502 lab-confirmed breakthrough cases among fully-vaccinated people, or 1.4 per cent of the population of fully-vaccinated people 12 years old and above, according to state data through November 29. There have been 11,051 hospitalisations among fully-vaccinated people, or .09 per cent of the population of fully-vaccinated people 12 and older, the Bloomberg report noted.