By JEFF MORRIS //
On Thursday, Aug. 22, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration approved and granted emergency use authorization for updated mRNA COVID-19 vaccines with a new 2024-2025 formula.
The updated mRNA COVID-19 vaccines include Comirnaty and Spikevax, both of which are approved for individuals 12 years of age and older, and the Moderna COVID-19 vaccine and Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine, both of which are authorized for emergency use for individuals 6 months through 11 years of age.
The approval comes as both the local area and the nation are experiencing a “summer surge” of COVID cases, according to health officials. The Recorder this week spoke with Dr. Joshua Geltman, an attending physician in both the emergency department and intensive care unit at Northern Westchester Hospital, and he confirmed the impact of the infection’s recent spread.
“Since around the end of April, cases have been steadily going up throughout the summer,” he said. “They peaked right around the first week in August and then started to come down just a bit. It looks like it has peaked at least in the short term, however I do anticipate that it will go back up again once the school year starts after Labor Day.”
Data from the state Department of Health show cases across all age groups going up since the end of April, with the 75-plus population up the most.
“All of the cases seem to have peaked with the exception of the 0-to-11 crowd, still higher than everyone else that seems to have gone down the last two weeks,” Geltman observed. He speculated the numbers dropped somewhat as people went on vacation. “All of these will probably still go back up once the school year starts, because grandparents love their grandkids, the grandkids go back to school and they spread it to everybody else.”
On July 6, Gov. Kathy Hochul provided an update on COVID-19, spurred by new variants contributing to increases in hospitalizations in parts of New York state and around the country. “While we are well below the figures seen during the pandemic, we are closely monitoring activity regarding the latest variants,” Hochul said. State Department of Health Commissioner Dr. James McDonald added, “We are seeing an increase in admissions to hospitals, yet below prior year increases. As people move indoors to escape the heat, transmission does increase. This is a good opportunity to remind people to improve indoor ventilation whenever possible.”
Geltman said at NWH since the start of June, the hospital has admitted about 50 patients who tested positive for COVID. “Not all of them were here because of COVID symptoms, or here for respiratory distress,” he noted. “A lot of these people were here for other things, and were incidentally found to have COVID.” He said there was one recent ICU admission because of respiratory COVID symptoms, but “we’re not seeing people get to the point that they used to, where they’re getting so sick that they’re coming in like the first wave. People that are getting respiratory issues from COVID now are the ones that are more frail, have underlying comorbidities, or have underlying lung disease.” He said this summer the hospital has had between five and 10 patients admitted who were COVID-positive.
According to what Geltman understands, the new vaccines should cut the risk of getting COVID by 60% to 70%, and reduce the risk of getting seriously ill by 80% to 90%. “If you get vaccinated in September and October, you should expect to be reasonably protected through December and January,” he said. “You’ll still be protected after that; it will just start to wane a little bit.”
In its approval announcement, the FDA said the mRNA COVID-19 vaccines have been updated to more closely target currently circulating variants, including the Omicron variant KP.2 strain of SARS-CoV-2 that has been most prevalent. The vaccines, the FDA said, provide better protection against serious consequences of COVID-19, including hospitalization and death.
Geltman indicated there is no mask mandate in the hospital; however he chooses to wear a mask in patient care areas, though not in his office.
He shared common sense recommendations that he feels are worth highlighting, including stay home if you have a fever or are feeling sick; if you are coughing, make sure you wear a mask; and as with any viral illness, you should self-isolate until you are fever free for at least 24 hours without using any fever-reduction medicine. Another example: “When you return to work or school, the recommendation is to wear a mask and take other precautions for five days after you return to the public.”
Indeed, reflecting those recommendations, at the last Bedford Central Board of Education meeting July 31, Superintendent Robert Glass was wearing a mask. He explained he had been off for two weeks, and at the tail end of his vacation had gotten COVID. “I’m pretty much over it, but wanted to keep you all safe,” he said.