COVID Corner
BY ROBBIE SEQUEIRA
Thirteen Bronx ZIP codes saw
seven-day COVID-19 metrics eclipse
the city’s median total of 269 cases
per 100,000 residents entering Tuesday,
indicating that virus hot spots are
increasing in the northernmost borough.
In particular, the Parkchester
10462 section — which has more than
80% of its residents vaccinated — was
the fi fth-highest spreading ZIP code
in the city with 355.6 cases per 100,000
over the past seven days.
Clusters of high-spreading areas
have formed in the center of the borough
as Parkchester, Allerton, Soundview
and Castle Hill all had caseloads
of 300 or more per 100,000. Additionally,
the borough’s 38.9% positive rate
now rivals positivity rates from the
peak of the pandemic in March 2020,
when the borough regularly cracked
40% or higher.
Fortunately, high vaccination rates
in the area have minimized any harm
that the late-winter COVID-19 surge
could have had on those who contracted
it. While COVID-19 infection
rates surged by nearly seven times as
much in December and breakthrough
hospitalizations grew by four times,
according to state data, the overwhelming
burden of hospitalizations
are falling on the unvaccinated.
According to NYC Department of
Health and Mental Hygiene, COVID
spread among unvaccinated is 470.4
cases per 100,000, a total that dwarfs
the 65.3 cases per 100,000 for those who
are vaccinated. Hospitalization numbers
also indicate a large share of unvaccinated
virus carriers being hospitalized
at a rate that is nearly 10 times
higher.
According to the Centers for Disease
Control and Prevention (CDC),
vaccines are not 100% effective at preventing
infection, meaning some who
are fully vaccinated will still contract
the virus — known as breakthrough
cases. Individuals who are fully vaccinated
and experience a breakthrough
case, the nation’s top health body says,
are less likely to develop serious illness
than those who are unvaccinated
and get COVID-19.
Additionally, the CDC updated its
recommendation for when many people
can get the BioNTech Pfi zer COVID
booster shot, shortening the time
between inoculations from six months
to fi ve months. The booster wait times
for those who received the Johnson &
Johnson (two months) or the Moderna
NIAID vaccines (six months), have not
changed.
The CDC also recommends a third
dose of the Pfi zer vaccine for moderately
or severely immunocompromised
children ages 5-11, 28 days after
their second shot.
This recent surge in COVID cases
has been attributed to the more vaccine
resistant omicron variant, but
many offi cials are optimistic that the
variant might have peaked in the early
stages of 2022.
Gov. Kathy Hochul, a Democrat
running for a full term as governor
this year, on Friday said that recent
state health data made her “hopeful”
that “hospitalizations should start seeing
the beginnings of a plateau.”
Citywide, the 7-day average positivity
rate went down to 31% on Thursday,
from a peak of 34% last week.
nyc.gov/quickstart
BRONX TIMES REPORTER, J 4 JAN. 14-20, 2022 BTR
Bronx residents line up in the Fordham area for at-home COVID tests as the omicron variant
causes virus numbers to skyrocket in recent weeks. Photo | Adrian Childress
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Parkchester among city’s
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