On Wednesday, 黑料吃瓜网 officials announced the state鈥檚 single-day COVID case rates hit , with a 17.8% test positivity rate and 7,520 new daily cases.
But even though positivity rates are hitting record numbers, the state鈥檚 major hospital systems report much more manageable conditions than in previous surges. Yale New Haven, Hartford HealthCare and Trinity Health all confirmed that they are operating within capacity and have no immediate plans to cancel elective procedures.
鈥淎s of right now, even though we鈥檙e seeing lots of lots of cases, the number of hospitalizations is not matching the number of hospitalizations that we saw in 2020,鈥� said Dr. Tom Balcezak, chief clinical officer at Yale New Haven Health.
He also noted that the system is better prepared to handle COVID patients than it was during the last peak. There is wider availability of PPE, and hospital staff has more experience in treating COVID.
鈥淭he anxiety factor, while still there, is much less,鈥� he said.
Currently, the hospitals across the Yale New Haven Health system have a total of 400 COVID patients. At its peak in April 2020, the system had between 850 and 870 cases.
Balcezak explained that the lower number of hospitalizations could be due to more testing picking up mild and asymptomatic cases but also because vaccines are helping to prevent hospitalizations.
He said 75% of hospitalized patients and over 90% of ICU patients are not fully vaccinated, showing that hospitalizations are far less likely for fully vaccinated individuals and extremely rare among those with recent boosters.
Dr. Ajay Kumar, chief clinical officer at Hartford HealthCare, agreed that vaccinations and boosters are key to staying safe during the current surge.
鈥淢y advice to the public would be if you鈥檙e vaccinated, go and get the booster. I think it鈥檚 the most important thing one can do right now to prevent illness.鈥�
Kumar noted that of 332 COVID patients admitted to the Hartford HealthCare system on Wednesday, only 50 patients are in the ICU. During the first surge, close to 50% of hospitalizations ended up in the ICU.
The system has noticed a spike in emergency room visits due to an increase in COVID patients, but most of them aren鈥檛 requiring hospitalization.
New York and Massachusetts are also experiencing a surge in cases.
The New York State Department of Health a total of 67,090 positive cases, reflecting a positivity rate of 18.5%. Massachusetts 15,163 new confirmed cases, reflecting a slightly lower positivity rate of 16.4%.