The Westchester County Board of Legislators began the 2024-2025 term on Monday night, unanimously re-electing Legislator Vedat Gashi (D- Ossining, New Castle, Somers, Yorktown) as Chair, and electing Legislator Jose I. Alvarado (D – Yonkers) as Vice Chair. In a ceremony at the Board’s Chamber, all 17 legislators were sworn in by Westchester County Clerk, the Honorable Timothy C. Idoni, including three new legislators beginning their first terms — Legislator Emiljana Ulaj (D – Cortlandt, Ossining, Croton, Briarcliff, Buchanan), Legislator Judah Holstein (D – Eastchester, New Rochelle, Tuckahoe), and Legislator Shanae Williams (D – Yonkers). The Democratic Majority selected Legislator Tyrae Woodson-Samuels (D – Mount Vernon) as Majority Leader and Legislator Terry Clements (D – New Rochelle, Pelham, Pelham Manor) as Majority Whip. Legislator Margaret A. Cunzio (C- Mt. Pleasant, North Castle, Pleasantville, Valhalla, Sleepy Hollow, Briarcliff Manor) will continue in her role as Minority Leader, and Legislator James Nolan (R- Bronxville, Yonkers) will continue to serve as Minority Whip. The Board of Legislators also unanimously elected Sunday Vanderberg to continue in her role as Clerk of the Board. |
WESTCHESTER COVID NEW CASES DECLINE FOR FIRST TIME IN 7 WEEKS
WHITE PLAINS HOSPITAL DOUBLES ADMISSIONS WITH COVID AFTER ADMISSION IN WEEK
WPCNR CORONAVIRUS SURVEILLANCE. Statistics from NY Covid Tracker. Observation & Analysis By John F. Bailey January 10, 2024:
In the week December 29 to January 6, 2,036 Westchester residents tested positive for covid, 155 less than the 2,191 the previous week, down 7%, after 7 weeks of rising cases.
Hospitalizations at White Plains Hospital reported to the state from December 29 through Saturday January 6, of 235 patients admitted to beds, 142 were found to have covid after admission (60%).
The covid infection rate of newly admits December 19 through December 28, White Plains Hospital admitted 260 persons to beds and found 75 to have covid after admission or 29%. That statistic has now doubled in one week.
Despite covid infections declining in the county, the onset of more midweek positives is showing just how much faster socialization is spreading the disease.
DEC. 31 TO JAN 6 DAILY INFECTIONS IN
WESTCHESTER COUNTY COVID WEEK DEC 29-JANUARY 6.
SUNDAY: 202
MONDAY: 260
TUESDAY: 426
WEDNESDAY: 278
THURSDAY: 202
FRIDAY: 272
SATURDAY: 196
TOTAL: 2,036
Westchester County in the last 7 days averaged 34 new cases per 100,000 of population a day the 7 days of last week, which multiplied by 10.04 (Westchester population 1,004,0000 means the county continues to spread more cases each week due to its behavior. If the current new case record a day continues this week the County will have 2,389 cases this week and if it still continues at 341 a day, that measns 4 weeks of 2,389 cases will mean 9,558 cases by the end of January.
Cases are up in New York City as of Saturday, which reported 1,552 on Saturday alone.
Long Island reported 887. Previously last week Long Island reported 1,101 on Thursday.
The bright spot in last week Covid infections is 1,838 covid positives spread the disease in two weeks to 3,191, which meant that 1 covid infectee spread the disease to 1 other person. This could mean people are behaving more conscientiously in socializing.
It could be the start of a January decline.
The 3 day delay in covid reporting is caused by the lag in reporting results by the Health Department assembly of statistics.
The Mid-Hudson Region had 744 new covid infectionsThursday and on Saturday, 341. Westchester leads the other 6 counties in covid infections.
STORM WARNING TUESDAY 4 P.M. EST: RAIN HEAVY AT TIMES TONIGHT THROUGH DAWN. WINDS 25 TO 35 KNOTS GUSTS TO 50. COUNTY EXECUTIVE WEATHER BRIEFING FROM YESTERDAY ADDED.
The Weather Channel is warning waterfront communities on the Hudson River and eastward from the Long Island Sound to Peconic Bay and the southern ocean front beaches ON LONG ISLAND from Coney Island to Montauk of high tides at 6 PM and 6 A.M. Wednesday morning that may rise 5 feet along both or higher shores of the Hudson River.
A storm warning has been issued. Vessels are encouraged to stay in port, and lash secure in harbors; put in slack lines to ride out the tides. And put out bumpers on vessels’ sides.
Drivers of motor vehicles will encounter possible flooding throughout the area and the usual highways and main routes are expected to flood due to already melted snow. Avoid entering flooded areas where depth is unknown.
Power outages expected. As of 4 PM it is 41 degrees in White Plains with light rain, expected to heavy up!
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WEATHER ADVISORY Heavy Rain and High Winds Predicted
A Major Storm System is predicted for our region from tonight into Wednesday evening, with more than 4 inches of rain and wind gusts up to 55 mph. The National Weather Service has issued a Hazardous Weather Outlook for our area, including the following warnings:
Please be prepared for potential flooding and power outages. For your safety and that of our first responders, stay off the roads to the extent possible. Also note that several local schools, government offices, and recreational departments have suspended their activities this afternoon and evening. Please check ahead for cancellations in your area. ### County Executive George Latimer Gives Westchester Weekly Update with weather related preparedness information as of yesterday 2 PM
Watch full briefing HERE. |
A WHOLE LOT OF SICKNESS GOING ON. COVID “HIGH,” “INCREASING,” COVID LEADS IN SERIOUSNESS OF HOSPITALIZATIONS SPREAD. COVID VACCINE COVERAGE IS LESS THAN HALF OF FLU. FLU SLOWING DOWN
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Oof, we are coming out of the holidays, and there is a lot of sickness out there. Here is your state of affairs.
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Source: André-Philippe Côté
Influenza-like illnesses: Very high
The climate of respiratory health in the United States (coined “influenza-like illnesses” by CDC) is very high. Over the holidays, exponential growth finally kicked into gear. Today, about 1 of 14 visits to the doctor are for fever, cough, or sore throat. This may be peaking soon, but we often see two or three humps thereafter.
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Outpatient Respiratory Illness Visits (Source: CDC; Annotated by YLE)
Flu accounts for most of the symptom burden, as indicated by emergency department visits and test positivity rates.
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Emergency Department Visits for Viral Respiratory Illness. (Source CDC; Annotations by YLE)
However, Covid-19 continues to take the lead for severe disease as indicated by hospitalizations and deaths. (Note: I roughly drew in RSV rates below, as CDC continues to keep these data separate.)
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Hospitalization rates reported per 100,000 population. (Source: CDC; Annotations and RSV data added by YLE)
The vaccination disparity is still staggering, with Covid-19 vaccine coverage less than half that of the flu. Even more concerning: only 1 in 3 nursing home residents are up-to-date on Covid-19 vaccines, which is just unacceptable at this point.
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Cumulative percent of adults vaccinated with COVID-19 (18+ years), influenza (18+ years), or RSV (60+ years) vaccine. (Source: CDC; Annotated by YLE)
Here is your deeper dive into the “big three.”
Covid-19: High and increasing
Wastewater levels—one of the earliest indicators of community transmission—are “very high.” Levels today are 27% higher than last winter and have yet to slow down. This is, in part, thanks to the JN.1 subvariant taking dominance quickly.
It’s incredibly difficult to predict peaks, but some models predict Covid-19 transmission will peak in the next two weeks. Many European countries have already peaked.
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Wastewater SARS-CoV-2 viral activity level on a national level (Source: CDC; Annotations by YLE)
According to wastewater dashboards, this is the second-highest Covid-19 wave ever, behind only the original Omicron tsunami. A few pieces of nuance are needed, though:
- We don’t know the number of cases. This is a known limitation of wastewater: There is no consensus on a direct comparison between wastewater SARS-CoV-2 concentration and clinical case numbers.
- We don’t know if wastewater is comparable over time. The virus has substantially changed, including viral load. Also, wastewater surveillance coverage has significantly increased (almost none in March 2020 to more than 1,400 sites now). Wastewater is probably comparable throughout the Omicron era. However, are levels today comparable with Delta, or Alpha, or the original Wuhan strain? We don’t know.
- Infections and severe disease keep diverging thanks to our immunity wall. Hospitalizations are also increasing but now 22% lower than last winter, undoubtedly helping stressed healthcare systems.
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COVID-19 Hospitalization Rates per 100,000 United States. (Source CDC; Annotated by YLE.)
Hospitalizations are still driven by those over 60 years old and those not up-to-date with vaccinations.
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Weekly Covid-19 Hospitalizations, by age (Source: CDC; Annotated by YLE)
Is the reduction in hospitalizations (compared to wastewater) due to a change in reporting? Maybe a little, but not enough to account for the big difference:
- There was no change in hospital reporting at the end of the emergency. This is supposed to end in April 2024, but I’m crossing my fingers that reporting will continue.
- Routine admission testing has changed, but only slightly since last year. The most change had already occurred by last winter. This means last winter (and this winter) are likely “good enough” to compare.
Flu: High but slowing down
Flu exploded during the holidays but seems to be slowing down, as shown in the positive tests below.
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About 20,000 people (22 per 100,000) were hospitalized for flu last week. This is about on track for a “typical” flu season, thanks to our flu vaccines being a good match this year.
RSV: Declining
RSV is still around, but activity is declining. Hospitalizations lag cases, but pediatric severe diseases have peaked, and adults should follow soon. If trends continue, this year will be less severe than last, thanks to RSV immunity lasting a few years.
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Weekly rates of RSV hospital admissions by age. (Source CDC)
Other things to pay attention to
- A measles outbreak in Philadelphia. In addition to the index case, 5 locally acquired cases have been identified. Of those, 4 were hospitalized. All were unvaccinated.
- Norovirus (think vomiting and diarrhea) continues to go up and up. Wash those hands.
- Missing work because of sickness remains higher than in pre-pandemic times, but not as high as we saw throughout the emergency.
Bottom line
There are a lot of sick people out there. Other than Covid-19 infections, this winter seems to largely mirror last year. Is this our new normal? Probably, which is bad news for hospitals, parents’ sanity, and overall quality of life during winter.
It’s not too late to get vaccinated—even if things start to peak, we are only halfway through the journey. I continue to wear that mask in crowded indoor areas; it will help.
Love, YLE
“Your Local Epidemiologist (YLE)” is written by Dr. Katelyn Jetelina, M.P.H. Ph.D.—an epidemiologist, wife. During the day, she is a senior scientific consultant to several organizations. At night, she writes this newsletter. Her main goal is to “translate” the ever-evolving public health world so that people will be well-equipped to make evidence-based decisions. This newsletter is free, thanks to the generous support of fellow YLE community members. To support this effort, subscribe below: