COVID-19 hospitalizations increasing across New York state
NEW YORK -- The New York State Department of Health is reporting an increase in COVID-19 cases.
Most notably, the number of people being admitted to the hospital is rising across the state. Hospitalizations are up 14% compared to last week with a total of 934 admissions.
- Related story: New York City sees spike in COVID-19 cases as new variant EG.5 becomes dominant strain in the U.S.
Thursday, Dr. Mandy Cohen, the director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, said you should wait on getting a booster shot until late September.
"I expect that this will be a booster that is widely available to everyone. Again, we're seeing more COVID already starting to circulate,' she said.
"The majority of people who are hospitalized and severely ill are unvaccinated, so it's more important than ever to go get vaccinated if you haven't been vaccinated and to get the booster, the new booster," said New York City Health Commissioner Dr. Ashwin Vasan.
Dr. Nidhi Kumar told CBS New York the increase isn't a reason to be worried or alarmed, but New Yorkers do have to be aware.
"A lot of people that had immunity from getting sick in the winter or fall lose that immunity by the time summer comes around," she said. "People aren't wearing masks and this is just, you know, it's something to be expected."
Kumar explained the new booster shot coming out later this fall has a formula targeting a strain very similar to the new variant EG.5.
"It's a much better bet to wait a little and get the right shot because that shot is going to protect you a lot better than the shot that we currently have out," she said.
Kumar says while COVID-19 continues to evolve, health care providers also have a lot more knowledge and therapies.
"Additionally, our immune system is now evolving to better handle these new variants, so it's gonna be something that I think is always going to be in the back burner, and as long as we're aware and we have good information, there's no reason for this to get out of hand," she said.