COVID Update from Northern Westchester Hospital

COVID Update from Northern Westchester Hospital

With COVID concerns rising again, especially about the Delta variant, Northern Westchester Hospital (NWH) released an interview with Chief Medical Officer Dr. Marla

Northern Westchester Hospital Chief Medical Officer, Dr. Marla Koroly on August 11, 2021

Koroly on YouTube last week.  In it she discussed a wide range of issues with NWH Executive Director Derek Anderson. Including the status of Covid-19 in our region, the impact of the delta variant, the effectiveness of the vaccine, and how our area has been impacted. They also encouraged local residents not to delay seeking essential care due to COVID concerns whether that be emergency care such as a heart attack or a stroke or preventive care such as routine screenings for cancer and heart disease.

NWH Currently Has Two COVID Patients

The good news, relatively speaking, is that Northern Westchester Hospital currently only has two COVID patients in the hospital. That number has remained constant for the past several months. This despite the fact that Westchester County’s positivity rate on a 7-day average as of August 11 was 2.5% compared to a low of under 1% early in the summer. The rise in the positivity rate is based on 5,000+ tests per day – roughly half the testing that was being conducted this winter and spring.

NWH has admitted 1,013 COVID patients since March 2020 and has also administered monoclonal antibody treatments to 1,243 patients, who were symptomatic with COVID but not sick enough to be hospitalized. Dr. Kor0ly said that the data shows that monoclonal antibody treatments are effective in preventing COVID symptoms from progressing to the point where patients require hospital care. This treatment, Dr. Koroly advised, can be administered in the NWH Emergency Department to patients who meet the criteria.

The Delta Variant

According to Dr. Koroly, it is estimated that about 75% of new COVID cases in the US are related to the Delta variant. NWH has no data on their tests as only Hew York State Department of Health labs are allowed to test for that. The Delta variant, as she explained, is more contagious than the original COVID virus and even people who have been vaccinated can carry high loads of the virus in their nasal cavities. Additionally, the Delta variant may be more severe. The good news is that the Johnson & Johnson vaccine as well as two doses of the Pfizer and Moderna vaccines are 65-85% effective against the Delta variant vs. their 95% efficacy against the original virus.

Best Practices for COVID prevention

Dr. Koroly reiterated that the wearing of masks, especially indoors, social distancing and washing hands remains an important part of COVID prevention. However, the best protection against COVID is the vaccine. Currently over 72% of Westchester residents over the age of 12 and over 82% of people over 65 have been fully vaccinated. NWH is currently administering vaccines at their Center for Healthy Living at Chappaqua Crossing where appointments are currently available. The center is also offering free COVID pcr tests. If you have a prescription you can walk-in, if you don’t have a prescription you can make an appointment for a test at nwh.northwell.edu/Covid19.

Along with the recent surge in COVID cases, Michael Anderson said that patients who have already been vaccinated or have had the virus are increasingly asking doctors if they should get antibody blood tests to determine if they have continuing immunity. Dr. Koroly said there is some use to getting antibody tests but they are not dispositive because nobody knows what antibody level is required to protect you from the virus. She cautioned people who have received or are interested in receiving an antibody blood test to guard against getting a false sense of security.

A Look Into Dr. Koroly’s Crystal Ball

Michael Anderson also asked Dr. Koroly about the changes in the COVID landscape she foresees in the future. Dr. Koroloy mentioned three developments she is hopeful will happen in the fall beginning with CDC approval of vaccine booster shots. She is also eagerly anticipating full FDA approval for the vaccines. She said this could give people who are reluctant to get vaccinated more confidence in the vaccines. Finally, she is expecting that the vaccines will receive at least Emergency Use Authorization for children ages 5-12. Something, she suggested would help in moving from remote to in-person learning at schools.

Lastly, Dr. Koroly said that Emergency Department use is currently brisk indicating that people are not letting COVID discourage them from receiving critical preventive health care. Though this remains a concern for the hospital. It is also critical she said that people do not delay preventive screenings. The hospital is currently offering early morning. late evening and Saturday mammograms to encourage breast cancer screenings for women.

A Quick Look at State-Wide Stats

Statewide according to the New York State COVID-19 Dashboard the 7-day positivity rate is 3% based on roughly 115,000 tests per day. Roughly half the humber of daily tests compared to November 2021 through April 2021. During that period daily tests peaked at over 324,000 on January 14 and the state’s positivity rate peaked at 7.94% the previous week. At the pandemic peak in early April 2020 48.6% of COVID tests came back positive. Sticking with NYS DOH statistics the current COVID Severity rate (number of people per 100,000 population requiring hospitalization) is 1.32 up from .26 on July 9 this year. Peak severity reached 5.42 in January of this year.