News Flash: Generated by ChatGPT, edited by our staff
• FDA approves RSV vaccines for the first time. These vaccines target the respiratory syncytial virus, a seasonal lung-related illness, with recommendations for adults over 60 and pregnant women in specific gestational weeks.
• Infants under eight months born to mothers without the RSV vaccination can receive monoclonal antibody treatment, providing immunological protection against severe RSV symptoms.
• There are challenges in accessing RSV shots, including delayed processing by insurance companies and pharmacy shortages. Health officials urge residents to advocate for themselves, emphasizing the importance of timely vaccinations given the approaching RSV season.
For the first time, vaccines against the respiratory syncytial virus, or RSV — a lung-related illness that crops up during the fall and winter — have been approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration.
The FDA recommends that adults ages 60 and older receive a dose of the vaccine, either Pfizer’s Abrysvo or GSK’s Arexvy, within the next few weeks.
Women in their 32nd to 36th week of pregnancy at some point during September through January are also urged to receive Abrysvo.
For babies born to mothers who didn’t receive a dose of the RSV vaccine, the FDA has approved a monoclonal antibody treatment for infants eight months old and younger that will offer immunological protection against a common and prevalent respiratory condition that can lead to severe symptoms and hospitalizations.
Additionally, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommend a dose of RSV antibody for children between eight and 19 months entering their second RSV season if they have chronic lung disease, are severely immunocompromised, have a severe form of cystic fibrosis or are American Indian or Alaska Natives.
Dr. Sharon Nachman, chief of the Division of Pediatric Infectious Diseases at Stony Brook Children’s Hospital. File photo from Stony Brook Medicine
While local doctors welcomed the opportunity to inoculate residents, they said finding these treatments has been difficult.
“People are having a hard time getting” the vaccine, said Dr. Sharon Nachman, chief of the Division of Pediatric Infectious Diseases at Stony Brook Children’s Hospital.
Some pharmacies have told patients to come back, which decreases the likelihood that they will return for vaccinations in time, Nachman said.
Additionally, insurance companies have not immediately processed requests for vaccinations, which also slows the process, she said.
Nachman recommended that residents “continue to go back and advocate for yourself” because that is “the only way you’ll get what you need.”
RSV season starts around November, which means residents qualified to receive the vaccine or parents with infants need to reach out to their health care providers now to receive some protection against the virus.
Childhood illness
According to recent data, RSV caused 2,800 hospitalizations per 100,000 children in the first year of life, Nachman said. The range can go as low as 1,500 per 100,000.
However, that only captures the number of hospitalized people and doesn’t include all the times anxious parents bring their sick children to doctor’s offices or walk-in clinics.
“Hospitalizations are the worst of the group, [but] it’s a much bigger pyramid” of people who develop RSV illnesses, Nachman said.
In addition to recommending monoclonal treatment for children under eight months old, the CDC urges parents to get this treatment for vulnerable children who are under two years old.
Dr. Gregson Pigott, commissioner of the Suffolk County Department of Health Services. File photo
Like other vaccinations, the RSV vaccine won’t prevent people from getting sick. It will, however, likely reduce the symptoms and duration of the illness.
“In trials, RSV vaccines significantly reduced lower respiratory tract lung infections serious enough to require medical care,” Dr. Gregson Pigott, Suffolk County Health Commissioner, explained in an email.
At its worst, the symptoms of RSV — such as fever, cough and serious respiratory illness — are problematic enough that it’s worth putting out extra effort to receive some immune protection.
“If you’re a little kid or an elderly patient, this is a disease you don’t want to get,” Nachman said.
Pigott said that data analysis shows that RSV vaccines are 85% effective against severe symptoms of the virus.
While people can receive the COVID-19 and flu vaccines simultaneously, doctors recommend getting the RSV vaccine two weeks later.
According to preliminary data, eligible residents may benefit from the RSV vaccine for two seasons, which means they would likely need to receive the shot every other year, according to Pigott.
With two vaccines approved for adults, Pigott recommended that people receive whichever shot is available.
“Both reduce a person’s chances of getting very serious lung infections,” Pigott explained, adding that several measures can help people protect themselves from the flu, RSV and COVID.
Getting a vaccine, washing hands, avoiding touching your eyes, nose or mouth, avoiding close contact with people who are sick with respiratory symptoms and wearing a mask in places where respiratory viruses are circulating can all help.
Those who are symptomatic should stay home when they are sick and wear masks when they are around other people.
Suffolk County Department of Health Services officials indicated they are aware of the challenges of getting shots and monoclonal antibodies and “ask people to be patient.”
These images reveal the striking similarities between real candy and edible products containing THC. Photos from the Suffolk County Department of Health Services
Children are getting into their parents’ supplies of edible marijuana, leading to an increase in illnesses and emergency room visits.
Stony Brook Pediatric Hospital treated 14 children in 2022 and 13 in 2021 — up from about one or two a year before 2020.
Dr. Candice Foy, a pediatric hospitalist at Stony Brook Children’s Hospital. Photo from Stony Brook Medicine/Jeanne Neville
“In the last two years, we’ve seen very high numbers,” said Dr. Candice Foy, a pediatric hospitalist at Stony Brook Children’s Hospital.
The accidental consumption of marijuana among children has increased throughout the country. A study published in the journal “Pediatrics” indicates that calls to poison control centers for children five and under for the consumption of edibles containing tetrahydrocannabinol, or THC — the main ingredient in the cannabis plant — rose to 3,054 in 2021 from 207 in 2017, with over 95 percent of the children finding gummies in their homes.
Amid an increase in adult use of edible gummies containing marijuana, children of a wide range of ages have mistaken them for candy, leading to symptoms that trigger medical concerns from their parents.
Children with THC in their system can have low blood pressure, high heart rates, lethargy and sleep for prolonged periods, Foy said.
One child required a machine to help breathe.
Dr. Jennifer Goebel, emergency room doctor at Huntington Hospital, said the hospital recently saw children who were dizzy and not acting appropriately.
When pediatric patients accidentally consume pot edibles, doctors also need to consider what else they might have in their system, Goebel added.
Dr. Jennifer Goebel, emergency room doctor at Huntington Hospital. File photo from Northwell Health
Significant exposure can “lead to severe hyperactive behaviors, slowed breathing and even coma,” Dr. Gregson Pigott, Suffolk County Health Commissioner, explained in an email.
The health effects of marijuana can last 24 to 36 hours in children. The response may vary based on the amount ingested, the size of the child and metabolic factors, Pigott added.
Unlike naloxone, which health care providers can administer to counteract the effect of narcotics, doctors don’t have the same resources available with accidental marijuana ingestion.
Doctors opt for supportive care. A nauseous child could receive anti-nausea medication, while a child sleeping and not eating or drinking can receive intravenous fluids.
Typically, doctors observe children who consume marijuana for several hours, often releasing them to return home once the symptoms subside.
Hospitals are required to call child protective services during such an incident. Investigators usually find that such consumption is incidental, as parents sometimes leave their edibles in the wrong location.
“A lot of times, CPS will go in there” and, after checking the home, “will close the investigation,” Foy said.
Doctors and local officials urged people who consume such edibles themselves either not to keep them in the house or to put them in places far from other candy or food, such as in an inaccessible spot in the back of a closet.
Dr. Gregson Pigott, commissioner of the Suffolk County Department of Health Services. File photo
“The Department’s Office of Public Information has issued warnings about keeping edible gummies out of the reach of children through its social media channels,” Pigott explained in an email. “In addition, the New York State Office of Addiction Services and Supports and our partners in prevention promote safe keeping of all THC products, including edibles, out of reach and in secure child safe storage,” such as a lock box.
Goebel cautioned that children are adept at getting to products that appeal to them, mainly if the packaging makes them look like candy.
Many of the pot-related medical issues are “accidental,” Goebel said.
Hospitals have seen a range of children with marijuana symptoms, from as young as one year old to 11, with the vast majority falling between two and four years old, Foy said.
“I don’t think it’s something that a lot of people think about the same way they think about protecting their children from bleach and other chemicals commonly found” in the home, she said. It’s important to “get the message out” and ensure “people are talking about this.”
The Suffolk County Department of Health Services Office of Health Education offers curriculum and teacher training to public and private schools at no cost. The lessons address behaviors that lead to morbidity and mortality in the young, including intentional and unintentional injuries, such as injury caused by children ingesting edible gummies or other edible-infused products, Pigott wrote.
“During parent workshops, we show the similarity between real food items and the THC-containing items that look like the food item to highlight how deceptive and easy it is to mistakenly ingest cannabis-laden products,” he added.
Doctors warn against swimming in brackish water and advise wearing protective gear when handling raw shellfish, among other safety measures to guard against vibrio vulnificus. Photo from CDC
In mid-August, Suffolk County recorded its first death in seven years from vibrio vulnificus, often referred to as “flesh-eating bacteria.”
A man over the age of 55 who had underlying health conditions was admitted to a local hospital with a leg wound and chest pain in July. He died the following month due to a bacterial infection.
Dr. Susan Donelan, medical director of health care epidemiology at Stony Brook Medicine. Photo from Stony Brook Medicine/Jeanne Neville
“People that are at risk should be more aware” of an infection they can get from raw shellfish or brackish water, said Dr. Susan Donelan, medical director of health care epidemiology at Stony Brook Medicine. That includes people who have liver disease, poorly controlled diabetes, are considered immune suppressed because of a condition or are taking medication that can cause immune suppression.
At the same time, Connecticut reported that three people died from contracting the potentially deadly bacteria. Two of them died from wound infections, the third contracting the bacteria from handling raw oysters.
To be sure, most people are not vulnerable to contracting the disease or from its effects.
“The general public is not at an increased risk,” said Donelan. “In most cases, [infections] are mild or moderate.”
Those who might be vulnerable to vibrio can avoid it by not handling or eating raw or undercooked shellfish, staying away from shellfish juices, covering up wounds or not swimming in brackish waters.
People can shuck shellfish with gloves to minimize any injuries to their hands and can wash their hands before and after coming in contact with raw shellfish.
“Some people like putting raw oyster juice into different drinks,” Donelan said. “You want to avoid doing that.”
Area doctors and health officials urged people with wounds — which could include cuts, new body piercings or tattoos — to avoid swimming in brackish or salt water.
“The bacteria thrives in brackish water, where fresh water meets ocean water,” Dr. Gregson Pigott, Suffolk County health commissioner, said in an email. “It would be best to avoid those waters if you have an open wound or a chronic health condition.”
Donelan also suggested that people who go in the water with such wounds cover them up with a waterproof bandage.
Symptoms
People who contract vibrio typically develop a host of symptoms.
These can include “diarrhea, abdominal cramps, nausea and vomiting,” Pigott explained.
Dr. Gregson Pigott, commissioner of the Suffolk County Department of Health Services. File photo
Symptoms from consuming raw shellfish can start within 24 hours of a meal. A person exposedthrough their skin can develop a blistering skin or soft tissue infection.
Pigott urged residents to seek help for gastrointestinal symptoms or a worsening skin infection.
Those who are unable to drink enough fluids to counterbalance the losses through the gastrointestinal tract could become dehydrated, doctors warned.
Lightheadedness and hypotensive appearances can be a warning sign that residents should seek medical help.
Wounds may become red, hot and tender with streaky marks leading away from them. These are “all concerning things” that might signal an infection, Donelan said.
People generally know how quickly cuts heal. A cut that gets visibly worse quickly, which could include blistering of the skin with a bolus that looks like murky fluid or blood beneath it should be “very concerning signs,” Donelan added.
Knowing that the bacteria is present in Long Island Sound and being aware of it could help people prevent exposure or react early to an infection.
This summer, area hospitals have not reported an unusual number of infections, according to Donelan.
Doctors said the bacteria typically lives in waters between 50 and 80 degrees Fahrenheit, which means that the longer the waters remain warm amid a hot summer and warming climate, the more likely the bacteria will be prevalent in waters around the Island.
Illness and travel
At this time of year, residents return from their seasonal travels. They sometimes bring unwanted microorganisms such as viruses or bacteria with them.
Health care professionals urged residents to notify their doctors about their travels prior to getting sick, so doctors can get an idea of where and how they might have contracted an illness.
When people return from cruises, plane trips or other travel, they should “help the emergency departments become aware of where they’ve been,” Donelan said.
As children return to school this fall, doctors in Suffolk County expect COVID-19 cases to rise. Photo by Ronny Sefria from Pixabay
People may think COVID-19 is out of sight and out of mind, but the virus, which is still around and is making people sick, doesn’t care.
The new variant of COVID, EG.5, or “Eris,” is making people sick in the area, with hospital admissions and visits creeping up over the last few weeks.
Left, Dr. Gregson Pigott, commissioner of the Suffolk County Department of Health Services. Right, Dr. Sharon Nachman, chief of the Division of Pediatric Infectious Diseases at Stony Brook Children’s Hospital. Left file photo; right file photo from Stony Brook Medicine
As of Aug. 9, 105 patients were hospitalized with COVID across the entire Northwell system, including 82 people on Long Island. That compares with 63 hospitalized patients on July 9, with 46 on Long Island exactly a month earlier.
That’s also the case for other area hospitals, doctors said.
“The numbers are definitely going up,” said Dr. Sharon Nachman, chief of the Division of Pediatric Infectious Diseases at Stony Brook Children’s Hospital. “That’s probably a snapshot of what we expect in the fall and the winter.”
Dr. Gregson Pigott, commissioner of the Suffolk County Department of Health Services, explained that COVID-19 is “no longer an emergency” but is “still with us and we continue to see new variants.”
In an email, Pigott explained that the county has seen a “slight uptick in hospitalizations” that is still low in comparison to the earlier days of the pandemic.
He urged those at high risk to take precautions that could include avoiding crowded places, wearing a mask and meeting people at outdoor venues rather than indoors.
While the numbers of people sick with COVID are substantially lower than they were during the worst of the pandemic in 2020, health care professionals suggested that the fall and winter could be challenging for families, particularly as children return to school.
“The first two weeks of school, every kid is sick,” said Nachman. “Come November-ish, that’s when we see” that increase.
Dr. Bruce Hirsch, attending physician in Infectious Disease at Northwell Health, also anticipates a rise in COVID-19 cases coming this fall and early winter.
“I think there’s a very good chance that a lot of people will be having COVID,” he said.
Hirsch added that the symptoms for those people who don’t have underlying medical conditions, such as cardiac or lung-related problems, are likely to be considerably milder than they had been in the early stages of the disease, when no one had resistance.
“The sickness will not have the severity and mortality except in those of us who are unfortunate to have weak immune systems, other health problems or who are elderly or frail,” Hirsch said.
Pigott added that Eris, which is a subvariant of omicron, is not a variant of interest or concern, according to the World Health Organization.
Vaccine options
Doctors urged people to consider getting vaccines for COVID, the flu and respiratory syncytial virus for this coming fall.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the U.S. Food and Drug Administration are expected to approve the latest booster for COVID in late September or early October.
The newest booster, which should be available from Pfizer, Novavax and Moderna, should include protection against the latest COVID strain.
“The new booster formulation is much more similar and much more protective [against] the current strains,” Hirsch said. “The booster available now is protective against a couple of strains ago.”
Pigott urged people to get the new vaccines in the fall when they become available and before the holidays.
The vaccination may not prevent infection or all symptoms, but doctors suggested it would make illnesses shorter and less severe and could make the virus less infectious.
That could be particularly helpful for those who might otherwise develop more significant symptoms as their bodies attempt to fight off the virus.
Health care professionals suggested residents could receive several vaccines at the same time, enabling their immune systems to build resistance to a host of potential health threats.
“Our immune systems can chew gum and walk at the same time,” said Hirsch. “They are miraculous at reacting to all kinds of things every day anyway. The immune system is more than up to the challenge of handling two [shots] at the same time.”
Receiving several shots at once could give people a sore arm and a short-term fever that will likely respond to Tylenol, Nachman said.
“The science has shown that if you give a bunch of vaccines, you get a great response to everything,” Nachman added.
People who would prefer to get the vaccines in separate doses should space them out over several weeks, rather than getting one after another on consecutive days, she said.
Warning to pregnant women
Apart from viral infections, doctors warned pregnant women and those who might get pregnant this winter about the ongoing shortage of a form of penicillin to treat syphilis.
Penicillin G benzathine, or Bicillin, is expected to be in short supply through the start of the summer of 2024.
The medicine is not only the only treatment recommended for pregnant people with syphilis, but is also the only one recommended for infants.
“We are prioritizing that medicine specifically only for that vulnerable population,” said Nachman.
The dangers of syphilis in pregnant women are significant, with the CDC estimating that about 40% of babies born to women with untreated syphilis can be stillborn or die from the infection.
Other dangers from syphilis include bone damage, anemia, enlarged liver and spleen, jaundice, nerve problems causing blindness or deafness, meningitis and skin rashes.
With cases of congenital syphilis more than tripling in recent years, the demand for Bicillin has exceeded the supply.
“It has been a concern for those in our Bureau of Sexually Transmitted Diseases,” Pigott explained. “They have been in consultation with the state. We defer to the state regarding supply.”
Locally, hospitals have been exploring other options without much success.
“We are looking for alternatives” to Bicillin, said Nachman, but “we are not necessarily finding them.”
Doctors urged pregnant women who think they might have syphilis to get tested to protect themselves and their unborn children.
Suffolk's own data shows areas with large numbers of black and latino populations have been impacted greatly by the ongoing pandemic. Photo screenshot from Suffolk data map
Black and Latino communities have been disproportionately impacted by the coronavirus pandemic, and on Long Island where communities are as segregated as they are, much of it comes down to geography.
COVID-19 cases in Suffolk County have an identifiable curve. Data on maps provided by Suffolk County show a darkening red on a path rolling from the eastern end of the Island toward the west, homing in on the western center of the Island — Wyandanch, Brentwood and Huntington Station. In such areas, data also shows, is also where many minority communities live.
Suffolk County health services commissioner Gregson Pigott shares COVID facts in Spanish online April 8. Photo from Facebook video
Data from New York State’s Department of Health maps shows the coronavirus has disproportionately harmed black and Latino communities. Brentwood in particular has shown 3,473 cases, or nearly 55 per 1,000 persons. New York State Education Department data shows the Brentwood school district, as just an example, is nearly 85 percent Latino and almost 10 percent black. Huntington Station, another example of a location with large black and Latino populations, has just over 1,000 cases, or 33 persons per 1,00 have the virus. As testing continues, those numbers continue to grow.
Though data showing the numbers of COVID-19 deaths is out of date, numbers from New York’s Covid tracker website show the percent of black residents who died from the virus was 12 percent, higher than the 8 percent share of the overall Suffolk population. For Latino residents, the fatality percent was 14 percent, lower than their population of 19 percent.
While whites make up 81 percent of the population, their proportion of residents confirmed with the virus is only 64 percent. If the white population were suffering the same proportionate death ratio higher than their overall population, then dozens more white people would have already perished from COVID-19.
“I’m not surprised by the information given,” said Brookhaven town Councilwoman Valerie Cartright (D-Port Jefferson Station). “We need to be testing as much as possible, we need to be tracing, we need to make sure once we get that under control, we need to make sure people get treated.”
The COVID Hot Zones
Toward the beginning of April, Suffolk County established three “hot spot” testing centers in Wyandanch, Brentwood and Huntington. Those sites quickly established a higher rate of positive cases compared to the county’s other sites, especially the testing center at Stony Brook University. A little more than a week ago, such hot spot sites were showing 53 percent of those tested were positive. On Tuesday, April 29, that number dropped slightly to 48 percent hot spot positive tests compared to 38 percent for the rest of the county.
Though such testing centers didn’t arrive until more than a month into the crisis, county leadership said plans for such sites developed as data slowly showed where peak cases were.
“When we started working with the IT department to find the addresses where these cases were, Southold was leading,” said Dr. Gregson Pigott, the Suffolk Department of Health Services commissioner. “Then Huntington Station became the hot spot. Then Brentwood became the leader in cases, and to this day Brentwood has the most cases.”
Suffolk County has also started plans for recovery after things finally start to open up. The Recovery Task Force is being headed by multiple partners, including Vanessa Baird Streeter, an assistant deputy county executive.
The task force will need to provide aid, but Suffolk County Executive Steve Bellone (D) said there needs to be emphasis on addressing the glaring inequities, and put an emphasis on “coming back stronger.”
“There’s no question the issue is we know there have been disparities,” he said. “The crisis like this is only going to exacerbate those issues and have those disparities grow.”
But as it became clear to officials the virus was greatly impacting the majority of minority communities harder than others, said communities were watching day by day how the virus was upending lives, infecting whole households and leaving many without any chance of providing for their families.
Latino Community During Coronavirus
Martha Maffei, the executive director for Latino and immigrant advocacy group SEPA Mujer, said Latino communities are hit so hard especially because of many people’s employment. Either they were effectively let go, or they are working in jobs that if they tried to take time off, they would be out of a job. Instead, such workers, even in what has already been deemed “nonessential business,” are still going to work even in places where workers have already gotten sick.
“We were receiving calls of jobs they know the workplace has been infected, they continue to ask employees to come to work,” she said. “They don’t have the option to say no, because they’re basically forcing them and they don’t want to lose their jobs.”
A survey conducted by the Pew Research Center in early April found approximately 41 percent of Latinos have lost their jobs since the start of the pandemic, compared to just 24 percent white and 32 blacks being laid off or furloughed. This jives with research showing about 50 percent of people on the lower income scale have either lost their job or had to take a pay cut.
Many who relied on their jobs to support their families have now lost them completely, and since many are undocumented, they have no access to any kind of federal assistance. In homes that are often multigenerational and cramped, workers out on the front lines come home and have very little means of sequestering themselves.
SEPA Mujer shows their support for immigrants by donning yellow bracelets. File photo by Sara-Megan Walsh
SEPA Mujer also advocates for women in violent domestic situations, and Maffei said its crisis hotline phone has been ringing daily. Bellone has told reporters the incidents of domestic violence are up 3.5 percent from early to mid April.
At issue is the immigrant community’s trust in local government and law enforcement, and that same government’s ability to get the life-saving and virus-mitigating information to them.
The hot spot testing centers now include Spanish-speaking translators, at least one per each, according to Pigott. Bellone also announced, working with nonprofits Island Harvest and Long Island Cares, they are providing food assistance to visitors at the testing sites. Brentwood is already seeing those activities, and Wyandanch will also start providing food April 30.
When the first hot spot site opened in Huntington Station, Maffei said she had clients who were struggling to schedule an appointment. Though she suspects it has gotten better with more sites opening up in western Suffolk, true help to the community should come in the form of facilitating access to information.
“We’re trying to do the best we can, but a lot of people don’t have access to the internet, don’t have Facebook,” Maffei said.
Pigott related the county is providing multi-language information via their website and brochures at the testing sites, but community advocates argue there is a demand for such details of where people can get tested and how they can prevent infection, straight into the hands of people, possibly through mailings or other mass outreach.
Why Minority Communities are Vulnerable
Medical and social scientists, in asking the first and likely most important question, “why?” said the historic inequities in majority minority populations are only exacerbated by the SARS-CoV-2 virus.
Dr. Johanna Martinez, a physician with Northwell, is in the midst of helping conduct a research project to work out the variables that are leading to how the pandemic has deepened and exacerbated existing inequities.
“It’s not something biological that is different between black and Latino people. It really is the historical inequities, like racism, that has led to the patients being marginalized,” Martinez said. “It is most closely linked to social determinants.”
The links are plain, she said, in socioeconomic status, and perhaps most importantly, one’s access to health care. Immigrant communities are especially likely to lack insurance and easy communication with doctors. It’s hard for one to know if one’s symptoms should necessitate a hospital visit if one also doesn’t have a doctor within phone’s reach. It also means an increased spread of the virus and a potential increased load on hospitals.
“If you’re uninsured, the place where you’re going to get health care from is the emergency room,” the Northwell doctor said. “Right now, we’re trying to use telemedicine, but if you don’t have an established primary care doctor, you don’t have the ability to speak to the doctor of the symptoms you’re having and if this is something you can stay home for or go to the hospital.”
Current data released by New York State has mostly been determining age, as its well-known vulnerable people include the elderly, but Martinez’ data is adjusting for other things like comorbidities. Data shows that diabetes, hypertension and obesity put one at a higher risk for COVID-19-related death, and studies have shown poorer or communities of people of color are at higher risk for such diseases.
“It’s almost like a double whammy,” she said. “It’s something that makes them even more vulnerable to a very serious disease.”
“It’s not something biological that is different between black and Latino people. It really is the historical inequities, like racism, that has led to the patients being marginalized.”
— Dr. Johanna Martinez
Housing is also a factor. Once one leaves the hospital, or on recommendation from a doctor, it’s easy to tell people who are showing symptoms to isolate a certain part of the house, but for a large family living in a relatively small space, that might just be impossible.
Whether Suffolk’s numbers detailing the number of confirmed COVID patients is accurate, Martinez said she doubts it, especially looking at nationally. Newsday recently reported, upon looking at towns’ death certificates compared to New York’s details on fatalities, there could be many more COVID deaths than currently thought.
“We need more testing to see the prevalence in certain communities,” she said.
Cartright, who works as a civil rights attorney, said these factors are what the government should be looking at as the initial wave of COVID-19 patients overall declines.
“We know black people are dying at a disproportionate rate,” she said. “We need to look at how many people are living in the same household, how many people actually have health care, how many are undocumented who were scared of going to the emergency room. There are so many factors we need to be able to take a look at.”
Suffolk County continues its race against time to have enough hospital beds, medical equipment and health care providers as the county and New York State move closer each day to the ongoing surge in demand.
As of today, the county had tested close to 16,000 people, with 5,791 people testing positive for the coronavirus Covid-19. Close to a third of the people have received their tests at the Stony Brook University mobile testing site.
At the same time, the number of hospitalizations continues to climb. Suffolk County had 601 hospitalizations, which is up from 409 two days ago. The number of people in the Intensive Care Unit climbed by to 181, up 19 from the day before.
Dr. Gregson Pigott, the commissioner of the Department of Health Services, said on the call that the test results take anywhere from two to three days, up to five to seven days.
Suffolk County Executive Steve Bellone (D) reiterated Governor Andrew Cuomo’s (D) plea for additional health care workers, who will be needed as the number of cases climbs.
“The governor put out a call for help for people across the country where they are not seeing the kind of cases we have in New York,” Bellone said. The state and the county would like people to “come and volunteer and join in the effort. In return, New York, as we have been time and again, will be there for other parts of the country to help them.”
Bellone said he has been speaking to hospitals and executives who are on the front lines and that help is “needed, they are doing heroic work.”
The County Executive confirmed four additional deaths, with three of the residents ranging in age from the 40’s to the 90’s. The family of the fourth victim hadn’t yet been notified, so Bellone couldn’t provide specific details. The total number of deaths in Suffolk County stands at 44.
The Suffolk County Police Department reported 166 cases where they received calls about violations of social distancing or Cuomo’s New York Pause efforts. The department found 16 violations and hasn’t issued a citation yet in connection with violators.
“Even when somebody may be out of compliance, there is immediate voluntary compliance,” Bellone said on his daily conference call with reporters.
The police department also has seen an increase in the number of people infected with the virus. As of today, 29 officers and three civilians had tested positive.
