COVID-19 transmission rates in the United States as of Saturday, May 7.. // Graphic courtesy of the CDC.
Upon returning from her trip to California, Vice President Kamala Harris tested positive for COVID-19 on Tuesday, April 26. Harris, along with many of Washington’s high-profile officials who have tested positive for COVID-19, are raising concerns over President Joe Biden’s health. At the same time, New Yorkers are growing anxious about rising COVID-19 cases, especially the new omicron sub-variants BA.2 and BA.2.12.1.
“Today, I tested positive for COVID-19. I have no symptoms, and I will continue to isolate and follow CDC guidelines. I’m grateful to be both vaccinated and boosted,” Harris wrote in a Tweet.
Minutes before meeting with the president, Harris tested positive on a rapid and PCR test. She had not been in close contact with the president, according to the White House.
The White House told reporters that despite the precautions taken to ensure President Biden’s safety, they anticipate that he will catch the virus. To lower the risk, Biden has been avoiding events with crowds and making calculated risk assessments.
Harris has been vaccinated and boosted twice. While asymptomatic, the vice president was prescribed the antiviral coronavirus treatment Paxlovid developed by Pfizer. On Tuesday, May 3, Harris returned to the White House after testing negative on a rapid antigen test.
As the number of officials testing positive for COVID-19 increases, there has also been an increase in cases in the Northeast United States. Many of these cases are attributed to the new omicron variant BA.2.12.1.
“The original omicron variant has undergone several additional mutations,” said Joanne Willey, professor and chairperson for the Department of Science Education at the Zucker School of Medicine at Hofstra University/Northwell. “So these new omicron variants are more transmissible and have a growth advantage that they produce more virus in a shorter period of time.”
The BA.2 omicron variant surfaced in late December 2021, while the BA.2.12.1 variant developed in early spring. At least 60% of COVID-19 cases in New York City are due to the BA.2.12.1 variant, according to Willey.
As of Thursday, May 5, the CDC identified New York City, along with Suffolk and Nassau counties, as having medium-level COVID-19 cases. Four weeks prior, these areas were in the green, with low-level cases.
Despite the variants’ increased level of transmission, Willey explained that people are not getting as sick in comparison to the original virus, and it has not been followed by a huge rise in hospitalizations.
“[The variants] seem to stay in the upper respiratory tract, like a cold, rather than going into the lower part of your respiratory tract such as your lungs and causing pneumonia,” Willey said. “Sixty percent of the population have been fully vaccinated and 60% have had COVID-19. And that’s not the same 60%, so when you put those two together, you wind up somewhere north of 70% with people with a reasonable amount of immunity.”
However, Willey noted that COVID-19 vaccinations might be a yearly requirement from now on.
“We don’t build durable immunity to [viruses such as COVID-19],” Willey said. “We will undoubtedly have to get boosters on a regular basis.”
The U.S. government has ended many federal mandates over the past few months, such as lifting the mask mandates on airplanes and public transportation. However, some members of Hofstra’s international student body are skeptical about the rise of omicron variants.
“The end to the federal mask mandate on planes is definitely concerning, as COVID cases are slowly on the rise and a new variant could catch us off guard at any moment,” said Varun Sridhar, a sophomore biology major who flies frequently to his home on the West Coast.
Despite the lift of federal mandates, international students still find it difficult to travel between Hofstra and their homes abroad.
“There is still a required quarantine if I want to travel back, which is kind of why I haven’t gone back home for the last two summers,” said Hongli Zhou, a junior mathematics major and international student from China. “I’m under pressure from my family that although the school doesn’t require masks anymore, they want me to wear [a] mask because it’s still contagious.”
While the university continues to encourage students to wear masks in indoor public settings, guidelines for commencement ceremonies have been updated. “Masks will be required for all commencements although graduating students who are vaccinated and have received a booster will be permitted to remove their mask as they cross the stage,” said President Susan Poser in an email to the student body on Monday, May 9.
“On campus, there is nearly 100% compliance with the vaccination and booster policy,” said Karla Schuster, assistant vice president of University Relations. “As with all things related to COVID-19, we monitor developments closely and remain committed to supporting international students and making them welcome on our campus.”
In light of the increased COVID-19 variant cases, Sridhar suggested that Hofstra reevaluate its surveillance testing strategy.
“I know many people who have been chosen disproportionately more times than others for surveillance testing,” Sridhar said. “Having everyone report their results could be an alternative to collect more data on the population and be vigilant.”
As students look toward a sense of normalcy, Willey reminds us that pandemic fatigue is real.
“If we get to the orange/red [high level of cases] then the CDC [is] going to say, ‘Okay folks, time to put your mask back on,’” he said. “The problem is who enforces that? It is left essentially to citizens enforcing [mandates] on other citizens.”