Suffolk Reporter

On May 9, 2024, Suffolk County reported the latest data related to COVID-19. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) have now shifted their focus to hospital admission rates and the percentage of COVID-19 deaths among all deaths as the primary surveillance metrics.

For the week ending April 27, 2024, there were 52 new hospital admissions of confirmed COVID-19 patients, representing a decrease of 17.5% from the previous week. The rate of hospital admissions per 100k in the past week was 1.8, categorizing the level of COVID-19 hospital admissions as low.

The daily hospitalization summary for Suffolk County on May 9 showed that out of the total number of hospitalized individuals (27), 44% were admitted due to COVID-19 or its complications. There were five new admissions and five discharges since the last report. One patient was in the Intensive Care Unit (ICU). It should be noted that hospitals no longer report data to NYSDOH on weekends or holidays.

As for fatalities, since March 2020, there have been a total of 5,284 deaths due to COVID-19 in Suffolk County. This is an increase of one since the last report. Annually, there were 2,311 fatalities in 2020; 1,507 in 2021; 1,015 in 2022; and up until now in 2024, there have been a total of 138 fatalities.

On May 6, Suffolk County's COVID-19 case tracker reported that there were a total of 64 cases with an average of about four cases per every hundred thousand residents over a seven-day period.

The department continues to offer vaccines to uninsured and underinsured patients through New York State's Vaccines for Children program and Vaccines for Adults program - also known as the Bridge Access Program. Those with insurance that covers the COVID-19 vaccine are encouraged to receive their vaccines at local pharmacies, healthcare providers' offices, or local federally qualified health centers.