NEW YORK (WCBS 880) — As the Delta variant becomes more prevalent, COVID case counts on Staten Island are ticking up, sounding alarm bells for medical professionals.
The numbers are still low, but concerns at Staten Island University Hospital are high, with many worrying that they can see a repeat of what happened in 2020.
“Last summer, we were down in this same number and when we started to see the doubling of cases, meaning seven to 14, 14 to 20, 20 to 30,” said Dr. Theodore Strange.
Strange is the chair of medicine at the hospital and notes the case count has already doubled, while vaccination rates in the borough remain low.
“We currently have 15 patients admitted to Staten Island University Hospital, out of which 13 of those patients were unvaccinated,” Dr. Strange said.
He added that most of the patients are under the age of 40 and are seriously ill, “meaning they need high levels of oxygen therapy, they need medications to support their blood pressure and other things.”
Three of the top four ZIP codes where COVID rates are soaring in the city are located in Staten Island.
Dr. Strange is urging people to get vaccinated to protect themselves and those around them.
“Unvaccinated patients just give the ability of this virus to mutate and then continue to spread,” he said.
The doctor adds that if people are vaccine hesitant and do not fear COVID-19, they should consider the lingering effects of the virus.
“We're seeing this brain fog in patients, in younger people where they're just not the same after they get the disease,” said Dr. Strange.
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