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May 4, 2022

Hospitals, nursing homes see COVID-19 uptick

PHOTO | File image Yale New Haven Hospital.
By Michelle Tuccitto Sullo

Hospitals within the Yale New Haven Health system saw the number of COVID-19 inpatients more than double in the past month.

As of Tuesday, the system reported 86 patients who have the virus hospitalized in its facilities, up from 38 a month ago.

Christopher O’Connor, CEO of Yale New Haven Health, reported the latest COVID-19 inpatient population statistics during a press briefing Tuesday afternoon.

The total includes 43 patients at Yale New Haven Hospital, 21 at Bridgeport Hospital, nine at Greenwich Hospital, eight at Lawrence+Memorial, and five at Westerly Hospital in Rhode Island.

“Our COVID-19 numbers are still relatively low, but we have seen an uptick in inpatients over the past month,” O’Connor said. “The cases we have seen are less acute.”

Of the 86 inpatients, nine were in the intensive care unit and three were on ventilators, according to O’Connor.

He noted that the numbers are significantly less than earlier this year, when the Yale health system’s COVID-19 inpatient population hit 767 as of Jan. 11. On that date, the COVID-positive hospitalized population statewide was at 1,920, Gov. Ned Lamont’s office reported at the time.

Nursing homes have also seen an uptick. A bi-weekly report issued by Lamont’s office on April 28 showed 344 nursing home residents in Connecticut as positive for COVID-19, out of a census of 18,881, with five COVID-related resident deaths. The report includes statistics for the period of April 13 through April 26.

The state’s nursing home population is among the most highly vaccinated, with many residents not only fully vaccinated, but also boosted. 

Lamont’s office’s statistics show that more than 95% of state residents over age 65 have had at least one vaccine dose.

Dr. Thomas Balcezak, executive vice president and chief clinical officer for the health system, noted that vaccine effectiveness can wane over time.

“The vaccine is not perfectly effective, and you can get infected if you are fully vaccinated,” Balcezak said. “The vaccine is really good at preventing severe disease and death. The disease course is much more mild. We still see very few vaccinated people in our hospitals or ICUs.”

On Tuesday, Lamont’s office reported there were 236 patients hospitalized statewide with COVID-19, a jump of 45 since the prior week. Of the 236 patients, 67, or about 28%, were not fully vaccinated, according to the governor’s office.

The most recently reported total number of COVID-19-associated deaths was at 10,840 for the state.

When asked about what may lie ahead for COVID infections, Balcezak said the disease would likely wane in the warmer months as more people spend time outside, with a bump again in the fall and winter as people congregate indoors.

Contact Michelle Tuccitto Sullo at msullo@newhavenbiz.com.

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