Covid Cases Rise Among Younger Patients

New Covid-related hospitalizations at Yale New Haven Hospital are on their way up, especially among patients under the age of 45, as the British virus variant takes hold — and as more and more middle-aged and older residents get vaccinated.

Yale New Haven Health System (YNHSS) Chief Clinical Officer Thomas Balcezak and YNHHS CEO Marna Borgstrom gave those updates Tuesday afternoon during the regional hospital system’s latest Covid-19-related press briefing. The virtual presser was held online via Zoom and Facebook Live.

Balcezak and Borgstrom said that the number of Covid-positive inpatients at YNHH’s various hospital campuses in Connecticut and Rhode Island has risen by roughly 25 percent over the past two weeks.

The system currently has 208 Covid-positive inpatients — including 138 in New Haven, 51 in intensive care units (ICU), and 29 on ventilators.

While that total number still pales in comparison to the 800-plus Covid patients the hospital system had during the first peak last spring, Borgstrom said, ​“given that we had all these hopeful signs the curve was going down and down, this is disappointing.”

When asked if she shares the federal Centers for Disease Control and Preventions (CDC) concerns about yet another new surge in infections, especially in the Northeast, Borgstrom said, ​“It would be crazy not to be concerned.”

The hospital system’s current base of Covid patients is also on average much younger now than at just about any other point of the year-long pandemic.

Balcezak said that 44 of the 208 current Covid-positive inpatients are under the age of 45.

“Our hospital used to be filled with Covid patients 55 and above,” he said. ​“That has shifted dramatically.”

“What we are seeing are patients in their 20s and 30s and 40s,” added Borgstrom.

The two top hospital system administrators identified two likely reasons for the increase in infections and hospitalizations, especially among younger populations.

The first reason, they said, is a testament to the efficacy of the vaccines. YNHHS has administered over 200,000 shots over the past three and a half months. Roughly 125,000 individuals have received at least one dose from the regional health system.

All Connecticut residents over the age of 45 are currently eligible to be vaccinated. Those over the age of 75 have been eligible for several months. So more and more middle-aged and older residents across the state have gotten shots — and are therefore catching Covid and coming down with severe illness in much lower proportions.

Balcezak said that, since Dec. 27, the hospital system has seen a 77 percent reduction in the number of hospitalized Covid patients over the age of 75. It’s seen a 72 percent reduction among Covid-positive patients between the ages of 65 and 74. It’s seen a 66 percent reduction among Covid-positive patients between the ages of 55 and 64.

And it has seen a 41 percent increase among Covid-positive inpatients between the ages of 35 and 44.

“Last week we admitted and intubated a 21-year-old,” Balcezak said. ​“There are now two pediatric patients in our ICU we Covid,” and another four pediatric Covid patients ​“on the floor” — that is, in the hospital but not in the ICU.

“What we are seeing in the numbers and demographics of the patients being admitted is a reinforcement of the value of being vaccinated,” Borgstrom said. ​“We are seeing proportionately and in an absolute number fewer older patients.”

Everyone over the age of 16 will become eligible to be vaccinated starting Thursday per the governor’s statewide vaccine rollout plan. That’s also when the state will start giving priority vaccine access to people with sickle cell disease or Down syndrome, people who have received a solid organ transplant, those being treated for cancer, residents who have end stage renal failure, and patients of Connecticut Children’s or Yale New Haven Children’s hospitals.

Borgstrom said her key message to Connecticut residents: ​“Get vaccinated. … If we do see vaccination progress moving at a rapid clip, we can hope that this is just a blip in the process.”

Balcezak said that YNHH administered nearly 17,000 first doses of the vaccine to patients across the region last weekend, including 1,442 shots in a single day on Sunday at the Floyd Little Athletic Center on Sherman Avenue next to Hillhouse High School.

He said the system will be receiving 22,000 first doses from the state this week, and that the hospital system has the capacity to administer 40,000 shots per week if the federal and state governments are ever able to increase supplies to that level.

British Variant Gaining Steam

While the efficacy of the vaccines and eligibility of older demographics to get a shot likely explains why YNHHS’s patients are getting proportionately younger, why is the absolute number of new infections and hospitalizations going up right now?

Balcezak said that the British variant of the virus — also known as B.1.1.7—is almost certainly the culprit.

There is still a scientific debate over whether or not that variant causes more bad outcomes than other variants of the virus, he said.

“What is not up for debate is that it spreads much more easily.”

At YNHHS, he said, roughly 40 percent of Covid test results that come back positive include the B.1.1.7 variant.

“Because of the increased transmissibility, once it gets a toehold in communities, it overtakes other variants.”

“Think about your grass with a really rapidly growing weed that can outcompete the grass,” he continued. ​“If you don’t do anything about it, that weed become dominant on your lawn.”

The good news is that the approved vaccines prevent the spread of the B.1.1.7 variant just as they prevent the spread of other versions of the virus, he said.

Balcezak said that YNHHS conducted 3,000 Covid tests system-wide yesterday. Six percent of those tests came back positive.

“We are close to the end of this pandemic,” Balcezak said. ​“We should be within a few months of getting a majority of our citizens vaccinated. That is incredibly encouraging.

“But we are also concerned about the emergence of variants, and particularly concerned about the uptick in cases over the past couple weeks.”

He said it’s possible that Connecticut could reach ​“herd immunity” — or a large enough share of the population vaccinated and immune to the virus — by as early as June. That’s an ​“incredibly ambitious” goal, he said, and depends on how many people are able to get vaccinated between now and then.

In the meantime, he and Borgstrom said, people should continue to wear masks, meet outdoors, and maintain social distances to mitigate the spread of the virus. And as soon as they are able to, sign up to get vaccinated, and get a shot.

“The best way to stay healthy and safe,” Balcezak said, ​“is vaccination.”

See below for information on where and how to schedule an appointment to get vaccinated.

Yale New Haven Health System: Visit the website here or call 833-ASK-YNHH
Cornell Scott Hill Health Center: Visit the website here or call 203 – 503-3000
Fair Haven Community Health Care: Visit the website here or call 203 – 871-4179
Walgreens (436 Whalley Ave., 88 York St., or 87 Foxon St.): Visit the website here or call (203) 777‑8001 for 436 Whalley Ave.: ; (203) 752‑9893 for 88 York St.; or (203) 469‑3016 for 87 Foxon St.
Walmart (315 Foxon Blvd.) Visit the website here