On Jan. 5, nearly 7,000 new cases of the coronavirus were confirmed in Nassau County, which had a seven-day positivity rate of 26.1 percent, according to the state’s Department of Health. As of Monday, the most up-to-date figures, fewer than 1,200 new cases were confirmed and the county’s seven-day average decreased to 16.9 percent, a trend seen throughout New York, according to Gov. Kathy Hochul.
On Tuesday, Hochul announced that positive coronavirus cases across the state have decreased by 75 percent since the start of the winter surge in December due to the omicron variant. Despite the encouraging statistics, Hochul reminded everyone to get vaccinated and receive a booster shot, if eligible, to help maintain the decrease in cases.
“As numbers continue to move in the right direction, we need to remain vigilant against the winter surge by getting the vaccine and boosters, continuing to use masks, and staying home if you feel sick, so we can keep our fellow New Yorkers safe,” Hochul said. “Let’s not undo all of the progress we’ve made.”
Dr. David Hirschwerk, the executive vice chair of North Shore University Hospital and Long Island Jewish Medical Center’s Departments of Medicine, said people who are fully vaccinated have about a 40 percent protection rate against the omicron variant.
Those with a booster shot have roughly a 70 percent protection rate against the variant and about a 90 percent protection rate against developing severe illness.
“We can only say that those receiving boosters are much less likely to become infected compared to those receiving one or two shots,” Hirschwerk said in a statement to Blank Slate Media. “And with that, they are less likely to become transmitters of the virus. If they do become infected despite vaccination, they do remain contagious to others.”
Hirschwerk, who also serves as an associate professor of medicine at Hofstra/Northwell’s School of Medicine, said the Pfizer and Moderna vaccines “have performed better with respect to reducing transmission” than the Janssen J&J vaccine.
In Nassau County, more than 377,000 people had tested positive for the coronavirus since the beginning of the pandemic as of Monday, according to state health statistics. More than 5,300 people had died from the virus in Nassau.
Statistics from the state Department of Health show that Great Neck’s 11020 ZIP code led the way on the North Shore with 93.3 percent of its population receiving a completed vaccination series as of Wednesday.
The 11042 ZIP code of New Hyde Park continues to have the lowest rate at 16.4 percent of people with at least one shot, according to statistics. That area, however, consists primarily of businesses south of Northern State Parkway and along Marcus Avenue.
The next lowest rate on the North Shore is the 70.5 percent in the 11024 ZIP code of the Great Neck peninsula, which includes the Village of Kings Point. The next lowest one is also in Great Neck, with the 11023 ZIP code at an 73.7 percent rate, according to the figures. This area incorporates parts of the villages of Great Neck and Saddle Rock, along with Great Neck Gardens and Harbor Hills.
The statistics also show rates of 89.9 percent in Roslyn, 87.7 percent in Albertson, 87 percent in Port Washington, 86.6 percent in Mineola, 86.4 percent in New Hyde Park’s 11040 ZIP code, 85.9 percent in Williston Park, 84.7 percent in Roslyn Heights, 82.8 percent in Great Neck’s 11021 ZIP code, 80 percent in Manhasset and 77.5 percent in Floral Park.
In total, the 14 North Shore ZIP codes average a 78.7 percent rate of people who had a completed vaccination series as of Wednesday. Without the 16.4 percent figure in the 11042 ZIP code, the average for the remaining 13 ZIP codes increases to 83.5 percent.
Statistics also showed that 100 percent of the population in 10 ZIP codes on the North Shore received at least one vaccination dose as of Wednesday.
