Patients are inundating some New York City medical practices with messages that they are experiencing Covid symptoms amid a late-summer surge of coronavirus infections and the appearance of a new variant.
At the same time, patients are peppering medical providers with questions about whether they qualify to receive a coronavirus vaccine after the Food and Drug Administration released new vaccine restrictions.
Dr. John van Bockxmeer, a primary care physician and an assistant professor of medicine at Columbia University, has noticed an influx of messages from patients with runny noses, chills and coughing — classic Covid symptoms.
“Monday in particular, we had several calls and messages from patients who are positive for Covid-19,” Dr. van Bockxmeer said. “I’m receiving lots of calls to the clinic and lots of messages with patients who’ve tested at home.”
Dr. Caren Behar, medical director of the Joan Tisch Center for Women’s Health at NYU Langone Health, said more patients were emailing about symptoms, and nurse practitioners had seen many patients with Covid. A new variant called Stratus is receiving some of the blame for rising case numbers nationally.
Most people who experience symptoms take rapid at-home tests and report their results to a physician. Dr. Behar said that her team was facing a dilemma with patients who had tested negative at home but displayed clear signs of Covid and received positive diagnoses at the clinic.
“They’ll say, ‘No, I tested three times, and I’m negative,’” she said. “I tell every single patient to go in and get a nasal swab.”
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention announced that Covid infections were growing or probably growing in most states. Hospitalizations from Covid are low in New York. A C.D.C. assessment suggests that there is a nearly 80 percent chance that the number of cases in the state will grow.
The New York State Wastewater Surveillance network tracks the spread of Covid by detecting the virus in wastewater. Dr. David Larsen, an epidemiologist and the chair of public health at Syracuse University, said Covid levels in the city’s wastewater were below average. The C.D.C. reported that statewide, wastewater levels of the virus were moderate.
Dr. Rushabh Shah, an emergency medicine physician at NewYork-Presbyterian/Columbia University Irving Medical Center, said that while he had seen more patients with Covid in the emergency room this summer, case numbers weren’t nearly as high as they had been in the spring. He advised that New Yorkers remain vigilant because Covid numbers can fluctuate at any moment.
With an uptick in cases and flu season approaching, patients are clamoring for Covid vaccinations.
The F.D.A. approved updated Covid vaccines this week for the fall while limiting eligibility. The F.D.A.’s new limited approval includes two vaccines designed with mRNA to target the LP.8.1 variant, which represents nearly one-third of recent cases.
The vaccines are authorized for people 65 and older, who tend to fare worse when infected with the coronavirus. Younger people are eligible for the shots only if they have an underlying medical condition that puts them at risk for complications if they’re infected. Clinics and pharmacies should have the updated vaccines in a few days.
Patients at the NYU Langone women’s health center are asking for the next Covid vaccine but are worried amid the new restrictions.
“My patients are freaking out about it,” Dr. Behar said. She tries to assure patients that doctors can recommend and administer vaccines when they believe it is warranted.
With the new guidelines, Dr. van Bockxmeer is concerned about reduced access to vaccines for people whose insurance won’t provide coverage.
Dr. Michael Phillips, chief epidemiologist at NYU Langone Health, said younger people who weren’t able to receive Covid vaccines should remain health-conscious and get flu shots.
As Covid case numbers grow, physicians are encouraging the public to stay calm.
“Covid now is not what Covid was in 2020,” Dr. Behar said. “It’s sort of hard to get that into people’s psyches because everybody’s panicked about getting Covid.”
Samantha Latson is a Times reporter covering New York City and a member of the 2025-26 Times Fellowship class, a program for journalists early in their careers.
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