Mayor Simmons Holds First COVID-19 Briefing

Stamford CT

08 December, 2021

8:27 PM

Description

STAMFORD, CT — Newly sworn-in Mayor Caroline Simmons held her first COVID-19 briefing on Tuesday night, as cases and hospitalizations increase in Stamford. As of Dec. 7, Stamford was experiencing 20 new COVID-19 cases per 100,000 on a seven day moving average. Last year at this time, however, Simmons noted that there were just over 90 cases per 100,000. The seven day average of cases per 100,000 was near 15 last week. The average was as low as four in mid-November. "We are seeing an uptick in cases and an increase in hospitalizations. [Vaccination] is the best way that you can protect yourself, your family and others," Simmons said. According to Dr. Asha Shah, head of infectious diseases at Stamford Health, hospitalization numbers have quadrupled in a little over a week. On Nov. 29, there were four COVID-19 patients being treated. As of Dec. 7, there were 16. Shah said 75 percent of hospitalized patients in Stamford are unvaccinated. Two cases of the omicron variant of the coronavirus were found at the Greenwich Hospital COVID-19 testing site. One person was asymptomatic, and the other experienced mild symptoms; neither were being treated at the hospital. On Wednesday, Pfizer and BioNTech said their COVID-19 vaccine booster neutralizes the omicron variant, while two-shots "show significantly reduced neutralization titers." More specifically, the booster shot "increases the neutralizing antibody titers by 25-fold compared to two doses."' But health experts are still trying to determine if omicron is more transmissible and if it causes more severe illness than previous coronavirus variants. "What we've learned so far is that individuals who are fully vaccinated against COVID that have gotten omicron have very mild illness," Shah said. Dr. Henry Yoon, Stamford's medical advisor, reminded residents that masking, social distancing, handwashing, testing and staying home when sick/isolating after a possible exposure are all paramount in staying safe during the pandemic. But the vaccine and booster shots should be at the forefront. "The vaccines are here to accomplish several things. We want to decrease the amount of transmission. We know vaccines help do that. We want to decrease those patients who develop severe disease, and we want to prevent unnecessary deaths. That's what the vaccine is here for," he said. Simmons said 80.67 percent of Stamford residents are vaccinated. Vaccination numbers by age group are as follows as of Dec. 1: 5-11: 16.74 percent have initiated vaccination; 2.1 percent fully vaccinated.12-17: 12.54 initiated; 75.46 fully vaccinated.18-24: 12.87 initiated; 69.61 fully vaccinated.25-44: 11.45 initiated; 80.52 fully vaccinated.45-64: 8.55 initiated; 90.17 fully vaccinated.65-plus: 99.52 percent fully vaccinated. Acting Department of Health Director Jody Bishop-Pullan said the rise in city cases has outpaced the school cases recently. Since the school year began, she said public school cases have ranged from 16-32 percent of total city cases. As of Dec. 3, they accounted for 21 percent. "We watch the school cases very carefully. They are on the rise again. We had a low for a little while, it went up in September and then down, and now we've started to see an increase recently," Bishop-Pullan said. According to the latest data, 43 new COVID-19 cases were reported last week in Stamford Public Schools, the majority being students. Simmons said her COVID-19 briefings will be weekly on Tuesday nights. She thanked those in the community who have worked hard to keep the public safe over the past 19 months. "Everyone is probably so tired of this pandemic and we're so ready for this to be over. We're so close if we can all hang in there a little longer, be responsible, take these precautions to protect yourself and your family over the holidays," Simmons added. "I'm optimistic that come the new year, we can hopefully be over the hump. As we continue to get people vaccinated, more people get their boosters and we can overcome this pandemic." For full information on testing and vaccination sites in Stamford, go to the city's website.