Half of COVID-19 patients in NYC hospitals were admitted for something else — a sign of milder Omicron cases in vaccinated people

• New York reported more than 11,500 COVID-19 hospitalizations on Friday — close to a record high.
• More than 40% of those patients, and half of hospitalized COVID-19 patients in New York City, were admitted for an unrelated issue.

New York is approaching a record high number of COVID-19 hospitalizations nearly two years into the pandemic.

The state's COVID-19 hospitalizations rose 36% in a single week, from fewer than 8,500 hospitalized patients on New Year's Eve to more than 11,500 hospitalized patients on Friday, according to $4. (In comparison, New York recorded upward of 14,000 COVID-19 hospitalizations at once in April 2020.)

In New York City alone, more than 6,000 hospitalized patients had COVID-19 as of Friday — a 40% increase from the week prior.

But disease experts caution that these latest figures include people who were admitted to the hospital for ailments unrelated to COVID-19, then later diagnosed with the disease. Thus far, the Omicron variant appears to cause $4.

The chart below shows the breakdown of people hospitalized for COVID-19 as of Friday, versus patients who tested positive in the hospital, but were admitted for a different reason. Roughly half of COVID-19 patients in New York City hospitals, and 43% of hospitalized COVID-19 patients across the state, were admitted for an issue unrelated to the virus.

COVID-related admissions made up a much larger share of COVID-19 hospitalizations in central (80%) and western (73%) New York. These regions have $4 than New York City and the state overall. Just 66% of people in central New York and 65% of people in western New York have had two vaccine doses, compared with 73% in New York City and 70% across the state.

COVID-19 can worsen outcomes for hospitalized patients with other illnesses

As Omicron cases continue to surge, vaccines have been instrumental at keeping hospitalizations at bay. A $4 from the UK Health Security Agency found that two vaccine doses lower the risk of an Omicron hospitalization by 65%, while three doses lower the risk by 81%.

Omicron may also $4 on its own, though scientists are still trying to determine if that's the case. Two $4 $4, which haven't been peer reviewed, suggest that Omicron may be less effective at attacking lung cells compared with other variants.

But an Omicron infection could $4 like cancer, diabetes, or kidney disease — especially for people hospitalized with these illnesses. People with diabetes who contract a viral infection, for instance, face an increased risk of diabetic ketoacidosis, a serious complication that can lead to coma or death.

Rising COVID-19 cases strain hospital capacity and threaten standards of care

An influx of COVID-19 patients may also hamper doctors' ability to provide adequate care, regardless of why patients were admitted to the hospital.

Many US hospitals are short-staffed due to a combination of $4 and hospital employees $4. Nearly one-quarter of US hospitals now report a critical staffing shortage, according to $4 from the US Department of Health and Human Services.

"Admissions with COVID is still very disruptive to the healthcare system at a time when it can't afford more disruption," Dr. Ashish Jha, dean of the Brown University School of Public Health, $4.

COVID-19 patients have to be isolated, and doctors must don additional protective gear like gloves and face shields while treating them, Jha said. Those extra precautions "[slow] everyone down from seeing other patients," he added, and make surgery "much more complicated."