Despite Vaccines, Nassau Coronavirus Cases Climb

NASSAU COUNTY, NY — Even though Nassau County has the highest vaccination rate in the state, the highly contagious delta variant of the coroanvirus continues to spread, infecting many more residents. Deaths, however, are remaining low.

Nassau has the highest vaccination rate in the state — 84.4 percent of adults have received at least one dose of a coronavirus vaccine. And 70.7 percent of the total populations is vaccinated.

But despite the high vaccination rate, the beginning of August saw more coronavirus cases in Nassau County than in all of July, according to data from New York state. There were 3,498 confirmed cases in July, and 3,573 as of Aug. 11. There were also nine deaths so far in August, compared to 5 in July.

Things were looking good for the county before the delta variant arrived. With vaccinations ramping up, the spring saw relatively few cases. There were 2,607 cases confirmed in May and 805 in June — down from 12,359 in April.

But the delta variant is more contagious than the regular coronavirus. That, combined with vaccine hesitancy, has led to another outbreak. This, however, is confined mainly to the population of unvaccinated people.

While there are some breakthrough cases — instances where a person with the coronavirus vaccine contracts the virus — the vast majority of new cases have been among the unvaccinated. The deaths are also among them as well.

If those with the vaccine get sick, their symptoms will most likely be milder. They're also much less likely to end up hospitalized.