Yale New Haven Health hospitalizations surge due to Delta variant

PHOTO | CONTRIBUTED Christopher O'Connor, CEO Yale New Haven Health

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By Liese Klein

COVID-19 hospitalizations have surged at Yale New Haven Health as the region deals with an uptick in infections due to the Delta variant of the virus, system officials said Tuesday.

A total of 137 people were hospitalized at YNHH facilities as of Tuesday, with 37 in intensive care and 23 on ventilators, YNHH President Chris O’Connor said. Fifty-four of the patients were being treated in New Haven. A month ago, only 10 people were hospitalized with COVID system-wide.

Of those hospitalized, 27% were fully vaccinated. “The uptick is really going to be the theme of the discussion,” O’Connor said at a press briefing.

The spike in hospitalizations reflects the surge in positive tests seen several weeks ago, said Thomas Balcezak, chief clinical officer of Yale New Haven Health. Almost all of the new infections are due to the Delta variant, he added.

Positive test rates have since come down in Connecticut and Balcezak said he expected serious illnesses to follow suit.

The return of college students to Connecticut campuses should not result in another surge, Balcezak added, since most institutions are requiring vaccinations and the virus is already “endemic” in the state. As long as colleges hold the line on unmasked gatherings, infection rates should stay low, he said.

Balcezak said he also expected that the FDA’s recent decision to approve the Pfizer COVID vaccine should prompt more people to get vaccinated.

“The FDA does not rush things and does not cut corners,” Balcezak said. “I think that there are some people who are encouraged by that and will take the vaccine because of it.”

At Yale New Haven Health, about 84% of employees have been vaccinated, a total of about 27,000 people. With the Aug. 31 deadline approaching, employees have been getting their shots.

“We’ll be holding firm to our mandate,” Balcezak said.

O’Connor said that asking companies to impose similar vaccination requirements was a step too far for now.

The specifics are so different at each entity,” O’Connor said. As a healthcare provider and academic medical center, YNHH had to act to protect patients. “It’s important that we let science lead the way,” he said.