COVID vaccination rates rose in NYS, U.S. in '24 as Long Island deaths, hospitalizations fell
More than 44% of people 65 and older nationwide had received the updated vaccine as of Dec. 28, compared with 32% at the same time last winter. Credit: Newsday/Howard Schnapp
More older adults in New York and nationwide have received an updated COVID-19 vaccine this year than last, and that, along with a less virulent virus and some immunity derived from previous infections, are driving lower hospitalization and death rates, experts say.
COVID-19 deaths on Long Island sharply decreased in 2024, and although the number of COVID-19 hospitalizations rose this holiday season, as they have every year since the pandemic began, far fewer people were hospitalized with the virus than during previous early winters, data shows.
"COVID in 2025 is a different disease than COVID in March of 2020," said Dr. Adrian Popp, an infectious disease specialist at Huntington Hospital. After the virus’ repeated mutations, "the disease is not as severe as it used to be," he said.
Yet older people, especially those with certain health conditions, remain vulnerable to serious bouts of COVID-19, which is why Dr. Aaron Glatt is buoyed by the jump in vaccinations among those 65 and older.
"They're the ones that need it the most and will benefit from it the most," said Glatt, chairman of medicine and chief of infectious diseases at Mount Sinai South Nassau hospital in Oceanside.
More than 44% of people 65 and older nationwide had received the updated vaccine, which was released in August, as of the week ending Dec. 28, compared with 32% at the same time last winter, according to the National Immunization Survey.
The increase in vaccination rates among younger adults was much smaller: A rise of 1 percentage point for those 18 to 49, to 12.2% from 11.2%, according to the nationwide Centers for Disease Control and Prevention survey, which interviews an average of 11,000 people a week.
In New York, the vaccination rate among people 65 and older for surveys taken between Oct. 27 and Nov. 30 was 36.8%, up from 27.3% for a roughly similar time period in 2023, CDC data shows. Rates for adults under 65 rose less sharply. November is the latest for when age-specific state data is available.
Overall in New York, as of Dec. 28, 21.8% of adults had received the updated vaccine, compared with 18% the same time last winter, according to survey data. Almost every state saw an increase in vaccination rates.
The increase in vaccination rates "makes complete sense to me," said Perry Halkitis, a public health psychologist and dean of the Rutgers School of Public Health in New Jersey.
The public-health messaging about the 2023 vaccine was more muddled than in 2024, when the CDC and others emphasized the newness of the updated vaccine — that it is a reformulated, more effective version, and "not just the same thing you’ve had before," he said.
"From a psychological perspective, and from a health behavior perspective, the messaging was a lot more powerful," he said.
In the past, the term "booster" was used to describe the shot, and although the CDC stopped using the term in 2023, it was still embedded in the public's minds — and "booster" implies something similar to the original, rather than something different, he said.
The increase in vaccination rates is almost entirely from the rise in vaccinations among people 65 and older, because they correctly perceive they are at higher risk for severe COVID-19, not only because their immune systems are weaker but because they are more likely to be living with chronic diseases, Halkitis said.
Dr. Leonard Krilov, an infectious disease consultant and former chairman of pediatrics at NYU Langone Hospital-Long Island in Mineola, said now that the virus is "milder in most people" than in the past, but still potentially dangerous for many older adults, health care providers may be focusing more intensely on promoting the vaccine among them, rather than trying to get all their patients vaccinated.
"It's more of a focused, targeted approach," he said.
Many younger adults "are comfortable with getting COVID," Glatt said.
"For people at low risk, that's not the end of the world," he said. "But people who are at high risk need to understand that this is still a potentially fatal disease."
COVID-19 continues to kill, but in much lower numbers than in the past.
On Long Island, 398 people died of COVID-19-related causes from Jan. 3, 2024, to Dec. 31, 2024, compared with 657 from Dec. 31, 2022, to Jan. 2, 2024, according to the state Department of Health. That’s more than 13 times fewer deaths than 2020, when nearly 5,300 people died of COVID-19 on Long Island.
Those numbers include only deaths in hospitals, nursing homes and adult-care facilities but not places like private homes, hospices or prisons.
Hospitalization numbers also are down. They increased this holiday season as in prior years, because indoor gatherings and widespread travel make it easier for the virus to spread. But the peak so far this season — 164 people in Long Island hospitals with COVID-19 on Monday, after which hospitalizations have started to slowly decline — is far lower than the peak in previous seasons. Last winter’s peak was 661 hospitalizations on Jan. 3, 2024, and three years ago, it was 2,254 on Jan. 11, 2022.
The increased vaccination rates of older adults are a factor in the decline, as are the milder strains of the virus now circulating, and previous infections with the virus, which provide a level of immunity that helps protect against severe disease, Krilov said.
"The population has some degree of protection even if it’s not absolute," he said.
The National Immunization Survey does not provide county-by-county breakdowns. New York State counts the number of vaccinations that health care providers report, but that data is an underestimate because providers are no longer required to report vaccine data for people 19 and older.
That’s why the CDC data is better for identifying vaccination trends and levels, Krilov said.
"It’s a more accurate, complete recording," he said.
The incomplete state data shows that Nassau and Suffolk each have lower COVID-19 vaccination rates than the state as a whole: 6.7% in Nassau and 6.6% in Suffolk for people of all ages, compared with 9.7% statewide, according to state data as of Tuesday.
More older adults in New York and nationwide have received an updated COVID-19 vaccine this year than last, and that, along with a less virulent virus and some immunity derived from previous infections, are driving lower hospitalization and death rates, experts say.
COVID-19 deaths on Long Island sharply decreased in 2024, and although the number of COVID-19 hospitalizations rose this holiday season, as they have every year since the pandemic began, far fewer people were hospitalized with the virus than during previous early winters, data shows.
"COVID in 2025 is a different disease than COVID in March of 2020," said Dr. Adrian Popp, an infectious disease specialist at Huntington Hospital. After the virus’ repeated mutations, "the disease is not as severe as it used to be," he said.
Yet older people, especially those with certain health conditions, remain vulnerable to serious bouts of COVID-19, which is why Dr. Aaron Glatt is buoyed by the jump in vaccinations among those 65 and older.
WHAT NEWSDAY FOUND
- The percentage of people 65 and older nationwide who have received an updated COVID-19 vaccine since August increased from 32% in late December 2023 to 44.2% in late December 2024, according to federal health survey results. There was a smaller increase in vaccinations among younger adults.
- Older adults are among the most vulnerable to severe COVID-19, and experts say the increased level of vaccination is one of several reasons, in addition to a less virulent virus and immunity from previous infections, that COVID-19 hospitalizations are down. On Long Island, about four times fewer people were hospitalized with COVID-19 early this month compared with roughly the same time last year.
- In New York, nearly 22% of adults of any age had received the updated vaccine as of Dec. 28, up from 18% in late December 2023. The federal health survey did not break down statewide figures by age. Almost every state saw an increase in vaccination rates.
"They're the ones that need it the most and will benefit from it the most," said Glatt, chairman of medicine and chief of infectious diseases at Mount Sinai South Nassau hospital in Oceanside.
More than 44% of people 65 and older nationwide had received the updated vaccine, which was released in August, as of the week ending Dec. 28, compared with 32% at the same time last winter, according to the National Immunization Survey.
The increase in vaccination rates among younger adults was much smaller: A rise of 1 percentage point for those 18 to 49, to 12.2% from 11.2%, according to the nationwide Centers for Disease Control and Prevention survey, which interviews an average of 11,000 people a week.
In New York, the vaccination rate among people 65 and older for surveys taken between Oct. 27 and Nov. 30 was 36.8%, up from 27.3% for a roughly similar time period in 2023, CDC data shows. Rates for adults under 65 rose less sharply. November is the latest for when age-specific state data is available.
Overall in New York, as of Dec. 28, 21.8% of adults had received the updated vaccine, compared with 18% the same time last winter, according to survey data. Almost every state saw an increase in vaccination rates.
The increase in vaccination rates "makes complete sense to me," said Perry Halkitis, a public health psychologist and dean of the Rutgers School of Public Health in New Jersey.
The public-health messaging about the 2023 vaccine was more muddled than in 2024, when the CDC and others emphasized the newness of the updated vaccine — that it is a reformulated, more effective version, and "not just the same thing you’ve had before," he said.
"From a psychological perspective, and from a health behavior perspective, the messaging was a lot more powerful," he said.
In the past, the term "booster" was used to describe the shot, and although the CDC stopped using the term in 2023, it was still embedded in the public's minds — and "booster" implies something similar to the original, rather than something different, he said.
The increase in vaccination rates is almost entirely from the rise in vaccinations among people 65 and older, because they correctly perceive they are at higher risk for severe COVID-19, not only because their immune systems are weaker but because they are more likely to be living with chronic diseases, Halkitis said.
Dr. Leonard Krilov, an infectious disease consultant and former chairman of pediatrics at NYU Langone Hospital-Long Island in Mineola, said now that the virus is "milder in most people" than in the past, but still potentially dangerous for many older adults, health care providers may be focusing more intensely on promoting the vaccine among them, rather than trying to get all their patients vaccinated.
"It's more of a focused, targeted approach," he said.
Many younger adults "are comfortable with getting COVID," Glatt said.
"For people at low risk, that's not the end of the world," he said. "But people who are at high risk need to understand that this is still a potentially fatal disease."
COVID deaths down on LI
COVID-19 continues to kill, but in much lower numbers than in the past.
On Long Island, 398 people died of COVID-19-related causes from Jan. 3, 2024, to Dec. 31, 2024, compared with 657 from Dec. 31, 2022, to Jan. 2, 2024, according to the state Department of Health. That’s more than 13 times fewer deaths than 2020, when nearly 5,300 people died of COVID-19 on Long Island.
Those numbers include only deaths in hospitals, nursing homes and adult-care facilities but not places like private homes, hospices or prisons.
Hospitalization numbers also are down. They increased this holiday season as in prior years, because indoor gatherings and widespread travel make it easier for the virus to spread. But the peak so far this season — 164 people in Long Island hospitals with COVID-19 on Monday, after which hospitalizations have started to slowly decline — is far lower than the peak in previous seasons. Last winter’s peak was 661 hospitalizations on Jan. 3, 2024, and three years ago, it was 2,254 on Jan. 11, 2022.
The increased vaccination rates of older adults are a factor in the decline, as are the milder strains of the virus now circulating, and previous infections with the virus, which provide a level of immunity that helps protect against severe disease, Krilov said.
"The population has some degree of protection even if it’s not absolute," he said.
Nassau, Suffolk lag in vaccination rates
The National Immunization Survey does not provide county-by-county breakdowns. New York State counts the number of vaccinations that health care providers report, but that data is an underestimate because providers are no longer required to report vaccine data for people 19 and older.
That’s why the CDC data is better for identifying vaccination trends and levels, Krilov said.
"It’s a more accurate, complete recording," he said.
The incomplete state data shows that Nassau and Suffolk each have lower COVID-19 vaccination rates than the state as a whole: 6.7% in Nassau and 6.6% in Suffolk for people of all ages, compared with 9.7% statewide, according to state data as of Tuesday.
David Olson covers health care. He has worked at Newsday since 2015 and previously covered immigration, multicultural issues and religion at The Press-Enterprise in Southern California.
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