Lucas Holter, Senior Photographer

The number of COVID-19 cases and hospital visits citing COVID-19 have been on the rise since June in Connecticut, leaving some immunocompromised community members concerned.

According to an Aug. 28 email released by Madeline Wilson, the chief campus health officer, there has been an increasing presence of the COVID-19 virus in wastewater all over the nation, particularly in the Northeastern United States. Wastewater is an early indicator of increasing cases and provides information on new variants of infectious diseases like COVID-19. 

Akiko Iwasaki, a professor of immunobiology at the School of Medicine, told the News that the world is in the middle of a summer COVID-19 wave that started in July. This has led to an estimated million new cases each day in the United States; it has also led to an increase in hospitalizations, with 73,000 emergency room visits related to COVID-19 in Connecticut in the past week.

According to Iwasaki, the current dominant strain of COVID-19 is KP.31.1, which accounts for almost half of all U.S. cases. 

“[For] immunocompetent people who are vaccinated or who have prior immunity from infections, this strain is no more dangerous than the previous Omicron sub-variants,” Iwasaki wrote.

According to Albert Ko, a professor of epidemiology at the School of Public Health, COVID-19 has begun to attain a seasonal character; infections are highest during the winter and summer due to the emergence of variants and people being indoors. In a globalized world, variants can travel from different areas to the United States and cause surges of infections.

However, concerns remain for immunocompromised members of the Yale community, especially as Yale has relaxed COVID-19 policies in recent years. In February, Yale stopped collecting data on positive COVID-19 cases, among other changes.

For English professor Katie Trumpener, who is back this year to in-person instruction after teaching on Zoom for the last four years, the policies present challenges as she is immunocompromised. 

She shared with the News that her specialist believes that the same dangers still apply but that COVID-19 may always be present and it was time to “attempt at least a partial return.”

“I worry that, like the CDC itself, Yale has shaped its policies not only according to the best medical information available, but according to what it thinks will be readily accepted by the community,” Trumpener wrote to the News. “That means: no mandatory vaccination, no mandatory testing or isolation. No real provision for classes going hybrid if class members become ill.” 

Dean of Yale College Pericles Lewis told the News that the University is concerned about students with disabilities or in immunocompromised situations who might be at greater risk. According to Lewis, while the University no longer requires regular testing, it is trying to ensure that the resources are available and people are educated.

Lewis also shared that there is a new Office of University Health, run by Wilson, which will help distribute information about access to vaccines and other health resources. The News could not find any further information about the office. 

Trumpener mentioned that she was grateful that Yale was willing to close and shift things online at the beginning of the pandemic but said that those who are less able-bodied or more vulnerable are not always kept in mind. 

“As a society, ‘we’ seem determined to go as if nothing has happened and as if everything is back to normal. For some of us, though, it’s not yet normal and perhaps won’t ever be,” Trumpener wrote. 

Trumpener shared that she would like to see formal representation of immune-compromised people, faculty and students, in the decision-making surrounding COVID policies. 

According to Ko, because people have been vaccinated and the severity of infections has drastically decreased, “long COVID” has been on the decline as well. 

Vaccinations will be available at Yale this month, per Wilson’s email.

According to Ko, it is a good idea to get the vaccine before the winter wave to safeguard oneself against infection and long-term COVID-19. However, because of the vaccine’s waning effects, it is recommended that immunocompromised people get vaccinated two to three times a year.

“If we get vaccinated, it may prevent us from getting infected for three or four months, but other people are getting sick, and they’re getting immunity, which leads to herd immunity,” Ko told the News. “However, the effect of these vaccines is certainly less than a year, and it’s likely much less than six months.” 

Additionally, Paxlovid, an oral pill, is recommended for those with pre-existing conditions that put them at higher risk of COVID-19, according to Iwasaki.

In an email to the News, Wilson also wrote, “We strongly encourage vaccination, and support those who feel more comfortable masking even when not ill.” 

She also shared that Yale routinely monitors levels of respiratory illness locally and nationally, as well as other significant conditions. 

“As far as the future is concerned, we, like many institutions, are transitioning to managing COVID as a recurrent, endemic infection where we expect to see periodic waves and learn to take it in stride,” Wilson wrote to the News.

Yale Health is located at 55 Lock St.