Dr. Stephanie Silvera Comments on Expected COVID-19 Surge in NJ

COVID cases and hospitalizations are continuing to rise in New Jersey, with nearly every county now seeing high levels of transmission.

But severe outcomes — intensive care admissions, ventilator use and deaths — are still relatively low in a state that has one of the nation’s highest vaccination rates, at 76%.

“We’re just at the beginning of this surge, and the metrics are trending in the wrong direction,” said Dr. Stephanie Silvera, Professor in the Public Health Department. She added, “While we may not be seeing a rise in severe outcomes, we still need to be mindful of reinfections, of long COVID — things that may well have a lasting effect.”