COVID-19 hospitalizations are on the rise in New York, and health officials are reminding everyone to continue following precautions to stay safe.

What You Need To Know

  • Health experts say new strains of omicron, called the FLiRT variants, are spreading

  • Neal Smoller, pharmacist and owner of Village Apothecary, said he’s sold 30 times the number of COVID-19 tests in the past week than the one prior

  • According to Gov. Kathy Hochul’s office, COVID-19 hospitalization rates in New York are higher than this time last year, but below what was experienced at this time in 2022

Eden Di Bianco just got over having COVID-19 for a third time. It came as a surprise after being very cautious due to being immunocompromised.

“I tested positive on a home test when I started to feel some symptoms, but it was definitely a way rougher go than my second bout,” Di Bianco said.

While the rest of her family stayed healthy, Di Bianco said she believes she was exposed to the disease at a baseball game they attended, keeping her bedridden for eight days.

“It started with a headache and a sore throat, and I’m hearing from a lot of other friends who've had it recently that the sore throat was really killer, and that was definitely my experience as well," Di Bianco said. "I had really intense sweats for about three days. I lost five pounds in a week. I had nausea, congestion, sneezing, which I have not had before, and just a general full body ache like someone threw me down a flight of stairs."

Di Bianco isn’t sure which strain of COVID she may have had, but health experts say new strains of omicron, called the FLiRT variants, are spreading.

“There's a surge that we knew would be coming, and we can't forget that this is kind of a cyclical thing that has been happening for the past few years, so we need to be prepared,” said Neal Smoller, holistic pharmacist and owner of Village Apothecary.

Smoller said he’s sold 30 times the number of COVID-19 tests in the past week than the one prior.

“For the people that want to, again, be vigilant, to make sure that they are doing the best things wellness-wise for themselves. They are practicing all of the things that we've talked about since this started in 2020. Handwashing, social distancing, don't go into big crowds if you're nervous, wear masks and of course, get vaccinated as soon as you're eligible,” Smoller said.

According to Gov. Kathy Hochul’s office, COVID-19 hospitalization rates in New York are higher than this time last year but below what was experienced at this time in 2022.

“I’ve never been one to say that you can't live your life," Smoller said. "We have to live alongside COVID. I think that you should know that if you're going to get in an airplane, you run the risk of catching COVID. So, you might want to put a mask on, especially it's surging right now. But I don't think that that should deter anybody from their summer plans at all. I just think that you just need to be a little bit more cautious when you're out and about."

Di Bianco said her family plans on using caution throughout the rest of the summer with mostly outdoor activities planned.

“Summer is actually a little bit more of a freeform time because we can enjoy being outdoors more,” Di Bianco said.

Although Smoller said a new vaccine will be available in the fall, he said it’s still worth getting a booster now if those eligible have not yet received one.