Omicron Wave Saw More Than 150 Deaths In Brownsville, East NY

EAST NEW YORK, BROOKLYN — COVID-19 claimed more than 100 lives around Brownsville and East New York during the two-month surge of the contagious omicron variant, city records show.

A total of 152 New Yorkers living in the two neighborhoods' five zip codes died from COVID-19 in late December and through Jan. 25, according to city data.

The ZIP code seeing the most fatalities was 11207 — which also stretches over New Lots and part of Cypress Hills — which lost 44 residents in that span.

The city also reports 981 residents in the five ZIP codes have been hospitalized with COVID-19 during the omicron wave, according to city data.

But data also shows marked improvement in the battle against the contagious variant.

During the seven-day period that ended Monday, 365 people tested positive for COVID-19 in Brownsville and East New York's ZIP codes: a positivity rate of 3.6 percent.

While that's higher than the figures seen in the neighborhood during most of 2021, it is a sharp drop from the previous few weeks.

In the last week of December, for example, the positivity rate in the same ZIP codes was between 35 and 41 percent, with thousands of residents testing positive.

After an initial period of cautious optimism when rates began dropping in early January, leaders are now talking openly about the encouraging trends.

"Not only is New York City winning in the fight against COVID-19, but we are bringing even more help right to New Yorkers' front doors to continue beating this pandemic," Mayor Eric Adams said in a recent statement, referring to a new effort to deliver antiviral pills to residents.

Similar trends are holding across New York state, whose positivity rate dropped below 10 percent last month for the first time since December.

Elsewhere in the U.S., hospitals have been overwhelmed by a surge in patients caused by omicron, and deaths have continued to rise even as overall cases appear to slow.

Meanwhile, a majority of Brownsville and East New York have gotten vaccinated — greatly reducing their risk of becoming seriously ill with COVID-19 — though parts of the neighborhood remains less vaccinated than many nearby areas.

The lowest vaccination rate, which is lower than most of New York City ZIP codes, is found in 11233, where only 67 percent of residents have gotten their first dose, data shows. The ZIP codes includes Ocean Hill and parts of Bed-Stuy and Crown Heights.

That is compared to the rest of the neighborhood, where vaccine rates are all above 76 percent. The highest rate is found in the small ZIP code that covers Starrett City and the lower portion of East New York, 11239, where 99 percent of residents have gotten their first dose.

Here's a look at the latest numbers for all of the neighborhood's ZIP codes:

• 11233
  • 7-day percent positive: 2.57%
  • People tested (reported to date): 2,339
  • New people positive (reported to date): 60
• 11212
  • 7-day percent positive: 3.29%
  • People tested (reported to date): 2,432
  • New people positive (reported to date): 80
• 11207
  • 7-day percent positive: 3.58%
  • People tested (reported to date): 2,765
  • New people positive (reported to date): 99
• 11208
  • 7-day percent positive: 3.84%
  • People tested (reported to date): 2,707
  • New people positive (reported to date): 104
• 11239
  • 7-day percent positive: 4.91%
  • People tested (reported to date): 448
  • New people positive (reported to date): 22

Nick Garber contributed to this report.