32 Upper East Siders Have Died During Omicron Wave

UPPER EAST SIDE, NY — Cases of COVID-19 are dropping steeply on the Upper East Side and around the city, but the contagious omicron variant still claimed dozens of lives in the neighborhood.

A total of 32 residents of the Upper East Side's five ZIP codes died from COVID-19 between Dec. 29 and Jan. 25, according to city data. The ZIP code seeing the most fatalities was 10028, which runs between East 80th and 87th streets, where 12 residents died in recent weeks.

Ten residents of the 10128 ZIP code died, while five each in 10065 and 10075 lost their lives, according to the city. The 10021 ZIP code, which runs between East 69th and 76th streets, was the only Upper East Side area reporting no fatalities.

Meanwhile, 224 Upper East Siders have been hospitalized with COVID-19 during the omicron wave, which began in mid-December, according to city data.

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

During the seven-day period that ended on Saturday, 307 Upper East Side residents tested positive for COVID-19: a rate of about 4 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 week ending Jan. 1, for example, the positivity rate in the same Upper East Side ZIP codes was 22 percent, as nearly 3,000 residents tested 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, large majorities of Upper East Side residents have gotten vaccinated — greatly reducing their risk of becoming seriously ill with COVID-19. All Upper East Side ZIP codes have at least 75 percent of residents fully vaccinated, with 10075 ranking highest at 92 percent, according to city data.

Patch reporter Anna Quinn contributed.