ALBANY COUNTY — White-tailed deer, the most abundant large mammal in North America, “may serve as a reservoir for variant SARS-CoV-2 strains that no longer circulate in the human population,” according to a paper written by scientists at Cornell’s College of Veterinary Medicine.

White-tailed deer live in every state in the contiguous United States and combined total an estimated 30 million.

Published two weeks ago in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, the paper, “White-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus) may serve as a wildlife reservoir for nearly extinct SARS-CoV-2 variants of concern,” focuses on deer in New York State, tested over two seasons since the start of the pandemic.

About a third of the deer tested during the second season in Albany County were positive for severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2, the virus that causes COVID-19, the study says. The 5,700 samples statewide were collected by hunters.

The first season ran from September through December 2020, with positive samples detected in October and November, while the second season ran from July through December 2021, with positive cases detected between October and December, peaking in the first two weeks of November 2021.

In 2021, researchers from Pennsylvania State University confirmed the ability of SARS-CoV-2 to infect white-tailed deer. Monitoring conducted by the U.S. Department of Agriculture Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service found that 40 percent of white-tailed deer sampled in Michigan, Illinois, Pennsylvania, and New York contained SARS-CoV-2 antibodies, and further studies identified the virus in additional states.

The recent Cornell study showed cocirculation of three major SARS-CoV-2 variants of concern — Alpha, Delta, and Gamma — in white-tailed deer long after their last detection in humans.

“Interestingly,” the researchers write, “the viral sequences recovered from WTD were highly divergent from SARS-CoV-2 sequences recovered from humans, suggesting rapid adaptation of the virus in WTD.”

The impact of these mutations on the transmissibility of the virus between white-tailed deer and from white-tailed deer to humans remains to be determined, the researchers wrote.

The paper gives this history of the disease:

The coronavirus disease 2019, known as COVID-19, was declared a pandemic in March 2020 and, as of January 2023, has incurred over 659 million human cases and more than 6.6 million deaths globally.

COVID-19 is caused by a single-stranded RNA virus, a new zoonotic virus for which most of the first known human infections were linked to the Huanan Seafood Wholesale Market in Wuhan, China, where several live wild animal species were sold.

Analysis of the genome sequence of SARS-CoV-2 revealed high similarity to coronaviruses circulating in bats in China, suggesting that bats are the most likely source of the ancestral virus that originated SARS-CoV-2. While the closest bat coronaviruses are related to SARS-CoV-2, they present several mutations across the genome that distinguish them from SARS-CoV-2, indicating that direct transmission of the virus from bats to humans was unlikely.

“These observations point to the involvement of a yet unidentified animal species that served as an intermediate host and enabled spillover of the virus into humans,” the researchers wrote.

The Cornell study showed more male than female deer were infected with the virus and that there were hotspots for infection in the Southern Tier and Western New York. Positive cases were detected in nine of the 10 geographic regions of the state: Western New York, Finger Lakes, Southern Tier, Central New York, North Country, Mohawk Valley, Capital Region, Mid-Hudson, and Long Island. No samples were collected in New York City.

White-tailed deer “are highly susceptible to SARS-CoV-2 infection and efficiently transmit the virus through direct or indirect contact to other susceptible animals,” the Cornell researchers wrote.

They also said one of the “most intriguing findings” of the study was that Alpha and Gamma variants circulated in white-tailed deer in New York State four to five months after the last reported detection in humans.

Animal feed is known to promote and enhance survival of several animal viruses, including coronaviruses, the authors say, so wildlife feeding practices should be investigated as a risk factor and avoided due to their potential to enable spillover of SARS-CoV-2 from humans to white-tailed deer and perhaps other susceptible wildlife species such as deer mice, mink, raccoon, and red fox.

“To date, only one report described the detection of a single WTD-like SARS-CoV-2 variant recovered from humans in Canada, which suggests potential deer-to-human transmission of the virus,” the study says.

There is a risk of contact with infectious SARS-CoV-2 during handling and processing of deer carcasses, the study says, “which could lead to spillback via deer-to-human transmission of the virus.”

In February 2022, the late Ward Stone, longtime New York State wildlife pathologist, wrote a letter to the Enterprise editor, “Cook venison properly to avoid COVID from deer,” in which he advised: “In general, viral diseases such as this are easily controlled and killed by cooking the meat at approximately 165 degrees Fahrenheit or higher.”

Albany County numbers

This week, Albany County’s 153rd of dealing with COVID, numbers are trending in the right direction with fewer new cases documented. The same is true statewide and nationwide.

Two new COVID-related deaths in Albany County were reported this week by the governor’s office, one on Thursday, Feb. 9, and the other Tuesday, Feb. 14. 

The county’s dashboard, as of Tuesday, Feb. 14, still shows a death toll of 618: 299 males and 319 females.

Also this week, Albany County’s designation by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has remained at a “medium” community level of COVID-19 after being labeled “high” three weeks ago.

The county had been designated “medium” by the CDC for the four weeks prior to the “high” designation, which followed two weeks of a “low” designation. That was preceded by four weeks of being labeled “medium” after 13 weeks of being labeled “high.”

All of the counties in New York State are now designated as either “low” or “medium.”

And, nationwide, only 2 percent of counties are labeled “high” while 21 percent are “medium,” and the great majority — 77 percent — are labeled “low.”

The weekly metrics the CDC used to determine the current “medium” level for Albany County are:

— Albany County now has a case rate of about 93.62 per 100,000 of population, down from 99.18 last week, 102 three weeks ago, 120 four weeks ago, and 107 five weeks ago but up from 79 five weeks ago;

— For the important COVID hospital admission rate, Albany County has a rate of 18.6 per 100,000, up from 15.4 last week but down from 16.4 two weeks ago, 22.2 three weeks ago, and 16 four weeks ago; and

— Albany County now has 6.4 percent of its staffed hospital beds filled with COVID patients, up from 5.6 last week, and 6.3two weeks ago, but down from 7.2 three weeks ago, 7.9 four weeks ago, 7.1 percent five weeks ago, and 6.5 percent six weeks ago.

As of Feb. 14, according to Albany County’s COVID dashboard, 35 patients were hospitalized with COVID, in the same range as for the last three weeks but down from 42 four weeks ago, 43 five weeks ago, 46 six weeks ago.

About 39 percent of the Capital Region residents hospitalized with COVID this week were not admitted because of having the virus, according to a chart from the governor’s office.

In New York State, according to the health department’s most recent figures, from Jan. 15 to 28, the Omicron variant made up 100 percent of new cases with the sublineage XBB.1.5 dominant at 75 percent, up from 39 percent in the previous two-week period; 10 percent were BQ.1.1 while 6 percent were BQ.1,  5 percent were XBB, and 2 percent were BA.5.

Nationwide, according to the CDC, from Feb. 5 to 11, the XBB.1.5 sublineage made up 75 percent of new cases, steadily rising from 49 percent three weeks ago, followed by BQ.1.1 at 15 percent and BQ.1 at 5 percent — both in decline.

Meanwhile, in our region, which includes New York, New Jersey, the Virgin Islands, and Puerto Rico, a whopping 95 percent of new cases are caused by the XBB.1.5 sublineage of Omicron, up from 92 percent last week, followed by BQ.1.1 at 3 percent and BQ.1 at 1 percent.

Although figures on infection rates are no longer reliable since tracing and tracking systems have been disbanded, the state dashboard shows that cases in Albany County as well as statewide have continued to decline in recent weeks.

Six weeks ago, rates for both the state and county had jumped after having leveled off in November following two months of climbing.

Albany County, as a seven-day average, has 11.0 cases per 100,000 of population,down from 13.9 last week, 13.6 two weeks ago, 14.7 three weeks ago, 16.2 four weeks ago, and 24.4 five weeks ago, 12.4 six weeks ago, and 12.0 seven weeks ago, but slightly higher than 10.9 eight weeks ago.

The current rate is up from numbers hovering between 8 and 11 ten weeks ago, which was a fairly steady decrease from 21.8 cases per 100,000 twenty-four weeks ago.

This compares with 11.5 cases per 100,000 statewide, down from rates over the last month in the twenties following a fairly steady decrease from 30.03 per 100,000 of population five months ago.

The lowest rates are in places that once were hotspots: Long Island has the lowest rate statewide at 9.6 cases per 100,000 of population while New York City has a rate of 10.5.

The highest count is in the North Country at 15.5 per 100,000 of population.

The numbers for vaccination in Albany County have hardly budged for several months. The state’s dashboard now reports on these two categories:

— People with a primary series, for those who have completed the recommended initial series of a given COVID-19 vaccine product — two doses of Pfizer or Moderna vaccine or one dose of Johnson & Johnson vaccine; and

— People who are up to date, for those who have completed all COVID-19 vaccinations, including the bivalent booster, as appropriate per age and clinical recommendations.

As of Tuesday, 21.1 percent percent of Albany County residents were up to date on vaccines, a gradual increase from 17.9 nine weeks ago, as opposed to the 61.5 percent of eligible residents who had received booster shots, as reported in prior weeks.

At the same time, 76.2 percent of county residents have completed a primary series, nearly the same as the last several weeks.

This compares with 76.4 percent of New Yorkers statewide completing a vaccination series, and 13.7 percent being up to date with vaccinations, up from 10.6 ten weeks ago.

New Yorkers are being encouraged by the state’s health department to get bivalent COVID-19 vaccine boosters from Pfizer-BioNTech for anyone age 5 or older and from Moderna for those 6 or older.

To schedule an appointment for a booster, New Yorkers are to contact their local pharmacy, county health department, or healthcare provider; visit vaccines.gov; text their ZIP code to 438829, or call 1-800-232-0233 to find nearby locations.

Supplemental SNAP benefits end this month

The added allotment of food benefits for New Yorkers enrolled in the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program has been extended another month for the last time.

Issued monthly to help New Yorkers weather the economic fallout of the COVID-19 pandemic, the supplemental benefits will conclude in March due to the changes prescribed by the Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2023, which was adopted by Congress late last year.  

“In addition to SNAP, these monthly benefits have proven to be invaluable to hundreds of thousands of New Yorkers dealing with food insecurity throughout the pandemic,” Governor Kathy Hochul said in a release, announcing the final extension. “With these emergency supplemental benefits ending, we will continue to focus our efforts protecting New Yorkers who are struggling to feed themselves and their families by expanding eligibility and maximizing assistance through SNAP.”   

All households, including those already receiving the maximum benefit for the household’s size and households that formerly would have received a monthly supplement of less than $95, will receive a supplement of at least $95.

SNAP households in all counties outside of New York City should see these extra benefits issued by Friday, Feb. 24.

The emergency supplemental benefits began in April 2020.

The recently approved federal spending bill ends these temporary emergency allotments this month, meaning SNAP recipients will receive their regular monthly benefit beginning in March and moving forward. New York State received roughly $6.5 billion in additional federal food assistance between April 2020 and December 2022.