Patients are inundating some New York City medical practices with messages that they are experiencing Covid symptoms amid a late-summer surge of coronavirus infections and the appearance of a new variant.

At the same time, patients are peppering medical providers with questions about whether they qualify to receive a coronavirus vaccine after the Food and Drug Administration released new vaccine restrictions.

Dr. John van Bockxmeer, a primary care physician and an assistant professor of medicine at Columbia University, has noticed an influx of messages from patients with runny noses, chills and coughing — classic Covid symptoms.

“Monday in particular, we had several calls and messages from patients who are positive for Covid-19,” Dr. van Bockxmeer said. “I’m receiving lots of calls to the clinic and lots of messages with patients who’ve tested at home.”

Dr. Caren Behar, medical director of the Joan Tisch Center for Women’s Health at NYU Langone Health, said more patients were emailing about symptoms, and nurse practitioners had seen many patients with Covid. A new variant called Stratus is receiving some of the blame for rising case numbers nationally.

Most people who experience symptoms take rapid at-home tests and report their results to a physician. Dr. Behar said that her team was facing a dilemma with patients who had tested negative at home but displayed clear signs of Covid and received positive diagnoses at the clinic.