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CNN Health reported August 1, 2021 how ‘hospitals are surging with unvaccinated patients infected with the Delta variant’. But this time, victims of motor accidents and other diseases that had their jabs were also queuing up for beds. But then doctors did warn unvaccinated and vaccinated people repeatedly of the risk of overloading hospitals. How grave is this situation?
Are We Becoming Victims Of The Unvaccinated?
Dr. Christopher Thomas is critical care physician at Our Lady of the Lake Regional Medical Center in Baton Rouge. He believes unvaccinated and vaccinated people are both paying the price. ‘We currently are overwhelming our bed capacity’ he told CNN Health. ‘We’re creating burnout for our teams. And honestly, we’re beginning to impact the rest of the health care for the community.’
Some 97% of Covid-19 patients in the intensive care unit at Louisiana Hospital were unvaccinated the previous Friday. Moreover, the average age of Covid-19 patients there was 48 at that time. ‘That means there are children – with parents – who are now in the hospital,’ Dr. Thomas continued.
Unvaccinated and Vaccinated People Did Not Expect This
‘None of these patients thought they would get the virus,’ says Dr. Neil Finkler, chief clinical officer for Advent Health Central Florida. ‘But the Delta variant has proven to be so highly contagious that even the young and the healthy, including pregnant patients, are now starting to fill up our hospitals.’
‘If we fail to come together as a community now,’ Austin-Travis County Health Authority Dr. Desmar Walkes warns. ‘Then we jeopardize the lives of loved ones who might need critical care.
‘Our ICU capacity is reaching a critical point where the level of risk to the entire community has significantly increased. And not just for those who are needing treatment for COVID.’ We have heard Birmingham, New Orleans and Louisville are now issuing mask mandates to fight the Delta variant. We hope this is not too little, too late.
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Preview Image: United States CDC COVID Tracker
