In the last few hours, 6,749 new covid-19 diseases were reported in Texas. Since September, graphs from the local Department of Health have almost always shown upward curves. That streak has only collapsed the health system and the response of doctors and diseases to the emergency. With more than 1.3 million infected jeans and nearly 24,000 dead, Texas is the second worst state.
With this in mind, the first doses of the vaccine – about 19,500 – began to arrive this Monday at four centers and, for now, will be inoculated only in health workers. In all, according to official figures: 5,850 were delivered to Methodist Medical Center in Dallas; 4,875 at the MD Anderson Cancer Center in Houston; 5,850 at UT Health in San Antonio; y 2,925 at UT Health in Austin. This Tuesday, the injection will reach another 19 points in 12 cities, such as Edinburg, El Paso, San Angelo, Corpus Christi, Galveston, Amarillo and Lubbock, some of the areas hard hit by the pandemic.
That’s not all. By December 21, more doses are expected to arrive not only from the Pfizer vaccine but also from the Moderna vaccine, which will have federal approval this week, Texas Department of Health Services spokesman Chris Van told media Deusen.
Although the vaccine has generated some hope, the reality of the state is that it comes at a time when hospitals are still receiving positive cases and are on the verge of collapse.
More patients and fewer beds
On Sunday, Texas health centers were at 91% of their hospital capacity, according to Department of Health Services figures. Only 11,168 beds were available and 699 in intensive care units. That same day , 9,230 people were hospitalized in the state. It is the second-highest figure since July, when Texas reached the mayor peak of hospitalizations and positive cases since the pandemic began.
In areas of the Panhandle, com Yellow, the situation is critical: there are 1,040 patients in bed. That leaves available only 234 open spaces for more diseases and in the area of intensive care there are barely seven left. In Lubbock, of the 1,545 beds, only 238 remain in the general area and 10 in intensive care units.
In El Paso, which in recent months has experienced an unexpected rise in cases so it had to ask for medical reinforcements due to lack of staff, operating at 88% of its capacity.
Moving to more populated areas like Houston, where nearly seven million people live and where one of the country’s largest hospital cities is located, the situation is no different. Of the 14,116 legs, only 1,946 are available. In intensive care units there are only 130 left. They work 94% of its capacity.
The Texas Medical Center (TMC) warned on its website on Monday that its intensive care units are at 99% capacity, at a time when the content rate of its hospitals in the Houston area has risen almost twice since last month.
Based on its reality, the TMC came to a conclusion that can be applied almost anywhere on the map of Texas: “Hospital capacity is exceeded by the daily growth rate of cases.”
