The current increase in COVID-19 cases driven by the hypertransmissible delta variant is stressing hospitals across the U.S., particularly in the south. Twenty-five percent of hospital intensive care units across the country are now above 95 percent. That percentage rises 20 percent in July and only 10 percent in June, according to New York Times data tracking.
The increase in critical care comes after an increase in cases and hospitalizations. The average number of new daily cases in the country soared from about 12,000 a day in late June to about 150,000 in mid-September. Hospitalizations have also increased, from an average of nearly 17,000 a day in early July to about 100,000. Although cases and hospitalizations begin to increase or decrease slightly, they remain extremely high. Meanwhile, deaths are on the rise. In the last two weeks, deaths have risen by 40% to the current average of almost 1,900 a day.
Most cases and almost all hospitalizations and deaths continue among the unvaccinated. About 60,000 people in the U.S. have died from COVID-19 since early July. With highly effective vaccines available for free, almost all current deaths can be prevented.
Now, along with the increase, public health experts fear that pressure on health care systems will lead to additional suffering and death in non-VOCID patients. Hospitals in several states have been forced to ration treatments and adopt crisis care standards.
Alabama hospitals have exceeded 100 percent of ICU bed capacity. The Alabama Hospital Association reported Tuesday that there were 1,592 ICU patients in the state and there were only 1,549 ICU beds, an excess of 43 patients. The average seven-day positive test for Yellowhammer State is 19%, suggesting that transmission remains extremely high. Alabama is one of the least vaccinated states in the country, with only 40% of the population fully vaccinated.
Affecting everyone
In general, the most overcrowded hospitals and ICUs are in the south, where vaccination rates are relatively low and delta transmission has increased. In Texas, 169 of 506 reporting hospitals have more than 95% ICUs, which exceeds June 69, the Times notes. In Florida, 24 hospitals have reported that there have been more ICU patients than beds over the past week. In Mississippi, 94% of ICU beds across the state are full.
But the South is not the only place where hospitals are overflowing. Last week, the Idaho Department of Health activated its crisis care standards at 10 northern hospitals. Similarly, Alaska’s largest hospital, Providence Alaska Medical Center in Anchorage, enforced crisis rules over the weekend. The hospital announced the decision in a two-page letter sent Tuesday.
“Acuity and the number of patients now exceed our resources and our ability to care for beds with qualified caregivers, such as nurses and respiratory therapists,” according to the letter, which was signed by Providence’s chief of staff, Dr. . Kristen Solana Walkinshaw. [W]Priority must be given to scarce resources and treatments for those patients who have the potential to benefit most. We have been forced to develop and enact policies and procedures to ration medical care and treatments, including dialysis and specialized ventilatory support … Because of this shortage, we cannot offer life-saving care to everyone who does. you need “.
The letter also noted that, with patients falling in love with COVID-19, some people seeking emergency care were sitting for hours in the car outside the hospital, waiting to be seen by a doctor. .
In Illinois, the state Department of Public Health first reported that one of its health regions had run out of ICU beds. According to the Chicago Tribune, the southern region (region 5), which includes 19 hospitals, serves approximately 400,000 people.
The Illinois Medical Professional Action Collaboration Team issued a statement Tuesday saying, “This is not a ‘pandemic of the unvaccinated,’ but a pandemic that affects everyone as emergency and routine health collapses in one region.”