US Medical structure on brink of collapse with COVID cases at 6-month peak: No ICU beds available in several states
US that claims to have some of the best medical facilities in the world is now unable to control the third wave. Texas, Arkansas, Oklahoma, Mississippi hospitals have literally no beds/ventilators left.
Over the past week, the USA has been grappling with a 6 month high of Covid-19, reporting more than 100,000 infections nationwide amid the rapid spread of the Delta variant. Hospitals in several states including Oklahoma, Louisiana, Mississippi, and Florida have been facing a severe shortage of ICU beds, reminding of the time when India was dealing with its worst-ever Covid-19 outbreak during the second wave.
The seven-day average of new reported cases reached nearly 95,000, a five-fold increase in less than a month. Seven U.S. states with among the lowest Covid-19 vaccination rates – Florida, Texas, Missouri, Arkansas, Louisiana, Alabama, Oklahoma and Mississippi – are accounting for half of the country’s new cases and hospitalizations in the last week.
As per officials, 739 Oklahomans were hospitalized with Covid-19 on an average over the past three days, including 21 pediatric hospitalizations. Patients that need an ICU bed have to wait in the ER or be transferred to another hospital when one opens up.
Meanwhile, in Texas, the number of active cases has jumped by 8,000 to 112,012 on Tuesday. In Central Texas, active cases stood at 3,854—a one-day increase of 600. This surge has led to a sharp increase in patients being admitted to hospitals, with about a fifth of beds being occupied in one day. As per the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, 6,628 people were hospitalized with the virus on Monday.
In Florida, over 25% of its hospital beds are occupied by Covid-19 patients while nearly 13 thousand patients are currently hospitalized. The state has emerged as a hotbed of new infections. More children are hospitalized with the virus in Florida than in any other U.S. state. “We have peaked above any previous wave and it is straining our system, our physicians, and all of our clinicians,” Neil Finkler, Chief clinical officer of AdventHealth’s central Florida division, said.
Mississippi, Louisiana, and Arkansas are also grappling with record numbers of coronavirus patients occupying beds. As of Thursday, nearly 1,200 Covid-19 patients were hospitalized in Mississippi while around 2,350 Covid-19 patients were hospitalized in Louisiana. “The Delta variant is sweeping the state like a tsunami”, said Thomas Dobbs, State Health Officer.
The Delta variant, which is more transmissible than its predecessors, became the dominant strain of the coronavirus in the US last month and has prompted a new surge in infections. According to US Health experts, Covid-19 cases in the country could double to 200,000 per day due to the Delta variant in the coming weeks.
The US government has planned to supply booster shots to Americans with compromised immune systems, Dr. Anthony Fauci, the top U.S. infectious disease expert said, joining Germany, France, and Israel in giving booster shots despite a plea by the World Health Organization to hold off until more people around the world can get their first shot.
