On Thursday, hospitalized COVID-19 patients in the United States passed the 100,000 level not seen since January, pushing hospitals, ICU units, and medical staff up to and past their limits. Two states, Florida (17,000) and Texas (14,000), comprise about 30% of the nation’s Covid patients. The vast majority of them, over 90%, are unvaccinated. Oregon and Tennessee have called out their National Guards to assist, and various states have had to lower medical care standards, allowing some medical personnel to administer care that they are not licensed to provide. States find themselves competing with each other to bring in extra nurses. And 94% of nursing homes report that they are short of staffing. Further, there are now 2,100 children hospitalized with the virus; and school districts are now reporting outbreaks.
In Mississippi, their Hospital Association’s Center for Quality & Workforce reports that they have lost over 2,000 nurses this year. The Dept of Health and Human Services figures for the state indicates that the ICU staffed bed capacity is down to 875, and they are now at 93% usage. A historically high 63% of those beds belong to Covid patients. Gov. Tate Reeves said that over 1,000 healthcare workers are arriving this week to be deployed to 50 hospitals.
