Currently, COVID-19 cases in Minnesota are the third-highest per capita in among states in the United States, and emergency rooms are mostly full.
“We’re heartbroken. We’re overwhelmed.” Doctors at Minnesota said.
Currently, the Minnesota hospitals are urging their residents to get vaccinated against COVID-19 through a message they are sending out to residents.
“The situation is critical,” hospital staffers wrote in a full-page ad in the Minneapolis Star Tribune on Sunday.
“Our emergency departments are overfilled, and we have patients in every bed in our hospitals,” they announced. “This pandemic has strained our operations and demoralized many people on our teams.”
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Among the health systems that signed the message are North Memorial Health, the Mayo Clinic, Fairview Health Services, Children’s Minnesota, and five others.
A report by The New York Times stated as of Monday that 3,646 new cases were reported, an increase of 15% since the last two weeks. Around 70% of residents have received one shot of the vaccine.
Because of the large number of COVID-19 patients, hospital staff said they are unable to provide adequate care for people who arrive with car accident injuries or other illnesses such as cancer, stroke, appendicitis, and others.
Vaccines are the only way to prevent all this, according to experts.
“How does this happen in 2021 — almost two full years since this deadly pandemic began? How can we as a society stand by and watch people die when a simple shot could prevent a life-threatening illness?” they questioned.
“Your access to health care is being seriously threatened by COVID-19. We need to stop the spread!”
Their advice to residents included getting vaccinated and getting a booster dose if necessary, wearing masks “even if you’re vaccinated” and staying away from other people who were ill, and also encouraging these ill people to get vaccinated too.
“The full-page ad that some of Minnesota’s hospital and health system leaders signed is a dire yet accurate summary of the situation here in Minnesota,” Minnesota Hospital Association President and CEO Rahul Koranne said to CNN.
“Our health care heroes are exhausted, heartbroken, and overwhelmed after running this relentless ultramarathon for 22 months each day, evening and night.”
Several states, including Minnesota, have seen an increase in cases of COVID-19. Delta continues to spread in many Midwest and northeastern states, while the highly contagious, new omicron variant has also begun spreading across the nation.
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In the last two weeks, the number of cases has increased by 49% nationally, according to the Times.
At the present time, 72% of Americans have taken a dose of the COVID-19 vaccine, while 61% have received the vaccine fully.
