During this time of year when you are busy making plans for Christmas, the Coronavirus is ramping up its activity, with cases averaging 118,000 per day and deaths increasing across the nation.
According to virus expert Dr. Michael Osterholm, on the latest episode of his podcast, there are “38,000 deaths a month now happening in this country from COVID,” and the “winter surge,” aka the “second wave of Delta activity,” is on the way. He also mentions certain states the virus is affecting the most.
What you’ll find out about the 19 states in trouble right now or soon will surprise you. Be on the lookout for these Sure Signs on COVID to ensure your health and that of your loved ones.
Vermont
“Vermont, which has fully vaccinated 74% of its population—they ranked fifth on the list of states with the highest case rates. In addition, cases and hospitalizations there have reached an all-time high and continued to grow.
The one overriding finding” about all the states you’re about to read about “is that the ICUs and most of the hospital beds are occupied by unvaccinated individuals. So even with this very high level of vaccinations in many of these states, as I have said time, time again, if you are not vaccinated, this virus will find you, it will find you.”
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Arizona
“Crowding of Arizona’s strained health care system continues to worsen during the latest surge, with the availability of hospital beds sinking to the lowest level since the pandemic began, state officials reported on Dec. 9.
Only 4% of inpatient beds and intensive care unit beds statewide were available as of Wednesday, according to the state Department of Health Services’ coronavirus dashboard,” Fox 10 reported.
“The dashboard also reported 3,663 additional confirmed COVID-19 cases and 75 more deaths, increasing the state’s pandemic totals to 1,305,260 cases and 22,854 deaths.”
Colorado
“Hospitals on the Western Slope have been slammed for weeks, and the statewide picture is similarly grim. As of Wednesday, 1,419 patients were hospitalized with COVID-19. Half of the state’s hospitals said they anticipated a staffing shortage in the next week; more than a third of them anticipated ICU bed shortages in the next week,” CPR reported.
“And behind those numbers, patients are feeling the impact.”
New Mexico
“At one of the hospitals where I work, in rural New Mexico, the covid-19 patients are often young. Many are extremely sick, and most are unvaccinated,” Clayton Dalton wrote in the New Yorker.
“Not long ago, I walked into a room to find a woman in her mid-thirties. (Patient details have been changed to protect privacy.) She was unvaccinated and had tested positive the week before. Her oxygen saturation was just fifty percent, and her chest X-ray looked terrible. She seemed resigned and scared.
When I asked her why she hadn’t got the vaccine, she shrugged. …In New Mexico, it doesn’t feel like we’re experiencing a new ‘wave’ of the pandemic—it’s more like we’re in the middle of an endless voyage, in twenty-foot seas, miles from land.”
Utah
“The number of Utahns hospitalized with COVID-19 jumped by 28 in the past day to a total of 549, according to the Utah Department of Health. And 209 of those patients are in intensive care,” Salt Lake Tribune reported.
“A data analyst at one of Utah’s largest hospitals noted Thursday that the state’s current surge in COVID-19 hospitalizations rivals the peak of last winter’s surge, with one difference — the current one is longer.
Erin Clouse, strategic engagement manager for the University of Utah Health, said in a Facebook Live community briefing that the current surge has stretched for 12 weeks as hospitalizations hover between 500 and 600 a day with no sign of letting up. The surge that hit Utah hospitals last winter lasted about nine weeks, she said.”
Michigan
“Michigan is reporting its highest number of cases in hospitalizations since the start of the pandemic. This includes the activity we saw there last spring with the alpha variant. And although Minnesota hasn’t quite reached record high levels of cases in hospitalizations during this surge, we’re now reporting our highest ever occupancy rates of adult ICU beds,” Osterholm explained.
“With 98% of these beds filled statewide.”
Minnesota
Osterholm, whoo hails from Minnesota and said “our surge literally began in mid-August and has generally been just an upward ride ever since. Our system is tired. In many cases, it is bending to the point of breaking, that’s what Delta is doing.”
Nebraska
“Nebraska Medical Center announced Tuesday it will place more limits on surgeries as COVID-19 concerns continue to push the hospital toward maximum capacity,” KETV reported.
“We need to make changes to make sure we have beds for patients and access for patients needing time-sensitive, medically-necessary procedures,” Matt Pospisil, who is the vice president of operations at Nebraska Medicine said.
“Nebraska Medical Center said the number of patients admitted with COVID-19 stood at 79 on Monday, and the number had ‘steadily increased’ over the last several weeks. The hospital also noted more workers were not present due to exposure to COVID-19.”
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Wisconsin
“Wisconsin hospitals are facing staffing shortages and a severe lack of beds in intensive care units as COVID-19 infections rise. Less than 3% of ICU beds were available in the state as of Thursday,” USA Today reported.
Illinois
“The coronavirus’s omicron variant was detected for the first time in Illinois in a Chicago resident, authorities announced Tuesday, almost two weeks after discovery of the new variant first reported by South African scientists created fresh hurdles for public health officials in the crusade to beat back the pandemic,” Chicago Tribune reported.
“Chicago is still in the throes of an earlier COVID-19 surge driven by the highly contagious delta variant. Making that vaccination appointment — plus getting a booster shot for adults — is more crucial than ever,” experts say.
Indiana
“Health officials in Indiana reported about 2,750 COVID-19 hospitalizations as of Wednesday, with Indiana University Health, the state’s largest hospital system, calling on the National Guard to help lessen the burden on health care workers,” Newsweek reported.
“A current surge in cases in Indiana is quickly approaching pre-vaccine numbers. According to the Indiana Department of Health, an average of 30 people are dying from the virus per day. IU Health said it contacted the National Guard because the strain on the workers at its 16 hospitals across Indiana ‘has never been greater.'”
Iowa
“There were 777 people infected by the coronavirus who were receiving inpatient treatment at Iowa hospitals on Wednesday, the highest number yet this year, according to state data. That number was up 8 percent in the past week,” Times-Republican reported.
“Hospitals are in a staffing crisis,” Jennifer Nutt of the Iowa Hospital Association disclosed to the Times-Republican.
“The staffing shortages have been terrible for a while now. The current surge will also have an impact.”
Kansas
“Here we go again,” said Fox 4. “That’s the message from doctors and hospitals across the Kansas City region as COVID-19 cases begin to climb. Some areas are experiencing a jump in hospitalizations that doctors said hasn’t been seen in a year.”
“We are really close to the maximum [number] and I don’t think we are at the peak yet. So I think this will be the highest we’ve ever seen with COVID,” Dr. Ragu Adiga, Chief Medical Officer, Liberty Hospital, told.
Ohio
“Health officials made their plea once again for Ohioans to get vaccinated, as the state is seeing more COVID-19 cases and hospitalizations as the end of the year nears,” Columbus Dispatch reported.
“Our COVID-19 hospitalizations continue to be driven largely by unvaccinated Ohioans,” Bruce Vanderhoff, director of the Ohio Department of Health, revealed to Columbus Dispatch.
“In recent weeks, Ohio has reported several days of more than 8,000 COVID-19 cases, some of the highest levels since September’s fall peak fueled by the delta variant.”
Rhode Island
“Rhode Island, which has fully vaccinated, 74% of its population ranked third on the list of states with the highest number of cases per capita, although they haven’t hit record high levels,” Osterholm said.
“During this surge, they’re clearly seen a lot of transmission and hospitalizations are continuing to creep up.”
Massachusetts
“All of Massachusetts is again considered high-risk for COVID-19 transmission as new cases continue to surge, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
The latest data from the CDC shows that every county in the state has a high COVID transmission rate, with more than 100 new cases reported per 100,000 residents between Nov. 30 and Dec. 6,” WHDH reported.
Pennsylvania
“Geisinger, one of Pennsylvania’s largest health systems has run out of beds due to the COVID surge, causing patients to wait 10 to 20 hours in the emergency department, officials said Wednesday,” Newsweek reported.
“Officials said doctors and nurses are having to perform ‘waiting room medicine’ on waiting patients.” “COVID continues to rage on,” Dr. Jaewon Ryu, Geisinger stated, “emphasizing the importance of vaccinations.”
Delaware
“Delaware surpassed 300 COVID-19 related hospitalizations this week, which is the highest this figure has been since early February,” Delaware Online reported.
“It’s another indication of battle Delaware is facing: Hospitalizations are up by 83% since November, currently hovering around 307 as of Dec. 7. Of these hospitalizations, about two dozen are in critical care.”
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New York
“Governor Kathy Hochul announced that masks will be required to be worn in all indoor public places in New York unless businesses or venues implement a vaccine requirement. The governor made the decision based on the state’s weekly seven-day case rate as well as hospitalizations. The new business and venue requirements extend to both patrons and staff,” ABC 7 reported.
“I have warned for weeks that additional steps could be necessary, and now we are at that point based upon three metrics: Increasing cases, reduced hospital capacity, and insufficient vaccination rates in certain areas,” Governor Hochul stated.
In all, to protect the lives of yourself and others, please get vaccinated and boosted, and avoid visiting any of these 35 places.
