“We will be canaries”

Kansas City, Missouri (AP) — As the United States emerges from the COVID-19 crisis, Missouri is becoming a reminder for other countries. Delta variants and stubborn resistance among many people against being vaccinated.

The intensive care unit is surprisingly young, full of unvaccinated patients, and staff burned out in what was supposed to be the final battle.

The hope among some health leaders is that other parts of the United States may at least learn something from the plight of Missouri.

Eric Frederick, Chief Administrative Officer of Mercy Hospital Springfield, which is flooded with COVID-19 patients, said: The first subspecies identified in India break through a poorly immunized community. “We will be canaries.”

The state is currently leading the country with the highest new COVID-19 infection rates, with a surge in politically conservative agricultural areas in the north of the state and in the southwest, including the country’s Springfield and Branson. ..A mecca for music in the Ozark Mountains where many people gather get together Again at the city theaters and other attractions.

According to the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, more than 53% of all Americans have received at least one shot, while most counties in southern and northern Missouri are well below 40%. One county is only 13%.

Cases remain below winter highs in southwestern Missouri, but the orbit is steeper than previous surges, Frederick said. As of Tuesday, county figures show that 153 COVID-19 patients were admitted to Cox Health, another Springfield Hospital with Mercy, up from 31 a month ago.

According to Frederick, these patients were younger than in the early stages of the pandemic, with 60% to 65% of ICU patients in the weekend Mercy under the age of 40. I’m pregnant.

He hires a travel nurse and a respiratory therapist to help his tired staff as the rest of the country is about to leave the pandemic.

“Last year, we were health care heroes, and everyone was celebrating, bringing food to the hospital, praying rallies, and so on. Now everyone is.” The lake is open. let’s go. ‘We are still doing this here,’ he said.

There are also signs of warning across state boundaries. Arkansas on Tuesday reported the largest one-day jump in cases of three months or more. The state also has low immunization rates.

Like the delta variant, delay rates, especially among young adults, are becoming an increasing concern elsewhere in the country.

According to the CDC, mutants now account for more than 20% of new COVID-19 infections in the United States, doubling in just two weeks. He is responsible for half of all new cases in Swath, including Missouri, Iowa, Kansas, Nebraska, Colorado, Montana, North Dakota, South Dakota, Utah, and Wyoming.

“Delta variants are currently the greatest threat in the United States to attempts to eliminate COVID-19,” said Dr. Anthony Fauci, a top US infectious disease expert. He said there is a “real danger” to the surge in areas like Missouri where vaccine resistance is deep.

To combat the threat, government officials are stepping up efforts to vaccinate Americans between the ages of 18 and 26.

Elsewhere in the world, the United Kingdom, which has even higher immunization rates than the United States, has postponed the lifting of the remaining restrictions on socialization in the United Kingdom due to the rapid spread of variants. Another vaccination success story, Israel, is responding by tightening rules for travelers.

In Missouri, Republican Governor Mike Parson has taken the position that it is better to ask people to take “personal responsibility” than to impose restrictions.

Missouri didn’t have a mask man date and was a person signature Last week’s law restricted public health restrictions and prohibited the government from requiring vaccination certification to use public facilities and transportation.

Lisa Cox, a spokeswoman for the Missouri Department of Health, said the agency encouraged people to vaccinate, but confessed that “this is Shawmy and Missouri citizens are skeptical.”

Frederick said some people in Republican states are resisting because they feel that Democrats are pushing for vaccines.

“I keep telling people, this separates us one by one while we are busy fighting each other,” he said. “It doesn’t take a side. There are no political parties. It’s not red. It’s not blue. It’s a virus. And if we don’t protect ourselves, we’ll do a lot of damage to our community. . “

Steve Edwards, CEO of Cox Health, Tweet Many major media outlets contacted the hospital about the increase in cases, but Fox News was not included.

“Fox is the most popular cable news in our area. Delta can help educate and save lives about vaccines,” he tweeted.

Springfield’s 49-year-old Lisa Meeks is one of the unvaccinated people. She said she was a Christian and God gave her a strong immune system.

“Currently, these vaccines are new, so no one knows them in the long or short term,” she said. Despite months of real-world evidence that vaccines are very safe and effective. Experimental rat. “

Providing free beer to people vaccinated by Mothers Brewing in Springfield disappointed 20 to 50 people in each of the first three clinics.

“We continue to work hard,” said Jeff Schlag, owner and founder of Mothers Brewing. “It’s an inch game.”

As vaccinations were delayed, delta mutants became the predominant form of virus in the region. Aaron Shekora, a spokesman for the Springfield-Greene County Health Department, accounts for 93% of the random samples of cases the county sends for analysis, up from 70% three weeks ago. Said.

He said unvaccinated people who gathered for graduation and anniversary celebrations also contributed to the spread of the virus. The event happened in the same way that the community lifted the mask obligation.

“My concern would be that this is a preview of what will happen in other parts of the country where vaccination rates are not high,” he said.