US Coronavirus: Experts say the risk of Covid-19 in unvaccinated people is higher than ever

Hospitals across the country have demonstrated how pandemics affect vaccinated and unvaccinated individuals differently. Local health officials report the overwhelming majority of Covid-19 hospitalizations among those who have not yet been fully vaccinated.

Amid growing concerns, local governments can choose “extra miles” to contain Covid-19 infections using mask guidelines, said Dr. Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases. Says.

“Under certain circumstances, if the dynamics of the infection are high (such as Los Angeles), the local government has the discretion to travel that extra distance or take the additional steps necessary to confirm it. The epidemic of this virus is really contained and they are doing it saying that everyone should wear a mask. “

In states where less than half of the residents were fully vaccinated, the average case rate for Covid-19 was 11 new cases per 100,000 last week, compared to more than half of the residents who were fully vaccinated in the states. It was 4 per 100,000 people. CNN analysis of data from Johns Hopkins University.

“I don’t think I’ve seen the worst.”

Katie Towns, deputy director of the Springfield-Greene County Health Department in Missouri, sent CNN’s Ana Cabrera on Friday an alternative care site and staff from the state to address the increasing number of Covid-19 cases and hospitalizations. He said he was requesting.

“It’s a level I’ve never seen before,” Towns said, saying that regional hospitals have reached capacity this week.

“The most impressive are demographics and age,” she said of those illnesses. “The illness really turned from the elderly to the ages of 20, 30, and 40 in the hospital and needed ICU care and oxygen.”

The town said that “almost all” patients in the hospital were not vaccinated and hospitals and health officials predicted an increase in numbers after the July 4 holiday.

“I don’t think I’ve seen the worst,” Towns said when asked where the county was standing in the fight against the pandemic.

In Louisiana, Governor John Bel Edwards said on Friday that 97% of Covid-19-related cases and deaths have been completely unvaccinated since February.

Unvaccinated healthcare workers are causing staffing problems

As an example, the University of Florida Health Jacksonville Hospital is facing staffing issues with unvaccinated staff, and Covid-19 hospitalizations are on the rise, according to Chad Nielsen, who is responsible for infection prevention.

Nielsen told CNN that the hospital has seen a 50% increase in Covid-19 hospitalizations and a 10% increase in Covid-19 patients per day over the past two weeks. The average age of inpatients for Covid-19 is 54, the youngest age UF Health Jacksonville has ever seen.

In addition to burnout, unvaccinated staff have been exposed to and infected with Covid-19, making hospital staffing a major issue, Nielsen said. According to the director, UF Health Jacksonville employees have only about 52% vaccine compliance.

“Unvaccinated employees seem to take longer to recover and get back to work,” Nielsen said, as hospitals are considering suspending elective surgery.

Declining vaccination rates for health care workers are not limited to hospitals. According to AARP’s new analysis, only 56% of nursing home health care workers are fully vaccinated. According to the organization, only one of the five nursing homes has achieved the industry goal of being fully vaccinated in 75%.

Analysis shows that at the national level, far more residents than staff are fully vaccinated. Although the number of deaths in nursing homes has declined significantly since the introduction of the vaccine, AARP reported that one-third of US Covid-19 deaths during a pandemic were due to residents and staff in nursing homes and long-term care facilities. I think it is.

“We can’t repeat this national tragedy,” AARP Executive Vice President and Chief Advocacy & Engagement Officer Nancy Leemond said in an organization news release. “As the number of cases increases again across the country and we are considering highly contagious variants of Delta, every effort must be made to protect residents of vulnerable nursing homes.”

Friday’s American Medical College Association urges all member agencies to require employees to be vaccinated with Covid-19 to protect patients and health care workers as Delta variants continue to be in circulation. Did.

“Nationwide, there is increasing evidence that currently unvaccinated people continue to be at high risk of getting Covid-19 and are the overwhelming majority of new hospitalizations,” AAMC President David Sorkin said on Friday. He said the mutation was getting worse. Vaccination is needed to mitigate the pandemic and its epidemic.

“Healthcare professionals who were heroic during this pandemic are caring for patients with a variety of health challenges, assuming that the treating caregivers are not at risk of acquiring patients. Nowhere is this more important than a hospital, or send a Covid-19. ”

“But we tragically lost some health workers with the coronavirus, but others brought the infection back to their families. Vaccine health workers at our affiliates. That saves lives. “