Hospitalization with coronavirus strains Colorado’s ICU capacity

The number of beds in the intensive care unit currently available in Colorado is less than at any other time in the coronavirus pandemic, state health officials said Friday, a continuation of the highly contagious delta variant of the virus. Sounded a warning about the epidemic.

Scott Bookman, COVID-19 Incident Commander of the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment, said Thursday that the state had less than 200 beds available in ICU hospitals.

Friday morning State data showed 209 available ICU beds.. However, it still means that 88% of Colorado’s ICU capacity is currently in use, which is higher than at any other time in the pandemic.

The total number of people hospitalized for confirmed cases of COVID-19 is also higher than at any time other than the surge last winter. According to CDPHE, 81% of people currently hospitalized with COVID-19 are either unvaccinated or only partially vaccinated against the disease. Approximately 85% of recent COVID deaths in Colorado are included in the group.

“The burden of unvaccinated in our hospital is serious,” Bookman said.

He said hospitals have begun to cancel or postpone elective surgery and are beginning to implement surgery plans, usually including converting the entire room and floor into space that can be used to treat coronavirus patients. He said some hospitals are considering closing remote clinics to make more staff available to work in major facilities.

These are the steps hospitals took last year to address the expected wave of COVID-19 patients, but with the widespread deployment of vaccines earlier this year, hospitals and other state health leaders Hoped that no action would be needed again..

“I can’t fully emphasize the current state of our hospital. The stress they are feeling, the impact this wave has on them, and vaccination to end this pandemic. The absolute importance of receiving it, “said Bookman.

Volume numbers measure all patients currently using the ICU bed, not just those with coronavirus. A state health spokesman said last week that the state was not specifically tracking the number of ICU patients because of the coronavirus. Therefore, it is unclear to what extent the delta-led surge in hospitalizations due to coronavirus has contributed to the ICU bed crunch. Summer is usually the busy season of the Colorado ICU, and accidental and violent trauma is usually higher than in other seasons.

But Bookman said this is part of the current surge problem. This time it hasn’t happened while people’s lives are virtually paused due to the pandemic.

“The difference between this wave and all the previous waves is that Colorado has returned to normal life,” he said.

The burden on ICU capacity does not only affect the care received by COVID patients. People who are injured in a car accident or who have just undergone necessary surgery also need an ICU bed, which affects the care they receive.

A press conference with Governor Jared Polis revealed state authorities’ dissatisfaction with the new surge on Friday.

“If everyone is vaccinated, we can’t get close to hospital capacity, crisis, and ICU limits,” Police said, “unnecessary” for many of the state’s current coronavirus hospitalizations and deaths. I called it.

Police has previously stated that it may impose state-wide restrictions such as mask mandates. When the capacity of a state hospital is overwhelmed.. On Friday, he said the state wasn’t there yet and wasn’t planning immediate action to stop the outbreak.

“We keep monitoring the data every day,” he said.

Some counties, Including Boulder and San Miguel, Reimposed mask obligations on their jurisdiction.

Approximately 75% of people eligible to receive the coronavirus vaccine in Colorado receive at least one dose, Police said. The state has also seen an increase in vaccine doses given in recent weeks, suggesting that the current wave of infections and increased vaccine obligations are having an impact.

But Police said it’s a shame to see a quarter of eligible people not yet vaccinated.

“We really find ourselves at the unique point of this pandemic,” Police said. “We know how to get it done, but we need the will to do it.”

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