Nurse Katie Sefton never thought the Covid-19 situation could be as bad as it is today and certainly thought it was unlikely when the pandemic had been around for two years.
The state of Michigan this week recorded an unprecedented number of hospitalizations for Covid-19, with the hospitalization rate also increasing by 88% over the past month.
Nurse Katie Sefton at Sparrow Hospital in Michigan, USA, on December 10.
`We’re seeing the most patients we’ve ever had, while the death rate is increasing to unprecedented levels,` said Jim Dover, president and CEO of Sparrow Health Systems, which operates the hospital with
This hospital has recorded 289 deaths from Covid-19 since the beginning of the year until now, 75% of whom have not been vaccinated.
Nurse Sefton said the current worrying trend is that more and more young people are getting Covid-19 and dying.
It’s not just Michigan that is facing a difficult situation because of Covid-19.
The US is entering the year-end holiday season in the context of the Delta mutation still raging.
Health experts believe that full doses of vaccine and booster shots are the best protection against the Delta variant, but as of December 9, only 64.3% of eligible Americans have been fully vaccinated.
Danielle Williams, a nurse at Sparrow Hospital, said the majority of Covid-19 patients here had not been vaccinated and they did not think they would be affected so severely.
Dover CEO said he was sad but not surprised that the state of Michigan was struggling amid Covid-19.
Most hospitals and medical facilities in Michigan have moved to red status, meaning they will not accept patients transferred from other institutions.
Sparrow Hospital had to stop accepting surgical patients on request and convert the post-anesthesia recovery area into an intensive care unit (ICU).
People get vaccinated against Covid-19 in the US capital Washington on November 29.
Nurse Leah Rasch was exhausted.
`I didn’t think we would be in this situation. I really thought everyone would get vaccinated. I don’t remember the last time the Covid-19 treatment ward had an empty spot. The situation is discouraging for everyone. Already
Dover said many people have asked how to support healthcare workers during the pandemic.
`If you really want to support them, get vaccinated. This is not a political issue. Everyone needs to be vaccinated,` he said, urging those who have had Covid-19 to also get vaccinated because many
Hospital officials also urged people who have not been vaccinated not to underestimate the pandemic.
Hannah