Not Good, but further down it explains some of the differences this time, i.e. younger victims tend to recover, not die.
From the
AJC
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The number of hospital beds available to treat critically ill patients is dropping across Georgia as COVID-19 hospitalizations soar past previous highs, raising alarms that time is running out to slow the spread of the virus before medical facilities reach crisis levels.
Statewide, 2,322 people are currently hospitalized for COVID-19, well past the April 24 peak of 1,906, noted Emory University infectious disease expert Carlos del Rio.
Meanwhile, the share of open critical care beds is down to the single digits around Athens, Columbus, Tifton, and a three-county region including Cobb, Douglas and Paulding, data from the Georgia Emergency Management and Homeland Security Agency shows.
Wellstar Atlanta Medical Center’s ICU reached capacity Tuesday. Emory Health Care’s number COVID-19 patients tripled in two weeks. Grady Health System broke its prior record for COVID-19 patients Wednesday, all while it copes with the highest number of trauma cases in its history, its administrators said. The escalating demand on hospital beds is also showing up in a sharp spike in requests for protective gear.
The drop in available beds for the critically ill took place quickly. Just before the Fourth of July weekend, none of the regions that make up the state’s hospital emergency response network had critical care bed availability of less than 15%.
“We are headed for a crisis as hospitalizations now have passed the prior peak,” said del Rio.
Experts warn that Georgians need to heed public health warnings immediately to avoid crushing patient loads seen in New York City during the early months of the pandemic. Similar problems are now taking place in cities across Texas.
Wear a mask, wash your hands, avoid large groups and maintain social distancing, said Dr. Robert Jansen, chief medical officer and chief of staff at Grady Health System.
“It isn’t a matter of individual rights, constitutional rights or the law,” said Jansen. “It’s about what to do as a responsible citizen to protect yourself and protect other people.” Dr. Jansen said.
Nearly 510 ICU beds are open across the state, or about 18% of the total, according to GEMA data. About 17% of general inpatient beds are free.
Optimism and worry
While the number of new COVID-19 cases has reached record levels, there are some reasons to be optimistic that they won’t overwhelm Georgia hospitals. Industry-wide changes mean hospitals are more accustomed to running with fewer beds than they did a generation ago, experts said. The early months of the pandemic gave them practice at re-purposing beds, staff and equipment to devote to COVID-19 patients.
Since then, certain drugs have been shown to reduce the chances of critical symptoms or death, although these medicines are in short supply, noted Dr. Stephen Thacker, associate chief medical officer for Memorial Health in Savannah. The coastal hospital reached an all-time high for COVID-19 patients on Wednesday with 57. Savannah’s mayor mandated
wearing masks late last month, but many of Memorial’s patients come from outside the city, Dr. Thacker said.
This new wave of patients is younger, which means they’re less likely to have severe diabetes, cardiovascular disease, obesity and other conditions that make them more likely to need critical care or die, experts said. From April to June, hospitalizations in Georgia for patients with the virus between the ages of 18 and 29 rose 34% while plummeting 61% for people over 50, according to Georgia Department of Pubic Health data.
“It’s part of the story of why hospitalizations are increasing, but the death rate is not,” Dr. Thacker said.
Younger people are also recording the
state’s fastest increase in new cases, mirroring other Southern states such as Texas and Florida which
, like Georgia
, took the lead in reopening their economies.
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