About 24% of US hospitals are reporting a “critical staffing shortage,” according to data from the US Department of Health and Human Services, as public health experts warn the Covid-19 surge fueled by the Omicron variant threatens the nation’s health care system, reports CNN.
Shortage in US healthcare
Of the approximately 5,000 hospitals that reported this data to HHS on Saturday, nearly 1,200 — about 1 in 4 — said they are currently experiencing a critical staffing shortage, the largest share of the entire pandemic. More than 100 other hospitals said they anticipate a shortage within the next week.
The US healthcare system is Jha’s greatest concern, he said, noting the Omicron surge could hamper its capacity to care for patients suffering from conditions other than Covid-19.
Staff shortages
These staff shortages are growing as frontline health care workers are either infected or forced to quarantine due to exposure to Covid-19 just as the demand for treatment skyrockets: More than 138,000 Covid-19 patients were in US hospitals as of Saturday, according to the Department of Health and Human Services.
That’s not far from the all-time peak (about 142,200 in mid-January 2021) and an increase from around 45,000 in early November.
Cutting elective surgeries
To safeguard hospital capacity, some facilities are forced to cut elective surgeries. In New York, for example, 40 hospitals — mainly in the Mohawk Valley, Finger Lakes and central regions — have been told to stop nonessential elective operations for at least two weeks because of low patient bed capacity, the state health department said Saturday.
“Forty hospitals in New York just canceled elective procedures. The DC Hospital Association, where I work, has asked the DC government for permission for hospitals to enact crisis standards of care,” he said. “And that’s coming to every city in the United States.”
Los Angeles County sees record weekly case numbers
About 21% of the eligible population, or 65.5 million people 5 and older, have not received a single dose of a Covid-19 vaccine, the CDC data show.
Last week, multiple UW Medicine locations in Washington started prioritizing testing solely for people “who have symptoms of respiratory illness or who have a known exposure to COVID-19,” spokesperson Susan Gregg told CNN. People without symptoms are not being tested, Gregg said, “due to the high volume of omicron cases that are being processed in our laboratory.”
Some localities are now seeing the most new cases they’ve seen the whole pandemic, including Los Angeles County.
On Saturday, the county reported more than 200,000 confirmed cases over the previous seven days — the highest number of cases in one week since the start of the pandemic, according to a news release from the Los Angeles County Department of Public Health. Hospitalizations doubled over the week to 3,200 and there were 135 Covid-related deaths, the department said.
Restriction in testing
The University of North Carolina Medical Center in Chapel Hill is also restricting Covid-19 tests to those exhibiting Covid-19 symptoms, as well as university employees and those requiring a test prior to a surgery, according to UNC Health Director of News Alan M. Wolf.
The rise in infections is also hitting Los Angeles’ children hard
At Children’s Hospital Los Angeles, the positivity rate for children tested for Covid-19 has increased from 17.5% in December to 45% to date in January, according to CHLA Medical Director Dr. Michael Smit.
CHLA currently has 41 patients in-house who have tested positive for Covid-19, and roughly one quarter of the children admitted to the facility with Covid-19 require admission to the pediatric ICU, with some requiring intubation, Smit told CNN on Saturday.
The baseline test requirement was implemented at the beginning of the school year in August, and the district announced a week ago both the baseline test, along with required weekly testing for employees and students would continue through January, given the current surge.
On Sunday, LAUSD Board of Education President Kelly Gonez said about 50,000 positive Covid-19 cases had been identified as a result of the required testing, stopping those students and employees from enter school buildings Tuesday.
Disputes over in-person learning
In response to rising pediatric infections, disputes over whether in-person learning is ideal during the Omicron surge and how students can safely attend school are playing out in various school districts this week.
For the week ending December 30, children accounted for 17.7% of new reported cases in the US, the American Academy of Pediatrics said, noting a record 325,00 new cases among children — a 64% increase from the week prior.
The Chicago Public Schools (CPS) system has canceled classes since Wednesday due to a dispute between city officials and the teachers union over returning to the classroom. The Chicago Teachers Union (CTU) voted Tuesday to teach remotely due to the Covid-19 surge, but the school district canceled classes, saying schools were safe and it wanted in-person learning.
Did you subscribe to our daily Newsletter?
It’s Free! Click here to Subscribe
Source: CNN
