Officials at the health department fear that Americans will continue to be sickened and hospitalized if they don't get the vaccine. Nationally, half of all residents have been vaccinated. More than 70% of adults have had at least one dose.
"Our models show that we can't (vaccinate people), it could lead to many hundred thousand cases per day similar to our surge of January," Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Director Rochelle Walensky stated on CNN this week.
The average daily case count in the United States was 100,000 in November. It took the country nine months to reach that level before it reached 250,000 in January. The average case was about 11,000 per day in June. Six weeks later, the number has risen to 107,143.
Both hospitalizations and deaths are on the rise, but they are still well below the peaks that were seen in early 2014 before vaccines became widely accessible. According to the CDC more than 44,000 Americans are being treated with COVID-19 at the moment. This is an increase of 30% in a single week and almost four times as many as in June. In January, more than 120,000 people were admitted to hospital.
According to Johns Hopkins University, the seven-day average number of deaths increased from 270 per day two weeks back to almost 500 per day on Friday. It increased from about 270 deaths per hour two weeks ago to almost 500 per day as of Friday. In January, death rates reached a record 3,500 per day. Because the disease takes several weeks to kill, deaths often lag behind hospitalizations.
The situation is particularly dire in the South, which has some of the lowest vaccination rates in the U.S. and has seen smaller hospitals overrun with patients.
According to the CDC, in the Southeast, COVID-19 patient hospitalizations increased 50% from 11600 the week before. The CDC states that 41% of new hospitalizations in the country are occurring in Florida, Georgia and Alabama. This is twice the national share.
According to the Mayo Clinic, Alabama and Mississippi have among the lowest rates of vaccination in the country. Less than 35% are fully inoculated. The lowest 15 states are Georgia, Tennessee, and the Carolinas.
Florida makes up more than 20% of the nation's new cases and hospitalizations, triple its share of the population. The state has 49%, while many rural counties have rates below 40%. With 23,903 cases added on Saturday, the state set another record.
Gov. Ron DeSantis has supported vaccinations but is firm against restrictions like mask rules. In recent days, President Joe Biden and Ron DeSantis have been verbally sparring. DeSantis accused the Democratic president, accusing him of trying to steal Floridians’ "freedoms." Biden said DeSantis should "get away" from local officials if it isn't his intention to combat the outbreak.
People have been scared away from the vaccine due to bogus warnings posted on social media by non-medical media professionals.
Yoiris Duran (56), a Miami-area realty agent, claimed her family was misled by the misinformation. However, doctors and public health officials almost always encourage people to get vaccinated. After her husband, 25-year old son, and their serious COVID-19-related illness, Yoiris Duran encouraged friends and family members to get vaccinated.
In a video interview, she stated that she didn't want anyone to go through the same things as her.
Hospitals in some areas of the United States are struggling to find beds for their patients.
Dr. Leonardo Alonso works in several Jacksonville emergency rooms, one of Florida's most difficult-hit areas. He said that some hospitals are sending COVID-19 patients home with oxygen, a monitor, and beds to accommodate sicker patients.
"The hospitals, ICUs and hospitals are all at the point of what we call mass casualty incidents. Alonso stated that they are almost at the point where protocols are overflowing.
In Texas, Houston officials said some patients were transferred out of the city -- one as far as North Dakota.
Houston's chief physician, Dr. David Persse said that some ambulances were waiting for hours to load patients at Houston area hospitals. There were no beds available so they were waiting. Persse stated that he was concerned about the delay in responding to 911 calls.
"The health system is almost at breaking point right now. Persse stated Thursday that he doesn't see any relief in the emergency department situation for the next three weeks.
Missouri has stationed 30 ambulances and more than 60 medical personne l across the state to help move COVID-19 patients to other areas if nearby hospitals are too full.
