American hospitals: variations in the COVID wave

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Fri, 2022-01-07 09:49 — mike kraft

In the nation’s hospitals, this covid wave is different A majority of patients counted as covid cases in some hospitals were admitted for other reasons. And hospital staffs are stretched more than ever. Washington Post

The number of Americans hospitalized with covid-19 reached more than 126,000 this week — the highest level in a year. But this wave of the pandemic looks different from what came before, with dueling variants on the move.

FAQ: What to know about the omicron variant of the coronavirus

This time, a majority of patients counted as covid cases in some hospitals were initially admitted for other reasons, their covid infections discovered incidentally. And hospital staffs are stretched more than ever, with nearly 1 in 4 medical centers reporting this week they have a “critical” staffing shortage, the highest proportion of the pandemic.

In Los Angeles, where the fast-spreading omicron variant reigns, roughly two-thirds of covid patients in the county’s public hospitals were initially admitted for other causes, officials said Wednesday.

But at CoxHealth in Springfield, Mo., where officials say the older delta variant remains a ferocious threat, the coronavirus remains the immediate cause for 81 percent of covid hospitalizations. ...

Many hospitals are reporting record surges of covid cases even as staff shortages hit their highest levels nationally during the pandemic, according to federal health data reviewed by The Washington Post — a one-two punch that is forcing hospitals to turn away ambulances, cancel procedures and warn would-be patients to stay away because they can’t promise prompt care.

While most hospitalized patients are adults, the number of pediatric covid inpatients has doubled since Christmas to a seven-day average of 3,800 children.

But the emerging picture varies dramatically from one region to the next, according to interviews with hospital leaders and health workers across 18 states. It ranges from omicron epicenters such as New York City, where many patients aren’t aware they’re infected until testing positive while visiting the hospital for other procedures, to Michigan and Minnesota, where health workers continue to treat patients fighting for survival against the more severe delta variant.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention projects that delta may have accounted for as much as 41 percent of covid cases across parts of the Midwest last week and as little as 1 percent of cases in Texas and surrounding states, although the CDC has repeatedly revised its national map of variant spread in recent weeks, struggling to keep up with the fast-moving omicron.

In Rhode Island this week, 54 percent of hospitals reported a “critical” staff shortage. But just 20 percent of Florida and Texas hospitals reported similar shortages, according to data collected by the Department of Health and Human Services.