Covid-19 patients fill hospitals and put others at risk

Florida records daily record of covid-19 cases 2:16

(CNN) -

Hospitals are filling up with unvaccinated patients infected with the delta variant of the new coronavirus, which could affect car accident victims and other non-covid patients who need hospital care, doctors say.

"None of these patients thought they would contract the virus, but the delta variant has proven so contagious that even the young and healthy, including pregnant patients, are beginning to fill our hospitals," Dr. Neil said.

Finkler, clinical director of AdventHealth Central Florida.

More than 90% of hospitalized COVID-19 patients are not vaccinated, he said.

In Austin, Texas, "our ICU capacity is reaching a critical point where the level of risk for the entire community has increased significantly, and not just for those who need treatment for covid," said, in a statement, the Dr. Desmar Walkes of the Austin-Travis County Health Authority.

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"If we don't come together as a community now, we endanger the lives of loved ones who might need intensive care," he said.

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In Mississippi, COVID-19 hospitalizations have increased significantly, even among the youngest patients, State Health Official Thomas Dobbs said.

All 88 beds in the intensive care unit at the University of Mississippi Medical Center had been filled by Friday, according to data from the state Department of Health.

And in Louisiana, "We are becoming victims of the unvaccinated," said Dr. Christopher Thomas, an intensive care physician at Our Lady of the Lake Regional Medical Center in Baton Rouge.

"We are currently exceeding our bed capacity. We are causing burnout for our teams. And honestly, we are beginning to impact the rest of the community's healthcare."

At the Louisiana hospital, 97% of COVID-19 patients in the ICU were not vaccinated, Thomas said.

As of Friday, the average age of COVID-19 patients in ICUs was 48.

"That means there are children, with their parents, who are now in the hospital," he said.

With just 49.6% of Americans fully vaccinated as of Sunday, more companies and cities like Birmingham, New Orleans and Louisville are issuing mask-wearing mandates to fight the delta variant.

The delta variant is several times more contagious than the parent strain of the new coronavirus and appears to cause more serious illness, according to an internal filing by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). ).

"Given increased transmissibility and current vaccine coverage, universal use of masks is essential to reduce transmission of the delta variant," say internal CDC documents.

The efficacy of vaccines against the 4:05 delta variant

Unvaccinated people are prompting stricter mask use guidelines

Many of the people who don't want to wear masks or get vaccinated are prolonging the pandemic, doctors say.

"We know that the vast majority of the spread is still caused by unvaccinated people. And I think that's the part that has been lost in the CDC messages," said Dr. Leana Wen, visiting professor at the Milken Institute of George Washington University and the School of Public Health.

"The problem is not with the vaccinated. The problem continues to be with the unvaccinated. And the way we can get out of this pandemic is by increasing vaccination rates," he said.

"So the CDC should be saying, 'Look, the reason we're giving stay-at-home mandates is because the unvaccinated can't be trusted to wear masks. That's why the vaccinated should wear masks too."

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They reinforce anticovid-19 measures in the United States 2:57

There is confusion about the new mask use guide

Many Americans were surprised to hear the updated CDC guidance that everyone, even fully vaccinated people, should wear masks indoors in areas of high or substantial transmission.

To be clear: "It's primarily about protecting the unvaccinated. That's where the real serious risks of disease lie," said Dr. Francis Collins, director of the National Institutes of Health.

Those who are vaccinated are less likely to become infected, Collins said.

When breakthrough infections occur in vaccinated people, they usually cause mild or no symptoms.

But vaccinated people who get serious infections could transmit COVID-19 just as easily as unvaccinated people, according to the CDC.

"High viral loads suggest an increased risk of transmission and raised concerns that, unlike other variants, vaccinated people infected with [the variant] delta can transmit the virus," CDC Director, the Dr. Rochelle Walensky.

That finding "was a seminal discovery that led to the CDC's updated mask use recommendation," Walensky said.

But Collins said it's critical to emphasize how much more danger unvaccinated people are in, compared to vaccinated people.

The CDC director said those who are not vaccinated:

• They are three times more likely to be infected.

• They are eight times more likely to have symptoms when infected.

• They are 25 times more likely to be hospitalized with covid-19.

"If someone who has been undecided is listening, it is a turning point now," Collins said.

"Let's try to get everyone out there and start being part of the winning team."

In some places, vaccines are on the rise

As more Americans educate themselves about the delta variant, vaccinations are on the rise.

According to CDC data, 816,023 doses were administered on Saturday, the fifth consecutive day the agency recorded more than 700,000 doses administered.

The 7-day average of doses administered is 662,529 per day, the highest average since July 7.

Overall, 49.6% of the United States population — 168.4 million people — is fully vaccinated.

Of those over 12 years of age, 58.1% are fully vaccinated.

Nationwide, the rate of vaccinations last week is up more than 25% compared to three weeks ago.

In Alabama and Arkansas, which have about 35% of residents fully vaccinated, the rates of new doses administered have doubled compared to three weeks ago.

Ohio has seen "a significant increase" in vaccination rates, particularly in rural areas, Republican Gov. Mike DeWine said Sunday.

"I think [...] fear of the delta variant is definitely one of the causes," DeWine said.

He said the state is now targeting outreach efforts to the "under-vaccinated" Medicaid population through incentives such as $ 100 cash prizes for getting vaccinated.

DeWine also credited the state's "Vax-a-Million" program for increasing vaccines.

"We believe that more than 100,000 additional people were vaccinated, at a minimum, because of that," DeWine said.

"It was very, very successful."

But "the game is still vaccinating people," he said.

"We have room to grow."

CNN's Dakin Andone, Nadia Kounang, Deidre McPhillips, Lauren Mascarenhas, Jen Christensen, Melissa Alonso and Raja Razek contributed to this report.

Covid-19 Delta variant