New interactive maps show that American hospitals are overloaded with patients with COVID, as the number of people admitted to intensive care units with the virus continues to increase.
As of Monday, 129,748 Americans are hospitalized with the coronavirus, including tens of thousands in the ICU.
It is the 41st consecutive day that there are more than 100,000 American citizens in the hospital undergoing treatment for the virus.
As of Sunday, more than 375,000 Americans have died of the virus and more than 22 million have tested positive.
According to data from Johns Hopkins University, the United States recorded more than 200,000 new cases of the virus every day last week.
New interactive maps show that American hospitals are overloaded with patients with COVID, as the number of people admitted to intensive care units with the virus continues to increase. This map of the COVID Screening Project shows the percentage of hospital beds occupied by people with the coronavirus
A second map, however, shows a more alarming picture. This shows that patients with COVID are disproportionately occupying ICU beds in many hospitals across the country
In some parts of California, it is not uncommon for almost all ICU beds to be occupied by coronavirus patients, creating a dire situation for other residents who arrive at the hospital in need of urgent treatment for car accidents and heart attacks.
The maps, created by The COVID Tracking Project, shows that hospitalizations are worse in California – where the number of people receiving hospital care continues to skyrocket.
Currently, 22,633 Golden State residents are hospitalized, a significant number of them in ICU.
A map created by the COVID Tracking Project shows the percentage of beds in general hospitals occupied by coronavirus patients across the country.
He reveals that the highest percentage of COVID-related hospitalizations occurs in and around Los Angeles.
There, more than 45% of all beds in general hospitals are occupied by people who are fighting the coronavirus.
In many other parts of the country, that number is significantly lower. In most hospitals in Florida and New York City, for example, between 15 and 30% of beds are occupied by people with COVID-19.
A second map, however, shows a more alarming picture.
This shows that patients with COVID are disproportionately occupying ICU beds in many hospitals across the country.
In New York City, for example, while less than 30% of the beds in the general hospital are being occupied by COVID patients, more than 45% of the ICU beds in most of these same medical facilities are occupied by people with the virus.
The map shows a similar situation occurring in parts of southern Texas and in Phoenix, Arizona.
According to the COVID Tracking Project, hospitalizations and deaths in Phoenix are now exceeding the summer peak experienced there and continue to grow each day.
At Lancaster’s Antelope Valley Hospital, residents were spotted on Monday setting up a field hospital in the parking lot
Three quarters of the hospital’s ICU beds are occupied by COVID-19 patients, and there is only one ICU bed available throughout the facility
In some parts of California, it is not uncommon for almost all ICU beds to be occupied by patients with coronavirus, creating a dire situation for other residents who have arrived at the hospital in need of urgent treatment for car accidents and heart attacks.
In Los Angeles, health officials are now asking local residents to wear masks inside their homes to prevent the spread because hospitals are full.
“At the moment, as there is so much spread around, we recommend that people use the face cover while they are indoors. This will add a layer of protection as we overcome this wave, ‘said city director of public health, Dr. Barbara Ferrer, on Monday
Meanwhile, at Antelope Valley Hospital in Lancaster, north of Los Angeles, authorities were seen on Monday installing a field hospital in the parking lot.
Three quarters of the hospital’s ICU beds are occupied by COVID-19 patients, and there is only one ICU bed available in the entire service.
On Monday, it was reported that only nine million Americans received their first injection – well below the 20 million people the federal government hoped to vaccinate by the end of December 2020
A New York school teacher is seen receiving her first dose of the vaccine on Monday
Meanwhile, the vaccination implementation process remains delayed.
On Monday, it was reported that only nine million Americans received their first injection – far less than the 20 million people the federal government expected to vaccinate by the end of December 2020.
It is also less than a third of the 25 million doses that have been distributed to the states by the federal government.
The slow implementation has led some states to request the purchase of their own vaccines from Pfizer itself, in order to eliminate the middleman and speed up the process.
Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer placed the order in a letter on Monday to Secretary of Health and Human Services Alex Azar, asking to buy directly 100,000 doses of Pfizer from the pharmaceutical giant.
“This direct purchase will fill a two-week supply gap and ensure that we can continue to increase our vaccination efforts in Michigan,” she wrote.
“It is also consistent with Operation Warp Speed’s commitment to providing Americans with a safe and effective COVID-19 vaccine as quickly as possible.”
If approved, Whitmer says that additional doses of the vaccine would be distributed and administered according to CDC guidelines.
The request reaches hospital systems across the state that say they do not have enough supplies to put needles in their weapons.
It also coincides with the expansion of Whitmer’s vaccine eligibility to include residents 65 and older, police and other first responders and teachers.
The COVID-19 crisis shows no signs of abating amid a disastrously slow distribution of vaccines across the country. Thousands of Americans are dying from the virus every day, while more than 200,000 tested positive for the virus every day for the past week.