States struggle to keep up with an increase in Covid-19 hospitalizations and demand for testing

Staff shortages are increasing as frontline health workers – who are at higher risk for exposure – are infected and quarantined at a time when the spread of the Omicron variant is driving more people to hospitals.

In California, Governor Gavin Newsom said late Friday that more than 200 National Guard members will be deployed to dozens of testing sites, joining other states that have mobilized National Guard members for medical and non-medical duties to help overburdened healthcare facilities.

“It’s really a viral blizzard right now because there are a lot of infections,” said Dr. Samer Antonios, chief clinical officer at Ascension Via Christi Health in Kansas, where Governor Laura Kelly signed a state of emergency this week. to Covid-19 challenges.

Nearly 132,000 Covid-19 patients were in US hospitals on Friday, according to the Department of Health and Human Services. That’s not far from the record high (about 142,200 in mid-January 2021) and up from about 45,000 in early November.

Due to staff shortages in some health care systems across the country, illnesses or people quitting due to exhaustion, the country “is now unable to provide the same quality of care to 130,000 patients as it did last year,” Dr. Taison Bell, director of the University of Virginia Health’s medical intensive care unit told DailyExpertNews on Saturday.

To safeguard hospital capacity, some states have halted elective surgeries in certain facilities.

In New York, 40 hospitals — mostly in the Mohawk Valley, Finger Lakes and central regions — have been told to suspend non-essential elective surgeries for at least two weeks due to low patient bed capacity, the state health department said Saturday.

With more patients in need of care, many people with possible Covid-19 symptoms remain deficient as tests are hard to come by, and doctors have asked those who suspect they are positive to isolate at home with or without confirmation of infection.

Long lines have been the norm at many testing facilities since the holidays. In Utah, four state-operated testing sites that experience some of the “highest demand and longest wait times” will be available by appointment only starting Saturday, due to rising demand, the Utah health department said Friday.

That move came as officials took other measures to curb the spread of the virus. Utah’s most populous county, Salt Lake County, issued a 30-day mask mandate Friday for all indoor public locations.

To try to increase the supply of tests, the Biden administration has pledged to distribute 500 million free rapid tests across the country. Officials have given few details, but they expect to launch a website this month where people can sign up for the tests online and then receive them in the mail.

The first contract to purchase tests has been signed and more are expected in the coming weeks, officials told DailyExpertNews on Friday.

Medical assistant Leslie Powers carries swabs collected from people to process them on site at a Covid-19 testing site Thursday in Long Beach, California

Vaccine Requirements Changing

Nearly two-thirds of vaccine-eligible Americans — anyone 5 years and older — have been fully vaccinated, according to data from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Yet the number of vaccinated and boosted is much lower: 22% of the total population has done so.

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration on Friday changed the emergency use authorization for Moderna’s Covid-19 vaccine, shortening the period between the first vaccination and the booster shot for those over the age of 18 from at least six months to five months. .

Biden administration signs first contract for free rapid Covid-19 test distribution

“Vaccination is our best defense against Covid-19, including the circulating variants, and shortening the time between completion of a primary series and a booster dose can help reduce waning immunity,” said Dr. Peter Marks, director of the FDA’s Center for Biological Evaluation and Research.

The FDA has already reduced the time it takes to get a booster shot of the Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine from six to five months. The Pfizer booster is authorized for anyone 12 years and older.

New York Governor Kathy Hochul announced Friday that she will require all health professionals to receive a Covid-19 booster shot within two weeks of being eligible.

“Health professionals will be asked to do this with no exceptions except a medical waiver and without testing options,” Hochul said. Previously, all health workers had to be fully vaccinated in September.

Neighboring Connecticut issued a similar order Thursday as long-term care and hospital workers are ordered to receive booster doses in the coming weeks.

Debate on Covid-19 safety measures in schools

As child hospitalizations hit new records, concerns about student safety remain sky-high. Yet disagreements are playing out this week in several school districts over whether personal learning is ideal during the Omicron wave.

Child hospitalizations reach record highs as Omicron variant gains the upper hand

Nearly 13% of students in New York City tested positive for Covid-19 over a 24-hour period, according to sample tests from the city’s Department of Education on Thursday. According to additional DOE data, no schools are currently closed due to Covid-19 cases, but six classrooms remain closed.

The Chicago Public Schools system has canceled classes since Wednesday over a dispute between city officials and the teachers’ union over return to the classroom, and Mayor Lori Lightfoot said she wants a deal between the two sides finalized this weekend.

“Our kids have to go back to school. Schools are safe,” she told DailyExpertNews’s Anderson Cooper.

The Chicago Teachers Union had voted to teach remotely because of the Covid-19 wave, but the school district canceled classes, saying it wanted in-person learning.

Georgia public school teachers who test positive for coronavirus may return to school if asymptomatic and masked

In Georgia, public school teachers who test positive for Covid-19 no longer need to isolate before entering school, and contact tracing in schools is no longer required, according to a letter to school principals released Thursday by Governor Brian Kemp and Public Health Commissioner Kathleen Toomey.

The Georgia Department of Public Health posted an updated administrative order on Wednesday allowing teachers and school staff — regardless of vaccination status — to return to work after exposure to Covid-19 or a positive Covid-19 test if they remain asymptomatic and wear masks. while at work.

“Students, parents and educators have made it clear to us that they want to be in the classroom, and we are exploring many methods to continue safe, personalized learning — including updated quarantine and isolation protocols, reduced contact tracing requirements, and improved testing capabilities,” the statement said. letter from Kemp and Toomey.

Local school districts can still develop and monitor their own quarantine and isolation requirements, according to the order.

Naomi Thomas, Deidre McPhillips, Kaitlan Collins, Chris Boyette, Michelle Watson, Carma Hassan, Laura Dolan, Steve Almasy, Melissa Alonso, Raja Razek and Rob Frehse of DailyExpertNews contributed to this report.