Hospitals in Mississippi are reporting increases in the number of patients that have confirmed coronavirus infections. Across the state, coronavirus hospitalizations have doubled since the beginning of the month, and the number of occupied ICU beds is at its highest point since mid-March. Dr. Steven Farrell, Chief Medical Officer with Forest General Hospital said his hospital is prepared for a potential third wave of the pandemic. But he said it would still come with challenges.
“I think most hospitals are still struggling with staff, we certainly struggle with appropriate staff with enough techs and nurses,” said Dr. Farrell. “That being said, we’re prepared to handle whatever our community brings to us. I mean we’ve still got our beds open and our staff working as hard as they can to manage this to the best of our ability.”
Many hospitals in Mississippi had been caring for fewer than 10 coronavirus patients per week as vaccinations have prevented much community transmission. But Mississippi has the lowest coronavirus vaccination rate in the nation. Now, the Delta variant of the virus is spreading quickly and health officials say a single dose of the Moderna or Pfizer vaccine is insufficient against the strain. Dr. Rebecca Rose with Gulfport Memorial Hospital said she is disheartened to see the transmission of the virus begin to rise again.
“My clinic is a primary care clinic as well as a walk-in clinic. By noon today, we already had seven positive [cases of the coronavirus]. So we look at it and it’s like ‘Here we go again,’” said Dr. Rose. “But we walk out in public and we’re the only ones wearing masks. So that’s very very frustrating, it’s very disheartening that here we are doing the best that we can do, yet we’re the only ones who seem to care.”
Health officials advise that immunocompromised Mississippians, and those age 65 years and older avoid large social gatherings even if fully vaccinated.
