West Virginia has surged past 15,000 active cases of covid-19 and more than 700 covid patients requiring hospitalization.
The increases coming out of a holiday week correspond with a slight increase in the number of identified omicron cases, now at 75. But the vast majority of cases in West Virginia continue to be delta.
State officials for weeks have been warning that the continued impact of delta cases, the new wave of omicron and seasonal flu — along with other health risks commonly experienced by West Virginians — could place major strains on medical providers.
“It continues to be a very challenging situation for us,” said Albert Wright, president and chief executive of West Virginia University Health System.
“We continue to have challenges for staffing around all of our healthcare system. We are seeing an uptick of covid patients.”
The number of identified covid cases around West Virginia was 15,015 today. That has nearly doubled since last Monday, when the number was 8,604.
The number of hospitalizations from covid-19 was 721. That is a sharp rise from the 612 the state reported one week ago.
West Virginia lists 189 covid patients requiring admission to intensive care units, and 114 who need the help of a ventilator to breathe.
Wright said the surge of patients has come on top of deferred procedures as well as other medical needs for patients. He said some people who need to be admitted to intensive care units are being treated at smaller hospitals like Jackson General Hospital or Welch Emergency Hospital while they wait for admission to larger, better equipped facilities.
“You’re not able to provide the normal level of hospital care that people expect. We’ve got a wait list of 30, 40, 50 people. Some of those folks have been on the wait list to get in here for over a week,” he said on MetroNews’ “Talkline.”
He acknowledged early signs that the omicron strain is very highly contagious but often seems to produce milder symptoms than previous versions of covid-19.
“The reality is, it’s a tough spot for us. This seems from all indications to be a variant of the virus that is highly infectious but it is not causing the high degree of hospitalizations to this point or death that we’ve seen before,” Wright said.
“It feels like were in the late stages of a heavyweight boxing match. If we can make it through this final bout and surge, hopefully things can get easier.”
What is the latest on hospital capacity at WVU Health System Hospitals? Albert Wright, President and CEO of WVU Health System, provides an update to @HoppyKercheval on those numbers. WATCH: https://t.co/yCFQ3nDJuy pic.twitter.com/zCIG3564oY
— MetroNews (@WVMetroNews) January 3, 2022
The stress on hospitals is happening all over. In neighboring Maryland, for example, more than 2,000 people are hospitalized with covid-19. “We’re overflowing hospitals,” Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan, a Republican, said Sunday.
On Friday, Kanawha County leaders noted that more than 200 covid-19 cases were identified each day for the third day in a row.
“We know that the omicron variant spreads fast. We know that the delta variant has caused our hospitalizations to soar. We are in a period of COVID we have not experienced before. Our hospitals cannot take any more exposure to high rates of covid patients filling beds and them not being able to care for those who have other illnesses,” officials stated in a release from the Kanawha-Charleston Health Department, the Kanawha County Commission and the City of Charleston.
“The only way to alleviate the overrun of our hospitals is to get vaccinated. Too many people have not been vaccinated.”
State officials calculate that 54 percent of West Virginia’s vaccine-eligible population is considered fully-vaccinated. That is 920,985.
Of the 920,985, state officials say, 35 percent have gotten another booster dose.
Vaccination remains a vital way of fighting the worst effects of covid-19, said Dr. Heath Damron, founder of the Vaccine Development Center at WVU Health Sciences Center.
“If you’re vaccinated, you probably don’t allow that virus to replicate as much as someone else. So your potential spread goes down,” Damron said today on MetroNews’ “Talkline.”
“The vaccines can help decrease the amount of virus you can spread, so that’s important. If you choose to vaccinate, you have a better chance of survival and a lower chance of passing it to someone else.”
The latest @WV_DHHR shows that there are 15,015 active cases in West Virginia. Dr. Heath Damron, Founder of the Vaccine Development at WVU Health Sciences Center, explains to @HoppyKercheval the rise in cases and how effective the vaccines are. WATCH: https://t.co/yCFQ3nDJuy pic.twitter.com/oF3QTlZ33q
— MetroNews (@WVMetroNews) January 3, 2022