Story at a glance
- There are nearly 14,000 patients hospitalized with COVID-19 in Texas.
- Only 356 available ICU beds are currently available statewide.
- Just more than half of eligible Texans are fully vaccinated against the coronavirus.
Texas hospitals are overwhelmed with the latest surge in coronavirus patients.
As of Thursday, there were 13,932 patients hospitalized with COVID-19 in Texas and only 356 available ICU beds statewide.
“There are many patients that are not doing well,” Shawn Nishi, a doctor and associate professor of critical care medicine at University of Texas Medical Branch’s Jennie Sealy Hospital, told ABC News.
Our country is in a historic fight against the coronavirus. Add Changing America to your Facebook or Twitter feed to stay on top of the news.
“It’s very chaotic, because these patients are very unpredictable. At one moment they look great and the next moment, they’re dying,” Nishi said.
“It is a ‘hair on fire’ time in the ICUs,” she added
In Texas, just more than half, 56.2 percent, of the eligible population is fully vaccinated against the coronavirus.
On Wednesday, coronavirus hospitalizations across the United States eclipsed 100,000 for the first time since January.
READ MORE STORIES FROM CHANGING AMERICA
CORONAVIRUS HOSPITALIZATIONS SPIKE TO 100K FOR THE FIRST TIME SINCE JANUARY OUTBREAK
STUDY SAYS NEW LAMBDA VARIANT COULD BE VACCINE-RESISTANT
AMERICAN ‘ARCHBISHOP’ IS DISTRIBUTING BLEACH AS ‘MIRACLE CURE’ FOR COVID-19
THE SIGNS YOU HAVE THE DELTA VARIANT ARE DIFFERENT THAN ORIGINAL COVID-19
EVIDENCE MOUNTS THAT DELTA VARIANT IS DANGEROUS FOR KIDS
changing america copyright.
