NEENAH, WI (WTAQ-WLUK) – State health officials say only about 10% of hospital beds are available across the state.
“In our region, we’ve seen tripling, quadrupling of the number of cases in the last several days. That has resulted in a tremendous amount of hospitalizations as we’ve talked about before, and there are very few beds left,” ThedaCare President and CEO Dr. Imran Andrabi said.
ThedaCare says 90% of those being treated for COVID-19 in Fox Valley hospitals are unvaccinated.
“It’s a younger population. The average age is between 40 and 50, whereas in previous surges, it was primarily the elderly population,” Ascension Fox Valley Chief Medical Officer Dr. Tom Nichols said.
Nichols tells FOX 11 this population is also sicker.
“They’ve been in the hospital longer, and they’re requiring more resources. Nearly all the hospitalizations are preventable.”
Nichols says many say the same thing.
“Most of the people that we talk to that are in the hospital that are very sick, they all say the same thing. They say, ‘I wish I would’ve gotten the shot. I wish I would’ve listened.’
Healthcare organizations continue to push Wisconsinites to get the vaccine and to continue using other mitigation strategies.
“Our ask today, as we’ve done before, is for the community to really get activated in terms of the immunization rates and what we can all do together to make sure that we use the tools in our toolbox,” Andrabi said.
“The vaccines are safe. They are effective,” Nichols said.
“The messages around wearing a mask, social distancing and avoiding crowds all still hold true, but really, if we want us to be able to get through this pandemic as a community, it’s going to come through vaccination.”
According to the Wisconsin Department of Health Services, about 56% of Wisconsinites have received at least one dose of the vaccine.
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