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May 6, 2021 at 1:02 pm
Personnel eat in the cafeteria at Harborview Medical Center on Nov. 26, 2020 in Seattle, Washington. (Photo by David Ryder/Getty Images)
Washington has seen an increase in hospitalizations for COVID-19 across the state, though there could be hope on the horizon that a fourth wave that’s already started can still be turned around.
“We have definitely seen an increase in hospitalizations across the state, which is very worrisome,” said Cassie Sauer, president and CEO of the Washington State Hospital Association. “We had actually bee having hospitalizations decline pretty significantly, and were down to about 350 people hospitalized. And that was pretty steady for about five or six weeks throughout the end of February and March and early April. And then suddenly we start to see a pretty fast increase in the number of folks hospitalized, up to more than 600 people hospitalized at a time, so that’s been a really big concern for us.
Hospitalization rates rising in Washington as COVID vaccination effort lags April 13, 2021 at 11:35 am
Jodie Prescott, a nurse, works in the trauma surgery ICU at Harborview Medical Center on Nov. 26, 2020 in Seattle, Washington. (Photo by David Ryder/Getty Images)
Washington’s vaccine providers say supply is not keeping up with demand, which means younger people will continue to come down with COVID-19 at higher rates. A local doctor says there have been more young people with severe symptoms that lead to hospitalization, in part due to a rise of variants.
“It’s a younger population,” said Dr. Tim Dellit with University of Washington Medicine. “The average age was in their 40s. We’re seeing young people with severe disease.”