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Days before Christmas, a hospital in the North Carolina foothills of the Blue Ridge Mountains maxed out its resources.
Caldwell UNC Health Care, a 137-bed hospital in Lenoir, had planned for a surge of COVID-19 cases for months. But the facility went from treating 19 infected patients to 49 in just one week, its president and CEO Laura Easton told
MedPage Today. The hospital s average daily census rose from between 60 and 80 patients to between 110 and 120.
Community spread was high, and a number of employees were also out of work, Easton said. Three out of five neighboring hospitals were similarly stretched.
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LA CAÑADA FLINTRIDGE, CA While U.S. coronavirus cases and deaths have been trending downward over the past week, hospitals across the country still report straining to meet the demands of the ongoing pandemic.
At the national level, during the week ending Jan. 25, deaths were running at an average of just under 3,100 a day down from a peak of more than 3,350 in the weeks prior, according to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. New cases were averaging about 170,000 a day after hitting almost 250,000 earlier this month.
Meanwhile, state health officials in California reported to the federal government that 81 percent of all inpatient beds in hospitals across the state were still occupied as of Jan. 23. Around 30 percent of beds statewide were filled by COVID-19 patients, they reported.
Five vaccination super sites were up and running in Los Angeles County on Tuesday. Health care workers and those who live or work at nursing homes were still the only ones who qualify for the shots. Though senior citizens should be able to make appointments for the vaccine later in the week.
For some residents, just getting an appointment has been a challenge. The county website to make appointments, vaccinatelacounty.com, crashed for several hours Tuesday due to high traffic.
The county says thousands were still able to book appointments and urges seniors to keep checking for available slots. Officials say they are increasing call center capacity for those without computer access. For those without a computer, appointments can be made by calling (833) 540-0473.