COVID-19 hospitalizations on the rise in Washington, especially in young people
Hospitalizations are on the rise, particularly among young people
SEATTLE - The Washington State Hospital Association (WSHA) is expressing concern about the fourth wave of the coronavirus pandemic.
Hospitalizations declined in January and February and flattened in March, but doctors are now seeing an increase in hospitalizations.
As of Monday morning, 44 hospitals in the state reported more than 600 hospitalizations, which is the most Washington has seen in months. This looks like the same trajectory we saw in November. It s very, very worrisome, said Cassie Sauer, CEO of WSHA.
The highly contagious B117 variant is driving the number of cases and doctors say more and more young people are being hospitalized with the virus.
Younger people are getting sicker from COVID, Washington hospital leaders say By Evan Bush, The Seattle Times
Published: April 27, 2021, 8:18am
Share: Holden Village resident Krista Mathistad, center, is about to receive a Moderna COVID-19 vaccine administered by paramedic Mistaya Johnston on a porch of their community building on Tuesday, March 30, 2021. Behind Mathistad are others who have been vaccinated or waiting for their vaccine. (Amanda Snyder/The Seattle Times/TNS)
Hospital leaders Monday said that a fourth wave of COVID-19 is driving up hospitalizations in Washington, that young patients make up an increasing proportion of their workload and that some are suffering from more severe disease than earlier in the pandemic.
No question Washington is in fourth wave even as vaccinations pick up
A notice outside Lumen Field s mass vaccination site in Seattle. (MyNorthwest photo)
“There is no question that we are now in a fourth wave of this disease,” said Cassie Sauer, Washington State Hospital Association CEO.
Even as vaccinations pick up, cases and hospitalization rates for COVID-19 are rising across Washington state. Sauer says the uptick is partly because of the number of different variants circulating in the population, including some that have shown to be more contagious or may cause more severe illness.
“We are seeing a lot of variant action, and that appears to be part of why the case numbers are going up,” Sauer said.
1 million Covid vaccines sit in freezers as Washingtonians hunt for doses
State health officials say the major sticking point in the vaccine rollout is supply: How many doses the federal government has sent to Washington.
âThe biggest challenge that we have is vaccine supply,â Dr. Umair Shah, state health secretary, said last Wednesday. âWe canât do much about that.â
But what about the doses here already â that havenât been given to the millions of Washington state residents yet to get a single shot? At least 1 million doses of the coronavirus vaccine have been delivered to providers in Washington state but never reported as having been given to a patient.
Why some health care workers were reluctant to get COVID shots nydailynews.com - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from nydailynews.com Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.