US breaks record with more than 145,000 COVID-19 hospitalisations

Washington: The United States surpassed its record for COVID-19 hospitalisations on Tuesday, with no end in sight to skyrocketing case loads, falling staff levels and the struggles of a medical system trying to provide care amid an unprecedented surge of the coronavirus.

Tuesday’s total of 145,982 people in US hospitals with COVID-19, which includes 4,462 children, passed the record of 142,273 set on January 14, 2021, during the previous peak of the pandemic in this country.

But the highly transmissible Omicron variant threatens to obliterate that benchmark. If models of Omicron’s spread prove accurate — even the researchers who produce them admit forecasts are difficult during a pandemic — current numbers may seem small in just a few weeks. Disease modelers are predicting total hospitalisations in the 275,000 to 300,000 range when the peak is reached, probably later this month.

As of Monday, Colorado, Oregon, Louisiana, Maryland and Virginia had declared public health emergencies or authorized crisis standards of care, which allow hospitals and ambulances to restrict treatment when they cannot meet demand.

Nurses and other hospital staff continued to fall sick themselves, raising nurse to patient ratios in some places to high levels.

“Our systems and personnel are under extreme strain and I’m not sure how long we can sustain it,” Russell Buhr, a pulmonary and critical care physician at Ronald Reagan UCLA Medical Center in Los Angeles, said in an email.

The Omicron variant of the virus still appears to cause less severe illness and fewer deaths, and vaccines and boosters are holding up as bulwarks against both. But the sheer number of cases among unvaccinated people, as well as breakthrough cases, was putting pressure on intensive care units and hospital covid wards anyway, even as fewer people are in the ICU than during last January’s peak. Throughout the pandemic, deaths have also lagged behind jumps in the number of infections by a few weeks. Those numbers may rise as well in days to come.

As of Monday there were 23,524 COVID patients in ICUs nationwide, compared with a record 29,591 on January 12, 2021. About 1,200 hospitals —just under a quarter —reported a critical staffing shortage this week, and another 120 reported anticipating a staffing crisis within a week, according to data kept by the US Department of Health and Human Services.

The West is experiencing dire shortages, with 29% of hospitals experiencing a crisis and 32% expecting one this week. The worst hit states are Vermont and Rhode Island, where more than 60% of the hospitals anticipate staffing crises this week.

The United States reported 1.35 million new infections on Monday, according to a Reuters tally, the highest daily total for any country in the world as the spread of the highly contagious Omicron variant showed no signs of slowing.

Schools disrupted

The previous record was 1.03 million cases on January 3. A large number of cases are reported each Monday due to many states not reporting over the weekend. The seven-day average for new cases has tripled in two weeks to over 700,000 new infections a day.

The surge in cases has disrupted schools, which are struggling with absences of staff, teachers and bus drivers.

Chicago cancelled classes for a fourth day as the district and teachers failed to agree on how to deal with increased infections.

New York City suspended service on three subway lines as a large number of workers were out sick, according to its Twitter account. Companies’ plans for workers to return to office have also been derailed.

Deaths are averaging 1,700 per day, up from about 1,400 in recent days but within levels seen earlier this winter.

A redesigned COVID-19 vaccine that specifically targets the Omicron variant is likely needed, Pfizer Inc’s CEO said on Monday, adding his company could have one ready to launch by March.