MS Coast hospital sends plea to public as ICUs reach capacity in ‘hellacious’ COVID surge
Mississippi is out of ICU beds at major medical centers because of COVID-19’s rampant spread, a development Singing River Health System said is “indescribable.”
State Health Officer Thomas Dobbs reinforced the message with a retweet of Singing River’s statement, which links to a longer message, and followed up with a tweet of his own, referring to the massive number of cases reported Monday:
“Keep in mind — this will translate into around 500 new hospitalization in coming days, and we have ZERO ICU beds at Level 1-3 hospitals, and we have > 200 patients waiting in ERs for a room,” Dobbs tweeted.
The tweets are part of a deluge of pleas on social media from medical professionals for Mississippians to get vaccinated.
The Southern states of Louisiana, Florida, Arkansas, Mississippi and Alabama have the highest COVID spread in the nation, in that order, according to a New York Times database. Those states also report low vaccination rates.
Hospital beds fill with COVID patients
In its tweet, Singing River said: “Our situation is indescribable, as we bear witness to both the best & worst in people.
“Some of us will forever have traumatic images of human suffering burned into our minds while fighting to save lives alongside one another.“
The tweet links to a lengthy statement to Singing River employees.
It begins: “We reached a disturbing new peak this week of more than 115 Covid-positive individuals among our three hospitals – 38 of those in ICU beds.
“At this very moment, the entire state of Mississippi and neighboring states are out of ICU beds. While yesterday was better than the day before, today may bring new higher hurdles. Let’s hope we are cresting this hellacious wave.”
Mississippi’s COVID-19 wave is unaccompanied by a mask mandate, even in schools, with residents continuing to argue on social media about masks vs. freedom. Misinformation also continues to spread on social media about COVID-19 vaccines, which have been found in peer-reviewed medical studies to be safe and effective.
Dobbs reports that 97% of all new COVID cases in Mississippi are among the unvaccinated.
