Over 1,000 health care workers deploying to help overwhelmed MS hospitals in COVID crisis
More than 1,000 health care workers should be deployed around the state by week’s end, Gov. Tate Reeves said at a news conference Tuesday, to relieve 61 hospitals that need help because of unprecedented COVID-19 caseloads.
The help will allow 50 hospitals statewide to add 994 beds, 237 of them intensive care, said Stephen McCraney, executive director of the Mississippi Emergency Management Agency.
Reeves said an additional 11 hospitals also will receive supplemental medical personnel.
Personnel being added:
- 808 nurses
- 3 nurse anesthetists
- 22 nurse practitioners
- 193 respiratory therapists
- 20 paramedics.
In addition, an Army team and an Air Force team with 23 members each, 20 of them medical personnel on each team, also is deploying in Mississippi, Reeves said.
“My top priority throughout the pandemic has and will always be protecting the integrity of our health care system,” Reeves said.
Reeves sticks to personal choice on vaccines
A low vaccination rate in Mississippi is blamed for a record number of COVID cases from the highly contagious delta variant. Vaccination rates are going up, with 38% of Mississippians now fully vaccinated compared to a national rate of 52%.
Reeves, who was vaccinated on video, has urged Mississippians to talk to their doctors about vaccinations, but stops short of telling them they need to be vaccinated. At the news conference, he put it this way:
“I encourage each and everyone of you to consult with your doctor, study the facts, and decide what is best for you and your families. . . .The facts continue to point to the vaccine being safe and effective and the best way” to prevent serious illness or death.
Have COVID cases reached plateau?
Hospitalizations are down from a previous peak, with 1,655 people hospitalized Monday with confirmed COVID cases, state Epidemiologist Dr. Paul Byers said.
He repeated COVID statistics for those who are not fully vaccinated: 98% of new cases, 89% of hospitalizations and 87% of deaths. Residents 65 and older constitute the majority of deaths, but the state has lost five children and 22 people age 18-24.
Byers said Mississippi is seeing some flattening of hospitalizations and ventilator use
“If you look at the trend over time,”he said, “it looks like we are leveling off on some of our hospitalizations.”
Byers also is hopeful that COVID-19 cases, which recently reached record levels, are beginning to plateau. But, he added, “A couple of days does not a trend make, but it looks like we’re beginning to plateau.”
Mississippi had a record day for deaths Tuesday, he noted, with 111 reported. Because deaths lag cases, he said, “We may anticipate some significant increases in our deaths still.”
Monoclonal antibodies, however, are saving lives, he said, and reducing the number of hospitalizations. The antibody treatment is widely available across the state for those who have COVID-19. The treatment, an infusion or shots, is most effective if administered within 10 days of symptom onset.
This story was originally published August 24, 2021 at 12:09 PM.
