US coronavirus: Second Christmas in a row, hospital workers will have to deal with the trauma of the death of a Covid-19 patient

news7g12/23/2021

1 4 minutes read

US coronavirus: Second Christmas in a row, hospital workers will have to deal with the trauma of the death of a Covid-19 patient

Haleigh Seizys, a Covid-19 ICU nurse at Nebraska Medical Center in Omaha, told CNN’s Ana Cabrera on Wednesday that staff are “very worried about what’s going to happen after the holiday,” calling for every people get vaccinated to protect themselves and others from serious illness. .

“Day by day, things are tough,” Seizys said. “I had a patient who wasn’t doing well. It took a lot of time and effort from many different people trying to help these patients improve.

“I’m really exhausted,” she said, though she remains motivated to “help whoever I can.”

Colleagues are trying to “gather together” in the face of increased hospital admissions. She said those against masked mandates, including elected leaders, should watch what she and others do on a daily basis.

“I really wish they could come and watch me for just an hour so they could see how their feet hurt, and see how many people are trying to hold back their tears every day, and they can see the trauma these patients are going through, through,” Seizys said. “These people are dying very traumatic deaths, and it’s hard to watch.”

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Nearly 70,000 Americans were hospitalized with Covid-19 as of Wednesday, based on Department of Health and Human Services data, up from about 45,000 in early November.

According to Johns Hopkins data, the US had 1,324 Covid-19 deaths every day last week, 11% higher than a week earlier.

Because both Delta and Omicron . variants current, it is difficult to determine what is making the patient worse. Dr. Scott Gottlieb, a former U.S. Food and Drug Administration commissioner and current Pfizer board member, said additional research was needed on characteristics of hospitalizations including duration of hospitalizations. hospital stay.

“We need to watch that very closely,” Gottlieb told CNBC Wednesday, noting that it’s unclear whether the increase is due to Delta or “it’s an early sign that Omicron infections are on the rise. increase in the hospital.”

Early evidence suggests that increasing antibody level developed through new vaccinations or booster doses that may help protect individuals against a more transmissible type of Omicron. Researchers are still determining whether there are reduce chance of severe disease with Omicron than with Delta or earlier variants.

The first death from Omicron in the United States was reported in Texas, as a unvaccinated man in their 50s, who had previously had Covid-19 succumbed to a new infection. And cases in many parts of the country are continuing to rise as the variant has been detected in all 50 states.

New York state has eclipsed its previous daily case record five times in less than a week, officials said Wednesday, officials said. Governor Kathy Hochul noted that while the hospitalization rate is “escalating,” the state’s rate is still only two-thirds what it was in December last year.

“We don’t panic. We have the necessary resources,” Hochul said.

A critical care nurse prepares to enter the room of a Covid-19 patient on a ventilator at Beaumont Hospital in Dearborn, Michigan, on December 17.

Tasks of new vaccines and boosters

Mayor of Washington, DC, Muriel Bowser, said: proof of vaccination will be required for those over the age of 12 entering restaurants, gyms and other gathering places.

“Vaccines are working, and they’re working well to keep people out of hospitals and to prevent people from dying of Covid-19. So we don’t need shutdowns like these. That’s it, but we need more people to get vaccinated and get motivated,” Bowser said at a news conference Wednesday.

Officials said grocery stores, retail stores and museums would not be required to check for proof of vaccines and that religious establishments would be exempt. Eligible students at DC schools are also required to have immunizations by March 1.

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Many universities are spring semester adjustment by temporarily transitioning to online learning, and others are mandating booster doses of immunized students and staff. Duke University this week joined a list of schools that have recently announced booster vaccine requirements, including Syracuse, Notre Dame, Michigan State, Hofstra and NYU.

“These steps will help limit potential outbreaks on our campus and in our communities and protect those most vulnerable to this virus,” a statement from Duke said.

In California, health care workers – who have been authorized to administer the vaccine – will be required to have a booster shot, and students will be tested before returning to school in January, Governor Gavin Newsom said on Tuesday. Private.

Covid-19 test coming soon

With the rise of Omicron cases, and Christmas and New Year rapidly approaching, the demand for Covid-19 tests is outstripping current supply and leading to long queues across the country as well as the risk of infection. No positive cases were detected.

The Biden administration plans to provide 500 million new tests next month, however, it will take time to complete the orders and details are still being worked out, a senior administration official told CNN.

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“To be clear, we’re not sending a test to every door in the country,” said White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki. say while a press conference. “We’re providing an opportunity, another opportunity, or the ability for people … to go to a website and request a test if they want to take that test home with them. No Not everyone is going to do it. But we want the people who want to do it, the people who want to be tested, the people who want to request the test that way to have that ability to do (it).”

CVS Health and Walgreens – the two largest drugstore chains in the US – announced that they are limited number of Covid-19 home kits that customers can buy due to significant demand.

Complementary treatments on the horizon

Health officials and experts emphasized the FDA’s authorization on Wednesday of The first pill to treat Covid-19 as another important tool.

Pfizer Paxlovid “should be started as soon as possible after diagnosis of Covid-19 and within five days of symptom onset,” according to an FDA statement.

Combining two antiviral drugs, Paxlovid will be prescribed by your doctor and taken three tablets twice a day for five days.

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The White House bought Pfizer’s 10 million antiviral courses, with 265,000 delivered in January and “with monthly totals increasing year over year and all 10 million courses delivered by the end of summer “, according to Covid-19 coordinator, Jeff Zient.

Paxlovid is not intended for use as prophylaxis before or after exposure to Covid-19 and “is not a substitute for immunization in individuals for whom the Covid-19 vaccine and booster dose is recommended,” the FDA said.

Another antiviral drug, molnupiravir from Merck, is awaiting FDA approval for emergency use. Advisor to the agency suggest earlier its authorization in a narrow vote.

CNN’s Deidre McPhillips, Jamie Gumbrecht, Amanda Sealy, Aya Elamroussi, DJ Judd, Laura Ly, Sam Feist, Kristina Sgueglia, Stella Chan, Sarah Fortinsky, Adrienne Winston and Daniel Maraccini contributed to this report.

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