Oklahoma health leaders urge vaccinations as hospitals battle staff shortage

3 years ago 446

TULSA, Okla. — Oklahoma's apical wellness leaders are erstwhile again urging citizens to get vaccinated arsenic hospitals conflict a unit shortage amid a COVID surge.

In an update from the authorities section of wellness connected Thursday, Deputy Health Commissioner Keith Reed said astir 94 percent of hospitalizations successful the past 30 days were successful those unvaccinated. And 96 percent of those who died from COVID didn't person the vaccine.

Reed said 86 afloat vaccinated Oklahomans person died from COVID. Of those who died, helium said 80 percent had known comorbidities and astir 85 percent were successful the 65 and older population.

“Vaccinations person again proven to beryllium the champion extortion against superior illness, hospitalization and death," Reed said.

Hospitals are seeing precocious numbers of patients erstwhile again arsenic COVID cases surge, but a large occupation is the shortage of nurses.

“Our hospitals, anecdotally, are reporting, adjacent those with staffing contracts, that they whitethorn beryllium expecting let's accidental 10 nurses and possibly 4 amusement up," said Patti Davis, president and CEO of the Oklahoma Hospital Association. "So conscionable similar day-to-day, the magnitude of nursing unit astatine bedside volition find however galore patients tin beryllium safely taken attraction of.”

David said they’d similar to beryllium capable to utilize nursing students and retired nurses erstwhile again. Meanwhile, Reed said getting specialty nurses isn’t easy.

"This is astir radical that are specially trained to assistance successful captious attraction with captious attraction patients," Reed said. "So it’s not rather arsenic casual arsenic shifting astir and uncovering the close nurses.”

As hospitals hold to spot if determination volition beryllium a post-Labor Day surge, they’ll person pugnacious decisions to make, similar whether to dilatory down elective surgeries.

“We’ve got hospitals, unfortunately, boarding patients successful hallways," Davis said. "We cognize that we’ve got hospitals utilizing PACU's for holding patients. And a assortment of things they’ve done, including shutting down cardinal services to marque much country for COVID patients.”

Doctors besides discussed erstwhile kids nether the property of 12 could beryllium eligible to person the vaccine. They judge that could beryllium either aboriginal this twelvemonth oregon aboriginal adjacent year.

Stay successful interaction with america anytime, anyplace --