Indiana hospital overrun with COVID patients, hospitalizations tripled since Thanksgiving
INDIANAPOLIS (WISH) – The state is once again seeing a sharp increase in COVID-19 hospitalizations.
The majority of beds are taken up by the unvaccinated.
The surge comes at an already rough time. People not immunized are magnets for the lethal and highly contagious delta infection. Omicron is surging; the mutation now makes up 73% of all new U.S. infections, a number health authorities say is expected to increase.
Dr. Christopher Doehring, vice president of medical affairs at Franciscan Health, told News 8 that Franciscan has recently been hit hard by rising COVID-19 cases.
“Here at our hospital, we’re up more than triple where we were five weeks ago,” he said. “So, we’re definitely seeing the virus continue to be on the increase, the spread and the number of sick patients that need to be in the hospital.”
Doehring attributes the rapid spread to the aftermath of Thanksgiving gatherings. The Indianapolis hospital went from 20 beds occupied with coronavirus patients before the holiday. Now, they’re at 80.
His message to Hoosiers is the same as it’s been since the COVID-19 shots rolled out: Get vaccinated, and, if you haven’t already and are eligible, get boosted.