By Mary Mayhew
Our brave frontline healthcare heroes continue to courageously respond to this significant surge in COVID patients in our hospitals. It is indescribable the level of stress and strain they have been under for more than 17 months and the heartbreaking losses they have experienced. Between increasing numbers of COVID patients and unusually high patient volume of extremely ill non-COVID patients, our hospitals are working to maximize their available staff and beds, including the use of conference rooms and cafeterias. Many hospitals across the state currently sit at or above their previous peak in COVID cases, sometimes caring for two to three times the number of COVID patients served during the July 2020 previous peak.
As our hospitals fight to save every life possible, one thing about this current peak in the pandemic is absolutely clear, this is a pandemic of the unvaccinated.
Florida effectively prioritized the vaccination of our senior citizens and those most vulnerable when the vaccines first arrived for the public. More than 80% of our seniors are vaccinated. Now the same urgency we demonstrated in protecting the most vulnerable must be shown for vaccinating every eligible Floridian.
While some Floridians cannot yet get vaccinated, too many of those who are eligible are opting out. This must change.
Like polio and smallpox before it, COVID-19 is now a vaccine-preventable disease. While no vaccine is 100 percent effective at preventing illness, the COVID-19 vaccines have proven to be remarkably effective at preventing serious illness, hospitalizations, and deaths. Nearly 100 percent of fully vaccinated individuals (99.99 percent) have not had a severe breakthrough case of COVID-19, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Unfortunately, today, our hospitals and physicians, nurses, and other health care professionals are experiencing the all-too-familiar tragedy, stress, and strain of caring for an exponentially growing number of patients with COVID-19. As of August 15, more than 15,600 Floridians were hospitalized with COVID-19; our previous highest peak in July 2020 of confirmed COVID hospitalizations was slightly more than 10,000. Of those hospitalized today, many are younger than 55. Almost all are unvaccinated.
Unlike last year when COVID-19 disproportionately affected the elderly and those with chronic conditions, the current peak is affecting younger, healthy people who are at greatest risk not only of contracting COVID-19 but also of being hospitalized with severe illness. More than 78 percent of those age 60 and older are fully vaccinated, but among those age 30 and younger, the rates hover around 42 percent.
This tragedy is avoidable.
In contrast to the early months of vaccine rollout, the vaccines now are widely available and easily accessible. Most pharmacies, clinics, and other health care sites have vaccines ready to administer. And, the vaccines are free. In addition, while temporary side effects, such as fever, chills, and injection site soreness, are common after vaccination, they do not appear to be long lasting or life threatening. This is in stark contrast to “long COVID,” a condition that afflicts a yet-unknown number of people and causes symptoms ranging from fatigue and joint pain to heart and lung damage that linger well after an individual is first infected with the virus that causes COVID-19.
The COVID-19 vaccines are the gold standard of biomedical research, representing collaboration and cooperation among scientists around the world who have worked for years on RNA vaccines (the technology behind the Moderna and Pfizer vaccines) and other types of coronaviruses. The U.S. Food and Administration authorized the vaccines only after rigorous clinical trials.
More than 40,000 Floridians have died of COVID-19. Vaccination can prevent more losses. The end to the pandemic and preventable suffering depends on all of us doing our part, rolling up our sleeves, and getting vaccinated.
Find a vaccine location at floridahealthcovid19.gov/vaccines/vaccine-locator/.
Mary Mayhew is President and CEO of the Florida Hospital Association.
