It appears this surge is centered among younger people, probably because olds like me are still staying home. But it’s a mistake to think that’s good news. A lot of these younger people are ending up in the hospital:
“The scary thing is, we don’t know how far this is going to climb,” said Baker. “This is just week one of the resurge. So we don’t know what this will do.”
And June Ellis, associate chief nursing officer at Jackson’s flagship hospital, said the patients in this influx are much younger than in the first.
“”This time we’re starting to see younger patients coming in,” Ellis said. “So more of 30-, 40-year-old patients coming in, late 20s.”
Jackson is not alone in seeing higher demand.
The state Agency for Healthcare Administration reports intensive care beds are becoming more scarce, with none available at Kendall Regional Medical Center and West Kendall Baptist Hospital.
Countywide, 25% of ICU beds are available, AHCA reports, though the county’s data shows more such beds are available.
“We are starting to open up some of our other areas that we had been able to close for COVID and now we’ve opened them up for additional ICU capacity,” Jackson’s Ellis, the critical care nursing leader, said.
“Their catchment area is very different from ours due to the nursing homes that are around them. So it’s a whole different population,” Ellis said.
Asked where the situation is headed, Ellis paused, then said, “I don’t know, but if it continues, you know, the trend lines tell us we’re going to continue, we’re going.”
Young people need to wear masks and practice social distancing as much as possible right along with the rest of us. They can get very sick too. And we don’t know what long term damage this thing can do to the body.
And needless to say, everyone of any age needs to have a heart and try not to pass this thing along to other people.