New interactive maps show that American hospitals are being overwhelmed by COVID patients as the number of people admitted to the intensive care units with the virus continues to increase.
As of Monday, there are currently 129,778 Americans with the coronavirus admitted to the hospital, including tens of thousands in the ICU.
This is the 41st consecutive day that there are more than 100,000 U.S. citizens in the hospital being treated for the virus.
As of Sunday, more than 375,000 Americans had died from the virus, and more than 22 million tested positive.
According to Johns Hopkins University data, the U.S. has recorded more than 200,000 new cases of the virus every day over the past week.
New interactive maps show that American hospitals are being overwhelmed by COVID patients as the number of people admitted to the intensive care units with the virus continues to increase. This map from The COVID Tracking Project shows the percentage of hospital beds occupied by those with coronavirus
However, a second map paints a more worrying picture. This shows that COVID patients take up excessively many ICU beds in many hospitals nationwide
In some parts of California, it is not uncommon for almost all ICU beds to be occupied by coronavirus patients, which creates a serious situation for other residents who have arrived at the hospital and need urgent treatment for car accidents and heart attacks.
The maps, created by The COVID shell project, shows that hospitalizations are at their worst in California – where the number of people receiving inpatients continues to skyrocket.
At present, 22,633 residents of the Golden State people have been admitted to the hospital, a large number of whom are in the ICU.
One map made by The COVID Tracking Project shows the percentage of common hospital beds inhabited by coronavirus patients across the country.
It reveals that the highest percentage of COVID-related hospitalizations are in and around Los Angeles.
More than 45 percent of all common hospital beds are occupied by people struggling with the coronavirus.
In many other parts of the country the number is considerably lower. In most hospitals in Florida and New York, for example, between 15 and 30 percent of the beds are occupied by those with COVID-19.
However, a second map paints a more worrying picture.
This shows that COVID patients take up excessively many ICU beds in many hospitals nationwide.
In New York, for example, while less than 30 percent of common hospital beds are occupied by COVID patients, more than 45 percent of ICU beds at most of the same medical facilities are occupied by those with the virus.
The map shows a similar situation occurring in parts of South Texas and in Phoenix, Arizona.
According to The COVID Tracking Project, hospitalizations and deaths in Phoenix are now more than the summer experienced there and are growing every day.
At Antelope Valley Hospital in Lancaster, residents were seen setting up a field hospital in the parking lot on Monday.
Three-quarters of the hospital’s ICU beds are occupied by COVID-19 patients, and there is only one ICU bed available in the entire facility.
In some parts of California, it is not uncommon for nearly all ICU beds to be occupied by coronavirus patients, creating a serious situation for other residents who need urgent treatment for car accidents and heart attacks that have come to the hospital.
In Los Angeles, health officials are now appealing to locals to wear masks in their homes to stop the spread because hospitals are so overwhelmed.
“Right now, because there is so much spread, we recommend that people wear their face masks while they are indoors. It will add a layer of protection as we get through this boom, ‘said the director of public health, dr. Barbara Ferrer, said
Meanwhile, officials at Antelope Valley Hospital in Lancaster, just north of Los Angeles, were seen on Monday setting up a field hospital in the parking lot.
Three-quarters of the hospital ICU beds are occupied by COVID-19 patients, and there is only one available ICU bed left in the entire facility.
On Monday, it was reported that only nine million Americans had received their first blow – far less than the 20 million people the federal government had hoped to be vaccinated by the end of December 2020.
A New York schoolteacher is seen Monday receiving her first dose of the vaccine
Meanwhile, the deployment process of vaccinations continues to drag on.
On Monday, it was reported that only nine million Americans had received their first blow – far less than the 20 million people the federal government had hoped for by the end of December 2020.
It is also less than one-third of the 25 million doses distributed to states by the federal government.
The slow deployment has prompted some states to purchase their own vaccines from Pfizer itself to eliminate the middleman and speed up the process.
The Michigan government, Gretchen Whitmer, in a letter to Alex Azar, secretary of health and human services, asked Monday to buy 100,000 doses of Pfizer directly from the pharmaceutical giant.
“This direct purchase will fill a two-week delay in supply and ensure we can continue to increase our vaccination efforts in Michigan,” she wrote.
“It is also in line with Operation Warp Speed’s commitment to delivering a safe and effective COVID-19 vaccine to Americans as quickly as possible.”
If approved, Whitmer says the additional vaccine doses will be distributed and administered according to CDC guidelines.
The request comes through a state hospital system that says they do not have enough supplies to get needles in their arms.
It also coincides with Whitmer’s expansion of vaccine admissions to include residents 65 and older, police officers and other first responders and teachers.
The COVID-19 crisis shows no signs of abating, amid a disastrous slow roll-out of vaccines across the country. Thousands of Americans die every day from the virus, while more than 200,000 have tested positive for the virus every day over the past week.