Hospitals Are Literally Begging For Help
Six Cleveland-area medical systems placed an ad in Ohio's biggest newspaper saying simply, "Help." Meanwhile, Massachusetts deployed the National Guard to aid hospitals in dealing with too many covid patients. Across the U.S., covid cases are rising quickly and dramatically.
CNN:
Cleveland-Area Hospitals Battling Latest Covid-19 Surge Put Ad In Local Paper That Reads: 'Help'
"Help." That word, in big black letters and surrounded by white space, called out from Ohio's largest newspaper -- a desperate plea from six Cleveland-area medical systems facing a crush of Covid-19 cases. "We need your help," read the bottom of the ad. "We now have more COVID-19 patients in our hospitals than ever before. "And the overwhelming majority are unvaccinated." The ad was sponsored by Cleveland Clinic, University Hospitals, MetroHealth, Summa Health, the US Department of Veterans Affairs and St. Vincent Charity Medical Center. (Moshtaghian, 12/22)
The Boston Globe:
Baker Deploys National Guard To Help Stressed Hospitals And Advises Residents To Wear Masks Indoors
Sounding a new urgency over a resurgent pandemic, Governor Charlie Baker on Tuesday deployed the National Guard to help hospitals in Massachusetts struggling with staff shortages and ordered them to cancel nonessential surgeries to accommodate a tide of patients sick with COVID and other serious illnesses. However, Baker stopped short of imposing a statewide mask mandate, instead opting to issue an advisory recommending that people should now wear masks inside public places. (Dayal McCluskey, Freyer and Lazar, 12/21)
KHN:
As Pandemic Wears Down Hospital Staff, One Town Offers Groceries To Say Thanks
This mountain community — which comes alive during the winter ski season and annual Sundance Film Festival — is home to the Park City Hospital, which has 460 employees. As in countless hospitals across the country, the demands of covid-19 at times overwhelmed the facility and dramatically changed the way caregivers interact with patients. “The last year and a half has taken a toll on us,” said Jodie Connelly, nurse manager of the intensive care unit at the hospital, which is part of the Intermountain Healthcare System based in Salt Lake City. “Nurses have pretty thick skins, but the pandemic has tested us in ways we’ve never really been tested before.” (Austin, 12/22)
Covid cases are jumping all over —
The Baltimore Sun:
Maryland Reports Most New COVID Cases Recorded In 24-Hour Period, 6,218, As Officials Warn Of Surge’s Impact On Hospital Capacity
Maryland reported 6,218 new COVID-19 cases Tuesday, marking the most infections added in 24 hours during the coronavirus pandemic, as officials painted a bleak picture of how the virus’ surge could shape the rest of the winter. The new data means that more than one in every 1,000 Marylanders was confirmed to have a coronavirus infection in the past day. But officials said they were most concerned about COVID-19 hospitalizations, which doubled since the beginning of December. Those patients, approximately 75% of whom are unvaccinated, are burdening a health care system experiencing an exodus of medical personnel due to fatigue and frustration, health experts said. (Mann and Opilo, 12/21)
San Francisco Chronicle:
San Francisco Case Rates Double In Five Days As Omicron Tightens Grip
The highly infectious omicron variant appears to be well established in the Bay Area and likely is fueling outbreaks and early surges in COVID-19 cases across the region, health officials said Tuesday. Case rates have doubled in San Francisco over just the past five days, almost certainly due to omicron spreading in the community, said Dr. Grant Colfax, head of the Department of Public Health. He said the city has now identified 32 omicron cases, but he expects there are many more. (Allday, 12/21)
Las Vegas Review-Journal:
New COVID-19 Cases Jump Sharply In Clark County And Nevada
Clark County and Nevada both reported unusually high numbers of new COVID-19 cases on Tuesday, suggesting the surge of the disease that began last month is gaining momentum. The Southern Nevada Health District reported 974 new cases and 15 deaths in Clark County during the preceding day, while the state added 1,139 cases and 28 deaths. Both figures were likely inflated by delayed reporting following the weekend, when some agencies don’t submit new cases or deaths to the state. But key metrics for the disease have been climbing in the county since early November and public health officials have said the surge is expected to continue to rise as the holiday season reaches its peak, with more people traveling and gathering. (Dylan, 12/21)
The Hill:
New York House Republican Tests Positive For COVID-19
Rep. Nicole Malliotakis (R-N.Y.) tested positive for COVID-19 on Monday, becoming one of the most recent members of Congress to contract the virus amid a surge in cases across the U.S. ... Other lawmakers including Democratic Sens. Elizabeth Warren (Mass.), Cory Booker (N.J.) and Rep. Barbara Lee (D-Calif.) have also tested positive for the coronavirus this week. (Choi, 12/21)
In other news —
CIDRAP:
Most COVID-Related EUAs Backed By Low-Quality Data, Review Finds
Most US Food and Drug Administration (FDA)-issued emergency use authorizations (EUAs) for COVID-19–related medical products were not supported by high-quality data, and the FDA revoked authorizations for 17 products because of effectiveness or safety problems, according to a research letter yesterday in JAMA Internal Medicine. The authors say that relying on suboptimal supporting data is understandable at the beginning of a pandemic, but standards should be raised later on. (Van Beusekom, 12/21)
AP:
Secret Service: Nearly $100B Stolen In Pandemic Relief Funds
Nearly $100 billion at minimum has been stolen from COVID-19 relief programs set up to help businesses and people who lost their jobs due to the pandemic, the U.S. Secret Service said Tuesday. The estimate is based on Secret Service cases and data from the Labor Department and the Small Business Administration, said Roy Dotson, the agency’s national pandemic fraud recovery coordinator, in an interview. The Secret Service didn’t include COVID-19 fraud cases prosecuted by the Justice Department. (McDermott, 12/22)
The Wall Street Journal:
Long Covid Patients Report Vibrations, Tremors: ‘My Body Is Moving Inside, It’s Jolting’
For Kerri McCrossen Morrison, the sensation feels like an electric toothbrush going off in her chest. The feeling is so intense that it wakes her from a deep sleep at times. “It feels like someone put something on my bed and it’s vibrating,” she says. “My body is moving inside, it’s jolting, and at night it’s really bad.” (Reddy, 12/21)
