The opposite states are: Arizona, Delaware, Georgia, Massachusetts, Mississippi, Missouri, Nevada, New Mexico, North Carolina, Ohio, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Texas and Vermont, in line with HHS.
In Washington, Gov. Jay Inslee introduced Thursday he might be requiring hospitals to briefly halt nonurgent procedures in an effort to get employees positioned to help individuals who need assistance instantly.
“This is among the methods to extend capability to cope with this Omicron surge, clearly,” Inslee stated. “So, we’re going to be requiring hospitals to briefly halt nonurgent procedures — in order a lot capability and employees could be devoted to emergent wants, the individuals who want this proper now.”
Inslee stated this new requirement is “not only for Omicron sufferers, however for coronary heart assault victims, for automotive crash victims, for gunshot victims, all of them need assistance proper now.”
In Kentucky, hospitals have lower than 10% capability remaining within the intensive care items, in line with knowledge Wednesday from the Well being and Human Providers.
“I’ve already needed to name out the Nationwide Guard,” Gov. Andy Beshear throughout a information convention Thursday. “And that subsequent individual in a automotive accident won’t get the care they want. So get vaccinated for that individual.”
“The issue is that proper now we now have hospitals the place there’s not sufficient nurses to care for the sufferers who’re coming in, the Covid sufferers and the non-Covid sufferers,” Spencer informed CNN’s Laura Coates on Wednesday.
Dr. Vivek Murthy, the US surgeon basic, informed CNN’s Wolf Blitzer on Thursday he believes the following few weeks might be difficult.
“We’ll proceed to see excessive numbers of circumstances. Our hospital techniques in elements of the nation are strained and that can proceed, which is why the president introduced {that a} thousand extra members of the Division of Protection have been going to shore up and strengthen hospital techniques throughout the nation and the thousands and thousands of items of protecting tools that we now have despatched and can proceed to ship to hospital techniques,” Murthy stated.
“So, a troublesome few weeks forward. However I believe there might be higher days on the opposite aspect,” he stated.
Share of hospitalizations from breakthrough infections is rising, however dangers for unvaccinated are larger
Totally vaccinated individuals are accounting for a rising share of individuals hospitalized with Covid-19 — however hospitalizations amongst individuals who acquired a booster shot nonetheless are uncommon, and the hole in threat by vaccination standing has been broad.
Between April and July 2021, earlier than the emergence of the Omicron variant, greater than 90% of Covid-19 hospitalizations have been amongst individuals who have been both unvaccinated or partially vaccinated, in line with a research printed by the Facilities for Illness Management and Prevention.
However a sampling of knowledge collected by CNN means that determine has dropped to someplace between 60% and 75% in latest days and months:
• In Pennsylvania, about 75% of Covid-19 hospitalizations between September and early December 2021 have been amongst individuals who weren’t absolutely vaccinated, in line with knowledge from the state well being division.
• In New York, about 61% of Covid-19 hospitalizations in the course of the week ending January 2 have been amongst individuals who weren’t absolutely vaccinated, in line with knowledge from the state well being division.
• Beaumont Well being, the biggest well being care system in Michigan, reported final week that 62% of Covid-19 sufferers in its eight hospitals have been unvaccinated.
Whereas absolutely vaccinated individuals are accounting for a bigger share of Covid-19 hospitalizations, a number of accounts counsel that those that are absolutely vaccinated and boosted account for a small share.
The CDC didn’t reply to CNN’s a number of requests for knowledge on the share of Covid-19 hospitalizations by vaccination standing.
The company publishes knowledge on its web site relating to the relative threat by vaccination standing. Cumulatively, the chance of hospitalization has been eight instances larger for unvaccinated folks than for absolutely vaccinated folks. However within the final week of November, CDC knowledge confirmed that hospitalization charges have been about 17 instances larger for unvaccinated folks than for absolutely vaccinated folks.
CDC to replace masks steerage
The US averaged greater than 771,580 new Covid-19 circumstances day by day over the previous week, in line with Johns Hopkins College knowledge, greater than 3 times that of final winter’s peak common (251,987 on January 11, 2021) and greater than 4.5 instances the height from the Delta-driven surge (166,347 on September 1).
The CDC plans to replace details about mask-wearing, together with the completely different ranges of safety that varied masks — comparable to fabric, surgical or N95 — present towards the unfold of Covid-19, CDC Director Dr. Rochelle Walensky stated throughout a White Home digital briefing Wednesday.
Total, it is crucial for folks to put on any face masks that they’ve entry to, “however Omicron has modified issues a bit as a result of it’s so transmissible that we all know that masks are much more essential,” Lori Tremmel Freeman, chief government officer of the Nationwide Affiliation of County and Metropolis Well being Officers, informed CNN.
CNN’s Jacqueline Howard, Deidre McPhillips, Naomi Thomas, Virginia Langmaid, Christina Maxouris, Kate Sullivan, Liam Reilly, Claudia Dominguez and Andy Rose contributed to this report.