A fourth wave of COVID-19 cases is hitting Georgia hospitals, igniting concerns of more devastating outbreaks to come.
Northeast Georgia Health System as of Friday had 133 confirmed COVID-19 patients in its care, the highest number since February, officials said.
Other hospitals are also seeing major increases. On Friday, COVID-19 patients made up 17.3% of those hospitalized in Georgia, up from under 4% last month.
The vast majority of those hospitalized were not vaccinated, hospital officials said. Nurses and other hospital staff who say a surge could have been prevented had more people opted for the vaccine.
Elizabeth Larkins, executive director of medical nursing at the Gainesville-based Northeast Georgia Health System, said her teams of nurses and respiratory therapists are exhausted.
“Our staff that are in the front lines are still recovering from the mental and emotional strain of the past 18 months,” Larkins said, while trying to hold back tears at a Monday press conference. “Many of them tell me they don’t know if they can take another surge.”
The number of probable and confirmed coronavirus cases reached 5,839 on Thursday, up 60% from a week ago.
All but two Georgia counties meet the threshold of substantial or high community transmission of the coronavirus, according to data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Here’s a look at major COVID-19 developments over the past week.
Younger populations hospitalized
As the highly contagious delta variant of the coronavirus spreads, one major concern among Georgia health care providers is the jump in the number of cases among younger adults.
Previous waves of the disease were most devastating to those 65 and older. But that is the population in Georgia with the highest vaccination rates. Rates among younger adults are much lower, and no vaccine has been authorized for those under age 12. Overall, only about 40% of Georgians have been fully vaccinated, compared with 50% of Americans.
Half of the COVID-19 patients at Northeast Georgia Health System are under age 60, said Dr. Erine Raybon-Rojas, a critical care physician.
“We have cared for some as young as 18 in the past two weeks,” said Dr. Deepak Aggarwal, who heads the medical staff.
At Memorial Health in Savannah, the average age is even lower — 50, said Dr. Stephen Thacker, who is a pediatric infectious disease specialist at Memorial Health University Medical Center.
Though the number of children hospitalized for COVID-19 remains very low, pediatricians are concerned about the risk of infection as students return to classrooms.
Clinics at Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta have seen an increase in the number of children testing positive, but symptoms have generally been mild.
This past week, 10 children were hospitalized at Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta with the disease, a spokeswoman said. And serious cases in children could be on the rise, said Dr. Hugo Scornik, president of the Georgia chapter of the American Academy of Pediatrics.
Scornik, who has a practice in Conyers, urged parents to mask up their children before sending them to in-person school, especially youngsters under 12 who can’t yet be vaccinated.
“This is the best way to prevent catching the delta variant of COVID,” Scornik said.
Credit: Ben Gray / Ben@BenGray.com
Credit: Ben Gray / Ben@BenGray.com
Emory, Piedmont hospitals to require COVID vaccine
Atlanta-based Emory Healthcare has mandated coronavirus vaccinations for its more than 24,000 employees.
Emory’s move follows a similar one recently by Piedmont Healthcare.
Emory Healthcare had been reluctant to mandate the shots. Like other large health care providers, it hoped a majority of employees would voluntarily take the vaccines. In fact, more than two-thirds did. But the recent surge in new cases, combined with Georgia’s low vaccination rate, compelled officials at Emory to act.
Emory said it wants all employees to be vaccinated by Oct. 1.
Also this past week, Phoebe Putney Health System announced all of its employees not fully-vaccinated against COVID-19 by Oct. 4 must report each week for testing to confirm they are not infected with the coronavirus.
“Our leadership team did not come to this decision lightly,” said Scott Steiner, president and CEO.“It is our responsibility to put safety first and do all we can to protect our patients, visitors and staff. And, if we are to live up to that responsibility, that means requiring employee vaccinations.”
Staff writer Ariel Hart contributed to this article.
