Surging COVID-19 cases in Champaign County have local medical professionals concerned as the “real weight” of the Delta variant is filling hospital beds and a new, more-infectious variant, Omicron, sends warning signals in all parts of the world.
According to AP News, the Omicron variant accounted for the majority of COVID-19 infections last week, surpassing the Delta variant. Yet, Carle and OSF officials, Dr. Robert Healy, Chief Quality Officer (Carle) and Deb McCarter, Vice President and Chief Nursing Officer (OSF) said the increase of hospitalized COVID-19 patients are still coming in with the Delta variant.
Carle is experiencing its fifth-highest surge of COVID-19 hospitalizations with 128 COVID-19 patients, 28 of whom are in the intensive care unit.
Both McCarter and Healy said that staffing levels in the Champaign County hospitals has remained consistent, but recently, they have experienced staffing issues as breakthrough COVID-19 cases become more prevalent. According to both sources, over 90-percent of their staffs are vaccinated.
Champaign County Public Health Director Julie Pryde talked about the wear on the local health professional community since March 2020.
“I simply cannot stress this enough, we are all exhausted. There are finite resources in this community,” Pryde said.
The majority of hospitalizations from COVID-19 continue to be patients who are unvaccinated.
Associate Professor of Epidemiology at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign Rebecca Smith said the Delta variant will continue to have the advantage in individuals who are unvaccinated while the Omicron variant will outpace its predecessor in individuals relying on natural immunity and those who have not received a booster shot after their second dose of vaccine.
On Monday, Moderna said preliminary data shows a 100-microgram booster increased neutralizing antibody levels approximately 83-fold 50 microgram booster= 37-fold) compared to pre-boost levels. Earlier in Dec. Pfizer indicated that a third dose of their vaccine increases the neutralizing antibody titers by 25-fold compared to two doses against the Omicron variant.
According to Healy, antibodies spike as early as 5-days after the booster shot.
Pryde said healthcare professionals are bracing for a “tsunami” of COVID-19 positive cases and possible hospitalizations as the virus continues to spread exponentially across the region. But she also said that with available COVID-19 vaccine clinics throughout Champaign County, it is never too late to get vaccinated or get a booster shot.
With Christmas and New Year gatherings right around the corner, Pryde urged people to gather safely. Over-the-counter COVID-19 tests are usually under $10 at local pharmacies. Pryde suggests everyone test right before gatherings in order to mitigate possible exposures.
She also continued to encourage social distance between groups that do not live with each other, masks and opening windows and doors for ventilation. She also hopes people will take advantage of free COVID-19 testing within the state of Illinois three to five days after a gathering or if they have COVID-19 symptoms.
