Brazos County health officials insist on vaccinations as hospital admissions continue to rise

BRYAN, Texas (KBTX) – The Brazos County Health District and representatives from local hospitals met Monday afternoon to discuss vaccines and returning students at a press conference.

In recent weeks, Brazos County has seen an increase in COVID-19 cases and hospitalizations, reflecting trends statewide. The theme of the press conference was clear, people need to get vaccinated. Dr Seth Sullivan, of the Brazos County Health Authority, said the risks of contracting COVID-19 far outweigh the risks of getting the vaccine.

“Vaccination is the main prevention strategy in public health to end the COVID-19 pandemic. Promoting immunizations can help schools safely resume in-person learning and extracurricular activities, ”Sullivan said.

He stressed that since children under 12 cannot be vaccinated, it is important that eligible students and those around children get vaccinated. As students return to school, it is essential to focus on mitigation techniques to curb the spread of COVID-19 and other viruses. Maintaining good hand hygiene, getting vaccinated and wearing respirators – N95 surgical masks – are the main prevention strategies, according to Sullivan.

Representatives of local hospital systems have said the overwhelming majority of patients they treat for COVID-19 are not vaccinated. At St. Joseph Health, Chief Medical Officer Dr Kia Parsi said of the 74 COVID-19 patients they treat, 95% are unvaccinated. The vast majority of the 5 percent of those vaccinated are immunocompromised.

Baylor Scott & White Regional President Jason Jennings said the hospital currently has 50 COVID-19 patients, 93% of whom have not been vaccinated. In early July, there were only 12 patients with COVID-19, he said.

“We have also learned that if the majority of the population is not vaccinated, this virus will develop. It will mutate. He will continue to have flare-ups after the flare-ups, “Parsi said. “So we can’t wait, we have to vaccinate our population.”

Sullivan said about 80 percent of the elderly population is vaccinated, and hospital systems have said they’re not the ones in need of intensive care treatment. Now, Parsi said, hospitals mainly treat people between the ages of 30 and 50 who are not vaccinated.

“As a clinician it is very difficult to see a 5 year old say goodbye to their 32 year old father who was not vaccinated, knowing that if he was vaccinated he would be alive today,” Parsi said in an appeal to the community. .

The increase in hospitalizations linked to COVID-19 is also putting pressure on healthcare workers, with both systems experiencing staff shortages. Baylor Scott & White has 16 intensive care beds, Jennings said, and in recent times they have used around 20 intensive care beds. But, adding these extra beds removes beds from other care units.

“The last week and a half or so we had to reschedule elective surgeries that required an overnight stay,” Jennings said.

Both hospital systems expect to receive additional health care workers from the state this week.

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