Galveston County hospitals full amid COVID-19 outbreak

GALVESTON, Texas (KTRK) – COVID-19 cases are on the rise in Galveston County, and now the local health authority says it is worried about hospital bed space.

“The numbers are really increasing dramatically,” said Dr Philip Keizer of the Galveston County Health District. “At the beginning of June, we had less than 20 people in the hospital. Now we have over 100.

Keizer said he expects the number of positive cases this week to double from last week.

“The emergencies are full. The hospitals are full,” he said. “People are lining up to get IVs to get the antibodies to keep them from getting too sick and ending up in the hospital. It doesn’t look very promising at the moment. In fact, it sounds worrying.”

SEE ALSO: Fully vaccinated woman dies in County Galveston

This week, Galveston County health officials reported the fourth death of a fully vaccinated person – a woman in her 60s with pre-existing health conditions.

It’s rare, but it does happen, Keizer says. According to our partners at the Texas Tribune, more than 8,700 Texans have died from COVID-19 since February. Of these deaths, 43 people were fully vaccinated

“These groundbreaking cases are very, very rare,” infectious disease specialist Memorial Hermann said with Dr Linda Yancey. “Most of the people who get a breakthrough case will do just fine, but it’s the people who have underlying health issues, diabetes, heart disease, people on chemotherapy, people on dialysis, this are those who risk dying from a decisive affair. “

Yancey says getting vaccinated is vital for everyone to help protect our neighbors who have health issues and cannot build a strong immune defense.

“The example I like to use is umbrellas. If you have a crowd of people and 90% of them have umbrellas, no one is going to get wet. Your umbrella is protecting the person next to you.” , she explained.

As this wave of COVID-19 continues with the Delta variant loading into our unvaccinated population, these experts are urging you to take your pick from the three vaccines and get a free injection.

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CDC COVID-19 Transmission Levels by U.S. County

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