Some states have fewer than 10% of ICU beds remaining as health care staffing shortages complicate treatment

The other states are: Arizona, Delaware, Ga, Massachusetts, Mississippi, Missouri, Nevada, New Mexico, North Carolina, Ohio, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Texas and Vermont, according to HHS.

Nationally, the number of men and women hospitalized in the US with Covid-19 has reached a document high — 151,261 as of Wednesday. And as infection spreads, states and wellbeing treatment techniques nationwide are managing shortages of out there clinical personnel, who experience a greater possibility of Covid-19 exposure and ought to isolate just after screening constructive.

In Washington, Gov. Jay Inslee introduced Thursday he will be necessitating hospitals to quickly halt nonurgent methods in an hard work to get staff positioned to help people today who require support immediately.

“This is a single of the ways to enhance capacity to offer with this Omicron surge, definitely,” Inslee claimed. “So, we are going to be demanding hospitals to quickly halt nonurgent treatments — so as considerably ability and personnel can be focused to emergent wants, the people today who will need this right now.”

Inslee said this new prerequisite is “not just for Omicron clients, but for coronary heart attack victims, for car crash victims, for gunshot victims, they all need to have aid appropriate now.”

In Kentucky, hospitals have considerably less than 10% capability remaining in the intensive treatment models, according to details Wednesday from the Health and fitness and Human Products and services.

“I have presently had to get in touch with out the Nationwide Guard,” Gov. Andy Beshear for the duration of a information meeting Thursday. “And that future particular person in a car or truck incident could not get the treatment they need. So get vaccinated for that person.”

National Guard staff and other federal emergency teams have been despatched to hospitals and very long-expression care facilities in destinations like New Hampshire to relieve burdens with medical and non-healthcare tasks.
And a new wave of federally deployed health-related groups will head quickly to 6 states — Michigan, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, Ohio and Rhode Island — to assist hospitals fight Covid-19, President Joe Biden announced Thursday.
Officials across the US enact emergency procedures to help hospitals combat record-high Covid-19 numbers
Early investigation suggests the Omicron variant may well develop fewer of a probability of needing hospitalization than prior Covid-19 variants. But Omicron’s amplified transmissibility means more individuals who are at larger danger for critical sickness, these types of as individuals who are unvaccinated or immunocompromised, will be infected.
Though ailments are not as dire as at the start off of the pandemic practically two yrs back, because of to the availability of vaccines and other cure possibilities, the staffing shortages in hospitals are a serious issue for the duration of this most recent surge, reported Dr. Craig Spencer, director of worldwide health in unexpected emergency drugs at New York-Presbyterian/Columbia University Health-related Heart.

“The issue is that ideal now we have hospitals wherever you will find not ample nurses to take care of the clients who are coming in, the Covid people and the non-Covid people,” Spencer advised CNN’s Laura Coates on Wednesday.

Dr. Vivek Murthy, the US surgeon typical, informed CNN’s Wolf Blitzer on Thursday he thinks the next couple of months will be difficult.

“We will continue to see substantial quantities of situations. Our clinic programs in elements of the country are strained and that will proceed, which is why the president announced that a thousand more customers of the Section of Defense ended up going to shore up and fortify clinic devices across the region and the tens of millions of parts of protecting devices that we have sent and will continue on to mail to medical center systems,” Murthy stated.

“So, a tough couple of months forward. But I believe there will be much better times on the other facet,” he claimed.

A nurse suits up with protective gear before entering a patient's room January 3 at the Covid-19 ICU at Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center, in Lebanon, New Hampshire.

Share of hospitalizations from breakthrough infections is increasing, but risks for unvaccinated are increased

Absolutely vaccinated people are accounting for a rising share of men and women hospitalized with Covid-19 — but hospitalizations amid people today who received a booster shot nonetheless are scarce, and the gap in hazard by vaccination status has been large.

People vaccinated against Covid-19 less likely to die from any cause, study finds

Among April and July 2021, ahead of the emergence of the Omicron variant, a lot more than 90% of Covid-19 hospitalizations ended up between folks who were being possibly unvaccinated or partly vaccinated, in accordance to a review printed by the Facilities for Disorder Manage and Prevention.

But a sampling of info collected by CNN suggests that determine has dropped to somewhere involving 60% and 75% in the latest times and months:

• In Pennsylvania, about 75% of Covid-19 hospitalizations involving September and early December 2021 ended up between folks who have been not fully vaccinated, according to details from the condition wellness section.

• In New York, about 61% of Covid-19 hospitalizations in the course of the 7 days ending January 2 had been amongst people today who were not entirely vaccinated, in accordance to knowledge from the point out well being department.

• Beaumont Health and fitness, the biggest health and fitness treatment process in Michigan, described very last 7 days that 62% of Covid-19 individuals in its eight hospitals were being unvaccinated.

Even though thoroughly vaccinated men and women are accounting for a more substantial share of Covid-19 hospitalizations, several accounts propose that these who are absolutely vaccinated and boosted account for a little share.

The highly contagious Omicron variant will 'find just about everybody,' Fauci says, but vaccinated people will still fare better
In the University of Maryland Health care System, considerably less than 5% of hospitalized sufferers were totally vaccinated and boosted, an formal there said past week. Beaumont Well being noted past 7 days that only 8% of Covid-19 people ended up fully vaccinated and boosted.

The CDC did not react to CNN’s several requests for data on the share of Covid-19 hospitalizations by vaccination status.

The company publishes details on its web site regarding the relative hazard by vaccination standing. Cumulatively, the hazard of hospitalization has been eight moments greater for unvaccinated individuals than for absolutely vaccinated people. But in the very last 7 days of November, CDC data confirmed that hospitalization prices were being about 17 occasions larger for unvaccinated people today than for totally vaccinated folks.

CDC to update mask advice

Well being authorities are reiterating the need to have to use quality masks as in no way-prior to-viewed figures of positive Covid-19 circumstances strike the state.

The US averaged a lot more than 771,580 new Covid-19 cases each day about the past 7 days, in accordance to Johns Hopkins College facts, much more than 3 moments that of final winter’s peak typical (251,987 on January 11, 2021) and much more than 4.5 occasions the peak from the Delta-driven surge (166,347 on September 1).

It might be time to upgrade your mask

The CDC ideas to update facts about mask-putting on, such as the distinct ranges of security that a variety of masks — these types of as fabric, surgical or N95 — supply in opposition to the spread of Covid-19, CDC Director Dr. Rochelle Walensky stated in the course of a White Residence virtual briefing Wednesday.

Over-all, it is vital for people today to dress in any encounter mask that they have accessibility to, “but Omicron has improved factors a bit mainly because it is so transmissible that we know that masks are even extra significant,” Lori Tremmel Freeman, main government officer of the Countrywide Association of County and Town Health and fitness Officials, informed CNN.

“And if you have the possibility, if you have the possibility, if you have obtain to a improved mask, then the suggestion would be to use it,” she reported, introducing that N95 and KN95 masks need to have to be fitted properly to supply the greatest defense doable.
Biden announced Thursday his administration would make “significant-excellent masks” obtainable to People for no cost.
The President also introduced his administration would order an added 500 million Covid-19 assessments — on leading of the 500 million checks he previously introduced — and reported a site where Us residents can go to get the cost-free exams delivered to them will be rolled out following 7 days.

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.