delta variant

Experts say patients are filling Galveston County hospitals amid COVID-19 surge

Saturday, July 31, 2021

Galveston Co. hospitals filling up amid COVID surge

Doctors say COVID cases are rising in the Houston area.

GALVESTON, Texas (KTRK) -- COVID-19 cases are surging in Galveston County, and now the local health authority says he's worried about hospital bed space.

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

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

"The ER's are full. The hospitals are full," he said. "People are lining up to get infusions to get the antibodies to keep them from getting too sick so that they end up in the hospital. It's not looking very promising right now. In fact, it's looking worrisome."

New data shows more people are getting vaccinated. Texas Health and Human Services said this past week, 349,166 Texans got vaccinated, which is the highest number in weeks.

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

It's rare, but happens, Keiser said. According to our partners at The Texas Tribune, more than 8,700 Texans have died from COVID-19 since February. Of those deaths, 43 people were fully vaccinated

"These breakthrough cases are very, very rare," said Memorial Hermann infectious disease specialist with Dr. Linda Yancey. "Most people who get a breakthrough case are going to be just fine, but it is those people who have underlying health conditions, diabetes, heart disease, people on chemotherapy, people on dialysis, those are the ones who are at risk for dying from a breakthrough case."

Yancey says it's vital for everyone to get vaccinated 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, nobody's going to get wet. Your umbrella protects the person beside you," she explained.

As this COVID-19 surge continues with the Delta variant charging through our unvaccinated population, these experts urge you to take your pick from the three vaccines and get a free shot.

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