WellSpan says there's proof that this surge of COVID patients was 'completely avoidable'

WellSpan Health hospitals are treating more than 200 COVID-19 patients across the company’s seven hospitals in southcentral Pennsylvania.

Little more than two weeks ago that number was 127.

Dr. Anthony Aquilina, WellSpan executive vice president and chief physician executive, said in announcing the latest numbers Friday that it didn't have to be this way.

“The most discouraging part is that this latest surge was completely avoidable,” Aquilina said. “Right now, WellSpan’s COVID-19 patients are younger, sicker and 90 percent of them are unvaccinated. The numbers don’t lie. They provide clear evidence of the vaccines’ safety and effectiveness here in our community.”

WellSpan, which has hospitals in Adams, Franklin, Lancaster, Lebanon and York counties, has 38 patients in ICU units. Of those, 30 are on ventilators.

Not one of the 38 ICU patients has been vaccinated.

And of the 206 COVID-19 patients in WellSpan hospitals, only 21 have been vaccinated.

What this information shows, he said, is that while the vaccine will not prevent someone from getting or carrying COVID-19, it will keep someone from getting as sick as those without it.

As of Friday, York Hospital was caring for 69 COVID-19 patients and Chambersburg wasn’t far behind at 59.

Chambersburg’s totals, combined with a dozen at Waynesboro, led WellSpan officials to transition the two hospitals to the company’s red level. Except for certain exemptions, all patient visitation is prohibited.

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“We need our communities to take action right now to prevent our hospitals from being overwhelmed,” Aquilina said. “This isn’t just a matter of concern for only COVID-19 patients. We need to ensure that we can provide care for all that need, from COVID-19 patients to a loved-one experiencing a medical emergency.”

Pennsylvania is seeing a steady increase in cases since July 1.

After June finished with under 10,000 new cases for the first time since the beginning of the pandemic, July brought 15,448 and August 75,868. September is on pace to add more than 123,000, which would be the highest since April.

And as the state has gone, so have the counties in WellSpan’s hospital coverage area. All five counties with WellSpan hospitals are trending toward having their highest number of new cases since January.

Pennsylvania is far from following Aquilina’s plea to get vaccinated. According to the CDC, the Keystone State is ranked 19th in the nationwith 56.68 percent of its population fully vaccinated. Vermont tops the ranking with 68.77 percent vaccinated.

School districts are again feeling the pinch of COVID-19. Northern York School District has already had to switch to online learning in two of its buildings because of the number of students with COVID, or those who were in close contact.

The Pa. Department of Health released data Friday with number of COVID cases among school-aged children (ages 5-18) since Aug. 16.

Falling in line with adult numbers, Philadelphia and Allegheny have the most school-aged cases with more than 1,500 each. Lancaster is third with 980 and York is fourth with 977. Adams County has 273, Franklin is at 554 and Lebanon checks in with 269.

Shelly Stallsmith is a trends reporter for the York Daily Record. She can be reached at mstallsmith@ydr.com or followed on Twitter at @ShelStallsmith.