Beaufort Memorial Hospital reports more COVID patients in critical care

Beaufort Memorial Hospital chief medical officer Dr. Kurt Gambla said that although COVID-19 cases are going down, the number of patients in critical care and the severity of the illness is still high.

Beaufort Memorial reported Friday that it had 11 patients with COVID-19 in the intensive care unit. Ten of those patients are unvaccinated and all of them are on ventilators. The hospital reported 23 total patients with COVID-19, 22 of whom are unvaccinated.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported 355 new COVID-19 cases in the previous seven days in Beaufort County, with 13 deaths. Jasper County reported 48 new cases and fewer than five deaths.

The CDC also reported that 56% of Beaufort County is fully vaccinated and 31% of Jasper County is fully vaccinated.

On Friday, the CDC recommended "that people with moderately to severely compromised immune systems" receive an additional dose of the vaccine. People should receive this dose at least 28 days after their second dose of the Pfizer or Moderna vaccine. 

The CDC states that to stay safe from COVID-19, people should get vaccinated and wear masks indoors in public if they aren't vaccinated.

If someone is vaccinated, the CDC recommends they wear masks indoors in public when they are in high-transmission areas. The CDC reported that Beaufort County and Jasper County were high-transmission areas as of Friday.