CRH: COVID numbers approaching last year’s highs

Columbus Regional Health is warning that the current COVID-19 surge is nearing the levels of hospitalizations as last December’s peaks, despite the availability of vaccines and booster shots.

Kelsey DeClue, spokeswoman for the hospital, said that things are looking dire for the community and the health system in the current wave. She said the hospital has twice broken its previous records for total inpatient capacity in the last week. That is led by nearly a third of the patients being infected with COVID-19.

The high-water mark for COVID-19 was Dec. 2nd 2020, with 59 COVID patients, DeClue said. However in the past few days, there have been highs in the upper 50s with 58 on Dec. 10th. The numbers have hovered between the high 40s and 50s for about two weeks.

The disease remains one largely affecting the unvaccinated, with 8 out of every 10 COVID patients requiring hospitalization being unvaccinated DeClue said. Those who are vaccinated and require hospitalization are generally the very elderly and those who already have serious health issues. However, DeClue said there has not been a single hospitalization of anyone who was fully vaccinated and who had received a booster shot.

DeClue said that all the other health systems in the area are seeing similar trends.