Delaware County Health Official Urges COVID Vaccination As Hospitals Reach Capacity
DELAWARE COUNTY, Pa. (CBS) -- Health officials in Delaware County said the latest surge of COVID cases is stretching the health system more than any time during the pandemic. The county's hospitals are currently at full capacity.
"The surge is phenomenal here," Dr. Lisa O'Mahoney, the interim physician advisor for the county, told CBS3. "I think that we are out stripping the other collar counties."
That means cases are overwhelming the hospital system. This week, all of Delaware County's six hospitals reached capacity, meaning patients are being diverted elsewhere.
Because of the omicron variant, Dr. O'Mahoney said their PCR test positivity rate is 40%. In the early fall and summer, that number was down to 5%.
"When you have numbers like this, even a small percentage of people who get into trouble with this virus really are starting to hit the emergency rooms and hospitals," she said.
If the omicron variant of COVID isn't making people as sick, though, why are the hospitals filling up? Dr. O'Mahoney said it comes down to those who are unvaccinated.
"Really what we're seeing is the unimmunized getting hit the hardest and really presenting to the emergency rooms and hospitals, ending up in the ICUs, and our death rates are higher in the last few weeks as well," she said.
The surge prompted the state to open new testing sites in Delaware County. There are now three state-sponsored, free testing sites in the county. They'll remain open until the demand drops.
"The message clearly is to get vaccinated," Dr. O'Mahoney said. "We're also recommending boosters of course and then masking indoors. This is really becoming critical because masking has really shown to decrease the spread."
Dr. O'Mahoney said she anticipates this surge to only last for another few weeks before likely leveling off. However, if enough people don't get vaccinated, she said. the virus could mutate again.
