Month: August 2021

Sacramento County health officials on Thursday called for people to reserve emergency room and 911 resources for those who truly need it, as hospitalizations have soared to their highest levels since January. There were 348 cases of people hospitalized in the county with COVID-19, including 83 people in intensive care units as of Wednesday, Sacramento County Public Health Officer Dr. Olivia Kasirye said during a media briefing.She called for people to avoid calling 911 or using ambulances unless a person has a true emergency. She also said the county was aware of reports of people going to the ER to get tested for COVID-19 and urged people to visit free community testing sites instead. As the highly infectious delta variant drives an increase in COVID-19 cases, the county's rate is n...

Two years ago, a sneeze or a cough wouldn’t have been cause for concern, but now even the mildest of symptoms can leave us wondering, “Do I have Covid?” Early in the pandemic, we learned about the hallmark signs of infection, which can include loss of taste and smell, fever, cough, shortness of breath and fatigue. But what about now, more than a year later? Have symptoms changed given that the Delta variant is currently the most common form of the virus in the United States? There is little data on this question and much left to untangle. Unvaccinated patients make up the vast majority of those hospitalized with Covid-19, so they may be more likely to develop severe symptoms, like trouble breathing, or persistent pain or pressure in the chest. In areas with lower vaccination rates, like ...

Masks are required indoors in Provincetown, MA on August 06, 2021. Craig F. Walker | Boston Globe | Getty Images The delta Covid variant has spread so rapidly across the U.S. that most counties in the country now meet the CDC's guidelines recommending people wear masks indoors — whether they are vaccinated or not. "We continue to see cases, hospitalizations and deaths increase across the country. And now, over 90% of counties in the United States are experiencing substantial or high transmission," Dr. Rochelle Walensky, director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, told reporters at a briefing Thursday. "As we have been saying, by far, those at highest risk remain people who have not yet been vaccinated." The CDC updated its mask guida...

Medical strike teams have been sent to Children's Hospital in New Orleans to help tend to COVID-19 patients, according to hospital officials. Children's Hospital said on Wednesday that they are experiencing a surge of pediatric COVID-19 patients. The hospital said medical professionals from its National Disaster Medical System (NDMS) were sent to Children's to help care for children hospitalized with COVID-19.The team includes physicians, nurses, paramedics, pharmacists, and respiratory therapists from across the nation who have left behind their jobs and families to serve as extra support for Children’s Hospital for the next two weeks, according to hospital officials. Children's Hospital tweeted a thank you message to the crews coming to help respond to COVID-19 patients. On Friday,...

The Pennsylvania Department of Health has set a new vaccination goal for skilled nursing facilities.These facilities are asked to have at least 80% of staff members vaccinated against COVID-19 by Oct. 1, officials announced Thursday. "Currently in Pennsylvania, only 12.5% of facilities have a vaccination rate of 80% or greater. This is embarrassing and, quite frankly, very frightening to residents and their loved ones," Department of Health Executive Deputy Secretary Keara Klinepeter said.Officials said nursing homes that don't meet the 80% expectation by the deadline will be required to have more frequent testing for unvaccinated employees. Testing would be at the facility's expense.Appropriate regulatory action will be taken if the facilities are not compliant with testing requirem...