Covid Hospitalizations Top 100,000 In The U.S.

Topline

There are now over 100,000 patients hospitalized with Covid-19 across the U.S., according to data from The COVID Tracking Project, marking the first time the country has reached that bleak milestone as healthcare systems have become overwhelmed around the nation.

Key Facts

Surprising Fact

Healthcare systems across the U.S. are struggling to handle the massive surge in Covid-19 patients. Places like Tulsa, Oklahoma, Jackson, Mississippi and Mobile, Alabama have already run out of ICU beds, while North Dakota has taken the extraordinary step of allowing Covid-positive nurses to keep working in some cases. Larger cities, like Los Angeles and St. Louis, are preparing for the possibility their health systems could also be overwhelmed.

Key Background

Health officials have been warning for months that the fall and winter would be the most grim time during the pandemic in the U.S., warnings that have now become a somber reality. Daily records for new cases were continually shattered for weeks, up until until recent days, but the slowdown was likely in large part because of a drop in testing and reporting because of the Thanksgiving holiday. A gradual rise in cases started around mid-September, followed by a rapid rise starting in mid-October and continuing until Thanksgiving. That rise was mirrored by a spike in hospitalizations, but with a delay of a couple of weeks, since hospitalizations lag behind an increase in cases. The last metric to rise is the death toll, which began spiking rapidly at the beginning of November and is now matching some of the deadliest days of the initial spring surge in the United States.

What To Watch For 

Vaccine distribution is expected to widely start this month in the U.S., after successful clinical trials. The earliest doses are expected to be given to healthcare workers and the most vulnerable, in an effort to cut down on coronavirus hospitalizations and, ultimately, deaths.

Further Reading

Here’s Where You Can No Longer Get An ICU Bed Because Of Covid (Forbes)

Covid-Positive Nurses Allowed To Keep Working In North Dakota Amid Staffing Crisis (Forbes)

‘Potential To Overwhelm’: Major Cities—Like Los Angeles And St. Louis—Now Running Out Of Hospital Space Because Of Covid (Forbes)

Covid Cases, Hospitalizations And Deaths All On The Rise For First Time Since July (Forbes)

Another Grim New Record: U.S. Tops 180,000 New Infections Friday, Covid Cases Rising In All 50 States (Forbes)

HHS Secretary Azar: Coronavirus Vaccine Distribution Could Start In Weeks (Forbes)

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