COVID-19: Florida becomes hot zone, increasing number of young people in hospitals

Florida has become the hotbed for the United States' newest spike in COVID-19. As soon as one COVID patient is discharged, another waits for a bed. In the five Jacksonville hospitals of the Baptist Health organisation, most of the patients are younger and growing sicker from the disease than they were last year. Baptist now has more than 500 COVID patients, which is double the amount during the pinnacle of Florida's COVID outbreak in July 2020, and the attack is not slowing down. Officials at the hospitals closely watch the ten prediction models while transforming vacant rooms, adding almost 100 beds, and gearing up for the worst. 

According to Justin Senior, CEO of the Florida Safety Net Hospital Alliance, Jacksonville is at the core of the COVID surge. Some of the largest hospitals in the state had one of the poorest vaccine coverages going into July. Yet, before the highly infectious delta variation spread over this area of Florida, pushing COVID instances higher in a state, it is accounted that these hospitals have lower-than-normal immunisation rates. 

The hospital authorities are working hard to spread the pro-vaccine message, competing against misinformation spread via social network feeds to neighbourhood BBQs and church gatherings. The Associated Press said that black civic leaders have heard that the state uses the vaccination to embed trackers on the blacks. Dr. Rogers Cain, a Black primary care physician with a primarily Black practice, claimed that the older patients are easier to convince to receive the vaccination than the younger patients. This is because they have put forth much work in terms of education which hasn't materialised. He claimed that all this rumour mentioned above is why younger generations are not getting vaccines. On the other hand, in Duval County, which is wholly made up of Jacksonville, the immunisation rate of 56 percent is in the centre of Florida districts; it has increased by 17 percent since early July, making it one of the state's biggest increases. 

Vaccine hesitancy is especially strong among Hispanics (Spanish-speaking people), who make up 10% of Duval's population. He further said that as the hospitals are short on personnel, he passes through other Jacksonville hospitals' emergency departments on his days off. One usually sees approximately 50 patients, but on certain days, it may see as many as 100. The intensive care units are overflowing; the hospitals are out of ventilators; Alfonso expressed his dissatisfaction. He even added that the people are passing away, and it might have been avoided. 

Recently, Governor Ron DeSantis authorised the creation of a fast response unit to assist in the delivery of monoclonal antibody treatment to a broader spectrum of higher-risk patients who get infected, to alleviate a few of the tension on local hospitals. 

Image Credit: AP