IndianaLocalNews

IU Health: Omicron hospitalizations may have peaked in Indiana

(Photo supplied/IU Health)

The number of people in the hospital with the Omicron variant of coronavirus may have peaked. IU Health, the state’s largest hospital system held a virtual news conference Thursday. The state Dept. of Health reported 200 fewer Hoosiers were in the hospital Thursday, compared to Wednesday.

But, IU Health reported 274 people have died in its hospitals so far in January, the highest number since Dec. 2020.

“IU Health, across our system, is now at 567 COVID-positive patients inside our hospitals. Across our 16 hospitals today, I believe 27 of those are at Riley Children’s Hospital,” said Chris Weaver, vice president and chief clinical officer.

That’s down from a peak of 640.

About 70 percent of those patients are unvaccinated. The number is higher for people in intensive care.

The hospital system still has a staffing shortage and that means you will be affected with longer wait times and there may be some services you won’t be able to get immediately.

“Because the cases of omicron is declining, so is our number of staff that are quarantining, but that still doesn’t get us to normal staffing patterns that we’d like to be at,” said Dr. Michelle Sessana, chief quality and safety officer.

Hundreds of elective surgeries have been put off because of staffinf shortages. But, those may resume next week. The availability of doctors depends on the hospital.

“We’re going to have to start slowly because we have a significant COVID burden. Plus remember, a lot of our surgery people are home with COVID right now,” said Paul Calkins, associate chief medical executive. The microchip shortage may also mean a delay in hospitals being able to get some medical equipment.

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5 comments

Charles U Farley January 29, 2022 at 4:09 pm

““Because the cases of omicron is declining, so is our number of staff that are quarantining, but that still doesn’t get us to normal staffing patterns that we’d like to be at,” said Dr. Michelle Sessana, chief quality and safety officer.”

Perhaps the vaccine mandate was a dumb idea after all, eh Comrade? I mean, by IU Health’s own words, 30% of the people in the hospital for COVID are unvaxxed, despite only making up 47% of the population. If the vaccine was actually effective, there would be more than a 17% delta between those numbers.

Lies and misinformation… From the left. As usual.

Reply
Cin Janiak January 29, 2022 at 4:31 pm

I would encourage all unvaccinated people to read a medical book on viruses (and how quickly they mutate into another variant that we may not yet be covered for), which is due to the 20% who refuse to vaccinate. This virus and ALL of its variants WILL CONTINUE to be waiting for people since it’s not going away… especially for the unvaccinated!

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Charles U Farley January 30, 2022 at 6:13 pm

Actually, adverse conditions spur mutations. That’s why you have to take all of your prescriptions for antibiotics even after you start feeling better. If you don’t, the bacteria mutate to develop a tolerance, eventually making it resistant to that antibiotic. Now, we are dealing with a virus and a vaccine but the same concept applies. A vaccine that doesn’t have a high efficacy is more prone to causing mutations, especially when that vaccine is actually less effective than (and may actually hamper) natural immunity depending on the studies you are allowed to look at. Blaming the unvaccinated for those mutations is certainly an effective narrative, but there’s a lot going against it as a matter of science.

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Jim woods January 29, 2022 at 10:09 pm

Fact…Agree

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Eric Larkin January 30, 2022 at 9:22 am

How do they know it was Omicron?
Seeing you have to send the sample a way to only one of a couple labs that can test for that variant, especially they only test for a Covid which can be a cold or the flu.

Reply

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