A look inside LAC+USC Medical Center's emergency department, one of the nation's largest emergency departments, reveals just how much healthcare workers are being challenged again. COVID-19 hospital admissions have doubled in the last four weeks.
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"It's incredibly saddening to see the numbers go up," said Dr. Erika Flores Uribe, an emergency medicine specialist at LAC+USC Medical Center. She and many of her colleagues are wondering if a surge like they experienced last winter may be starting again.
"For us to be in a position where we question how much more we can take care of our community is a very scary place,' she said.
The numbers are much less than those earlier patient waves, but what's alarming is the pace at which patients are getting admitted.
Between Nov. 20 and Dec. 3, hospitalizations increased by an average of about 5% per day. In the last two weeks, they've increased about 6% per day.
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"Many of them come in saying well, you know I had COVID-19. My entire family had COVID-19 during the winter surge. I didn't think I needed to get vaccinated. Even if you had COVID-19 In the past, it's really important to get vaccinated," Uribe said.
The CDC is predicting hospital admissions will quadruple nationwide in the coming weeks. In California, officials are reporting about 600 new COVID hospitalizations per day. But by the end of August, some models predict up to 2,000 admissions per day.
"I don't want to relive what we lived during the winter surge," she said.
Uribe is seeing another troubling trend: Fully-vaccinated people with breakthrough infections forgoing COVID-19 testing because their symptoms are mild.
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"With the vaccine you're protected largely from a serious infection, but by getting tested this also helps us prevent the spread of COVID-19 in the community," she said.
The dire forecasts are based on predicted behaviors, but doctors say we can change that.
"I don't want to see lives lost that are preventable. Preventable by a solution like the COVID-19 vaccination," Uribe said. "Now is the time to connect with your loved ones and friends to make sure they are protected."