COVID hospitalizations dropping

Delaware’s director of public health was cautiously optimistic Jan. 25 that COVID cases may have peaked in the state, but continued to push for children to be vaccinated.

Hospitalizations have dropped by more than 200 over the past 10 days, falling from an all-time high of 759 on Jan. 12 to 534 on Jan. 23. The percent of positive cases was 23%.

While cases are trending down, Dr. Karyl Rattay, Division of Public Health director, said COVID is not the same as the common cold or the flu. 

“It’s clear that we’re just not at the point where we can say this is endemic, like flu,” she said.

Compared to Delaware’s worst flu season when 36 people died, she said, there have been 300 deaths since Thanksgiving. More than 2,200 people in Delaware have died from COVID over a two-year period.

Rattay continued to push for vaccines for children ages 5 to 17. State data showed Asian and Hispanic children in the 12-17 age group have higher vaccination rates than white and Black children. Asians also have the highest vaccination rate in the 5-11 group, with whites second, and Black and Hispanic rates slightly lower.

“We know there remains a lot of concern from the parents about the safety of the vaccine,” Rattay said.

Without citing any specific scientific studies, she said there have been no serious side effects in children from the vaccine. She said the heart condition myocarditis is rare, and no fertility or reproductive side effects have been shown.

“The infection itself is riskier for reproductive side effects than the vaccine,” she said.

Rattay also shed some light on the extra precautions and stress that a COVID-positive patient puts on the hospital system. A patient who tests positive for COVID, even if they come to the hospital for another reason, she said, still has to be treated as a COVID patient.

COVID-positive patients must be placed in a separate unit, and treating them requires more personal protective equipment and more staffing, she said.

“Having COVID certainly complicates the course of your illness, regardless of whether or not that’s why you were admitted,” she said. “It’s more resource intensive.” 

Gov. John Carney said during his weekly press conference that he hopes the number of people hospitalized will continue to drop as people leave hospitals for long-term care facilities.

Testing remains ongoing, he said, with about 7,000 tests a day. To date, 70% of Delaware’s population is considered fully vaccinated. Among those over 18, 91% have received at least one shot.

In data collected over a two-week period Jan. 4 to Jan. 18, Beebe Healthcare reported 149 patients admitted with or for COVID. The highest one-day patient count was 77; 58 of patients treated in the two-week period were not vaccinated.

Healthcare vaccine deadline

Delaware healthcare workers were required to get their first dose of the COVID-19 vaccine by Jan. 27, under a mandate enacted by the Biden administration. The Department of Health and Human Services suspended enforcement of the vaccine mandate for healthcare workers in light of court challenges, but later reinstated the mandate in all states not involved in the cases. Locally, Beebe Healthcare and Bayhealth have said they will comply with the mandate, which is required for healthcare facilities that participate in federal Medicare and Medicaid programs. 

Beebe Healthcare shared its latest hospital statistics Jan. 27. For the two-week period Jan. 11-25, 131 patients were admitted to Beebe for COVID-19, including 77 in one day. Of those patients, 62.6 percent were not fully vaccinated and 65.3 percent had not received a booster third dose. In the ICU, 83.3 percent of COVID patients were not fully vaccinated. 

Lewes continues virtual meetings

Although cases are trending in the right direction, the City of Lewes will continue to hold all meetings virtually for at least a few more weeks, said City Manager Ann Marie Townshend.

At the city’s board of health meeting Jan. 26, Chair Dr. Paul Cowan, Beebe’s emergency medicine specialist, said modeling anticipates cases should drop dramatically in February. 

“Hopefully we’ll continue to see some good news rapidly,” he said. 

Looking at the state’s dashboard, he said, 96 percent of Sussex County residents over 65 have received two doses, while only 69 percent have been boosted. 

“We need to do better conveying the need for the third booster dose,” he said. 

Shelby Shockley, the city’s human resources and benefits administrator, reported that eight out of 51 city employees remain unvaccinated. They are required to be tested weekly. 

She noted the city recently enacted a new policy requiring employees to get a booster shot. Those who do not must also get tested weekly. 

In line with the Omicron surge, she said, the city workforce has seen more positive tests recently. 

At the Jan. 26 meeting, Cape Henlopen School District Superintendent Bob Fulton reported the results of a recent vaccination event hosted by Aspira at Cape Henlopen High School. The event provided 133 vaccinations, of which 16 were administered to children 5-11 and 42 to children 12-17. The rest were administered to people over 18.

“I never appreciated the public health impact of the high school property,” Cowan said. “As it turns out, it’s uniquely positioned and has road access. It’s been a huge godsend to helping.”  

Cowan said the Omicron variant appears to have a greater impact on children than previous strains. The vast majority of children do not get very sick or require hospitalization, but in earlier waves, he said, children did not get sick at all. 

Although children are not seeking care at the hospital, Cowan said, the situation at Beebe has been difficult in recent weeks. 

“We are certainly stretched to the brink, but we’re getting through this,” he said. “I’m continually impressed with how hard our staff works.” 

He said they’re seeing patients anywhere they can, including in the waiting room and lobby. 

“Nurses working in the lobby now are incredible,” he said. “I’m amazed how hard they work day in and day out. I know they’re tired, but they come back every day and work really hard. It’s great to see.”