cnn s sara sidner spoke with exhausted workers at a hospital in santa fe. reporter: erica and jim, the staff at the biggest local hospital in santa fe thought they had finally gotten relief because of the vaccines and boosters. unfortunately, too many people aren t taking the vaccine and they re ending up filling up their covid-19 icu. in santa fe, new mexico, the annual holiday light display dazzles the eye and lifts the spirit. but these are the lights grabbing all the attention just down the road. this is a covid icu. suddenly as busy as it ever was. it is clinically psychologically impossible to keep doing this day in and day out, especially for the past year or two. even the strongest respiratory therapists i have have broken down at times. reporter: the staff is
tonight a new study warning of the omicron variant. though less severe it appears its high transmissibility could still mean a lot of people ending up in hospitals. right now more than 70,000 people are hospitalized with covid in the united states, and that s pushing some health care workers to their breaking point. sara sidner s out front. reporter: in santa fe, new mexico the annual holiday light display dazzles the eye and lifts the spirit. but these are the lights grabbing all the attention just down the road. this is a covid icu. suddenly as busy as it ever was. it is clinically, psychologically impossible to keep doing this day in and day
not seeing those high numbers of covid icu patients, those high number of really really sick people that right now, there is not this great concern. that the vaccines are doing their job, and that hospitals right now are staying normal and steady and can handle any influx should there be one. but they are really confident right now because of the vaccines that this is not going to cause any major damage certainly at the hospitals are major concerns, and that is why they re still pushing for people to get vaccinated, and of course, poppy, the boosters. that s another big thing, and then the testing here. the testing is going to continue for today. it s probably a little less, and through the weekend obviously because of the holiday. and next week, the city and state officials certainly expect it to ramp up again, poppy. shimon, thank you so much. for that reporting, happy holidays, merry christmas, stay healthy friend. let s talk to dr. chris parnell, a public health physician at the
variant drives up case counts and for the second holiday season in a row, health care workers are being pushed to the breaking point. cnn s sara sidner spoke with staff in new mexico who are suffering from burnout. reporter:? santa fe, new mexico, the annual holiday light display dazzles the eye and lifts the spirit. but these are the lights grabbing all the attention just down the road. this is a covid icu, suddenly as busy as it ever was. it is clinically, psychologically impossible to keep doing this day in and day out, especially for the past year or two. even the strongest respiratory therapists that i have, have broken down at times. reporter: the staff is resilient but despondent some days and plain old exhausted host. suffering and death greet them every day. they come to me and say, i do need a break. help me. reporter: when you talk about
out another wave of the pandemic. cnn s senior national correspondent sara sidner is in santa fe, new mexico for us. you saw first hand how exhausted the staff is at one hospital. share with our viewers what you saw and heard. reporter: there is incredible christmas spirit as there always is in santa fe, new mexico. inside the covid unit they feel like here we go again. their unit is overflowing again with coronavirus patients. icu is beyond capacity and this is after the vaccines are available. in santa fe, new mexico the annual holiday light display dazzles the eye and lifts the spirit. but these are lights grabbing all the attention just down the road. this is a covid icu suddenly as busy as it ever was. it is clinically,