Tempura/iStock(OKEMOS, Mich.) Michigan is in the midst of its fourth COVID-19 wave and there is no end in sight, hospital officials said. Cases and hospitalizations are rivaling levels seen in earlier parts of the pandemic, when vaccines weren't widely available. The surge also comes at a time when non-COVID-19-related patients are being admitted, flu cases are emerging and health systems are understaffed, Brian Peters, CEO of the Michigan Health & Hospital Association, told ABC News. Unvaccinated people continue to make up the majority of those infected with COVID-19, including severe cases of the infection. Roughly around three-quarters of COVID-19 cases, hospitalizations and deaths were in unvaccinated people from Oct. 21 to Nov. 19, according to state data. Around 45% of the state remains unvaccinated, according to federal data. "The situation right here in Michigan is as dire as it has ever been since the start of this pandemic," Peters said. Michigan report
Michigan is experiencing its highest COVID-19 case numbers of the pandemic thus far, and the surge is driven by unvaccinated people. The state has the highest case rate in the US as of December 1.