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The United States vaccination program brings with it hope for an end to the difficult and uncertain times of the Covid-19 pandemic. But as the vaccine becomes more available, there is some hesitancy among certain parts of the population.
Gabriela Ramirez works for Behavior Respite In-Action, or BRIA, an organization that provides services to those impacted by autism and other developmental disabilities. Her job means she is classified as an essential worker.
She lives in Los Angeles where the Latino community has been hit hard by the pandemic, with an infection rate more than double that among white residents, according to the California Department of Public Health. Ramirez plans to get the vaccine, but says she and her family harbor some doubts about its safety.
theGrio reported earlier, the Los Angeles Emergency Medical Services Agency has instructed first responders to cut back the use of oxygen and reserve it for those who have a better chance to live, per the
Times. Patients whose hearts have stopped and cannot be resuscitated will be considered dead on the scene unless EMT’s are able to revive them. If not, they will not be admitted to the hospital.
Dr.
Tamara Chambers, an ICU physician at Los Angeles County + USC Medical Center, noted that as qualified healthcare workers contract the coronavirus, there is less staff to care for patients.
Doctors in Los Angeles County are bracing themselves for a likely rise in an already surging number of COVID-19 cases and hospitalizations.
Physicians told Business Insider that their hospitals are running through multiple contingency plans to figure out how to best treat patients, maintain supplies, and keep healthcare workers safe.
Los Angeles County has averaged over 14,000 daily new cases over the past week.
Doctors in Los Angeles County the country s most populous county home to more than 10 million residents are planning multiple measures to handle an anticipated rise in the current surge of COVID-19 infections and hospitalizations.
Los Angeles County has seen a sharp increase in novel coronavirus infections, hospitalizations, and death since November, with public health experts mainly attributing it to people ignoring social distancing measures during the holidays.
As COVID-19 cases surge in Los Angeles, hospitals are running out of oxygen
Sarah Al-ArshaniDec 30, 2020, 12:19 IST
Co-director of the intensive care unit at CommonSpirit s Dignity Health California Hospital Medical Center, Dr. Zafia Anklesaria attends to a COVID-19 patient in the hospital where she works, during the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) outbreak, in Los Angeles, California on May 18, 2020.Lucy Nicholson/Reuters
Some
Los Angeles hospitals are struggling with shortages of oxygen to treat COVID-19 patients, the Los Angeles Times reported.
COVID patients typically require ten times as much oxygen as non-COVID patients, and demand has strained the pipes of aging hospitals.
Los Angeles has seen a sharp increase in COVID-19 cases during the holidays, and public health officials are worried about the city s ability to handle any further surges.