The United States had a real shot of coming together over an amazing achievement. But vaccines have just become another source of bitter division. So what happened?
CLAYTON, N.C. (WTVD) Health administrators and physicians across North Carolina on Tuesday warned that hospitals are on the precipice of exceeding capacity as the holiday surge of COVID-19 pummels the state. The issue is staffing, Dr. Rodney McCaskill, Chief Medical Officer at UNC Hospital in Clayton, told ABC11. There are not enough nurses or respiratory therapists for beds. The patients coming in are much sicker than what we saw before COVID, and COVID illness in elderly is particularly harsh.
According to McCaskill, UNC canceled all elective surgeries at both its locations in Johnston County. You lose some nurses because they have to go home and take care of kids because they re not in school, he said. We ve lost some nurses because they re traveling or gone to big hospitals to make more money.
2 Fayetteville men discuss recovering from COVID-19 months after hospitalizations
Payne is leery of the vaccine. The Fayetteville resident spent a month in the ICU at Cape Fear Valley hospital fighting for his life. He developed double kidney failure, pneumonia and ultimately lost 100 pounds. Hospitals across the country have started to administer the vaccine and he has no intentions of signing up any time soon. Having had a weird experience with the flu vaccine.with the flu vaccine I was so sick, he said. I had never taken it before. For the majority of my life, I had never gotten sick.
That’s the stark warning from health officials.
Jennifer Green, the Cumberland County health director, spoke to the county Board of Health about the COVID-19 crisis at its meeting Tuesday. Dr. Sam Fleishman, a board member and chief medical officer for Cape Fear Valley Health system, talked about the potential impact on Cape Fear Valley Medical Center in Fayetteville.
Board members used computers to attend the virtual meeting, which was shown on the county’s social media sites.
Health officials have highlighted the importance of what has become known as “the three W’s” wearing masks, waiting six feet apart from other people and washing hands frequently to reduce the spread of the virus.
Sampson County reports 81 new cases since Friday.
In all, 12,257 tests have been performed since the start of the pandemic and Sampson County has had 4,362 positive cases.
A total of 54 people have died from COVID-19 issues countywide.
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Durham VA Health Care System announced that it has been selected as one of 37 VA sites to receive initial doses of the COVID-19 vaccine.
DVAHCS was selected for its ability to vaccinate large numbers of people and store the vaccines at extremely cold temperatures. We are very excited to provide a vaccine that has the potential to help get COVID-19 under control when used alongside public health measures such as masking, physical distancing and frequent handwashing, said Mr. Paul Crews, Durham VA Health Care System Executive Director.