Throughout U.S., the demand for ICU beds is too much for hospitals to handle
All across the country and the world, the COVID-19 pandemic still tears apart our society and makes us question when the pandemic will be over. Even though there is a significant number of people vaccinated there are still people who refuse to get it and are now catching this deadly disease. All over the country, people are witnessing changes in their everyday lives, especially nurses. As of recently, there has been a spike in the amount of ICU beds that have been needed as a result of the pandemic. I think that this is being caused by the lack of precautions put in place as a result of the vaccine.
Whether you are vaccinated or not it is still important to take certain precautions when you can. Including wearing a mask inside, especially when you cannot distance yourself from others. Even though the vaccine has been proven to be very effective and FDA approved not everyone is getting it. This puts the population in some risky behaviors in some areas, especially during the summer vaccinated people were not made to wear masks in some stores, while I think this was fine no one was actually regulating this therefore many unvaccinated people were able to not wear them, especially those who chose to disregard any information about the pandemic and are actually ignorant enough to not believe what is going on. I think there are more reasons as to why the ICU is becoming more packed than ever but my best guess would be that the vaccine is making people less cautious.
It is not just New Hampshire with skyrocketing numbers of beds being filled either. Many states are seeing significant increases in the number of beds taken up. This is especially true for states with low vaccination rates. For instance, according to US news, Idaho has the lowest vaccination rate at just 46%. The NY Times said that the governor had reported in a statement the other day the state only had four of its 400 ICU beds still open. I think this shows the importance of the vaccine and taking extra steps to be safe even when vaccinated, such as masking up in crowded areas and trying to distance at all times.
I just wish that people would understand that just because some people are vaccinated that does not mean you can just stop following the rules when it comes to this deadly disease. I, like most, really hate wearing a mask but I still do it and many others feel the same way but we need to continue to look out for others, especially nurses and those who work in ICU units. Every single day since March of 2020, nurses, doctors and other healthcare workers have put themselves in danger to help out communities and we need to show them that we care and really appreciate their work by getting vaccinated and continuing to wear our masks when it is necessary.
My opinions on COVID never really change but every so often there are instances like these that really help me to solidify my opinions on being vaccinated and also wearing your mask and distancing yourself when possible. I know this is an unfortunate circumstance and I think it really is terrible that this is when the world is like now. As a senior now at KSC, I am starting to accept my senior year will not be normal, sure it will be similar to pre-COVID years maybe, but at the end of the day, nothing will be the same, and that’s why we need to work together and look out for each other, especially now. We all thought that maybe this would be gone by now but clearly, we were wrong and now, more than ever, we need to stick together.
