Mercy Springfield is opening another COVID unit. Mercy Springfield CAO Erik Frederick said on Twitter they only needed five units last year. He said there were 133 COVID patients at Mercy on Sunday. According to Frederick, Springfield is overwhelmed since many local rural communities have low vaccination rates, and when residents get sick they go to Springfield.
The CEO of CoxHealth, Steve Edwards, said on Twitter Sunday there were 119 COVID inpatients at his hospital. That compares to 14 patients in mid May. Projections for the week of July 19 range from 153-178, he said. According to Edwards, “this is likely well beyond our capability.”
Both healthcare leaders continue to encourage people to get the COVID-19 vaccine.
