Why doctors are worried about the current state of COVID-19 in the U.S.

Editor’s note: As what we know about COVID-19 evolves, so could the information in this story. Find our most recent COVID-19 blog posts here, and learn the latest in COVID-19 prevention at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

It’s the first question I answered in a livestreamed Q&A session earlier this week: Are you worried about COVID-19 right now?

Absolutely, I am worried.

Here’s why:

We’re in a tougher spot now than a year ago

The daily rate of COVID-19 cases in the United States for August 2021 was three to five times higher than it was in 2020. This is despite having a vaccine now against the virus.

In the United States on Aug. 29, we crossed the threshold of 100,000 people hospitalized for COVID-19 — for just the second time since the pandemic began. Here in central Ohio, where I’m a pulmonologist working in the ICU at The Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center, we’ve seen a 642% increase in COVID-19 hospitalizations in the past six weeks.

The delta variant doesn’t care how old, fit or healthy you are

People being hospitalized for COVID-19 now are younger and healthier, in general, compared to prior case surges in the virus. 

The delta variant of the virus, which is responsible for about 95% of the cases in the U.S. right now, is 50% more contagious than previous strains. It’s also sending young, healthy, fit people who have no comorbidities (underlying health conditions) to the hospital with severe COVID-19 symptoms. 

In our country right now, we’re seeing 97% of COVID-19 hospitalizations happening to unvaccinated people. The thing most likely to help you recover easily from COVID-19 isn’t necessarily youth, fitness or another health status — it’s being vaccinated against COVID-19.

Medical resources are becoming more scarce

Our hospitals are full — many overflowing with patients both with and without COVID-19.

In the short term, this means that our existing health care resources are going to be stressed. The treatments and procedures that we usually can do for patients who have trauma — car accidents, heart attacks, strokes, etc. — are going to be stressed because our teams are dealing with COVID-19 patients.

We’ve already started seeing this across the country, with some health systems restricting some of the elective procedures they’re doing because they don’t have enough resources to do it all.

Our medical staff members — physicians, pharmacists, nurses, respiratory therapists and others — are exhausted. They’re still burnt out from responding to prior COVID-19 case surges, but they’re living through another surge right now and see other surges on the horizon, and they’re frustrated because this situation is largely preventable with a couple of simple strategies.

What you can do

There are two things you can do to help control this pandemic and serve your community.

1. Get a COVID-19 vaccine. Do it today. We have the luxury in this country of going out and getting a vaccine easily and conveniently. It’s safe, it’s effective and it will keep you out of the hospital. 

To find the closest vaccination site near you, visit vaccines.gov
 
2. Wear a mask. They do work to prevent the spread of COVID-19. The virus doesn’t care where you live, who you voted for, what you believe or what you look like. All it sees is a person who isn’t wearing a mask, and it very often takes the opportunity to infect that person. 

With those two strategies, we’ll be able to get through this coming fall. If we don’t do that, the trajectory we’re on now is not sustainable. 

Jonathan Parsons is a pulmonologist at The Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center and director of the Ohio State Asthma Center. He’s also a professor at The Ohio State University College of Medicine and serves as executive vice chair of Clinical Affairs in the Department of Internal Medicine.