Since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, public-health experts have continually warned us about one particular nightmare. The day when the number of coronavirus patients would exceed hospitals’ capacity and deeply affect their ability to take care of the sick.
According to The Atlantic, that nightmare is now becoming our reality. As many hospitals are faced with a surge of severely ill people, doctors and nurses, who are already stretched thin, will have to put beds in hallways, spend less time with patients, and become more strict about who they even admitted into the hospital at all.
The quality of care in the United States will fall, leaving Americans who need hospital beds for any other reason—a heart attack, a broken leg, or a gunshot to struggle to find space and adequate treatment, raising the possibility that many will unnecessarily suffer and possibly die.
The numbers are grim. More than 100,200 patients were in US hospitals as of Wednesday, according to the COVID Tracking Project and John Hopkins University reported more than 2,670 deaths that same day. These totals have never been higher, and the stress being put on frontline health care workers has never been greater.
The head of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention predicted on Wednesday that these next three months will be “the most difficult time in the public health history of this nation.”
While experts think the forthcoming coronavirus vaccines should help blunt the pandemic, many think it won’t be until spring before many Americans can get them.
Right now, the situation at many hospitals is dire of fastly approaching that status.
“The reality is, December and January and February are going to be rough times. I actually believe they’re going to be the most difficult time in the public health history of this nation, largely because of the stress that’s going to be put on our health care system,” Dr. Robert Redfield said.
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