You're FOS, as usual.
November 25 2021
GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. – At Spectrum Health, a major health-care system here, officials spent part of last week debating whether to move to “red status” in a show of how strained hospitals had become.
A flood of mostly unvaccinated covid-19 patients was arriving at emergency departments already packed with people suffering other medical issues, sending capacity to unprecedented levels. The only hesitation for Spectrum’s decision-makers? Data suggested the covid surge was not over.
In the two weeks between Nov. 8 and Nov. 22, cases in Michigan increased 86% and hospitalizations 37%, according to tracking by The Washington Post. The state on Monday reported 3,775 covid inpatients – more than anywhere else in the country.
Hospitals in Michigan, like in other states with recent surges, are largely filled with people who have not gotten the coronavirus vaccine. The unvaccinated made up about three-quarters of cases, hospitalizations and deaths in the 30 days ending Nov. 5, according to the state health department. About 54% of Michiganders are fully vaccinated, trailing the national figure of 59%.