Delta variant of COVID-19 cases, hospitalizations increased in Springfield
National news outlets like CNN and NPR have reached out to CoxHealth President and CEO Steve Edwards over the last week to talk COVID-19.
Southwest Missouri is leading the way in a disturbing trend — an increase in hospitalizations due to COVID-19 as the Delta variant of the virus takes hold.
“The Delta variant is coming,” Edwards warned a nationwide public radio audience on Friday.
Health leaders in Springfield believe the aggressive Delta variant is responsible for at least 90 percent of new cases of COVID-19 in the area.
Edwards said at Cox Hospital, those affected are younger and many of them were previously healthy with no serious underlying conditions.
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As of Monday, 88 patients were hospitalized with COVID-19 across CoxHealth’s facilities in southwest Missouri. That’s up from 14 five weeks ago. CoxHealth posted on its social media pages Friday that it might need to start diverting patients to hospitals in Kansas City and St. Louis.
Edwards told national news outlets the reason for the surge in hospitalizations in Springfield is because of the low rates of vaccination in southwest Missouri. The state’s COVID-19 dashboard indicated Monday that 32.4 percent of people in Greene County were fully vaccinated (although that includes people younger than 12 who are not eligible) and the surrounding counties were lower.
Edwards said he expected other parts of the Midwest and South with low vaccination rates to see similar surges in COVID-19 cases this summer.
He urged people to get vaccinated against COVID-19, because the vaccines have proven to be effective at preventing serious illness. Edwards said his doctors and nurses are growing increasingly frustrated treating patients who could have saved themselves by simply getting a shot.
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“Our staff is exasperated,” Edwards said.
Acting Director of Health Katie Towns with the Springfield-Greene County Health Department took to Twitter over the weekend to voice her frustration and urge people to get vaccinated.
“I’m watching this delta variant break us,” Towns wrote. “It’s making people so sick. And killing our loved ones. And our healthcare workers keep showing up and taking care of those who aren’t vaccinated anyway. Even though they’re exhausted, overwhelmed and grieving too.”
The health department recently launched an interactive map to help people connect with vaccine opportunities nearby. More information can be found at Vaccine417.com.
Craig McCoy, president of Mercy Springfield Communities, said at a news conference Friday that Mercy had no plans to divert patients to other hospitals, but he said they were feeling the effects of this surge in new cases.
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McCoy echoed calls for people to get vaccinated against COVID-19.
“The one thing that we have as a defense against COVID-19 is the vaccine,” McCoy said.
On Monday, there were 81 COVID-positive patients at Mercy Hospital in Springfield, with 17 in the ICU.
