In Dallas, those hospitalized are almost exclusively people who have chosen not to get a vaccine.
Front-line health care workers at Parkland Memorial Hospital in Dallas are preparing for another COVID-19 surge.
This one, they say, is preventable.
More unvaccinated people are being hospitalized with the dangerous delta variant at rates similar to last year’s late-fall spike.
“It’s devastating,” said Joseph Chang, Parkland’s chief medical officer. “This is a completely preventable situation this time, and that adds to the sense of a disheartening situation.”
At Parkland, nurses and patients hold hands and cry, and people in hospital beds are full of regret, Chang says. Patients will say they wish they’d signed up for a shot, or that they’d known how painful the disease really is. One young woman, he said, wept when she realized she’d infected her entire family, who had not been vaccinated either.
Since January, Chang said, only seven of more than 1,100 hospitalized patients at Parkland had been vaccinated. In Dallas, those hospitalized are almost exclusively people who have chosen not to get a vaccine. In Dallas County, only 52% of the population over 12 years old has been fully vaccinated, according to county data.
And as officials begin considering stricter recommendations, and masking and vaccine requirements, front-line health care workers are regularly telling those with the most severe cases that they missed their chance to stop the otherwise preventable infection.
“It’s just too late,” Chang said. “All I can do is support your immune system and hope your immune system fights it off.”
Last week, Chang said, the hospital had around 40 COVID cases. By the end of the weekend, it had 70.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said Tuesday that the delta surge among unvaccinated people means that those who are inoculated should begin wearing masks indoors again in areas where the virus is spreading. Dallas, Tarrant and Denton counties currently have high levels of coronavirus transmission, according to the CDC.
In response to the incoming wave, some hospitals have begun requiring COVID-19 vaccinations for health care workers.
Baylor Scott & White Health said Wednesday it would begin doing so, and Parkland is considering a similar move. Parkland Health & Hospital System, the region’s largest public hospital system, has also begun limiting the number of visitors and visiting hours to slow the spread of delta.
Dallas County on Wednesday saw five COVID-19 deaths, including a teen, and 989 new coronavirus cases. Statewide, over 10,000 new cases were reported for the first time since February.
“If you’re just looking at county numbers, everything is going up,” Chang said. “Now we know it’s folks who don’t want to get vaccinated.”
Delta spreading ‘like wildfire’
Nationwide, 97% of those hospitalized with COVID-19 are unvaccinated. People who can’t receive the vaccine — including children under 12 — are particularly at risk.
“The delta variant is ripping through the unvaccinated population like wildfire,” said Marc Mazade, medical director of infection control and prevention at Cook Children’s Medical Center in Fort Worth. “I’m fully expecting in the next month to have another surge of this problem.”
At Cook Children’s, 13 children are hospitalized with COVID-19 — five of whom are in the ICU — a rate not seen at the hospital since February. The number of positive COVID cases exceeds those seen at this time last year. At Children’s Medical Center in Dallas, 18 children are hospitalized with the virus, nearly the same number as the hospital saw at the peak of the last surge.
But although parents may worry that the upcoming school year might cause even more concerns about a new wave, Mazade said, the biggest worry is unvaccinated adults who spread the virus to at-risk family members.
He said the numbers he is seeing are nearly identical to the rate of infections last October and November, before a huge winter spike that killed thousands nationwide.
“Younger children don’t often get COVID-19, so having children in school isn’t really a huge risk factor for the development of severe COVID-19,” Mazade said. “The surge is related to the delta variant. The surge is related to people behaving as if there’s no pandemic going on.
“The surge is related to people going out into [the] community, going about their daily lives, not wearing masks and not being vaccinated.”
‘The numbers are stark’
Unlike last year, when elderly people were the hardest hit by the surge in cases, around 80% of people 85 and older have already gotten the shot, Chang said.
Now, the biggest concern are people ages 30 to 50, who make up the lion’s share of both unvaccinated people and hospitalizations.
“The numbers are stark, and they are undeniable,” Chang said. “This is not confusing. This is absolutely expected.”
Earlier in the year, efforts were in place to make sure that people received the vaccine equitably and that underserved communities had fair access to the shots. Now, Chang says, the widespread availability of the vaccine shows that many people are simply unwilling to sign up.
“It’s not because of access,” Chang said. “It’s because of choice.”
During the last wave, Chang said, front-line health care workers stood up and fought through the most severe COVID spikes with the hope that vaccines were on the horizon. Now that they are, he says, the incoming influx of patients is preventable.
“I don’t know what else there is to say,” Chang said. “At this point, all the questions have been answered. The evidence is clear, and the evidence is indisputable.”
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Want the COVID-19 vaccine?
What: Pop-up vaccination clinic for Pfizer first and second doses
Where: Lot 13 at Fair Park in South Dallas
When: 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday
