News

At Least 92 Texas Hospitals Were Out of ICU Beds Last Week, According to the Latest Federal Data. Look up the Ones Near You.

As the highly contagious delta variant of COVID-19 spreads and sends unvaccinated Texans to the hospital with serious illness, hospitals are under enormous pressure to make room for growing numbers of patients.

Every Monday, hospitals in Texas report their current ICU bed capacity to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. Here is the latest situation between Friday, Sept. 3, and Thursday, Sept. 9:

Hospital staff has never been in shorter supply, which deepens the strain on all departments, including emergency rooms, respiratory therapy and even labor and delivery. Without the capacity to take on new patients — and equally thin resources elsewhere to transfer them to — doctors fear they’ll have to start making heartbreaking decisions about care in order to save the most lives possible.

According to the federal government, the weekly ICU capacity numbers should not discourage patients from seeking medical care in these facilities. “Hospitals have protocols in place to keep patients safe from exposure and to ensure all patients are prioritized for care,” the agency said in December.

The vast majority of COVID-19 patients in hospitals and ICUs are unvaccinated. Doctors say mask-wearing, hand-washing and social distancing are the best ways to slow down the hospital numbers in the short term, and that monoclonal antibody therapies for people with COVID-19 symptoms can keep them out of the hospital in many cases. They also say the only way to permanently slow down the record spike in hospitalizations is to vaccinate a majority of the state.

This story originally appeared in the Texas Tribune. To read this article in its original format, click here.

Karen Brooks Harper, The Texas Tribune

Karen Brooks Harper is an Austin-based freelance writer for the Texas Tribune.

Recent Posts

City of Dallas Faces Lawsuit Over Death Star Law

The City of Dallas is facing a…

1 hour ago

Trump Says He Will “Send More Than the National Guard” to Keep Cities Safe

On Tuesday, President Donald Trump told U.S.…

22 hours ago

Cornyn Backs Bill to Keep SNAP Benefits Flowing During Shutdown

Texas Senator John Cornyn is backing new…

1 day ago

Fifth Circuit Reopens Case Over West Texas A&M Drag Show Ban

The Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals will…

2 days ago

Sarah Eckhardt Launches Congressional Campaign in Texas’ 10th District

Texas state Sen. Sarah Eckhardt, a Democrat…

2 days ago

Texas Sues Tylenol Makers Over Autism Allegations

Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton has filed…

2 days ago

This website uses cookies.