COVID-19 related hospitalizations continue to rise nationally and state-wide. In response to this, experts urge the public to take precautions.
Dr. Rachael Lee, UAB’s Hospital Epidemiologist, said that while UAB’s medical providers are continuing to battle the virus, they are growing tired.
“As everyone is aware, we are seeing large increases in COVID- 19 across the United States, particularly in North Dakota and South Dakota, as well as in the midwest,” Lee said.
Lee said the state of Alabama is currently at 234,000 cases of COVID-19.
“Our hospitalizations are going up,” Lee said. “They are not going up as steep as they were in July, but we are seeing numbers that are getting close to that.”
UAB Hospital is currently caring for 78 COVID-19 positive patients. Lee said the hospital is seeing a growing number of young patients.
As physicians and researchers have seen with influenza, COVID-19 is experiencing small genetic mutations. Lee said she is hopeful that vaccines will cover all possible genetic mutations of the virus.
To those that don’t see the purpose of mask wearing, Lee said that if masks were not proven to work, she wouldn’t be encouraging them to be worn.
“In the hospital, when we take care of patients that have influenza, we wear masks, and influenza is a respiratory virus,” Lee said. “We know that (a mask) protects us, even before COVID. The data is very similar for COVID, when we wear a mask, that protects you, and when the person who has COVID wears a mask, that reduces your risk even more.”
Dr. Kierstin Kennedy, UAB’s Chief of Hospital Medicine, said following CDC guidelines has kept her healthy throughout the pandemic.
“I’ve been taking care of COVID patients since March,” Kennedy said. “I admitted the very first COVID positive patient into this hospital. I have not gotten COVID and it is because I am consistently wearing a mask, I always wear a mask at work.”
Kennedy said wearing a mask outside of work is also very important.
“I think that I’m walking evidence that if you follow these guidelines that you can avoid getting this illness,” Kennedy said. “As disturbing as it is to feel like you’re being told you have to do something, none of us want to shut down, all of us want to be able to enjoy the ability to go out and do things. The way that we do that is by wearing masks. If we wear masks, we decrease the transmission, that’s how we keep from having everything shut down.”
Kennedy said one of the hardest aspects of providing care is the anger she receives when she shares her experience from treating COVID-19 positive patients.
“One of the things that I try to share with people is we very frequently think about COVID in terms of mortality or not, but I think there’s a huge gap, there’s a huge segment of patients that we’re not talking about, it’s the patients who ultimately survive, but they’re never the same,” Kennedy said. “It’s the people that may eventually get back to their normal, but it takes months and they really struggle to fight this illness.
Kennedy said when those truthful experiences are told, accusations of fear mongering are made from the public.
