MIDLAND, Texas — Local hospitals are seeing a spike in COVID-19 hospitalizations.
According to Midland Health, there are currently 38 people in Midland Memorial Hospital with the virus. That is an increase of 850% compared to the four patients that were in the hospital for COVID-19 on July 4th.
Additionally, Medical Center Hospital has 24 people hospitalized with COVID-19 and Odessa Regional Medical Center has 3 patients with the virus.
Russell Meyers, Chief Executive Officer for Midland Memorial Hospital is encouraging unvaccinated individuals to get the vaccine.
"If you are among the two thirds of our community who have chosen, for whatever reason, not to be vaccinated remember, it's the way you can help your neighbor," Meyers said. "You can protect your children and you can help put this spike down."
Meyers, along with other medical leaders, said during a press conference on Thursday that they worry about relocating medical personnel if numbers go up.
"If we fill up the hospital with COVID patients, it's that much more difficult for us to care for the next heart attack, the next trauma victim, the next stroke that arrives in our ER," Meyers said. "This is not just about COVID, its about the full range of available healthcare services in our community."
Kit Bredimus, Chief Nursing Officer for Midland Memorial Hospital says that he is already seeing an increase in concern from nurses and medical staff.
"I think it is very important to mention that fatigue and the full scale of the post traumatic stress that we have experienced from passed waves of COVID is really starting to emerge," Bredimus said. "I rounded the units and I speak with the staff on a daily basis, and the fatigue and the trauma is real."
Local health professionals want the community to know that vaccinated individuals can still get the virus, but they emphasize that hospitalizations among vaccinated individuals is extremely low.