ODESSA, Texas — On August 12, health leaders in Odessa and Midland held press conferences to address the current situation of the pandemic in our region.
Dr. Larry Wilson, Chief Medical Officer for Midland Memorial Hospital tells NewsWest 9 he is concerned with the number of people testing positive for COVID.
"With the transmissibility of this virus and the amount of viral load we are seeing in the community, everyone is getting exposed," said Dr. Wilson. "If you are vaccinated you may get it and have an asymptomatic case or get minimally sick."
During the community press conference held virtually in Odessa, community leaders emphasized how frontline workers are getting overwhelmed.
"You have to understand that previously the healthcare community felt strongly about being there to take care of the patients that had no other way to protect themselves," said Rohith Saravanan, Chief Medical Officer at Odessa Regional Medical Center. "Now this time it's like you are allowing yourself voluntarily not to be protected."
Russell Meyers, CEO of Midland Health, says that people with underlying conditions need to get vaccinated for their own safety.
"If I can appeal to anyone, its the individuals in our community who are obese, who have hypertension, diabetes or some other chronic disease, your life, your health is very much at risk today," Meyers said.
Community and health leaders want the public to know that their best defense for the virus is the COVID vaccine.
"Our unvaccinated is the majority of patients we have. Our vaccinated people are a very small part of the number, said Russell Tippin, CEO of MCH . "Does the vaccine cure you, no. Does it give you a chance to survive, yes it does."
If you would like to watch the whole press conference click here.