Hattiesburg hospitals are being pushed to their limits as hospitalization records continue to be broken and increasingly younger people are admitted with COVID-19.
"As of this morning Forrest General was at capacity," Hattiesburg Mayor Toby Barker said Wednesday."… There were no available acute beds and all the ICU beds were spoken for. … There were several people waiting in the ER for a bed and they were just keeping them in the emergency room."
Barker added that there were no ICU beds available at Merit HealthWednesday morning.
Delta variant surge:Hattiesburg metro's daily COVID case count highest ever
Hattiesburg hospitals at capacity
As of Wednesday, a record 161 patients were hospitalized with COVID-19 at Forrest General Hospital andMerit Health Wesley.Of those, 138—more than 85%— were unvaccinated
There were 33 COVID-19 patients in the ICU. Of those,30 were unvaccinated. Of those in the ICU, 18 were on ventilators and none of those was vaccinated.
Statewide,overwhelmed hospitals due to an influx of COVID-19 patients and a shortage of health care workers may soon pushthe state's hospital system too far. On Wednesday, state health officials announced they were calling in helpfrom the federal government.
"The rate oftesting positive and rate of hospitalizations that we are seeing, if we continue that trajectory within the next 5 to 7 to 10 daysI think we're going to see failure of the hospital system of Mississippi," saidAlan Jones, associate vice chancellor for clinical affairs and COVID-19 clinical response leader at the University of Mississippi Medical Center.
Thirty to 35out-of-state health care workers supplied by the federal government will staff a50-bed field hospital on one level of a University of Mississippi Medical Center parking garage. The field hospitalis expected to open on Friday.
7-day takeaway:Mississippi COVID-19 cases reach over 20k, over 100 deaths in one week
Forrest Health offers monoclonal antibody treatment for COVID patients
Forrest Health is offering monoclonal antibody infusions to eligible COVID-positive patients at its five regional hospitals. Monoclonal antibodies are proteins produced by the bodyto fight infections.
The Regen-COV antibody is currently being used at Forrest Health facilities and does require an order from a physician.
“Monoclonal antibody infusion is an excellent therapy that is very beneficial to people who have tested positive for the COVID virus but who aren’t sick yet,” Forrest General Chief Medical Officer Steven Farrell said.
Patients should be evaluated for eligibility by a healthcare provider whocan then order the antibodybeforescheduling occurs.
Those eligible for the infusion are COVID-19 positive patients who are at high risk for developing severe COVID-19 symptoms or need hospitalization.
A call center has been launched to help coordinate these antibody treatments.
“The goal is to increase capacity within our 19-county service area for this treatment,” Forrest County Health Vice President Millie Swan said. “Patients with a COVID-19 positive result or their provider can call 601-288-4444 to schedule an appointment at one of Forrest Health’s five regional hospitals.”
Scheduling lines are open from 8 a.m. until 5 p.m., Monday through Friday. Forrest Health regional hospitals are located at: Highland Community Hospital inPicayune, Pearl River County Hospital inPoplarville, Marion General Hospital inColumbia, Jefferson Davis Community Hospital inPrentiss and Walthall General Hospital in Tylertown.
Delta variant affecting younger patients
There were 107 new COVID-19 cases reported in Forrest County Wednesday and 47 in Lamar County.
In the past two weeks, there were 1,431 new COVID-19 cases reported in Forrest County and 1,071 in Lamar County.
Since March 2020, 92 people in Lamar County and 168 in Forrest County have died from the coronavirus.
"Schools are already surpassing infection totals from last year," Barker said, adding that schools are doing the right thing by mandating masks.
Last week, the Hattiesburg Clinic system reported114 children ages 9 and younger tested positive for COVID-19. At least 173 patients 10 to 19 had tested positive.
"We're starting to see some of those children's cases become more severe," Barker said. "For example, this morning there was a newborn at Forrest General Hospital with COVID. There's a 26-year-old in the ICU with COVID."
6 more LCSD schools go virtual:1,600 students quarantined so far
Vaccination numbers on the rise
In Forrest County, 21,107 people— or 28% — are fully vaccinated. At least 346 people have received their first dose since Monday, Barker said.
In Lamar County,25,372 people — or 40% — are fully vaccinated. At least 576 people have received their first dose since Monday, Barker said.
Free pop-up COVID-19 vaccine clinics:No ID or appointments needed
Where to get vaccinated, tested
To check on vaccine supply andschedule an appointment, visit: vaccines.gov/search/.
A free vaccine clinic will be held at Mount Olive Baptist Church,1313 Country Club Road, Hattiesburg on Saturday from 1 to 3 p.m.
The Pfizer vaccinewill be available for ages 12 and upand the Johnson & Johnson vaccine will be available for ages ages 18 and up.
Free COVID-19 testing also is being offered on weekdays at the Forrest County Health Department, 5008 Old Hwy 42, Hattiesburg.
An appointment is required and can be scheduled at covidschedule.umc.edu.
Record high:Mississippi daily COVID-19 cases reach more than 4,000 on Thursday
Contact reporter Laurel Thrailkill at lthrailkill@gannett.comor on Twitter.
