The recent increase in COVID hospitalizations feels eerily familiar as we survey the peaks and valleys of the ongoing pandemic.
For the past couple of years, just as school has started and summer has ended, cases have surged. Fortunately, as the virus has spread widely among the vaccinated and unvaccinated alike, the overall severity of cases has declined this year.
In the summer of 2021, there were periods with as few as 169 COVID patients in hospitals throughout the entire state. But by late July, those numbers began multiplying. And by Sept. 13, 2021, more than 2,300 COVID patients were hospitalized, according to the Indiana Department of Health.
This year, we’re not seeing such a sharp increase in hospitalizations, but the trend remains one that local and state health officials are closely monitoring. As of this week, statewide COVID hospitalizations had climbed from summer lows to around 650 to 700 patients daily.
Here in Bartholomew County, there is cause for concern because COVID hospitalizations last week hit a five-month high. On Wednesday, Aug. 3, 18 people were hospitalized with COVID-19 at Columbus Regional Hospital, up from 11 two weeks ago, The Republic’s Andy East reported. The daily COVID census was the highest since Feb. 22, according to the most recent data from the local coronavirus task force.
And in a reminder of the seriousness of this disease, the task force also last week reported the first COVID death in Bartholomew County in more than a month — the 245th such death here since the beginning of the pandemic. Data from the Indiana Health Department also shows that this pandemic remains life-threatening. On Aug. 9, 107 Hoosiers were in intensive care due to COVID. Of those, 31 were on ventilators.
Likewise, of the 18 people in the hospital here last week due to COVID, three were in the ICU.
The longstanding advice from health officials remains — being vaccinated and boosted is still your best protection against severe COVID infection.
CRH spokeswoman Kelsey DeClue urged people to make sure they are vaccinated and up to date on booster shots. “Absolutely go and get that because we are seeing the effects of that, either not up to date or have not been vaccinated as the overwhelming majority of hospital cases, especially in those older populations,” she told East.
“This slow climb (in COVID-19 hospitalizations) and the rate at which it has stayed is concerning, and it feels a bit longer than some of the past spikes,” DeClue said. “… This latest spike, or continued spike, comes right at back-to-school time. Looking at outside factors that could keep a spike going, that’s certainly one of them that is concerning.”
Meantime, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention last week kept Bartholomew County’s COVID-19 risk level in the orange category, which is the highest category of community spread, recommending that all local residents wear a mask indoors while in public, regardless of vaccination status.
We know enough from living through years of this pandemic to realize that it’s still with us, and that the months ahead may bring another peak in cases. Being vaccinated, taking wise precautions and staying informed are still your best defenses against COVID.
