Quote:
Originally Posted by ctmurray
ICU beds need to be available for all the people who have other events such as heart attacks and accidents. The FL plot clearly shows how the Covid surge is pushing out other users. FL is blessed with lots of ICU beds due to having lots of old people and many hospitals. But the graph clearly shows that this surge is bigger than those in the past. AND, I have read that Covid ICU patients require more staff. So besides the actual bed and equipment you have to have staff. I think doctors consider running at 91% of total capacity and nearly 50% are Covid a dire situation.
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Current covid % of ICU beds available = 47%
The graph only goes back to week ending Aug 2, 2020, when covid % of ICU beds = 40%
Last summer the date of peak cases was mid July 12, that wave hit Florida earlier than this one, so if the graph went back a few more weeks the % of covid ICU beds would be a few points higher, so not that big of a difference from now.
If you look at the graph for all of USA, the peak covid % of ICU beds was larger in January 2021 than it is now.
There is no doubt that the Delta variant is infecting large number of people. The good news is that the Infection Fatality Rate is much lower than in previous waves. The average age of current covid cases is lower, (most older americans are vaccinated and covid kills much less in younger age groups) and we also have better treatments in the hospitals.
Some scientists I read think we are close to peak cases in Florida, deaths will go up at bit more (but never reach previous peaks) and then start to fall
