Local hospitals seeing patient spikes as Delta variant continues to spread
Triangle hospitals are seeing a big increase in ICU patients as the Delta variant becomes more dominant.
Posted — UpdatedThe return to class is happening as hospitals across central North Carolina have seen a dramatic spike in COVID hospitalizations in the last four weeks.
Ahead of a new school year, just 1 in 4 students across North Carolina ages 12 to 17 are fully vaccinated. College student Mira Phillips is calling for others to do their part.
"It’s the responsible thing to do -- it’s the safest thing to do," Phillips said.
With the Delta variant spreading, the push is on to get more shots into arms.
“Unfortunately, over the last month, our COVID hospitalizations continue to increase, both ICU or non-ICU," Edwards said.
"Now we’re seeing a lot of patients 20s, 30s, and 40s that are seriously ill with COVID," Edwards said.
“Children going back to school are going to be around a lot more people than maybe they were this summer," Edwards said.
College student Olivia Worters says it's all about unselfishness.
“Just because I am vaccinated doesn’t mean I don’t catch it anymore," she said. "I just really hope that they would make that decision not just for themselves, but for me and my friends. Because we have people we want to protect as well.”
The North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services started giving out the $25 cards at select locations starting in May. As of this week, 16,816 cards have been issued for a total of $420,400.
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