Epidemic, Pandemic, and Endemic
A recent article from Bridge Michigan reported that Michigan hospitals are overwhelmed — again. Throughout the state, 94% of COVID patients on ventilators are unvaccinated, doctors report.
Dr. Darryl Elmouchi, president of Grand Rapids-based Spectrum Health, said at a press conference recently that the hospital is seeing “unprecedented” patient loads. Unvaccinated patients at Spectrum make up 94 percent of those who are on ventilators, he said: “This is needless death, day after day.”
A few days ago, I posted on Facebook about my sister who waited sixteen hours in the ER at a Maine hospital for a non-covid related illness.
The ER was packed due to Maine’s current surge of COVID, making it necessary to triage care. Who gets a bed and who doesn’t? Who gets emergency surgery and who doesn’t? Who is admitted into the ICU and who isn’t? Who dies and who lives?
Once again, an overwhelming number of patients admitted to my sister’s local hospital who are seriously ill with COVID are unvaccinated. Hospitals across America have consistently made similar reports.
A totally avoidable situation. It plays out this way over and over again wherever a surge takes place. Whether in Florida, Maine, Texas, California, or Michigan, our hospitals are overwhelmed by the unvaccinated, forcing doctors to make tough choices about who gets treated and who doesn’t.
Sixteen hours in an ER isn’t business as usual, folks.
We missed the boat on acheiving herd immunity. COVID will now be with us for years to come. It has passed through two phases so far. An epidemic followed by the current pandemic. We are now waiting for it to reach endemic.
We will be able to recognize when COVID has become endemic.
Although people will still get sick with COVID for years to come, the number that end up occupying a hospital bed will be on par with those who end up deathly ill with influenza. A sad situation that has been part of our lives for years, but doesn’t compromise our health care systems to the point where other medical emergencies go unattended because there’s no beds available.
It will be strangely comforting when we don’t have to triage care as though we’re on the battle field. It’ll feel like a victory.
Incidentally, my sister went to the ER last Monday morn in pain and vomiting. She was admitted 16 hours later to the hospital instead of someone else because she had a history of merck. She was scheduled to have her gall bladder removed Wednesday morn but it had to be postponed because there were two local car accidents demanding attention from the overly stressed staff of doctors and nurses plus a shortage of OR rooms.
Finally, Wednesday afternoon she was wheeled to the basement. She passed though hallways with gear and supplies stacked against the walls into an isolated room where they had to move things out of the way to create space for the team of surgeons and nurses.
It felt surreal, but she was thankful to have an OR room at last.
Her gallbladder was successfully removed after a four-hour surgery. The doctors said it was the biggest gallbladder they’d ever seen and it was rotten. She was septic and teetering on the edge of serious consequences. She’s home now and recuperating. Someone in the ER who wasn’t admitted died that night.
You can’t make this stuff up!
And yet, I’m constantly reminded that many people refuse to believe that this dire scenario plays out no matter where COVID takes hold and surges. It has been doing so for two years without fail. Almost 800,000 people have died in the US alone. Frankly, as near as I can tell, many Americans have resorted to wishful thinking and conspiracy theories rather than face the harsh reality that in spite of living in such a technologically advanced day and age, Mother Nature can still whoop our asses. And, she is, big time!
Reality bites!
It’s so much easier to live in denial so that we can go about living the lives we’ve always lived rather than make sacrifices that might benefit the common good. We’re not just vaccine hesitant, but also opposed to personal sacrifice — even if it kills us.
So, that leaves me, a twice vaccinated and boostered senior citizen, anxiously waiting for this pandemic to finally turn endemic.
I’ll get vaccinated every year if that’s required and it probably will be. Even though I’d have preferred herd immunity, I’ll settle for an endemic illness that won’t impact our health care system. I understand that I have friends and relatives with underlying conditions who will always have to worry about getting sick with COVID. Some may become statistics. But hopefully when we move to the next phase, if they get sick, they can go to their ER and not have to wait 16 hours before a hospital bed opens up.That’s what I’m waiting for and it can’t come soon enough.
EPIDEMIC, PANDEMIC, ENDEMIC ! Add those words to your vocabulary list, please.
Teresa Roberts is a retired educator, author, world traveler, and professional myth buster. You can find her books on Amazon.
