Health Care System Collapse?

Vox reports that hospitals are turning away patients in hard-hit Southern states.  Throughout the South, hospitals are reporting they have more patients in need of ICU care than ICU beds available, as the Times reported. Americans are being transported hundreds of miles from their homes because no nearby hospital has room for them. Some even died waiting for medical attention.

“America, the richest country in the world, is not supposed to be a place where patients are left at the door to die. Yet that is exactly what’s happening now — 18 months into the pandemic.”

The US does not have a lot of hospital beds compared to other wealthy countries. We only have 2.9 per 1,000 people compared to the average of 4.6, according to the Peterson-Kaiser Health System Tracker.

We need everyone to wear a mask and get vaccinated. We need to achieve herd immunity.