Back into double digit admits here in one central Austin hospital. Unsure how many would be ICU-level, but it's more than two for sure. And it's not like the ones who are on the floor are breathing without oxygen, ya know? I imagine those that are critical weren't vaccinated, but I also don't know that for sure. I don't have any information on age ranges. It was a busy Friday night and I didn't get around to visit my sisters in the MICU.
If you haven't been vaccinated for any other reason than you are immuno-compromised or a pre-teen, I am begging you: please get vaccinated as soon as possible. Austin was spared the worst when we didn't have a proven method to prevent and minimize the virus, and what we dealt with was still really fucking shitty. To add to that, nurse/staff morale is lower now than probably at any point prior during the pandemic. Yes, we've gotten protecting ourselves down pat. Yes, there is less of a supply PPE problem. Yes, we know what treatments help with COVID and when to utilize them. We know how to maximize your chances at coming off of the ventilator. I hope you know that that probably means you end up with a tracheostomy and without the ability to speak. But there's a really easy, safe, and effective way to almost certainly prevent this from happening:
GET VACCINATED
We are running out of energy to care. You have the ability to stop this from happening. Please do the right thing.
We have continued to hemorrhage staff throughout the hospital, but especially from our ICUs. I don't use that word lightly You can make >$60/hr in Houston as a critical care nurse—hell, you can make $60/hr as a "floor" nurse in Houston—but you're stuck at around $34/hr in Austin, and that includes weekend, night shift, and critical care differential pay. People can't afford to live and progress in their lives here, so they will only stay so long. Why deal with all of that plus COVID? I can't speak for any other unit in my hospital, but I can say with certainty that the average number of years worked per nurse in my ICU is the lowest it's ever been in my more than five years here. Your odds of having an overworked, underexperienced nurse as your caregiver during a critical illness is the highest it's ever been.
Just get the shot and deal with potentially feeling like shit for a day or so. It's def a lot better than breathing through a hole in your neck, if you make it that far.