Hospitalizations are 13 percent higher than the previous peak on July 23, 2020<\/p>\n<\/h3>\n
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THURSDAY, Aug. 5, 2021 (HealthDay News) — COVID-19 hospitalizations in Florida reached a new high this week, the Florida Hospital Association (FHA) says.<\/p>\n
Hospitalizations are 13 percent higher than the previous peak on July 23, 2020, and 60 percent of the state’s hospitals are expected to face a “critical staffing shortage” in the next seven days, the association said Tuesday, CNN<\/em> reported.<\/p>\n Currently, there are 11,515 hospitalized COVID-19 patients, and 84 percent of in-patient beds and 86.5 percent of intensive care unit (ICU) beds in the state are occupied, according to the FHA. It said that 21 percent of hospitalized COVID-19 patients are in the ICU and 13 percent are on ventilators, CNN<\/em> reported. The FHA figures are from a survey of hospitals that was completed Aug. 2 and represents 82 percent of the state’s acute care hospitals.<\/p>\n “Current hospitalizations and the growth rate continue to be extremely troubling,” Mary Mayhew, president and CEO of the Florida Hospital Association, said in a statement<\/a>. “But vaccines work! The fact that less than 3 percent of current hospitalizations arrived from nursing homes and long-term care facilities shows the state’s focus on vaccinating and protecting Florida’s seniors and most vulnerable has worked.”<\/p>\n Just two states — Florida and Texas — accounted for one-third of all COVID-19 cases reported in the United States in the past week, White House COVID-19 response coordinator Jeff Zients said during a briefing Monday, CNN<\/em> reported.<\/p>\n