It’s still early in the omicron surge, but it’s coming on fast, so we asked several doctors and nurses what they are seeing with omicron, to get a sense of how patients are faring and how this surge compares to prior waves of COVID.
. It took over in hospitals in late December, according to an analysis from Cambridge Health Alliance.
Statewide, hospitalizations have already reached the peak of last winter’s surge, according to data analyzed by Dr. Tom Seufert, director of emergency informatics at Cambridge Health Alliance. Many people who don’t need hospital-level care go home right from ER waiting areas because beds and hallways inside emergency rooms are full, says Dr. Ali Raja, executive vice chair of emergency medicine at Massachusetts General Hospital.
At MGH, 38% of COVID patients needed a ventilator during the first COVID surge as compared to just 6.3% now. But there’s no change in the intensity of prolonged care these patients need. Omicron, a particularly contagious COVID variant, is sweeping through hospital employees too, adding to the staffing shortages that have already reduced hospital capacity.At some hospitals in Massachusetts there’s a growing distinction with omicron: Patients whose primary reason for admission is COVID, and patients who arrive not realizing they are infected.
While COVID is not their primary diagnosis, clinicians are debating whether COVID played a role for patients hospitalized with a chronic condition. Someone with omicron might not realize they have a coronavirus, but still be sick enough that they forget to take their medication, eat well, exercise or drink water. Or perhaps COVID makes managing the biology of their disease more difficult.
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