Ventilator Usage up to 16, Most Since January

From April 3 – 5, 2020, as East Alabama Health was approaching its first peak, a pandemic-high of 22 COVID patients were on ventilators. That figure decreased as time marched on, and sat at only 9 ventilators when the second peak occurred (62 patients on July 22, 2020). When the hospital’s largest peak to-date happened in January of this year—92 on January 11—the ventilator usage spiked again at 20.

Hospital officials and physicians felt those numbers would not be approached again due to the rollout of the vaccines and widespread accessibility. However, there were 16 COVID patients on ventilators at EAMC both yesterday and today.

Meshia Wallace, M.D., a pulmonologist and critical care physician at East Alabama Medical Center, explains the increase. “We’re seeing a lot of younger patients needing ventilators with this surge, including ones in their 20s and ones who are peri-partum (pregnant),” stated Dr. Wallace. “They tend to have less comorbidities than patients in previous surges, but still need help because the Delta variant just seems to be making patients sicker.”

Dr. Wallace was clear to point out that the patients who very seldom need use of a ventilator are the ones who are vaccinated. “What we’re seeing here is what other hospitals are seeing as well,” stated Dr. Wallace. “And that is that people who are vaccinated and experience a breakthrough case are very unlikely to be admitted to the ICU or to need to be placed on a ventilator.”