Unvaccinated are nearly 90% of Sacramento County COVID hospitalizations

People who have not been vaccinated against COVID-19 make up the overwhelming share of those being hospitalized with the disease in Sacramento County, the county’s public health officer said. Dr. Olivia Kasirye told KCRA 3 on Friday that between 80% to 90% of patients hospitalized for COVID-19 have not been vaccinated against the disease. “Please get vaccinated. The Pfizer vaccine has full approval now,” she said. “We still have pop-up clinics in all places throughout the county. That is our best protection against the COVID virus.” The California Department of Public Health said in a statement that the state is hopeful the rate of COVID-19 cases is plateauing in some regions, something Kasirye said this week seems to be the case in Sacramento County. But Kasirye said she was concerned by a lack of available beds at hospitals in the county. Hospitals have reported being out of both general beds and beds at the ICU.There were 413 COVID-19 cases in Sacramento County hospitals on Thursday, including 106 people in the ICU, according to the county’s dashboard.“We continue to ask that the services for ambulances and the emergency room only be reserved only for true emergencies,” Kasirye told KCRA 3. A true emergency is when people are having a heart attack or difficulty breathing, she said. In contrast, some people have shown up at the ER for COVID-19 testing when they could get that done elsewhere, she said. Kasirye said there are no considerations for mass facilities at this time to deal with hospitals being at capacity, though on Thursday she said there had been discussions on the issue. “Our hospitals are really coordinating to try and make sure that they’re about to manage and we are working with the state as well and making sure that if one hospital is full, that the patients coming in can be taken to another hospital,” Kasirye said. “I think that the plan that they have is working. Of course, we continue to monitor and we are hoping we are plateauing with hospitalized numbers as well.”In nearby Placer County, 220 people were admitted to the hospital with COVID-19 on Monday, compared to 208 on Dec. 29 during the winter surge. That county’s top health official also said that COVID-19 patients there are “overwhelmingly unvaccinated folks.”CDPH said state officials are “seeing a lag in hospital admissions, and it appears that some of our highest numbers were last week.” “Historically, hospitalizations also tend to peak later than cases,” CDPH said. “In general, we are seeing cases plateauing in areas where there are higher vaccination rates. It’s further evidence that COVID-19 vaccines are safe and effective. The easiest thing people can do to bring about an end to this pandemic is to get vaccinated. California’s higher rate of vaccination, along with a combination of other non-pharmaceutical measures like indoor masking, is making a difference.”CDPH went on to say that ICU capacity for the Greater Sacramento region stands at 15.4%. Should it fall below 10% for three consecutive days, here’s what would happen: All general acute care hospitals in the county that do have ICU bed capacity must accept transfer…

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