Today, August
27, we are caring for 18 COVID positive inpatients at Mount Nittany Medical
Center, ranging in age from 22 to 91.
In July, we had
37 COVID positive admissions at the Medical Center with an average daily census
of 6. By comparison, in August, our average daily COVID positive inpatient
census has increased significantly to 14 and our total admissions to date is
63.
"In that
last month, we have seen a steady increase in the number of people hospitalized
for COVID at the Medical Center. Due to the uptick in COVID hospitalizations,
we have taken additional steps in our pandemic response plan to adjust
operations to meet the needs of the community, including rescheduling some
elective surgical cases requiring an overnight admission. This step is
essential to ensure that we are serving our COVID positive inpatients and those
needing us for acute and surgical care. Additionally, as of August 25, we have
revised our visitation policy, which can be found on our website. As an added measure, inpatients will
also be asked to mask when a healthcare provider or other member of our staff
enters their room.
The majority of
people who have been hospitalized at the Medical Center for COVID are not fully
vaccinated. The COVID vaccine – to include the recently FDA-approved
Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine (Comirnaty) – is highly effective and our best defense
against the transmission of COVID in our community. We have vaccinated more
than 45,000 people in our community, and we strongly encourage everyone to
receive it," said Dr. Upendra Thaker, Chief Medical Officer, Mount Nittany
Health.
Recently, the
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Advisory committee on Immunization
practices (ACIP) recommended that people whose immune systems are moderately to severely
compromised receive an additional dose of mRNA COVID-19 vaccine at least 28
days after an initial two-dose mRNA series. Patients who meet the eligibility
requirements and attest to the criteria may request an appointment for an
additional 3rd dose of the COVID-19 vaccine at mountnittany.org/COVID.
As a reminder,
Mount Nittany Health is offering the FDA-approved Pfizer vaccine (Comirnaty) to
interested community members. To register for the COVID-19 vaccine, please go
to mountnittany.org/COVID and click "Sign Up now" and complete the form at
your convenience. You do not need to be a Mount Nittany Health patient to
request a vaccine, and there is no out-of-pocket cost for the vaccine. We will
contact you with your appointment date and time.
Vaccines work with your immune
system so your body will be ready to fight the virus if you are exposed. The
Delta variant is highly contagious and has been proven to spread easily. This
is another reason why continuing to consistently follow additional COVID safety
measures, including social distancing, not meeting in large groups, masking and
frequent hand washing is essential and helps to significantly reduce your
chance of being exposed to the virus or spreading it to others.