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News about coronavirus in Florida and around the world is constantly emerging. It's hard to stay on top of it all but Health News Florida can help. Our responsibility is to keep you informed, and to help discern what’s important for your family as you make what could be life-saving decisions.

Florida Hospital Workers Under "Immense Pressure" As They Battle COVID Surge

Leon County Judge John Cooper on June 30, 2022, in a screen grab from The Florida Channel.
Stacey Plaisance
/
The Florida Channel
Leon County Judge John Cooper on June 30, 2022, in a screen grab from The Florida Channel.

Justin Senior, CEO of the Safety Net Hospital Alliance of Florida, explains how hospitals are responding in an interview with WMFE's Intersection

On Wednesday Hospitalizations for COVID-19 passed 15,000. The Florida Hospital Association says that’s nearly 150% of last year’s peak of patients hospitalized with COVID-19. 

Hotspots around the state are crowding hospitals and putting pressure on front-line medical staff. 

Leon County Judge John Cooper on June 30, 2022, in a screen grab from The Florida Channel.
The Florida Channel
Leon County Judge John Cooper on June 30, 2022, in a screen grab from The Florida Channel.

Justin Senior, CEO of the Safety Net Hospital Alliance of Florida, joins Intersection to explain how hospitals are responding to the surge.  

“The number of patients has been climbing dramatically over the course of the last five weeks,” says Senior. 

“I think that hospitals are hopeful that this particular surge is starting to peak and hopefully can start going down in the next week or two. But again, if it does continue to go up, it is going to really stress the hospital capacity in the state.” 

Senior says the wave of new cases “puts an immense amount of pressure on staff.”

“This new variant and the contagiousness of it, I think has caught a lot of people by surprise,” adds Senior. 

“In terms of hospitalization, it has overwhelmingly affected the unvaccinated.” 

“So, yeah, I think it’s disappointing that this didn’t work out, you know, the way that everyone was hoping that we’d reach a certain vaccination threshold, and …COVID would sort of quietly go into the background.” 

Copyright 2021 WMFE. To see more, visit WMFE.

Matthew Peddie