Local concerns: Virus hospitalizations double at Henry Ford Health System facilities
With COVID-19 cases in Michigan soaring in recent weeks, hospitalizations have also risen.
At the Henry Ford Health System, which includes five hospitals in metro Detroit, hospitalizations have doubled in the past two weeks according to Dr. Adnan Munkarah, HFHS executive vice president and chief clinical officer.
COVID hospitalizations are up in 25 states with Michigan showing the most dramatic surge, according to Bloomberg. In the state, admissions are up 50% to an average of 379 per day. The numbers are still lower than in November and December.
“When we look at the age of people who are hospitalized at the
present time, it’s not the age group that has been vaccinated so far. These are not the people who are 65 or older. These are a younger group of ages at the present time that have not been vaccinated,” Munkarah said at a Monday briefing. “This is why we believe we have a way out of this.”
He said the numbers which were updated on Monday morning show the average age of COVID patients in the Henry Ford hospitals is 58.
“That is six to seven years younger than what we have seen in the past two surges,” Munkarah said.
It is one indication that the vaccines are working.
“The reason we know the vaccines are working is because the group of people who have been vaccinated have a decrease in the number of their positivity rate and decrease in hospitalizations,” Munkarah said.
While the hospitalization numbers are up, the number of those hospitalized COVID patents who are in the intensive care unit is about 16%.
“This is comparable to what we have seen in the fall, but definitely lower than what we have seen during the big spike we had in April/May of last year,” Munkarah said.
The total number of
Henry Ford Health System patients who are currently admitted with COVID-19 and who are admitted, but do not have a confirmed COVID-19 diagnosis, is 474. Henry Ford Macomb has the largest number with 82.
A year into the pandemic, Munkarah said we are at an inflection point.
“The promise we have been making with the vaccination gives us a lot of hope that the end of the pandemic is truly within reach,” Munkarah said.
“At the same time the numbers we have been seeing at the national level, specifically Michigan, are definitely worse,” he added.
Over the last two weeks there has been almost a 133% increase in COVID cases in Michigan.
The doctor is concerned, yet hopeful. He is also fully aware that a year into the pandemic, people are tired of the protocols of mask wearing, social distancing, avoiding large groups and hand hygiene. Yet, he said it’s too soon to give up on those methods of c ontrolling the spread of the virus.
“We will be there soon, when we can get back to some normalcy. Meanwhile this virus is telling us it’s not over yet,” Munkarah said. “There are things we need to do, things we need to be careful about and we have to be cautious not to lower our guard too early so we don’t get into problems again.”