HOUSTON — Harris Health System leaders are calling this latest COVID-19 surge the pandemic of the unvaccinated.
Dr. Esmaeil Porsa, CEO of Harris Health, said if we don’t act now we are heading toward a catastrophe the like of which we did not get to experience last year.
“Yesterday I had a person who needed an ICU bed who had been in my emergency room for 40 hours,” Dr. Porsa said.
He said their hospital system is overwhelmed with COVID-19 patients.
Dr. Porsa said more than 98 percent of all COVID related admissions and 100 percent of all COVID-19 related deaths in the Harris Health system are among the unvaccinated.
He said those who have yet to get the shot are not stepping up to do their part.
"The current surge in the COVID-19 numbers, cases and hospitalizations, and unfortunately even deaths among our children suggests that a large segment of our population is simply choosing not to do the right thing,” he said.
Last week Gov. Greg Abbott requested 2,500 out-of-state nurses to help overloaded hospitals across Texas.
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Dr. Porsa said Harris Health received its first batch of crisis nurses on Wednesday.
He said 80 nurses and 20 respiratory therapists have arrived and will start on Thursday.
They will be split evenly between Ben Taub and Lyndon B. Johnson hospitals.
Dr. Porsa said they plan to start using tents set up to treat COVID-19 patients outside of LBJ hospital as soon as they are ready.