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This post may refer to COVID-19

This post may refer to COVID-19

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4 states have fewer than 10% of ICU beds left as health care staffing shortages complicate care
www.cnn.com

4 states have fewer than 10% of ICU beds left as health care staffing shortages complicate care

As a record number of Americans are infected with Covid-19, largely due to the rapidly spreading Omicron variant, some states' health care systems are beset with nearly full intensive care units.

Health

(CNN)As a record number of Americans are infected with Covid-19, largely due to the rapidly spreading Omicron variant, some states' health care systems are beset with nearly full intensive care units.

Four states have less than 10% remaining capacity in their ICUs: Kentucky, Alabama, Indiana and New Hampshire, according to data Wednesday from the US Department of Health and Human Services.

And as infection spreads, states and health care systems nationwide are handling shortages of available medical workers, who face a greater chance of Covid-19 exposure and must isolate after testing positive.

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National Guard personnel and other federal emergency teams have been deployed to hospitals and long-term care facilities in places including New Hampshire to alleviate the burden with medical and non-medical tasks. And a new wave of federally deployed medical teams will head soon to six states -- Michigan, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, Ohio and Rhode Island -- to help hospitals combat Covid-19, President Joe Biden is expected to announce Thursday.

"This is part of the winter surge, part of the long haul, which is why we put so many of the mitigation strategies and measures in place early on to help provide some flexibility to hospitals and health care systems," New Hampshire Gov. Chris Sununu said Wednesday.

Five other states are very close to just 10% of ICU capacity remaining, according to HHS data: New Mexico, Missouri, Rhode Island, Mississippi and Georgia. Nationally, Covid-19 hospitalizations have reached record highs with at least 151,261 Americans need care as of Wednesday.

Early research indicates the Omicron variant may produce less of a chance of needing hospitalization than prior Covid-19 variants. But Omicron's increased transmissibility means more people at higher risk for severe disease, such as those who are unvaccinated or immunocompromised, will be infected.