DONATE
Goshen Hospital, in Northern Indiana, is experiencing its highest surge in COVID-19 patients in a year.
(Provided by Goshen Health)Goshen Hospital is currently experiencing its highest surge in COVID-19 patients since November of last year.
According to a release from the hospital, 41 patients are currently hospitalized with COVID, 35 of whom are unvaccinated. That’s the highest number of COVID patients so far this year.
The hospital says the recent surge has interfered with scheduling for surgeries, screenings and other procedures.
In the release, Chief Medical Officer and infectious disease specialist Dr. Dan Nafziger urged residents to get vaccinated if they haven’t already.
“While people who are vaccinated are still getting COVID-19, the vast majority of those hospitalized have not been vaccinated,” Nafziger said. “If you have not yet chosen to be vaccinated, I urge you to talk to your primary care provider about the protection it could offer you.”
According to the state’s vaccine dashboard, 82,724 Elkhart County residents – or just under 40 percent – are fully vaccinated. Some of the state’s least-vaccinated zipcodes are in the county.
Regardless of vaccination status, Nafziger said all residents should wear a mask in public and take precautions to prevent the spread of the virus.
“Wearing masks while indoors continues to be one of the best ways of preventing the spread of the disease,” Nafziger said in the release. “Now, more than ever, we need everyone to pull together to help reduce the spread of COVID-19.”
Contact Gemma at gdicarlo@wvpe.org or follow her on Twitter at @gemma_dicarlo.
If you appreciate this kind of journalism on your local NPR station, please support it by donating here.
Support WFYI. We can't do it without you.