HOUSTON — Another major hospital in the Texas Medical Center is seeing a rise in seriously ill COVID-19 patients.
Last week, Houston Methodist told KHOU 11 hospitalizations went up 40% over the course of two weeks. Now, Memorial Hermann says it's seeing the same thing.
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“We’ve actually seen over the course of the past week our admissions rise by over 50%,” said Memorial Hermann CEO Dr. David Callender.
While cases overall still remain low, Callender said the Delta variant is to blame for the uptick in cases across the Texas Medical Center. It’s by far the most contagious version of the COVID-19 virus and is taking advantage of the unvaccinated population.
“It’s almost all unvaccinated people. We’re admitting very few vaccinated people with breakthrough infections,” Callender said.
He said all three vaccines in use in the United States do a good job of preventing serious illness from Delta.
However, doctors at Memorial Hermann are advising high-risk patients with chronic illnesses to take extra precautions in certain settings.
“The CDC (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention) would say, 'No it’s not necessary to wear a mask.' We’re saying why not if you’re higher risk? Do everything you can to protect yourself. Do you need to stay home and isolate to stay away from the disease? No. But if you’re in a crowded space where you would be at higher risk and you are higher risk, then protect yourself,” Callender said.