Austin, Texas, Has Just 6 Open ICU Beds Amid Delta Surge
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- As of Saturday, there were only six open ICU beds in the Austin, Texas area, according to state data.
- The state is facing a surge in new coronavirus infections fueled by the Delta variant.
- The counties in and around Austin have an average vaccination rate of 48.1%.
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In the Austin, Texas area, only six intensive care beds were open on Saturday as the state sees a coronavirus surge fueled by the highly transmittable Delta variant.
Nearly 2.4 million people live in the “O” trauma district of Texas, which also includes Austin’s Travis County and 10 other surrounding counties.
According to the Texas Ministry of Health, only 479 of the region’s 4,523 hospital beds were available on Saturday.
The data was released just two days after the city’s health authorities raised the threat alert to Level 5 – the highest level – based on infections and hospital stays that rose to pre-vaccination levels. In a press release, city officials said the seven-day average for new hospital admissions rose 600% between July 5 and August 4.
Below Level 5, Austin residents are advised to wear masks even if they are fully vaccinated. Unvaccinated residents are advised to stay home and avoid gatherings, travel, and indoor dining.
While Austin itself has a higher than average vaccination rate than the state as a whole (63.93% in Travis County compared to a state rate of 53.48%), the other counties in the trauma district have much lower vaccination rates, which is the average for the region corresponds to only 48.1% according to public data published on Sunday.
Austin Mayor Steve Adler told CNN that unvaccinated people are taking the brunt of serious COVID-19 infections in this recent surge.
“Almost everyone in our intensive care units is not vaccinated. We don’t have anyone with ventilators in our city who is vaccinated,” he said. “This is an epidemic among the unvaccinated.”
Several studies have shown that vaccinations also help protect against serious illnesses in the Delta variant.
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