Just four weeks ago, Bryan Health had zero patients with COVID-19. Health officials say almost all current infections are impacting those who are not vaccinated.
LINCOLN, Neb. (KLKN) – On Wednesday, Bryan Health reopened their COVID-19 units due to an increase in positive cases.
Just four weeks ago, Bryan had zero patients with COVID-19. Health officials say almost all of these infections are impacting those who are not vaccinated.
“Please go out there and get your vaccine,” Bryan president and CEO John Woodrich said. “It is available to you. It makes a difference. We are following the science. and we’ve proved this is a game changer.”
Of the current COVID patients at Bryan, officials say 22% are under the age of 50. 100% of those under 50 are unvaccinated, while 91% of COVID patients over 50 have not gotten the shot.
“Many of the patients, if not all of the patients in the hospital today did not expect to get this severe of an illness,” Dr. John Trapp of Bryan Health said.
Trapp shared reasons patients have given him for not getting vaccinated.
“Some of it’s the unknown, some were concerned about safety of the vaccine, some really felt like, ‘I didn’t need the vaccine, I’m otherwise young and healthy,’” he said.
Symptoms of the delta variant include fever, cough, malaise and shortness of breath. Hospitalized patients may struggling with low oxygen levels and pneumonia.
“This is something that’s potentially preventable,” Trapp said. “So, vaccination is a way out of this. We know to reach that herd immunity, there’s only really one way to get there. It’s either get the vaccine or get the infection. We know that getting the vaccine is far safer than taking your chances with the infection.”
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Originally Appeared Here