Thread by @DocSeanW

Dear Lethbridge,
Since I don’t know how else you’ll know, here’s a local pandemic update. This is what changed over the last weekend.
After some two months of closure, our hospital has reopened the inpatient COVID unit as we are seeing a rapid increase in hospitalizations. 1/

They’re looking for more doctors to staff it. Not sure who they expect to find who isn’t already too busy.
ICU is predominantly COVID patients again. Some local, some overflow from Medicine Hat’s full ICU, and some critically ill from the Cardston county outbreak. 2/

Medicine Hat and Lethbridge have the only ICU beds in the south zone. Calgary hospitals are beginning to receive overflow from Edmonton.
As of this weekend there is a noticeable increase (a “parade” at times) in visits to our ER for COVID diagnosis... 3/

... and known infections where “my breathing is getting worse.” We’re admitting unvaccinated people in respiratory distress of all ages (20 something was the youngest I admitted on the weekend). 4/

If you haven’t been vaccinated yet, you’re likely out of time. You’re going to be exposed. Almost no one knows where they got it, and the province is not contact tracing. We don’t have a good way to predict who is going to get severely ill with delta so you’re taking a gamble. 5/

I’d recommend getting your shot ASAP, masking indoors, and limiting social contacts over the next month or two.
There are admissions of fully vaccinated people too. Most are elderly and/or immunocompromised- the same people who were at highest risk with the original strain. 6/

Booster shots are now available (Sep 1) for this group. I’d recommend taking advantage of that.
Unfortunately the pandemic is not over. If you are vaccinated, you are less likely to get it, and much less likely to be severely ill, but you still can contract it and spread it. 7/

Now is a good time to wear masks in public places, and limit nonessential contact with others, particularly if you have vulnerable family members.
Children remain at lower risk of severe acute illness if infected, but that is not “no risk.” 8/

When transmission ramps up in schools, I expect we will see more pediatric COVID admissions than anytime before in the pandemic, as this is what is occurring everywhere else with high delta transmission. 9/

Our in-city vaccination rates are relatively good for the province (thank you from all hospital workers), but we could be better, and we have a large at risk unvaccinated rural population in the south zone.
Please be cautious, vaccinate yourself and your kids 12 and over. 10/

Please DO NOT go out in public if you are sick. No one knows how high the fourth wave peak is going to go before it runs out of new people to infect, but there is already significant strain on hospitals province wide. 11/

For the moment, I suspect we are one of the least strained major hospitals, and are not dealing with as many staffing issues as are others, but things can change quickly in this pandemic. /12

Book now if you haven't yet! /fin
alberta.ca/covid19-vaccin…