Buffalo, NY (WBEN) Pleas from local hospitals for help and images of overflowing medical facilities have seemingly faded to the background as pressure on hospitals from the COVID pandemic have retreated. But hospitals are still feeling the impact of COVID and aren't ready to say those traumatic situations and images are 'in the rearview mirror' just yet.
More people are getting vaccinated and hospitalizations are on the decline. But the fear of an overrun of patients is still in the forefront of hospital leadership's minds.
Dr. John Sellick at the Buffalo VA Hospital says hospitalizations are down regionally. "We're hopeful we're going to continue to see this downward trend. A lot will depend on people will be vaccinated," says Sellick, who notes it's unknown what that magic number will get to the point of stemming the pandemic.
Sellick says as more doses of the vaccine come into the system, it's going to be easier for people to be vaccinated. "The thing we're not completely sure about is the variants that are being described. The one from the UK appears to be well covered by the vaccine, but the one from South Africa the jury is still out on that one," says Sellick.
Over at ECMC, hospitalization rates are also coming down. "Up until a couple of weeks ago, we had 10 to 15 cases a day, now we're down to three a day," says Dr. Sam Cloud. He says that reflects a national and international trend.
Cloud says he's cautiously optimistic rates will get back down to where they were last summer. "The only caveat would be if more infectious variants start to make a presence in WNY," warns Cloud. "We saw that in the UK where that variant reared its ugly head, and we saw a spike upon a spike."
Cloud says if a substantial portion of the population gets vaccinated, there won't be another wave, and hospitals should not be overwhelmed with COVID patients.
