NJ Coronavirus Hospitalizations Have Tripled Since July

Photo Credit:  nih.gov

If you think we are out of the pandemic here in New Jersey, think again.  Now is the time to be more vigilant than ever in terms of getting vaccinated, using common sense and being aware of the state of the COVID pandemic.

According to the New Jersey Department of Health, the latest statistics show that COVID-related hospitalizations have surpassed 1,000 for the first time in three months.  That’s last May, and coronavirus hospitalizations in the Garden State have tripled since July.

The Garden State currently has 1,012 people with active COVID-19 hospitalizations as of this afternoon. Ninety-one people are on ventilators. According to the state Health Department, New Jersey only had 306 hospitalizations from the virus on July 1.

Some states are reporting they are nearing full hospital bed capacity due to COVID admissions.  Certain states have reported being near ICU bed limits.  Others are reaching their limits.

As of this afternoon, statistics from the New Jersey Health Department show the state has not neared its peaks for hospitalizations during the pandemic. The state reported as many as 6,100 hospitalizations in late April 2020.   During last winter’s surge, nearly 4,000. Patients — COVID and non-COVID — are occupying about 43 percent of the state’s ICU beds according to state numbers.

The Mayo Clinic says New Jersey has reported among the highest vaccination rates in the country.   63.7 percent of adults ages 18-64 and 88.7 percent of seniors are fully inoculated against the virus.

Most of the recent New Jersey hospitalizations come from unvaccinated people according to Governor Phil Murphy.  The Governor stated, “From Aug. 2 to 9, fully vaccinated individuals accounted for 25 of the state’s 608 COVID hospitalizations. Of the state’s 53 coronavirus deaths in that span, none were vaccinated.”

Health officials continue to urge people who have not been vaccinated to reconsider their decision.  What we don’t want to see happen here in New Jersey, and elsewhere, if for people, in the words of Governor Murphy, to act like “knuckleheads.”

Be smart everyone. We are not out of the woods yet.