Baby girl with COVID airlifted 150 miles because of hospital bed shortage
(CNN) -- An 11-month-old girl with COVID-19 is stable and no longer intubated one day she was airlifted to a Texas hospital 150 miles away because of a shortage of pediatric beds in the Houston area. The baby has...
(CNN) — An 11-month-old miss with COVID-19 is unchangeable and nary longer intubated 1 time she was airlifted to a Texas infirmary 150 miles distant due to the fact that of a shortage of pediatric beds successful the Houston area.
The babe has made “an astonishing recovery,” said Dr. Dominic Lucia, a pediatric exigency doc and main aesculapian serviceman astatine Baylor Scott & White McLane Children’s Medical Center-Temple, wherever the kid was transported connected Thursday.
“She’s nary longer requiring the breathing machine. She’s really disconnected that close now… and she’s really resting with mom. She’s looking great.”
The child, Ava Amira Rivera, tested affirmative for COVID-19, according to Amanda Callaway, a spokeswoman for Harris Health System. Callaway said Ava was having seizures and needed to beryllium intubated but Lyndon B. Johnson Hospital, wherever she was archetypal taken, does not connection pediatric services.
None of the large pediatric hospitals successful the country had beds available, Callaway said.
In a video released by Harris Health, Ava is seen being lifted onto an aerial ambulance connected Thursday greeting for a formation to the infirmary successful Temple.
“Like us, a batch of the children’s hospitals are astatine oregon adjacent capacity,” Lucia told CNN Friday. “That’s wherever we are a batch of days close now. We, fortunately, erstwhile they reached retired to us, though we’re a agelong mode away, were capable to assistance her.”
Lucia said doctors were capable to wean Ava disconnected beingness enactment measures and described her information arsenic “very stable.”
“She’s doing large and connected our mode backmost to afloat health,” helium said.
Last year, the infirmary had 2 oregon 3 COVID-19 pediatric cases astatine immoderate fixed time, compared to 5 to 7 successful the past week to 10 days, Lucia said.
“With the delta variant we surely are seeing conscionable much infectivity crossed the colonisation that includes kids, that includes infants arsenic well,” the doc said.
“And with this peculiar surge we are seeing much kids that are symptomatic that trial positive, much babies that are symptomatic and trial positive.”
He added, “We’re besides hospitalizing much and a fewer of those unluckily are requiring captious attraction services (though) that’s not peculiarly common.”
In the Houston area, Harris Health System has seen a immense summation successful COVID-19 patients, and astatine slightest fractional of the patients successful ICU person the virus, Callaway said.
“Couple that with mean exigency needs and it’s overwhelming the system,” Callaway told CNN.
Harris Health is portion of the Texas Medical Center, the largest successful the world, according to its website. There were 336 COVID-19 patients admitted connected Thursday, the highest regular fig of admissions since February, according to its latest update.
Florida and Texas have accounted for a 3rd of each US COVID-19 cases reported successful the past week, White House COVID-19 effect coordinator Jeff Zients said.
The cases are chiefly successful areas wherever vaccination rates stay low, Zients said astatine a briefing Monday.
The surge comes arsenic the highly contagious delta variant spreads and, White House Data Director Dr. Cyrus Shahpar tweeted connected Friday, the percent of afloat vaccinated Americans reached 50%.
Hospitals are erstwhile again filling up with patients arsenic the microorganism tears done the unvaccinated population.
“We are backmost beyond our pre-pandemic volumes astatine LBJ,” infirmary head Patricia Darnauer told CNN affiliate KTRK.
The Harris County/City of Houston Public Health dashboard on Friday reported 220.79 caller cases per 100,000 radical implicit 7 days.
In Texas, the seven-day moving mean was 11,042 caller regular cases connected Monday, according to a CNN investigation of Johns Hopkins University data.
Gov. Greg Abbott has said helium volition not enforce a statewide disguise mandate and has antecedently banned section authorities entities from requiring vaccines.
Texans cognize “what the standards are, what practices they privation to follow to assistance support themselves,” helium told CNN affiliate KPRC past week. “This is clip for idiosyncratic responsibility.”
Lucia connected Friday stressed the value of getting vaccinated.
“We’re disquieted arsenic schools statesman to commencement up and the information that kids are going to beryllium unneurotic again, we’re blessed about,” helium said. “But we surely anticipation that that’s done successful a thoughtful mode and we’re successful enactment of the American Academy of Pediatrics guidelines of kids going backmost to schoolhouse wearing masks.”
© 2021 Circle City Broadcasting I, LLC. | All Rights Reserved.
What's Your Reaction?
