Dr. Ijlal Bbar, a pulmonologist, warned of the dire state Mississippi's health care system and providers.Babar, who is the Critical Care Director at Singing River Health, Mississippi, said, "I would like the country to understand that we are stretched beyond breaking point, and that we need to get help.""We are stretched to capacity right currently, our ICU beds have full, and we have to board a significant amount of patients in the ER.Many schools in Mississippi have been forced to move to remote learning due to an increase in Covid cases and hospitalizations. According to Johns Hopkins data, average daily cases have increased by 45% in the last week. Hospitalizations, however, have increased 40% in the same period according to the Department of Health and Human Services. Officials from the state requested that the Biden administration send a ship-based military hospital to relieve the pressure on the overloaded health care system.Babar said to "The News with Shepard Smith” that he sees more young patients than the increase in cases last year.Babar stated that "the average age of people is below 50" and that their lungs are more sick than in previous surges. "So last year, we saw people's livers and kidneys collapse. This time we aren't seeing that. But the lungs have been terrible."According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 35.4% Mississippians are fully vaccinated. This is the second-lowest rate in the country. Babar stated that he is encouraging patients to get vaccinated but has been met with resistance."I was told by one young patient that she would prefer to die than receive the vaccine. So that's what we see."Babar said that of the few Covid patients he's seen, almost all have been discharged.
