Rochelle Walensky, director of the CDC, testified before the Senate on July 20, J. Scott Applewhite - via Getty Images
Rochelle Walensky, CDC director, stated that healthcare systems in certain parts of the US are "dire straits".
She told CBS, "Our hospitals are full of unvaccinated people."
Walensky stated that staff are faced with difficult decisions about who gets ICU beds and ventilators.
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Some parts of the US's healthcare systems are in "dire straits" because of the influx of unvaccinated patients into hospitals. Rochelle Walensky (director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention) spoke to CBS's Face the Nation Sunday.
Walensky stated that some parts of the US are using "crisis standard of care" and are running short of hospital beds.
She explained that she was referring to who will get a ventilator and who will get an ICU bed.
She said, "Those are difficult discussions to have, but that isn't a place where we want our healthcare system to ever go."
She expressed concern that patients who are suffering from heart attacks or vehicle accidents may not be able "to come in and receive the appropriate care."
She said, "That's why we are so hard at work in areas with high levels of disease and where their healthcare systems have fallen into dire straits."
According to CDC data, US hospitals admitted nearly 9,000 coronavirus-infected patients per day between September 18-24. This is a significant decrease from the 16,489.7 average for January in which it peaked at 16,489.
Walensky said that hospitals were overflowing with coronavirus-infected patients. She said, "Our hospitals are full of unvaccinated people."
The highly infectious Delta variant continues its spread throughout the US. Although the variant is causing "breakthrough infections" in vaccinated individuals, data shows that vaccines protect against severe COVID-19.
Kaiser Health News reported Wednesday that a Montana hospital had so many COVID-19 unvaccinated patients, it was at 160% capacity. It was "running out" of rooms to accommodate patients.
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A hospital in Idaho stated that some COVID-19 patients might need to be admitted in conference rooms earlier in September because of the scarcity of hospital beds.
An earlier CDC study found that Americans who were not vaccinated were 11 times more likely than those who had been. According to CDC data, two-thirds of Americans have received at least two doses of the coronavirus vaccine. However, 23% of those who have not had their first dose have not yet had it.
President Joe Biden has called on Americans to get vaccinated and announced plans to mandate weekly testing or vaccines for companies with over 100 employees.
According to CDC data, daily COVID-19 cases are falling in the US after a spike in cases in September and August.
Aria Bendix of Insider previously reported on a model that suggested US COVID-19 deaths and cases are unlikely to rise between now and March. However, the model suggested that hospitals might still be stretched in states with low vaccination rates or cold climates.
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