Maine, Michigan and and Indiana are among the latest states to request and receive aid from the National Guard in combatting the coronavirus pandemic threatening to overwhelm their hospitals.
This week, about 75 National Guard members were deployed in Maine to help amid a pandemic high of 400 patients hospitalized with COVID. The state reported 6,740 cases in the week ending Friday, a USA TODAY analysis of Johns Hopkins University data shows. In New York, 120 Army medics and Air Force medical technicians were deployed to nursing homes and long-term care facilities.
Over 500 Western New York Healthcare Workers Fired for Being Unvaccinated as 7 Hospitals Stop Doing Elective Surgeries
More than 500 Western New York healthcare workers have been fired for not receiving the COVID-19 vaccine.
However, because of the recent spike in COVID-19 cases, seven Western New York hospitals have stopped all elective surgeries effective on Thursday (Dec. 9), under NY State Executive Order No. 11, because they do not have more than 10% capacity.
In Michigan, Dr. Paolo Marciano, chief medical officer at Beaumont Hospital, called Defense Department assistance a “tremendous lifeline,” as state health officials say cases and deaths are both on the rise and hospitals are at or over capacity.
“It allowed us to be able to care for the COVID patients and at the same time still maintain the level of care that cancer patients require or people with chronic illnesses,” Marciano told The Associated Press.
Health officials are meanwhile urging residents to get vaccines, booster shots and to wear masks in indoor public settings.
“We’re really at a critical place in this pandemic and it’s really time for everyone to do their part,” said Dr. Natasha Bagdasarian, the state’s chief medical executive.
Over 200 Massachusetts Healthcare Workers Fired After Not Receiving COVID-19 Vaccine
Roughly 200 UMass Memorial Health employees are out of a job after getting fired because they missed their COVID-19 vaccination deadline.
UMass Memorial announced the mandate over the summer with a deadline to get vaccinated or receive an exemption by November 1.
Employees were let go on December 1 if they did not get the COVID-19 vaccine.
