NUECES COUNTY, Texas — Health experts believe there are a mix of reasons the new Delta variant is reaching unvaccinated people who are going out without masks. This could also be the cause of rising hospitalization numbers.
"Just over the weekend alone in Corpus Christi, we've probably seen about a 20-percent increase in hospitalizations," said Kim Onufrak, the assistant director of the Corpus Christi-Nueces County Health District.
Although the numbers look to be relatively low, Onufrak said it was the sudden increase that has her concerned.
"The majority of the people right now that are hospitalized are all, you know, most of them are unvaccinated," said Onufrrak.
She said only about 40-percent of Corpus Christi is vaccinated, which means we should still see most of the community wearing a mask.
"There should be about 60-percent of people wearing masks, and I really don't see that," she said. "I hardly see anybody wearing a mask nowadays and so it's no wonder that we're starting to see an increase in cases again."
As more people return to normal and the new Delta variant spreads, health experts warn that the increase in hospitalizations is expected.
"The numbers are increasing and it's going to increase further," Dr. Salim Surani, an intensive care unit pulmonologist with Christus Spohn Healthcare System said. "When you have unvaccinated patients who get infected, the virus has more time to get more variant because it's trying to survive."
While doctors like Surani work to bring the numbers down, he said the community must continue to do their part.
"It is our responsibility, civic and community responsibility to protect each other," he said. "I can tell you I've lost a lot of physician friends in the community have lost some nurses, and I've lost some family members throughout the globe. Every single family has lost somebody or somebody has been very sick with this virus."
For the latest updates on coronavirus in the Coastal Bend, click here.
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