Oklahoma reports more COVID-19 cases than peak of summer wave; hospitalizations surging too
Oklahoma's COVID-19 cases and hospitalizations are surging again, and experts warned that they expect those numbers to keep rising even as health care workers and hospitals are already under strain.
The state's seven-day average of new COVID-19 cases on Tuesday was 2,990 — even higher than the peak of the delta variant wave in late summer of 2021.
More: Is Oklahoma really No. 1 in 2021 COVID-19 deaths? Breaking down the state’s death rate
Surging cases are being seen across the country: the U.S. recorded more than 1 million new COVID-19 cases Monday, likely the result of the highly contagious omicron variant that has taken hold across the country and a holiday weekend backlog in reporting.
Experts have urged vaccinations, booster doses and other precautions to slow the spread of the virus and prevent deaths and severe illness from COVID-19. Over 90% of hospitalizations are still among the unvaccinated, state data shows.
Hospitalizations statewide for COVID-19 hit 1,015 Tuesday, a jump of over 100 admissions from the day before. While that's still lower than the height of hospitalizations during the delta variant wave earlier this year, Oklahoma hasn't had COVID-19 hospitalizations rise over 1,000 since since October.
More: Where can I get a COVID-19 test in and around Oklahoma City?
Aaron Wendelboe, an epidemiologist with the University of Oklahoma's College of Public Health, said Tuesday that his COVID-19 transmission model is projecting increases in both cases and hospitalizations through mid-February, though the peak could happen sooner if the state follows patterns seen in South Africa and the U.K.
ICUs struggle as COVID cases rise again
Climbing hospitalizations are cause for concern as the already strapped health care workforce juggles COVID-19, a flu uptick and other illnesses.
Staffing is still a struggle for hospitals, and intensive-care unit beds are "very tight" again, said Patti Davis, president of the Oklahoma Hospital Association. As soon as one opens up, it's filled by another waiting patient, she said.
"While our admissions are not as high yet as what they've been at the peak times in surge one and surge two, let me make this very clear: Our hospitals are very full," she said on a Healthier Oklahoma Coalition call.
Hospitalizations typically follow rises in the positivity rate by about two weeks, Davis said.
And Oklahoma is seeing its fastest rise ever in the positivity rate, said Dr. David Kendrick, founder and CEO of MyHealth Access Network, a health information exchange.
More Oklahomans using at-home COVID tests
Data in MyHealth shows the state's positivity rate is 28% — tied for its highest ever rate in January 2021, Kendrick said. But data in MyHealth and from the state Health Department don't reflect at-home COVID-19 testing, which there has been great demand for recently.
"What makes me most concerned about that is many of the tests — and maybe even most of the tests — that are being performed are happening not in a healthcare delivery system, but at home," Kendrick said.
That means there are more COVID-19 infections than can be officially reported.
More: Why has Oklahoma ranked last in COVID-19 sequencing for months? Totals mask some recent progress
Interim Health Commissioner Keith Reed encouraged Oklahomans who feel ill to schedule a COVID-19 test and stay home while waiting for results and for their symptoms to clear. The state Health Department expanded COVID-19 testing hours at local county health departments across the state in response to the surge and increased demand for tests.
The omicron variant, which officials have said is even more transmissible than the delta variant, made up about 57% of 306 recently sequenced cases across Oklahoma, state health officials said Tuesday. The rest, 43%, were the delta variant.
This article originally appeared on Oklahoman: COVID-19 cases, hospitalizations again see sharp rise in Oklahoma
