Ambulances became alert when Los Angeles hospitals were inundated with COVID-19 patients

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) – Los Angeles health officials have told emergency responders to stop bringing adult patients who cannot be resuscitated to hospitals, citing a shortage of beds and staff as the latest COVID-19 wave affects the health care systems in the America’s second largest city was in danger of overwhelming.

The order, which was issued late Monday and took effect immediately, marked an escalation of measures being taken by state and local officials across the country in light of the alarming increase in COVID-19 infections, hospitalizations and deaths.

Ambulances have had to wait several hours in some Los Angeles hospitals to unload patients, causing delays in the county’s emergency response system.

“Patients in traumatic full arrest who meet the current Ref 814 criteria for determining death will not be resuscitated and will be determined dead on the spot and not transported,” said Marianne Gausche-Hill, Los’s medical director. Angeles County Emergency Medical Services Agency. in the directive.

Ref 814 refers to the county policy on determining and certifying death in a patient who has not been transported to a hospital.

California, the most populous state in the US, has been hit particularly hard by the latest coronavirus outbreak, which some public health officials attribute to Thanksgiving rallies in November. Los Angeles is one of two California counties reporting a shortage of beds in the intensive care unit.

California reported 72,911 COVID-19 cases on Monday, a one-day record since the start of the pandemic.

VACCINES LAGGING

As of March, more than 20.8 million people have been infected with the virus in the United States and the death toll is 355.00. A record 129,000 COVID-19 patients were in hospitals on Tuesday.

The deteriorating situation has increased pressure on state and local officials to accelerate the distribution of the two coronavirus vaccines approved so far for emergencies.

Federal health officials said Monday that more than two-thirds of the 15 million coronavirus vaccines manufactured by Pfizer Inc and Moderna Inc and shipped within the United States have yet to be administered.

But some health professionals started getting their second injections of the Pfizer vaccine this week. Both vaccines require two doses three or four weeks apart.

New York and Florida governors have said they would penalize hospitals for not giving injections quickly.

“It’s a matter of life and death,” New York Governor Andrew Cuomo said at a news conference on Tuesday. “If a hospital has done all of its health workers, fine, then we’ll take that supply back and go to essential workers.”

Another 3 million doses of the two vaccines were sent to the U.S. states on Tuesday, acting Secretary of Defense Christopher Miller said in a statement, bringing the total to more than 19 million in 21 days.

The US government is considering halving doses of Moderna’s vaccine to release more vaccinations. But scientists at the National Institutes of Health and Moderna said Tuesday it could take two months to investigate whether the halved doses would be effective. [nL1N2JG2A4}