COVID hospitalizations increased by 135 today to more than 1,500 and vent usage increased by 17 to 135. Brooke Thorington has more from State Health Officer Dr. Joe Kanter on how hospitals are reacting.
Cut 1 (32) “ …I’m Brooke Thorington.”
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Louisiana Congressman Steve Scalise received his first vaccine shot last week, today he talks about his decision to get vaccinated. Jeff Palermo has more…
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As daily COVID case numbers continue to be in the thousands, health officials are urging unvaccinated individuals to roll up their sleeve to slow the spread of the delta variant. State Health Officer Dr. Joe Kanter says at this point in the pandemic people can’t say they don’t know someone who’s been affected by COVID.
As case numbers surge, so are hospitalizations, but when you compare the number of patients in Louisiana facilities to high numbers in the pandemic last year it doesn’t seem as dire. However, Kanter says hospitals are facing a severe nursing shortage now and facilities are treating other patients in addition to COVID patients.
Kanter says healthcare facilities are also inundated with a large number of RSV cases.
Treatment options of those with the Delta variant are no different from treatment with the original strain but Kanter says the Delta variant is much more transmissible.
With staffing shortages and an increase in COVID patients, Kanter says a number of hospitals are delaying elective surgeries for patients in an effort to ease caseloads on healthcare staff. Kanter says that can have serious repercussions.
Kanter says if you contract COVID right now there’s a greater than 85-percent chance it is the Delta variant.
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The Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries will soon begin accepting applications for financial assistance for those who have been impacted by the Covid-19 pandemic. Wildlife and Fisheries Biologist Adminstrator Jason Froeba says anyone within the fishing industry that lost at least 35 percent of their revenue is eligible.
Cut 6 (08) “….fishing capacity.”
The total financial assistance is over 12 million dollars. Froeba says the money will be distributed equally among approved applicants.
This money is of course not enough to cover the losses of every fisherman in the state of Louisiana but Froeba says they’ll happily take what they can get.
The application process runs from August ninth to the 29th, applicants can apply online at www.wlf.louisiana.gov/page/cares-act-assistance.
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According to the Advocate newspaper, five members of Louisiana’s Congressional delegation say they have been vaccinated for the coronavirus. House Minority Whip Steve Scalise received his first dose of a two-dose vaccine last week. Scalise says he waited to get the vaccine because he tested for the immunities of COVID
Louisiana has one of the lowest vaccination rates in the countries and three members of the states’ Congressional delegation have not said if they are vaccinated, Garret Graves, Mike Johnson, and Clay Higgins, who confirmed this week he’s battling COVID. Scalise says doesn’t think the vaccine should be mandatory, but he recommends it
The Delta variant has resulted in a huge increase in cases and COVID hospitalizations and health officials are also tracking the Lambda variant which originated in Peru. Scalise says President Biden’s open border policy is helping this latest strain make its way into the United States…
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Nicholls State University will receive nearly 500 thousand dollars in grant money that will go towards coastal research. Fines and penalties from the 2010 Deepwater Horizon oil spill are providing the funding for the grant dollars. Nicholls Dean of Sciences and Technology Dr. John Doucet says they will specifically look at how coastal ridges can help in the fight against land loss…
Cut 12 (11) “…on those ridges”
Nicholls will also assist with the creation of ridges to protect back marshes by studying naturally occurring ones. Doucet says these artificial ridges will protect the back marsh and trap sediment…
Cut 13 (11) “…prevent their deterioration”
Nicholls’s proposal was one of eight projects selected from a pool of 20 submissions and is the first time the University researchers have received Restore Act money. Doucet says this is just one of many coastal restoration projects the university has undertaken…
The research will start this fall and continue through 2023.