States are scrambling to keep up with an increase in Covid-19 hospitalizations and the demand for testing

Because of staffing shortages in some health care systems around the country, through illnesses or people quitting because of exhaustion, the nation “cannot provide that same quality of care to 130,000 patients now like we did last year,” Dr. Taison Bell, director of the medical intensive care unit at the University of Virginia Health, told CNN Saturday.

In New York, 40 hospitals — mainly in the Mohawk Valley, Finger Lakes and central regions — have been told to stop nonessential elective operations for at least two weeks because of low patient bed capacity, the state health department said Saturday.

Vaccine requirements changing

The US Food and Drug Administration on Friday amended the emergency use authorization for Moderna’s Covid-19 vaccine, shortening the period of time between initial vaccination and the booster shot from at least six months to five months for those over the age of 18.

“Vaccination is our best defense against Covid-19, including the circulating variants, and shortening the length of time between completion of a primary series and a booster dose may help reduce waning immunity,” said Dr. Peter Marks, director of the FDA’s Center for Biologics Evaluation and Research.

The FDA has already shortened the time needed before receiving a booster shot of the Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine from six to five months. The Pfizer booster is authorized for everyone age 12 and older.

New York Gov. Kathy Hochul announced Friday she is mandating all healthcare workers to get a Covid-19 booster shot within two weeks of eligibility.

“Healthcare workers will be asked to do this with no exemptions other than a medical exemption and no test out options,” Hochul said. All healthcare workers were previously required to be fully vaccinated in September.

Neighboring Connecticut issued a similar order Thursday, as long-term care staff and hospital employees are mandated to receive booster doses in the upcoming weeks.

Debate over Covid-19 safety measures in schools

At Children’s Hospital Los Angeles (CHLA), the positivity rate for children tested for Covid-19 has increased from 17.5% in December to 45% to date in January, according to CHLA Medical Director Dr. Michael Smit. 

CHLA currently has 41 patients in-house who have tested positive for Covid-19, and roughly one quarter of the children admitted to the facility with Covid-19 require admission to the pediatric ICU, with some requiring intubation, Smit told CNN Saturday.

In response to rising pediatric hospitalizations, disputes over whether in-person learning is ideal during the Omicron surge and how students can safely attend school are playing out in various school districts this week.

Nearly 13% of New York City students tested positive for Covid-19 over a 24-hour period, according to sample testing from the city’s department of education Thursday. No schools are closed at this time due to Covid-19 cases, according to additional DOE data, but six school classrooms remain closed.

The Chicago Teachers Union had voted to teach remotely due to the Covid-19 surge, but the school district canceled classes, saying it wanted in-person learning.

In the Los Angeles Unified School District, students and employees will need to show a negative Covid-19 test result before in-person learning resumes Tuesday.

The baseline test requirement was implemented at the beginning of the school year in August, and the district announced a week ago both the baseline test, along with required weekly testing for all employees and students would continue through January, given the current Omicron surge.

“Ghostbusters-level” sanitation practices, along with other protocols like universal masking, have allowed every one of the district’s more than 1,000 schools to stay open for in-person learning this academic year, LAUSD Chief Communications Officer Shannon Haber told CNN Saturday.

The Georgia Department of Public Health posted an updated administrative order Wednesday allowing teachers and school staff — regardless of vaccination status — to return to work after a Covid-19 exposure or a positive Covid-19 test if they remain asymptomatic and wear a mask while at work.

“Students, parents, and educators have made it clear to us that they want to be in the classroom, and we are looking into many methods to continue safe, in-person learning — including updated quarantine and isolation protocols, reduced contact tracing requirements, and augmented testing opportunities,” the letter from Kemp and Toomey said.

Local school districts may still develop and follow their own quarantine and isolation requirements, according to the order.