COVID-19 cases, hospitalizations are on an ‘aggressive’ rise in the Fox Valley; all intensive care beds are full – Appleton Post Crescent

APPLETON Health officials thought the delta variant was going to peak in October, with enough time for COVID-19 cases and hospitalizations to lower by Christmas. Instead, those numbers are seeing an "aggressive" rise, a ThedaCare official said at a virtual meeting Friday morning.

"Today, we're experiencing some pretty startling increases," said Frank Mellon,ThedaCare's senior innovation executive.

As of Thursday, no intensive care unit beds were available in the region, saidDr. Imran Andrabi,president and CEO of ThedaCare.

Holiday gatherings are on the horizon for many people, but Mellon said the nine-county region ThedaCare serves is seeing daily case numbers that mirror last fall, with even longer hospitalizations and longer recovery periods. The three-day average for cases is just shy of 334, but Thursday alone, over 560 new cases were diagnosed.

Outagamie, Winnebago, Calumet and Waupaca counties, in particular, are seeing "strong upward trends" in daily positive cases and some age groups are being more affected than others.

Since a high percentage of people over age 70 are vaccinated, Mellon said, cases in that group are just started to tick up. But every age groupyounger than that especially those 20 to 49 is seeing rapid increases in cases.

People who are unvaccinated are more likely to be hospitalized or die from the virus than their vaccinated counterpartsand are the ones "driving the surge," according to Friday's presentation.

People 45 to 64 who aren't vaccinated are13 times more likely to be hospitalized and 33 times more likely to die from the virus than those in the same age group who are vaccinated. Children 12 to 17 who aren't vaccinated are eight times more likely to test positive, according to data presented at Friday's meeting.

Because of the lag between when a person tests positive and when they may need to be hospitalized, the full effects of the increase in cases are still ahead, Mellon said.

Andrabi said COVID-19 numbers looked different even just a week ago. It's not the virus that has changed, he said, but the behavior and choices of community members.

"This is not something we can deal with in the four walls of our healthsystem," he said.

ThedaCare has administered almost 88,000 vaccine doses since last December, Chief Clinical Officer Mark Cockley said, but still only a little more thanhalf of the Fox Valley population is vaccinated.

Everyone 5 and older is eligible to receive a COVID-19 vaccine and can schedule an appointment with ThedaCare through the free MyThedaCare app or online at my.thedacare.org/mychart. Free testing is also still available.

MORE: Here's where and when you can find the COVID vaccine for 5- to 11-year-olds in the Appleton, Oshkosh areas

MORE: Here's a running list of COVID-19 vaccination sites in Appleton, Fox Cities

People 18 and older who meet certain criteria, such as having an underlying health condition or working in congregate settings, can receive booster shots.

Regardless of which vaccine Pfizer,Modernaor Johnson & Johnson people received for their initial doses, they can receive any approved vaccine for their booster.

Those who received Pfizer or Moderna and meet the criteria can get their booster six months after their initial series.Anyone 18 and older who received the Johnson & Johnson vaccine can get a booster two months after the initial dose, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

With the holiday season around the corner and hopes of gathering with loved ones, Cockley shared ways to make it as safe as possible. The safest option, he said, is for everyone to be vaccinated and not sick or experiencing symptoms.

But he also shared other ideas for keeping COVID-19 out of Thanksgiving celebrations:

Reach AnnMarie Hilton at ahilton@gannett.com or 920-370-8045. Follow her on Twitter at @hilton_annmarie.

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COVID-19 cases, hospitalizations are on an 'aggressive' rise in the Fox Valley; all intensive care beds are full - Appleton Post Crescent