GRAND RAPIDS, MI -- As the latest surge in coronavirus cases continues across Michigan, hospitals in West Michigan are handling virus-related patient loads nearing the fall peak.
Spectrum Health, as of Monday, April 19, reported 314 coronavirus patients in its network of 14 hospitals. The number is not far below the 358 patients at Spectrum Health hospitals during a surge last fall.
The recent increase in COVID-19 hospitalizations doesn’t appear to have reached its current peak in West Michigan, according to Spectrum Health officials.
Joshua Kooistra, chief medical officer at Spectrum Health, said hospitalizations still appear to be on an upward trend.
Perhaps just as concerning is that the average age of coronavirus patients is now younger than in the fall, going from 64 then to 57 now. Patients who died from coronavirus had an average age of 74 in the fall, compared to 67 now.
Kooistra, like other health leaders, believes a variety of factors are pushing coronavirus cases higher.
“I think one is the variants that are in the community, which we know are more transmissible,” he said.
He also believes many people have become fatigued with social distancing. Travel also has increased, likely leading to more virus spread.
“We know there are more interactions and COVID is just spreading around our community at a pretty fast rate right now,” Kooistra said.
In Kent County, the seven-day average for new cases is now at 468 per day, up from 274 cases per day on April 1.
The county now has recorded 60,489 cases since the pandemic began and 691 deaths.
The rate of positive cases, as compared to coronavirus tests given, is now at 16.4 percent in Kent County. It was at 13 percent on April 1 and 6 percent on March1.
Other hospitals also are seeing higher coronavirus patient numbers.
At Mercy Health St. Mary’s Hospital in Grand Rapids, there are 46 coronavirus patients. At Metro Health-University of Michigan Health, there are 40 patients.
Kooistra urged people to get vaccinated. He said vaccinations are helping keep people out of hospitals, particularly in the most-vaccinated age group of 70 and older.
“I would say that we are far away from herd immunity yet,” he said. “We know that we need, if the variants are the predominant strain, somewhere around 80-90 percent of our community to be immune to COVID.”
According to the Kent County Health Department coronavirus data dashboard, 32.8 percent of Kent County’s adult population is fully vaccinated and 52.3 percent have received one dose. The Pfizer and Moderna vaccines require two doses separated by about three weeks.
The data shows that, for those older than 65, about 69 percent of that age group has been fully vaccinated.
The next most-vaccinated age group is the 50-64 group, with about 36 percent fully vaccinated.
“If you have the opportunity to get vaccinated, please get vaccinated,” Kooistra said. “That is my number one plea to our community.
“As we go forward, COVID is going to become a preventable illness if we get everyone vaccinated,” he said.
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