Unvaccinated COVID patients straining hospital resources, health care officials say

CHARLOTTE — A south Charlotte woman says she desperately needs hip surgery, but she is being forced to wait weeks because hospitals are overloaded with COVID-19 patients.

Debra Booe said she had hip replacement surgery on one hip six years ago. She said back then she only had to wait about two to three weeks for the operation.

Now, she says that her other hip is hurting, so last month she decided to schedule the surgery.

“The first available appointment was Dec. 1,” she told Action 9′s Jason Stoogenke. “I thought … somebody’s mixing things up here. This just can’t be.”

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She said someone at her doctor’s office told her it was because there’s not enough room in hospitals due to all of the COVID-19 patients, most of whom aren’t vaccinated.

“If there isn’t room, then you can’t go,” Booe said.

Booe said it’s a quality of life issue for her.

“It doesn’t feel very elective,” she said. “It’s miserable. I can’t sleep. I have to use a walker to move around my house, just to get up and get a glass of iced tea.”

Dr. David Wohl is an infectious disease specialist with UNC Hospitals. He said, “If everyone was vaccinated, our hospitals would not be anywhere near where we are.”

“We are seeing our hospital systems strained,” said Dr. Susan Kansagra, acting Senior Deputy Director for the Division of Public Health at the North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services.

She told Stoogenke that people who aren’t vaccinated are 18 times more likely to end up in the hospital.

According to Kansagra, there were 2,400 people with COVID-19 in hospital beds across the state, with 600 in ICUs, on the day she spoke with Stoogenke.

Atrium Health told Stoogenke that more than 95% of those hospitalized with COVID are unvaccinated, and that as a result there may be instances where a patient is rescheduled for a surgical procedure.

Novant Health said it’s “experiencing a high volume of patients seeking care” for both COVID and non-COVID related cases, so you should expect higher than usual wait times, especially for non-urgent medical needs.

“If you’re unvaccinated, you’re much more likely to be at risk of severe illness, needing hospitalization. So, again, the number-one tool is our vaccines. They are safe, they’re effective and will keep you from getting really sick,” Kansagra said.

“This truly underscores the importance of vaccination,” an Atrium representative said.

“We encourage everyone to mask in public and, if you are eligible and haven’t yet, get the COVID-19 vaccine. These safety measures will help put a stop to this surge of illness,” a Novant representative said.

(WATCH: Hospital system denying transplants to unvaccinated patients)