Nebraska Reports 15 Percent of Hospital Beds Taken by COVID Patients, Near Pandemic's Peak

COVID patients represent about 15 percent of people in hospital beds in Nebraska, comparable to the state's highest points of the pandemic when the shifts in capacity because of the increase in care allowed to be given to non-COVID patients are taken into account, state health officials said Thursday.

Currently, Nebraska has 602 hospitalized COVID patients, compared to an all-time high of 987 in November 2020, before vaccines were available and when fewer non-emergency cases were being admitted to hospitals so that more capacity was available for COVID patients that had to be treated separately to reduce viral spread.

As more cases of the Omicron variant are discovered worldwide, the situation could worsen if it turns out to cause illnesses as severe or worse than Delta. Although early data from South Africa appears to show Omicron as more transmissible and vaccine-resistant than the Delta variant, the severity of illness it will cause is still unknown.

"It may be likely that Omicron will cause a giant surge, and honestly we can't handle that right now," said Dr. Angela Hewlett, an infectious disease expert who helps to oversee the biocontainment unit at Nebraska Medicine in Omaha. "Our hospitals in Nebraska are already struggling so significantly that we are talking about crisis standards of care. And if we start to see what we think we're going to see with Omicron, we're going to have a big problem."

The crisis standards of care Hewlett mentioned refer to the practice of rationing care between patients because the staff of a medical facility is under such immense pressure.

Doctors and scientists continue to emphasize the importance of getting vaccinated and receiving a booster shot once people are eligible, especially as the Delta and Omicron variants continue to surge.

"Last fall was miserable. This fall and winter unfortunately feels like a rerun," said Dr. Jessica Jones with Methodist Health System in Omaha. "And it's that much more disappointing because we have these wonderful tools with vaccination available. And because we know that this is truly preventable."

Nebraska confirmed six cases of the Omicron variant earlier this month. State epidemiologist Dr. Matthew Donahue said one new possible case was being investigated Thursday.

The number of people hospitalized with the virus remains near the highest level since last December, before vaccines became available.

Nebraska Chief Medical Officer Dr. Gary Anthone said the state is considering new restrictions if hospitalizations continue to increase. Nearly 15% of the state's hospital beds are already occupied by COVID-19 patients. One of the most likely possibilities is that there will be additional restrictions on surgeries and other procedures to free up hospital capacity.

"For every COVID patient that's admitted to the hospital you're taking up a bed for somebody that needs that cancer surgery. And that can be prevented by getting vaccinated or getting your booster dose," Anthone said.

Over the past two weeks, the seven-day rolling average of daily new cases in Nebraska has risen from 836.29 new cases per day on November 30 to 866.14 new cases per day on December 14.

"Cases and hospitalizations continue increasing with no clear signs of slowing or stabilizing at all really," Donahue said.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.