PHOENIX — It was a year ago this week that Pfizer’s COVID-19 vaccine arrived in Arizona. While it and other COVID vaccines have saved lives by preventing hospitalization and death from the virus for a majority of those who’ve gotten the shots, there are still many who haven’t been vaccinated.
Some things haven’t changed
At Valleywise Health in Phoenix, Chief Clinical Officer Dr. Michael White said his system is continuing to feel the strains of a COVID-19 case surge.
“We’re seeing the same volume of COVID-19 disease positive patients today as we were at this exact time last year,” White said.
In an email sent to staff Monday morning, White said the system experienced a "tremendously demanding weekend." White said a handful of patients with COVID-19 were waiting in the emergency department Monday because there weren’t any more beds.
“I was hopeful as the vaccine came forward that we would not see this again. However, this is reality. We are seeing this again,” White said.
White said so-called “elective” surgeries are also being addressed on a case-by-case basis. Most of those being asked to wait are orthopedic surgeries. White said those surgeries are things like total joint replacements.
Vast majority in hospitals aren’t vaccinated
Staffing is still an issue for Valleywise, as many hospitals and hospital systems in Arizona have indicated too.
White said while there are people coming in for other ailments besides COVID, 95.6 percent of those being treated for COVID-19 at Valleywise Health are not vaccinated.
“We’ve demonstrated that it (vaccine) really does help prevent the hospitalization and severe illness against this devastating virus,” White said.
Dr. Ricardo Correa with the University of Arizona College of Medicine Phoenix said while the vaccine has brought hope over this past year, frustration still lingers.
“We know that we have something that can help people and that can prevent deaths and sick people,” Correa said. “And even can prevent the complications of COVID as we are now starting to understand what happens after you get it. And people do not listen to us.”
The Arizona Department of Health Services told 12 News vaccinations have been steadily increasing since the Delta variant appeared in Arizona a few months ago.
“Get your vaccine. All the myths and things that appear on social media are not true,” Correa said.
An unclear future
Correa said the future of COVID depends on whether people take up the vaccine and other measures to slow the spread of COVID or not.
“Because if we want to really stop the virus, we have the resources,” Correa said.
White said with people still getting sick who aren’t vaccinated, it leaves the future unclear.
“Time’s going to tell,” White said.
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