Thousands of L.A. health care workers sickened by coronavirus, worsening crisis in hospitals

An informal survey of LAPD employees found significant skepticism about COVID-19 vaccines, with 20% saying they’d opt out.Advertisement

Infections among healthcare workers have swelled as overall cases have grown. In a single week in mid-December, as L.A. County reported more coronavirus infections than ever, 2,363 healthcare workers and first responders fell ill with COVID-19, compared with 360 two months prior.Hospitals are where these problems compound. Nurses and doctors are stretched thin as COVID-19 patients overrun hospitals, and staff are out with the disease themselves, said UCLA emergency room nurse Marcia Santini.

Her illness became so severe that she couldn’t breathe and was admitted to the hospital for days. Nearly three weeks later, she remains easily fatigued. “I’ve never gone through anything like this,” she said.At Kaiser Permanente San Jose Medical Center, at least 43 staff members recently contracted the coronavirus, including one who died, part of anpossibly linked to an employee who wore an inflatable holiday costume in the hospital to lift spirits.

Unlike in the spring, when a shortage of personal protective gear and ventilators was the most pressing issue, concerns during this latest surge have been largely centered around staffing. The U.S. Department of Defense is lendingL.A. County officials have redeployed nearly 800 clinic nurses to work in its public hospitals, while other local hospitals have recruited doctors and nurses from other departments to help out in the ICU, though with varying success.

if governor Newsom doesn’t get the Mercu here, we’re gonna lose healthcare workers. They can’t continue at this pace with this level of stress. They cannot do it. We need help from the military and we need it now

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