NEW ORLEANS — Much like Sunday's coronavirus update, Monday's further cemented a trend that health experts in Louisiana have been encouraged by in recent days: the state appears to be on the back end of its third wave of COVID cases.
With just over 2,075 new cases reported Monday, it doesn't appear at first that Louisiana is going through a downward swing. But newly reported cases per day have steadily dropped from their peak near the beginning of the month. Currently, the numbers on the dashboard only reflect numbers from January 25.
Deaths also appear to be down from earlier in the month, although that data especially is hard to determine trends in because of the long time between infection and death for some patients and the lack of Saturday reporting by the LDH.
But hospitalizations are the real sign that Louisiana is in a better place than it was at the start of 2021. The state recorded 1,638 patients hospitalized with COVID-19 as of Monday, down from over 2,000 less than two weeks ago.
But even as hospitalizations drop, the state's healthcare systems teeter on the brink of collapse. In Region 3, which is the LDH-designated term for hospitals on the Northshore, there are only 13 ICU beds available on Sunday, meaning a large spike in COVID numbers there could seriously strain their ability to provide care.
And healthcare officials are extremely worried about another spike. A variant of the coronavirus often referred to as the U.K. variant has been found in Louisiana already. While the strain is not any more deadly than the standard strain of the virus, it is more contagious, meaning it has a higher chance of infecting somebody who is taking precautions against transmission.
Despite this, epidemiologists say the current Pfizer and Moderna vaccines should be effective against the strain.
Nationwide, there is a race to vaccinate as many people as possible before the U.K. strain and other variations of the coronavirus that have been reported in recent weeks begin to spread rapidly.
That race has hit snags in Louisiana, with Ochsner Health reporting Friday that they were receiving 70% fewer vaccine doses at hospitals and clinics than they did in the first four weeks of distribution.
The healthcare network has had to delay and cancel appointments to get the shots because they simply don't have the supply needed to handle all of them.
The Biden administration has pledged to vaccinate 100 million people in the president's first 100 days in office.
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