Two children on life support as Mississippi sees surge in delta variant cases
By Scott Simmons
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JACKSON, Mississippi (WAPT) — Concern about the spread of the COVID-19 delta variant is rising in Mississippi.
State health officer Dr. Thomas Dobbs said in a tweet Tuesday that seven children are in the ICU and two are on life support because of a surge in delta variant cases.
Dr. Dobbs corrected a previous report from the state health department that incorrectly stated 12 children were in the ICU and 10 were on life support.
Dr. Alan Jones, associate vice chancellor for clinical affairs at the University of Mississippi Medical Center, said the hospital is treating four pediatric COVID-19 patients. Two are on ventilators.
“We have had more pediatric admissions than we had early in the pandemic,” Jones said.
Dobbs also said that “pretty much” all cases in Mississippi right now are the delta variant. He said the vast majority of cases, hospitalizations and deaths are of people who are not vaccinated against COVID-19.
Jones said UMMC is bracing for a new surge in patients.
“What we are doing to get ready for it is operationalizing the plan that we have fine-tuned over the recent months to make sure we are ready for the large increases in hospitalizations,” Jones said.
The Mississippi State Department of Health reported 219 new COVID-19 cases and 10 additional deaths on Tuesday, bringing the statewide total to 325,072 cases and 7,451 deaths since the pandemic began.
More than 1 million Mississippians have been fully vaccinated. Mississippi is at the bottom of the list, along with Alabama, with the lowest percentage of the population that has been fully vaccinated.
“The unfortunate thing, we know, is that a number of these — both hospitalizations and the deaths we are seeing — are preventable,” Jones said.
The health department has been urging those unvaccinated to get the vaccine. They are now urging people 65 and older with underlying health conditions to avoid large social gatherings regardless of being vaccinated or not.
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