El Paso hospital capacity better than rest of Texas amid Covid wave

EL PASO, Texas -- As hospitals across Texas are being filled to the brink with Covid-19 patients, El Paso is fairing much better.

As of Tuesday, 87 patients were being treated for Covid-19, according to the city of El Paso's Covid-19 dashboard. It's a number El Paso hasn't seen since mid-May, with hospitalizations slightly increasing since last week.

Dr. Edward Michaelson of Texas Tech University Health Science of El Paso, and an emergency physician with University Medical Center, credits El Paso's high vaccination rate for keeping hospitalizations low.

"We know that 90% of people being hospitalized with Covid-19 in El Paso are un-vaccinated. That leaves about 10%, however, who have been vaccinated, and they do have breakthrough cases," Michaelson said.

Michaelson indicated it's not yet clear if patients from other hospitals in Texas will be transported to El Paso to seek treatment, "but understand...the hospitals in El Paso have been very busy taking care of non-Covid patients."

He said non-Covid patients who had delayed care are coming into the emergency room much sicker than what he's used to seeing. Some patients have even had to wait several days before being admitted.

Michaelson said hospitals are even facing staffing challenges.

"We have nurses that were either on vacation, some of our nurses have left and traveled to other areas with higher Covid rates," he said. "The number of traveling nurses available to come here to help is diminished because those nurses are going to other areas where there are a lot of Covid patients."

Michaelson is urging El Pasoans who haven't been vaccinated or gotten their second dose to do so and mask up to help keep the Delta variant from spreading.

"Compared to the rest of Texas, we're really doing great here in El Paso. And we could do even better managing Delta if we get the rest of the people who haven't rolled up their sleeves yet to go ahead and get the vaccine," he said.