‘We’re now starting to see the Christmas surge’: Weekly Check-in with Texas Tech’s Dr. Michelson

EL PASO, Texas (KVIA) -- ABC-7 is revamping its weekly check-in segment with a doctor on the frontlines of the coronavirus pandemic. Every week, anchor Mauricio Casillas will speak to Dr. Edward Michelson. Dr. Michelson is the chairman of the Department of Emergency Medicine for Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center.

Here's the Q&A for Jan. 7:

Mauricio Casillas (KVIA): How has this past week gone for you?

Dr. Edward Michelson (Chairman, Dept. of Emergency medicine TTUHSC ): "I think we're now starting to see the Christmas surge. The number of positive cases, the percentage, has gone up from 7.3 percent to now over 12 percent. That is an ominous sign for me. We may start seeing more patients coming to the hospital."

Casillas: Can hospitals handle the current number of patients?

Michelson: "Hospitals absolutely have capacity right now. At our peak back in November, we were at over 1,100 patients with Covid-19. This morning's numbers were in the low 400s. However, that represents about a raw 50-60 patient increase in the last few days."

Casillas: What should people at home be doing right now?

Michelson: "They should wear their masks. They should avoid getting together in large groups, particularly for meals indoors."

Casillas: What is the most eye-opening thing you’ve seen this week?

Michelson: "Getting the second vaccination. I had my second vaccination on Wednesday morning. Many of my colleagues who are frontline healthcare providers are all receiving the second dose of the vaccine. So we should all have good antibody protection for the weeks coming up."

Casillas: What is your prediction for next week?

Michelson: I remain very concerned that the number of cases will continue to rise. We now are seeing, I believe, the effects of Christmas. But, the New Year's effect will only become evident in the next week."

Casillas: What is giving you hope at this time?

Michelson: "We're not seeing influenza. The things that we're doing to protect ourselves from Covid-19 are actually greatly reducing the cases of flu. That's taken some pressure off of the hospitals. The number of people getting vaccinated is my biggest source of hope in the coming weeks."

Casillas: What is your message to the Borderland?

Michelson: "We can't let our guard down. We have to keep it up. Let's be very cautious about returning to school. That is the biggest threat in my mind to increasing the spread of Covid-19."