PORTLAND, Ore. – Across the country, hospitals are struggling to keep up with the number of COVID-19 cases. But one hospital in Portland serving patients throughout the entire Pacific Northwest is especially swamped.
At Oregon Health and Science University, ICU beds are full thanks in large part to the highly contagious Delta variant.
Nurses say they’re having a hard time helping out smaller hospitals that normally lean on OHSU for care.
Hospitalizations in the Beaver State reached another all-time high Wednesday, something nurses say could have been avoided.
“If you’re worried about side effects from the vaccine itself, your risks of what could happen to you or your loved one if you do not get vaccinated are astronomically higher,” said ICU nurse Erin Boni. “It’s really heartbreaking knowing that people are fighting for their lives and it could have been prevented.”
Only one out of the 14 people being treated in the hospital’s ICU is vaccinated.
© 2024 KOBI-TV NBC5. All rights reserved unless otherwise stated.