ST. LOUIS — COVID cases are spiking around the world and nationwide.
On Monday, federal health officials revealed that Omicron has raced ahead of other variants and is now the dominant version in the U.S., accounting for 73% of new infections last week.
Looking at local numbers at the region's four major hospital systems, there are 536 COVID patients hospitalized.
About 76% of those patients are unvaccinated.
It's something Mercy virtual physician Dr. Steven Brown faces on a daily basis.
"It hit the United States, 700 days ago, so it's been 100 weeks of this pandemic that we've experienced in the USA," Dr. Brown said. "I personally started working from home within about 12 weeks of that momentous occasion and have been managing COVID patients pretty much non-stop since that time."
Since then, he's been fighting to save lives. He said the pace continues to stay hectic.
"We're just as busy in the hospitals. Our ICUs are near capacity," he said.
Almost two years later, even with the vaccine in the mix, it's been an uphill battle, with nearly 61% of Americans inoculated.
"In some hospitals, where I need to transfer them, there are just no beds to move people. I make phone calls, sometimes all night, looking for a bed to transfer somebody who needs a higher level of care and it's very, very difficult," Dr. Brown said.
Most of Dr. Brown's patients that have been intubated are unvaccinated. He said many are not making it out. If they do, they experience the long-term effects.
He compares the number of deaths to Vietnam.
"In the same way, all these deaths that I'm seeing now from COVID are largely preventable," he said.
However, it's only getting tougher as time goes on.
"There's a sadness about this and the sadness comes from the fact that it doesn't need to be this way," he said.
New variants like omricon make the job harder because of how much more contagious they are.
"If we have enough people infected, we still may see equal or even more hospitalizations and we may see more people who are infected at a given time," Cardinal Glennon physician Dr. Rachel Charney said.
They say one way to keep up a good fight? Get vaccinated.
"The vaccine without the booster dose does look like it's less effective from transmitting and getting the Omicron variant. It is still protective against severe disease. And with the booster shot, much more so for both transmitting and getting infected, as well as severe disease," she adds.
On Tuesday, President Joe Biden will deliver a speech to the nation addressing the omicron variant.
He'll also share new steps the administration is taking to help communities in need of assistance.