SPRINGFIELD, Mo. — Grim news for Missouri.
On Thursday, COVID cases hit the highest level since mid-January.
Statewide, hospitalization numbers have jumped to more than 1,300 patients.
Nearly half of the ICU patients across the state are hospitalized in southwest Missouri.
The delta variant shows no mercy. It's quicker and making patients sicker.
Steve Edwards, president and CEO of CoxHealth, said back in the middle of May, hospitalization numbers were at 15. By end of May, it almost doubled to 29.
As of Thursday, there were 139 COVID-19 patients.
"It took about seven months in the first two waves to build our census that high, in which it took seven weeks for this wave," he explained.
Of those who are hospitalized, 97% are unvaccinated.
At Mercy Springfield, there are more than 140 patients in the intensive care unit, many on ventilators.
Both hospital systems are swamped with younger patients getting ill at a faster rate.
To keep up with the fight, Greene County and Springfield leaders are asking the state to fund an alternative care site. For now, 200 traveling workers are arming them up.
Dr. Melinda Miller, an ICU doctor from Mercy St. Louis, stepped up to help.
"It feels a little bit like a war zone in all honesty. We’re in combat and those who are outside of combat can’t realize what’s going on in the war field. I don’t think I’ve seen this many COVID patients sick ever since the pandemic started. It feels worse than it’s ever been," she said.
Dr. Miller said almost all of the patients on ventilators are not vaccinated.
Edwards said they will care for all the patients, but knowing this can be prevented is a tough pill to swallow.
"It's harder knowing that we are seeing so many deaths that are preventable and that’s hard on them," he added.
Dr. Miller arrived Sunday and five days out, the exhaustion sinks in. She said physically and mentally, it's overwhelming.
"I just feel exhausted and I don’t know how these people do it here because they are overwhelmed right now," she said.
Her concern now is St. Louis may see these same results.
The vaccination rates in St. Louis city and Greene County are the same. For those fully vaccinated, both jurisdictions sit at 34%.
"Just because it’s here in southwest Missouri, don’t think it’s not coming everywhere," Edwards warned.
He's forecasting a daily average of 200 hospitalizations by the middle of August.
This would exceed the peak of the pandemic and could be an ominous sign for the rest of the state.
Dr. Will Sistrunk is the leader of Mercy’s infectious disease unit. He's alerting other areas, who also have the delta variant, to pay attention to the numbers.
"Get ready for a higher number, this strain is so contagious," he said.
Dr. Miller believes if all the hospitals get overwhelmed throughout the state, we may have to do triage.
Healthcare professionals fighting every day know there's a tool to fend off this virus: the vaccine.
"Get vaccinated, more people are going to die," Dr. Miller said.