Texas Hospitals and COVID

A Texas University Math Department Chair takes a look at what Omicron might do to Texas hospitals. And the news isn’t good. UTSA’s Juan Gutierrez says the virus will overwhelm health care facilities in Texas even if Omicron is less likely to lead to hospitalizations than former variants. He expects this to peak late in the month or early February. He says hopefully this won’t translate into a large loss of life.

Emergency rooms are filling with kids who are showing symptoms of Covid, but doctors say this new variant is not something to be scared of. Dr. Norm Christopher at the Children’s Hospital of San Antonio says the overwhelming majority of patients, who are testing positive, are being sent home to rest. He says the omicron variant is still dangerous for kids with underlying conditions, such as asthma or diabetes. But he says that’s the case for many diseases. And he still wants everybody to get vaccinated.