CONNECTICUT, USA — As traffic on the roads and airports builds for the holiday season, hospitals expect to see a spike following the upcoming Thanksgiving holiday.
Hartford Healthcare, which is presently treating nearly 250 COVID positive patients, across their seven hospitals, believes people's choices this weekend will go a long way toward determining how much critical care capacity could be challenged
"About a week after Thanksgiving up until about 20 plus days we have seen significant increases after previous holidays," said Keith Grant, an APRN for Hartford HealthCare.
"Any gatherings can continue the spread and I think that this is important for all of us to realize and for everyone to gauge accordingly," said Dr. Thomas Balcezak, of Yale-New Haven Health.
Both healthcare providers believe the peak of this second wave is likely to be four to six weeks from now. But, cases won't immediately subside.
"Especially with this pandemic, we get to a point and we sustain that for a few days, probably a week or two and then we start tapering down," said Grant.
Grant and Balcezak say it's likely only several weeks away from at least one of the three Covid vaccines receiving emergency approval from the FDA.
"We are now looking at two vaccines primarily that are over 95% effective so significantly more effective than the average flu vaccine," Grant said.
Yale-New Haven Health has been part of the Pfizer vaccine trials. Some in the public are concerned about receiving one of these vaccines.
"With my background in public health medical science and I will tell you that I believe that the vaccine all three vaccines are safe," Balcezak said.
He reminds folks that these companies have tested tens of thousands of individuals
"In order for us to get to a point where the spread stops, we need to get to 80% of our community immune and the only way to do that effectively and safely is through a vaccine," Balcezak said.
Until then, be diligent.
"Prevention is so much better than the cure and before stressing the healthcare system there’s so much more we can do, and I hope when we make decisions over the next few days, we keep that in mind," Grant said.
To find the nearest Hartford HealthCare Covid testing site, click here. For Yale-New Haven Health Covid testing sites, click here.