Three straight days of record-setting daily COVID-19 hospitalizations locally, health district says

WACO, Texas (KWTX) - The City of Waco and McLennan County continue to experience record number of COVID-19 hospitalizations, further straining the health care system and health care workers, the public health district announced Friday.

“This week, we saw three days in a row of record-breaking 200-plus daily hospitalizations in Waco,” the health district announced, “We continue to see unvaccinated patients make up the majority of COVID-19 hospitalizations in Waco and McLennan County.”

On Friday, the health district reported 448 newly-confirmed cases of the virus and the death of a 57-year-old woman in the Waco-McLennan County area.

It also reported 2,047 active cases of the virus in the county and confirmed 119 COPVID-19 patients are currently hospitalized. Of those in the hospital, 54 are in the intensive care unit and 42 are on ventilators.

Health officials said that between 80 to 90 percent of COVID-19 hospitalizations this past week involved unvaccinated patients. An even higher percentage of patients on ventilators - 90 to 97 percent - were unvaccinated.

The Waco McLennan County Public Health district said it has also recorded a “slightly increased percentage of vaccinated patients in the hospital.”

Officials said patients who are fully vaccinated and still require hospitalization due to COVID-19 are primarily “high-risk individuals” like the elderly and those withy underlying health conditions.

Statewide, the State of Texas reported 377 deaths on Friday, bringing the state’s death toll during the pandemic to 60,357. The state reported 364,395 active cases of the virus on Friday.

“The vaccine is still shown to protect against severe illness and hospitalization and remains a critical tool in the fight against COVID-19,” the local health district said.

It urged residents to wear masks in public, avoid crowds and gatherings, and get the COVID-19 vaccine.”

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