Tag Archives: overwhelm

World

China’s COVID cases overwhelm hospitals

Leave a comment

BEIJING, Dec 26 (Reuters) – In more than three decades of emergency medicine, Beijing-based doctor Howard Bernstein said, he has never seen anything like this.

Patients are arriving at his hospital in ever-increasing numbers; almost all are elderly and many are very unwell with COVID and pneumonia symptoms, he said.

Bernstein’s account reflects similar testimony from medical staff across China who are scrambling to cope after China’s abrupt U-turn on its previously strict COVID policies this month was followed by a nationwide wave of infections.

It is by far the country’s biggest outbreak since the pandemic began in the central city of Wuhan three years ago. Beijing government hospitals and crematoriums also have been struggling this month amid heavy demand.

“The hospital is just overwhelmed from top to bottom,” Bernstein told Reuters at the end of a “stressful” shift at the privately owned Beijing United Family Hospital in the east of the capital.

“The ICU is full,” as are the emergency department, the fever clinic and other wards, he said.

“A lot of them got admitted to the hospital. They’re not getting better in a day or two, so there’s no flow, and therefore people keep coming to the ER, but they can’t go upstairs into hospital rooms,” he said. “They’re stuck in the ER for days.”

In the past month, Bernstein went from never having treated a COVID patient to seeing dozens a day.

“The biggest challenge, honestly, is I think we were just unprepared for this,” he said.

Sonia Jutard-Bourreau, 48, chief medical officer at the private Raffles Hospital in Beijing, said patient numbers are five to six times their normal levels, and patients’ average age has shot up by about 40 years to over 70 in the space of a week.

“It’s always the same profile,” she said. “That is most of the patients have not been vaccinated.”

The patients and their relatives visit Raffles because local hospitals are “overwhelmed”, she said, and because they wish to buy Paxlovid, the Pfizer-made COVID treatment, which many places, including Raffles, are running low on.

“They want the medicine like a replacement of the vaccine, but the medicine does not replace the vaccine,” Jutard-Bourreau said, adding that there are strict criteria for when her team can prescribe it.

An employee works at the production line of a fever medicine at a Guizhou Bailing plant amid the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) outbreak, in Anshun, Guizhou province, December 24, 2022. cnsphoto via REUTERS

Jutard-Bourreau, who like Bernstein has been working in China for around a decade, fears that the worst of this wave in Beijing has not arrived yet.

Elsewhere in China, medical staff told Reuters that resources are already stretched to the breaking point in some cases, as COVID and sickness levels amongst staff have been particularly high.

One nurse based in the western city of Xian said 45 of 51 nurses in her department and all staff in the emergency department have caught the virus in recent weeks.

“There are so many positive cases among my colleagues,” said the 22-year-old nurse, surnamed Wang. “Almost all the doctors are down with it.”

Wang and nurses at other hospitals said they had been told to report for duty even if they test positive and have a mild fever.

Jiang, a 29-year-old nurse on a psychiatric ward at a hospital in Hubei province, said staff attendance has been down more than 50 percent on her ward, which has stopped accepting new patients. She said she is working shifts of more than 16 hours with insufficient support.

“I worry that if the patient appears to be agitated, you have to restrain them, but you cannot easily do it alone,” she said. “It’s not a great situation to be in.”

MORTALITY RATE “POLITICAL”

The doctors who spoke to Reuters said they were most worried about the elderly, tens of thousands of whom may die, according to estimates from experts.

More than 5,000 people are probably dying each day from COVID-19 in China, Britain-based health data firm Airfinity estimated, offering a dramatic contrast to official data from Beijing on the country’s current outbreak.

The National Health Commission did not immediately respond to a Reuters request for comment on the concerns raised by medical staff in this article.

China reported no COVID deaths on the mainland for the six days through Sunday, the Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention said on Sunday, even as crematories faced surging demand.

China has narrowed its definition for classifying deaths as COVID-related, counting only those involving COVID-caused pneumonia or respiratory failure, raising eyebrows among world health experts.

“It’s not medicine, it’s politics,” said Jutard-Bourreau. “If they’re dying now with COVID it’s because of COVID. The mortality rate now it’s political numbers, not medical.”

Additional reporting by the Beijing Newsroom. Editing by Gerry Doyle

Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Read original article here

Health

In rural California, the unvaccinated and ill overwhelm hospital staff

Leave a comment

Nurses Amber McCarter, left, and Rebekah Seyler attend to a COVID-19 patient in the emergency room at Desert Valley Hospital on Jan. 27 in Victorville. (Irfan Khan / Los Angeles Times)

The COVID-19 patients slumped in chairs in a hallway outside the emergency room of the Desert Valley Hospital in Victorville. There were no gurneys for them, no beds and no rooms.

Doctors and nurses dashed back and forth from the ER to treat them, dodging one another and medical equipment being wheeled about.

“This is not ideal for us,” said emergency room Dr. Leroy Pascal. “But we’re having to see patients wherever we can.”

Coronavirus transmission rates have been dropping in California in recent weeks, a sign that the surge spawned by the Omicron is easing.

But while the pandemic has been a series of ups and downs, the sheer longevity of it has become a nemesis of its own, making extended periods of relief an elusive commodity.

Dr. Leroy Pascal speaks to COVID-19 patient Benjamin Garcia, 80, in the emergency room at Desert Valley Hospital. (Irfan Khan / Los Angeles Times)

At Desert Valley Hospital, COVID-19 patients are still streaming into the hospital that is already well over capacity. Staffing shortages have contributed to fatigue as workers take on ever more patients.

It’s no mystery why this hospital in the Victor Valley is so hard hit: Only about half the population in this rural desert area of San Bernardino County is fully vaccinated, meaning they’ve received at least two doses, according to county data.

Many residents in the area also suffer from chronic diseases such as diabetes and high blood pressure, which increases their risk of developing severe COVID-19 and dying from it. The combination of unhealthy and unvaccinated is driving the surge.

Over the past week, 163 patients were crammed into the 148-bed hospital. About half of them were positive for COVID-19. Most were unvaccinated, according to hospital officials. The 24 ICU beds and 18 emergency room beds were mostly occupied by them too.

Dr. Imran Siddiqui, chief medical officer of Desert Valley Hospital in Victorville, makes the rounds at the facility. (Irfan Khan / Los Angeles Times)

Dr. Imran Siddiqui, the chief medical officer of Desert Valley Hospital, said staffing is one of the most pressing issues he’s facing. The dozens of doctors, nurses and lab technicians that have become infected and forced to stay home have led to a staff shortage like those seen throughout the state in the Omicron surge.

Siddiqui said he has lost up to 80 staffers in one day during the surge. He said workers have become so exhausted they’ve declined to take the extra pay that comes with covering shifts. In order to lessen some of the workloads, he’s tried to help out by working 12-hour shifts and coming in every other weekend.

“Last year was about not having enough ventilators. This year it’s staffing,” he said. “I’m exhausted. Exhausted.”

The state has sent travel nurses to help. On a recent Thursday afternoon, Rebekah Seyler, 31, of Arkansas, was in the emergency room checking on a COVID-19 patient, a 78-year-old diabetic and unvaccinated woman who had to be intubated and put on a ventilator in an attempt to save her life.

Nurse Amber McCarter works in the emergency room at Desert Valley Hospital. (Irfan Khan / Los Angeles Times)

Seyler said she was in Louisiana before coming to the desert, her first time in the Golden State. She arrived in late December, shortly after Christmas, when the surge was well underway.

“It’s been a little bit wild here for sure,” she said. “There’s more COVID patients.”

The Victor Valley region is dotted with small desert communities and a smattering that have boomed into larger towns, such as Victorville, Hesperia, Adelanto and Apple Valley. Together the four cities have a population of more than 340,000 residents, made up largely of low-income Latino, Black and white families.

More than a year ago, this region was hit hard by the fall and winter surge. Siddiqui said the difference between this surge and that one is that, then, there were enough workers to tackle the influx of sick patients coming in. A lot of people also chose not to visit the emergency room for non-COVID medical needs, allowing staff to focus purely on infected patients.

But that 2020 wave was still a profoundly difficult time for the hospital. Facing a tsunami of sick patients, doctors had to treat them not just in the hallways but outside in cars and ambulances.

Chief of surgery Dr. Peter Fischl, who fell ill with COVID-19. He has since recovered and returned to work. (Irfan Khan / Los Angeles Times)

Leading the charge was Dr. Peter Fischl, the chief surgeon at the hospital, whose medical experience stretches back to the presidency of Jimmy Carter. He was on the front lines of the AIDS epidemic and used some techniques from that earlier scourge to protect himself and his staff during the 2020 wave.

But his time in the trenches exposed him, and Fischl caught the virus, at a time it was particularly severe and no vaccines were available. His staff worried the 72-year-old might die.

His absence also created staffing issues. Fischl was the only full-time surgeon and was handling most of the surgeries at the hospital. Administrators said they had to depend on surgical independent contractors while Fischl recovered.

In December 2020, Sima Fischl covers husband Peter Fischl, with a blanket as he shivers amid a bout of COVID-19. (Irfan Khan / Los Angeles Times)

Antibody-drug treatments eased Fischl’s symptoms, and he gradually recovered. He returned to work in January 2021.

Since then, Fischl has been fully vaccinated and has not stopped working. He said helping patients has been his lifelong mission, and a way of honoring them for helping him grow when he was starting out as a surgeon.

“It’s my personal ethics,” he said. “I trained on them without them objecting to the fact that I was either a student or a resident taking care of them.”

On Thursday, shortly before 1 p.m., Fischl was inside the surgical room working on another patient. Not far away, more patients were coming into the emergency room.

Pascal, the ER director, made his way to the hallway to meet an 80-year-old COVID patient named Benjamin Garcia. The elderly man was coughing and felt weak. Sitting next to him was his grandson, Isaac Zapata, 24.

Respiratory therapist Claudia Gonzalez, left, and student respiratory therapist Skyler Ricchio attend to COVID-19 patients in the hallway of Desert Valley Hospital. (Irfan Khan / Los Angeles Times)

Zapata said his grandfather is active and often works on his 1969 Chevy Camaro in the driveway. But in the past two weeks he slowed down, and two days ago, his symptoms started to worsen.

Garcia tested positive for the coronavirus, and Zapata feared he had infected him. They live together.

“I’m vaccinated,” Zapata said. Garcia was not.

“He had a friend who got vaccinated and got sick,” Zapata said. “He never heard from him, so he got scared that maybe that could happen to him.”

After checking him out, Pascal told the pair they would continue to do tests and determine if he would be required to stay at the hospital.

“This is the kind of case we’re getting,” he said.

The patients continued to wait in the hallway, as the sick kept coming in.

This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.

Read original article here

Health

COVID-19 surge could further overwhelm health care system, Wisconsin officials say | Local News

Leave a comment

COVID-19 vaccines remain highly effective at preventing severe disease and death from the delta variant, which still accounts for the vast majority of cases, the memo said. Fully boosted people are protected against serious illness and hospitalization from omicron, which is starting to circulate more widely.

Face masks should be worn indoors when with others outside a person’s household, and holiday gatherings should be small, Westergaard said in the advisory. People with COVID-19 symptoms or exposure should get tested.

“It is important for individuals to know whether they have an active COVID-19 infection before gathering,” the advisory said. “Gatherings should also occur in well-ventilated spaces and are always safer outdoors.”

Melms, of Marshfield Clinic, said more than 90% of COVID-19 deaths in the Marshfield system of nine hospitals have been among unvaccinated people. Statewide in November, unvaccinated people were about five times more likely to get COVID-19, 11 times more likely to be hospitalized for it and 12 times more likely to die from the disease than those fully vaccinated, according to the state health department.

Read original article here

Health

US coronavirus: It’s not clear yet if Omicron is a milder variant. But its rapid spread is going to overwhelm hospitals, experts say

Leave a comment

The variant is expected to become the “dominant strain” in the coming weeks, CDC Director Dr. Rochelle Walensky said on Friday.

And after nearly two years of a pandemic that has caused more than 800,000 deaths in the US and overloaded hospitals, the omens aren’t favorable for the next few months, according to experts.

“Even if (Omicron) is less virulent than earlier strains, if we have a point where we’re seeing a half-million cases a day or more, we are going to swamp our hospitals — even with a relatively low rate of hospitalization,” said CNN medical analyst Jonathan Reiner, a professor of medicine and surgery at George Washington School of Medicine & Health Sciences. “When you have that kind of denominator, our hospitals will be completely underwater as they are in some parts of the country,” he said.

Dr. Francis Collins, the director of the National Institutes of Health, said it’s too soon to assume Omicron will cause milder disease.

“It’s clear that Omicron is an extremely contagious variant, that it doubles every two to four days,” Collins told CNN’s Anderson Cooper.

Collins said people can limit the consequences of the variant with vaccines, especially with boosters.

Data from two weeks of South African cases appeared to indicate Omicron was milder in severity. The CDC said last week that it looked at 43 cases and most of those people had mild symptoms. Most were vaccinated, with about a third of the total group boosted.

But, UK epidemiologists said this week they found no evidence that Omicron is causing milder disease there, although the Imperial College London team also said there was not much data to go on yet.

“We still don’t really know — and there’s some controversy about this — whether Omicron causes the same kind of severity of disease or whether it’s a somewhat milder form of the illness,” Collins said.

With a more infectious variant, even if it’s milder, it could still send more people to hospitals.

“The problem, of course, is if this is so infectious — and we might see hundreds of thousands of cases every day, maybe even a million cases in a day from Omicron — even if it’s a little less severe, you are going to have a lot of people in the hospital and our hospitals are already really stretched with Delta, especially in the northern part of the country,” Collins said.

Overall, the US on Friday was averaging 121,707 new Covid-19 cases each day, according to data collected by Johns Hopkins University. Fourteen states saw an uptick of at least 10% in cases over the past week compared to the previous week, the data shows.

Hospitals are already feeling the impact

About 68,900 Americans are hospitalized with Covid-19, according to data from the US Department of Health and Human Services. More than 20% of all ICU beds in use are occupied with Covid-19 patients, the data shows.

California health officials said Friday they were seeing hospitalization numbers begin to trend upward, stressing the need for vaccinations and booster vaccines. In New York, officials said they’re seeing the highest hospitalization rate they’ve recorded in months, with Gov. Kathy Hochul noting that the staff shortages will weigh into potential new restrictions.

On Thursday, New York state had the highest single-day count of new cases with 21,027, according to data released Friday.

Dr. Marc Gorelick, who heads Children’s Minnesota hospital, said the facility is already struggling to cope with the numbers.

“When you’re on top of a surge where you’re already at 90%, 95% capacity, those extra … preventable Covid patients coming in are the thing that pushes the system to the brink. And that’s what we’re seeing here in Minnesota,” Gorelick told CNN’s Kate Bolduan on Friday.

It got so bad that hospital leaders in Minnesota took out a full-page newspaper ad this week to say they were overwhelmed by the pandemic.
“It feels like you are drinking from a fire hose with no way to control that flow,” Dr. John Hick, an emergency physician at Hennepin Healthcare in Minnesota, told reporters Tuesday. “I have been practicing for 25 years in the emergency department, and every shift I am working these days is like the worst shift in my career.”

In Oregon, officials forecast a grim early 2022.

“We can expect a surge in Oregon hospitalizations by mid-January, with infections that begin sooner than that,” said Dr. Peter Graven, a data scientist for Oregon Health and Science University. “Combined with its heightened transmissibility, we expect Omicron will generate a large increase in the number of Oregonians that will become severely ill and likely need a hospital.”

Restrictions are making a swift return in some states

The US has fully vaccinated just over 61% of its total population, with about 29% receiving a booster dose, according to the latest CDC data.

And as Omicron’s spreads, some officials have moved to reinstate restrictions.

In Maryland, Prince George’s County Public Schools will shift to remote learning beginning December 20 through January 18 due to “the stark rise in COVID-19 cases throughout (their) school system,” according to a Friday statement from the school district’s Chief Executive Officer Monica Goldson.

The University of Maryland canceled its winter commencement ceremonies, noting that all social gatherings on campus where mask wearing could not be strictly enforced should follow suit. Final exams will be conducted in person, but students and faculty will be required to wear a university-provided KN95-rated mask, it said.

Michigan State University and New York’s Hofstra University both said Friday that students and staff will be required to have booster shots for start of the spring semesters.

In Hawaii, a ceremony that was slated to celebrate the end of the state’s National Guard’s Joint Task Force on Covid-19 was canceled, and the governor’s office said the task force is being reestablished due to Omicron.

CNN’s Maggie Fox, Deidre McPhillips, Amy Simonson, Leslie Holland, Evan Simko-Bednarski, Laura Studley, Taylor Romine, Kristina Sgueglia, Artemis Moshtaghian and Andy Rose contributed to this report.

Read original article here

Business

Omicron to dominate and overwhelm the world in 3-6 months, doctor says

Leave a comment

SINGAPORE — The new Covid variant omicron will likely “overwhelm the whole world” in the coming months, according to a Singapore-based infectious disease doctor.

While vaccines against the strain can be developed quickly, they need to be tested over three to six months to prove that they can provide immunity against the variant, Dr. Leong Hoe Nam of Mount Elizabeth Novena Hospital said Wednesday.

“But frankly, omicron will dominate and overwhelm the whole world in three to six months,” he told CNBC’s “Street Signs Asia.”

Delta, the strain that is currently accounts for 99% of Covid infections, started becoming more common in the Indian state of Maharashtra in March 2021, and was dominant globally by July, according to Reuters.

Moderna CEO Stephane Bancel on Monday said it will take months to develop and ship a vaccine that specifically targets the omicron variant.

Pfizer CEO Albert Bourla also said shots could be ready in less than 100 days, or slightly over three months.

“Nice idea, but honestly, it is not practical,” Leong said of a vaccine that specifically targets omicron. “We won’t be able to rush out the vaccines in time and by the time the vaccines come, practically everyone will be infected omicron given this high infectious and transmissibility.”

Experts don’t know exactly how contagious the highly mutated omicron variant is, but the virus’ spike protein — which binds to human cells — has mutations associated with higher transmission and a decrease in antibody protection.

“The profile of the mutations strongly suggest that it’s going to have an advantage in transmissibility and that it might evade immune protection that you would get,” U.S. infectious disease expert Dr. Anthony Fauci told NBC’s “Meet the Press” on Sunday.

Protection from current vaccines

That said, some doctors believe that the existing vaccines will be able to provide some protection against the new variant.

Our bodies generate a “whole host of different antibodies” in response to vaccines, said Dr. Syra Madad, a fellow at the Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs.

“I do think that our current vaccines will hold up to a certain extent, with this new variant,” she told CNBC’s “Capital Connection” on Wednesday, noting that the vaccines were able to provide protection against delta.

“It may reduce vaccine effectiveness by a couple of notches, but that is yet to be seen,” she said. Current vaccines, along with boosters should still provide a “good level of protection,” she added.

Leong agreed that a three-dose vaccine regimen would likely protect against severe disease, but pointed out that many countries still have low vaccination rates.

He said omicron is “threatening the whole world” with a sudden surge in cases, and health-care systems could be overwhelmed, even if only 1% or 2% of the cases end up in hospital.

Omicron was first detected in South Africa and was designated a variant of concern by the WHO last week. It has since been reported in several other places, including Hong Kong, the Netherlands and Portugal.

For now, however, Leong said we should continue to roll out vaccinations, keep our distance, wear masks, and not be overly concerned.

Madad echoed the same sentiment. “We continue to do the Covid-19 prevention measures on an ongoing basis,” she said. “Layering it up is really the best approach here.”

— CNBC’s Saheli Roy Choudhury, Spencer Kimball and Yen Nee Lee contributed to this report.

Read original article here

US

COVID cases overwhelm hospitals going into Thanksgiving holiday

Leave a comment

As families prepare to gather over the Thanksgiving holiday, some hospitals across the country are being overwhelmed by COVID-19 cases and staffing shortages, and surges tied to holiday gatherings could make it worse.

A potentially weekslong closure of a New York emergency department Monday was sparked by a staffing shortage after unvaccinated health care workers were not allowed to continue work due to a state rule. Mount Sinai South Nassau’s emergency room in Long Beach will direct patients to its Oceanside emergency department.

Officials in Denver said hospitals are filling up, with about 80% of those hospitalized for COVID-19 being unvaccinated, 9News reported. Dr. Robin Wittenstein, CEO of Denver Health, told the outlet their system is on the “brink of collapse.”

“We are here today because too many people chose not to get vaccinated even though they were eligible,” said Denver Department of Public Health and Environment Executive Director Bob McDonald.

The University of Iowa’s hospital is also worried about hardship as COVID and flu cases are on the rise. In Dubuque County, hospitalizations for COVID-19 as high as they were a year ago before vaccines were available.

“It’s cold now, and people are going to be indoors, and everyone’s tired of this,” Chief Medical Officer Theresa Brennan said. “People are hungry for human contact. And because of that, it’s likely people are going to be less strict about gathering, about masking, about distancing than they were last year.”

Hospitals in the cold Upper Midwest, especially Michigan and Minnesota, are also filled with COVID-19 patients who are mostly unvaccinated.

For the holidays, “We would encourage people who gather to do so safely after they’ve been fully vaccinated, as we’ve been saying for months now,” said Dr. Rochelle Walensky, director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Also in the news:

►Milwaukee Mayor Tom Barrett urged residents to get a COVID-19 booster shot Tuesday as cases are on the rise, with an average of 267 cases per day and about three deaths per day in the county. 

►Steve Burton, who starred on “General Hospital” for over 30 years, was let go from the show because he did not comply with a vaccine mandate, he announced on Instagram.

📈Today’s numbers: The U.S. has recorded more than 47 million confirmed COVID-19 cases and more than 773,000 deaths, according to Johns Hopkins University data. Global totals: More than 258 million cases and 5.1 million deaths. More than 196 million Americans — 59% of the population — are fully vaccinated, according to the CDC.

📘What we’re reading: COVID has pushed a decades-long Michigan emergency medical service workers shortage into a crisis. How much longer before people call 911 and it’ll take too long for help to arrive, if it ever does at all? 

Keep refreshing this page for the latest news. Want more? Sign up for USA TODAY’s Coronavirus Watch free newsletter to receive updates directly to your inbox and join our Facebook group.

Dozens of Tennessee health care, higher education and consulting entities applied for an official exemption last week from the state’s new law that strictly curtails businesses from enacting COVID-19 restrictions. 

The legislation, signed into law earlier this month by Gov. Bill Lee, prohibits most private businesses from requiring COVID-19 vaccines or proof of vaccination. But the bill carved out a provision for entities at risk of losing major federal funds if they followed the new Tennessee law, such as federal contractors, transportation authorities and health care providers that treat Medicare or Medicaid patients.

The Tennessee comptroller began accepting exemption applications Nov. 15 and received 76 by the end of the week, though legitimate applications were slightly less due to some duplicate and errant submissions. So far, denials have been rare.

Of the 76 applications, five were denied and 44 are awaiting approval. 

— Melissa Brown, The Nashville Tennessean

Possibly, say some local health professionals who have been watching a gradual increase in new cases. The upturn follows a sharp decrease in cases that came on the heels of a summer surge driven by the delta variant.

“I think… if you look at the entire country, we’re clearly seeing another wave,” said Dr. Jon Klein, vice dean for research at the University of Louisville School of Medicine. 

Klein added: “If you look at the places that are surging, I find it hard to find evidence that we are an exception.”

New infections and the rate of positive cases of COVID-19 have been edging up for a few weeks after a decline in mid-October.

Monday, Kentucky reported 44 new deaths 822 new cases — the highest Monday in four weeks. Saturday and Sunday — with 2,048 and 1,018 new cases, respectively — were also the worst Saturday and Sunday in a month. 

— Deborah Yetter and Sarah Ladd, Louisville Courier-Journal

Contributing: The Associated Press

Read original article here

Sports

Florida vs. LSU score: Tigers’ ground game, four interceptions overwhelm No. 20 Gators in shootout

Leave a comment

USATSI

Florida and LSU provided yet another memorable chapter in their rivalry on Saturday. The Tigers upset the No. 20 Gators 49-42 at Tiger Stadium in a game that LSU coach Ed Orgeron desperately needed to keep his seat from getting any hotter. Tyrion Davis-Price’s 287 rushing yards were an LSU record and the most ever allowed by Florida to an opposing running back, breaking the previous mark of 238 yards set by Georgia legend Herschel Walker in 1980.

LSU’s defense wasn’t great, but it came away with four interceptions, the last one being a game-clinching pick by Damone Clark with just under two minutes remaining. The win improves LSU, a 12-point underdog at kickoff, to 4-3 and should momentary cool the hot seat for Orgeron, who still must navigate upcoming games against No. 13 Ole Miss, No. 5 Alabama, No. 17 Arkansas and No. 21 Texas A&M with an injury-depleted roster in the weeks ahead.

The loss will raise the temperature a bit around Florida, which is also 4-3 (2-3 SEC). The Gators opted to go with redshirt freshman Anthony Richardson at quarterback for much of the game after starter Emory Jones threw two interceptions. While Richardson provided a spark with three touchdowns through the air and another on the ground, he also threw two interceptions.

It appeared Florida may have flipped the momentum entering halftime, when Jones found Justin Shorter for a 42-yard touchdown on a heave during the final play of the first half. But Davis-Price couldn’t be stopped as an LSU rushing offense that entered ranked 127th in the FBS suddenly came alive.

Having lost three of its last five games, the Gators’ next opponent will be top-ranked Georgia in Jacksonville on Oct. 30. 

require.config({"baseUrl":"https://sportsfly.cbsistatic.com/fly-083/bundles/sportsmediajs/js-build","config":{"version":{"fly/components/accordion":"1.0","fly/components/alert":"1.0","fly/components/base":"1.0","fly/components/carousel":"1.0","fly/components/dropdown":"1.0","fly/components/fixate":"1.0","fly/components/form-validate":"1.0","fly/components/image-gallery":"1.0","fly/components/iframe-messenger":"1.0","fly/components/load-more":"1.0","fly/components/load-more-article":"1.0","fly/components/load-more-scroll":"1.0","fly/components/loading":"1.0","fly/components/modal":"1.0","fly/components/modal-iframe":"1.0","fly/components/network-bar":"1.0","fly/components/poll":"1.0","fly/components/search-player":"1.0","fly/components/social-button":"1.0","fly/components/social-counts":"1.0","fly/components/social-links":"1.0","fly/components/tabs":"1.0","fly/components/video":"1.0","fly/libs/easy-xdm":"2.4.17.1","fly/libs/jquery.cookie":"1.2","fly/libs/jquery.throttle-debounce":"1.1","fly/libs/jquery.widget":"1.9.2","fly/libs/omniture.s-code":"1.0","fly/utils/jquery-mobile-init":"1.0","fly/libs/jquery.mobile":"1.3.2","fly/libs/backbone":"1.0.0","fly/libs/underscore":"1.5.1","fly/libs/jquery.easing":"1.3","fly/managers/ad":"2.0","fly/managers/components":"1.0","fly/managers/cookie":"1.0","fly/managers/debug":"1.0","fly/managers/geo":"1.0","fly/managers/gpt":"4.3","fly/managers/history":"2.0","fly/managers/madison":"1.0","fly/managers/social-authentication":"1.0","fly/utils/data-prefix":"1.0","fly/utils/data-selector":"1.0","fly/utils/function-natives":"1.0","fly/utils/guid":"1.0","fly/utils/log":"1.0","fly/utils/object-helper":"1.0","fly/utils/string-helper":"1.0","fly/utils/string-vars":"1.0","fly/utils/url-helper":"1.0","libs/jshashtable":"2.1","libs/select2":"3.5.1","libs/jsonp":"2.4.0","libs/jquery/mobile":"1.4.5","libs/modernizr.custom":"2.6.2","libs/velocity":"1.2.2","libs/dataTables":"1.10.6","libs/dataTables.fixedColumns":"3.0.4","libs/dataTables.fixedHeader":"2.1.2","libs/dateformat":"1.0.3","libs/waypoints/infinite":"3.1.1","libs/waypoints/inview":"3.1.1","libs/waypoints/jquery.waypoints":"3.1.1","libs/waypoints/sticky":"3.1.1","libs/jquery/dotdotdot":"1.6.1","libs/jquery/flexslider":"2.1","libs/jquery/lazyload":"1.9.3","libs/jquery/maskedinput":"1.3.1","libs/jquery/marquee":"1.3.1","libs/jquery/numberformatter":"1.2.3","libs/jquery/placeholder":"0.2.4","libs/jquery/scrollbar":"0.1.6","libs/jquery/tablesorter":"2.0.5","libs/jquery/touchswipe":"1.6.18","libs/jquery/ui/jquery.ui.core":"1.11.4","libs/jquery/ui/jquery.ui.draggable":"1.11.4","libs/jquery/ui/jquery.ui.mouse":"1.11.4","libs/jquery/ui/jquery.ui.position":"1.11.4","libs/jquery/ui/jquery.ui.slider":"1.11.4","libs/jquery/ui/jquery.ui.sortable":"1.11.4","libs/jquery/ui/jquery.ui.touch-punch":"0.2.3","libs/jquery/ui/jquery.ui.autocomplete":"1.11.4","libs/jquery/ui/jquery.ui.accordion":"1.11.4","libs/jquery/ui/jquery.ui.tabs":"1.11.4","libs/jquery/ui/jquery.ui.menu":"1.11.4","libs/jquery/ui/jquery.ui.dialog":"1.11.4","libs/jquery/ui/jquery.ui.resizable":"1.11.4","libs/jquery/ui/jquery.ui.button":"1.11.4","libs/jquery/ui/jquery.ui.tooltip":"1.11.4","libs/jquery/ui/jquery.ui.effects":"1.11.4","libs/jquery/ui/jquery.ui.datepicker":"1.11.4"}},"shim":{"liveconnection/managers/connection":{"deps":["liveconnection/libs/sockjs-0.3.4"]},"liveconnection/libs/sockjs-0.3.4":{"exports":"SockJS"},"libs/setValueFromArray":{"exports":"set"},"libs/getValueFromArray":{"exports":"get"},"fly/libs/jquery.mobile-1.3.2":["version!fly/utils/jquery-mobile-init"],"libs/backbone.marionette":{"deps":["jquery","version!fly/libs/underscore","version!fly/libs/backbone"],"exports":"Marionette"},"fly/libs/underscore-1.5.1":{"exports":"_"},"fly/libs/backbone-1.0.0":{"deps":["version!fly/libs/underscore","jquery"],"exports":"Backbone"},"libs/jquery/ui/jquery.ui.tabs-1.11.4":["jquery","version!libs/jquery/ui/jquery.ui.core","version!fly/libs/jquery.widget"],"libs/jquery/flexslider-2.1":["jquery"],"libs/dataTables.fixedColumns-3.0.4":["jquery","version!libs/dataTables"],"libs/dataTables.fixedHeader-2.1.2":["jquery","version!libs/dataTables"],"https://sports.cbsimg.net/js/CBSi/app/VideoPlayer/AdobePass-min.js":["https://sports.cbsimg.net/js/CBSi/util/Utils-min.js"]},"map":{"*":{"adobe-pass":"https://sports.cbsimg.net/js/CBSi/app/VideoPlayer/AdobePass-min.js","facebook":"https://connect.facebook.net/en_US/sdk.js","facebook-debug":"https://connect.facebook.net/en_US/all/debug.js","google":"https://apis.google.com/js/plusone.js","google-platform":"https://apis.google.com/js/client:platform.js","google-csa":"https://www.google.com/adsense/search/async-ads.js","google-javascript-api":"https://www.google.com/jsapi","google-client-api":"https://apis.google.com/js/api:client.js","gpt":"https://securepubads.g.doubleclick.net/tag/js/gpt.js","newsroom":"https://c2.taboola.com/nr/cbsinteractive-cbssports/newsroom.js","recaptcha":"https://www.google.com/recaptcha/api.js?onload=loadRecaptcha&render=explicit","recaptcha_ajax":"https://www.google.com/recaptcha/api/js/recaptcha_ajax.js","supreme-golf":"https://sgapps-staging.supremegolf.com/search/assets/js/bundle.js","taboola":"https://cdn.taboola.com/libtrc/cbsinteractive-cbssports/loader.js","twitter":"https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js","video-avia":"https://vidtech.cbsinteractive.com/avia-js/1.9.0/player/avia.min.js","video-avia-cvui":"https://vidtech.cbsinteractive.com/avia-js/1.9.0/legacy/cvui/cvui.min.js","video-cvp":"https://vidtech.cbsinteractive.com/cvp/1.2.2/cvp.min.js","video-cvui":"https://vidtech.cbsinteractive.com/cvp/1.2.2/cvui.min.js","video-ima3":"https://imasdk.googleapis.com/js/sdkloader/ima3.js","video-ima3-dai":"https://imasdk.googleapis.com/js/sdkloader/ima3_dai.js","video-utils":"https://sports.cbsimg.net/js/CBSi/util/Utils-min.js","video-vast-tracking":"https://vidtech.cbsinteractive.com/sb55/vast-js/vtg-vast-client.js"}},"waitSeconds":300});



Read original article here

Sports

Iowa vs. Maryland score: No. 5 Hawkeyes overwhelm Terps, force seven turnovers in dominant win

Leave a comment

No. 5 Iowa’s formula of relying heavily on opponent turnovers and miscues may eventually backfire, but it worked to perfection yet again on Friday night in a dominant 51-14 victory over Maryland. The Terrapins led 7-3 after the first quarter, but a cascade of turnovers in the second quarter allowed the Hawkeyes to open up a 34-7 halftime lead. They never looked back as they forced seven turnovers — six interceptions and one fumble, leading to 24 points — to assume the national lead in turnovers forced (16) and turnover margin (+3.25) entering Saturday’s full slate of action. 

Additionally, Iowa entered Week 5 tied for second nationally in points off turnovers with 51, and it is now the runaway leader with 75. To put that into context, Notre Dame would need to force 24 points off turnovers against Cincinnati on Saturday to reclaim the national lead in that category.

Iowa moves to 5-0 and its defense further cements itself as one of college football’s premier units. Maryland quarterback Taulia Tagovailoa entered Friday with 10 touchdowns to just one interception, but his five picks doomed his team’s chances of improving to 5-0 for the first time since 2001. And, now, Tagovailoa has thrown more interceptions than any player in the country. 

Though the defense stole the show again, the Hawkeyes enjoyed success with a balanced offensive attack that saw quarterback Spencer Petras throw for three touchdowns and run for two more. No one is going to mistake Iowa’s offense for a high-powered group, but it showed Friday that it can effectively play a complementary role to an elite defense. And, if nothing else, the seven turnovers are a resounding reminder that defense still matters in college football.

At 4-1, the Terrapins have some regrouping to do before a trip to No. 11 Ohio State next week. Maryland’s leading receiver Dontay Demus Jr. was carted off the field in the first half after his leg twisted awkwardly as he was tackled on a kick return. He entered as the Big Ten’s second-leading receiver, and the Terrapins will need to recalibrate without him if he’s forced to miss extended time.

Iowa, meanwhile, will head into a home showdown with No. 4 Penn State in Week 6 riding the momentum of its best all-around performance so far in 2021. If Penn State takes care of Indiana on Saturday, it would potentially set up the first top-five showdown between the Hawkeyes and Nittany Lions.

require.config({"baseUrl":"https://sportsfly.cbsistatic.com/fly-073/bundles/sportsmediajs/js-build","config":{"version":{"fly/components/accordion":"1.0","fly/components/alert":"1.0","fly/components/base":"1.0","fly/components/carousel":"1.0","fly/components/dropdown":"1.0","fly/components/fixate":"1.0","fly/components/form-validate":"1.0","fly/components/image-gallery":"1.0","fly/components/iframe-messenger":"1.0","fly/components/load-more":"1.0","fly/components/load-more-article":"1.0","fly/components/load-more-scroll":"1.0","fly/components/loading":"1.0","fly/components/modal":"1.0","fly/components/modal-iframe":"1.0","fly/components/network-bar":"1.0","fly/components/poll":"1.0","fly/components/search-player":"1.0","fly/components/social-button":"1.0","fly/components/social-counts":"1.0","fly/components/social-links":"1.0","fly/components/tabs":"1.0","fly/components/video":"1.0","fly/libs/easy-xdm":"2.4.17.1","fly/libs/jquery.cookie":"1.2","fly/libs/jquery.throttle-debounce":"1.1","fly/libs/jquery.widget":"1.9.2","fly/libs/omniture.s-code":"1.0","fly/utils/jquery-mobile-init":"1.0","fly/libs/jquery.mobile":"1.3.2","fly/libs/backbone":"1.0.0","fly/libs/underscore":"1.5.1","fly/libs/jquery.easing":"1.3","fly/managers/ad":"2.0","fly/managers/components":"1.0","fly/managers/cookie":"1.0","fly/managers/debug":"1.0","fly/managers/geo":"1.0","fly/managers/gpt":"4.3","fly/managers/history":"2.0","fly/managers/madison":"1.0","fly/managers/social-authentication":"1.0","fly/utils/data-prefix":"1.0","fly/utils/data-selector":"1.0","fly/utils/function-natives":"1.0","fly/utils/guid":"1.0","fly/utils/log":"1.0","fly/utils/object-helper":"1.0","fly/utils/string-helper":"1.0","fly/utils/string-vars":"1.0","fly/utils/url-helper":"1.0","libs/jshashtable":"2.1","libs/select2":"3.5.1","libs/jsonp":"2.4.0","libs/jquery/mobile":"1.4.5","libs/modernizr.custom":"2.6.2","libs/velocity":"1.2.2","libs/dataTables":"1.10.6","libs/dataTables.fixedColumns":"3.0.4","libs/dataTables.fixedHeader":"2.1.2","libs/dateformat":"1.0.3","libs/waypoints/infinite":"3.1.1","libs/waypoints/inview":"3.1.1","libs/waypoints/jquery.waypoints":"3.1.1","libs/waypoints/sticky":"3.1.1","libs/jquery/dotdotdot":"1.6.1","libs/jquery/flexslider":"2.1","libs/jquery/lazyload":"1.9.3","libs/jquery/maskedinput":"1.3.1","libs/jquery/marquee":"1.3.1","libs/jquery/numberformatter":"1.2.3","libs/jquery/placeholder":"0.2.4","libs/jquery/scrollbar":"0.1.6","libs/jquery/tablesorter":"2.0.5","libs/jquery/touchswipe":"1.6.18","libs/jquery/ui/jquery.ui.core":"1.11.4","libs/jquery/ui/jquery.ui.draggable":"1.11.4","libs/jquery/ui/jquery.ui.mouse":"1.11.4","libs/jquery/ui/jquery.ui.position":"1.11.4","libs/jquery/ui/jquery.ui.slider":"1.11.4","libs/jquery/ui/jquery.ui.sortable":"1.11.4","libs/jquery/ui/jquery.ui.touch-punch":"0.2.3","libs/jquery/ui/jquery.ui.autocomplete":"1.11.4","libs/jquery/ui/jquery.ui.accordion":"1.11.4","libs/jquery/ui/jquery.ui.tabs":"1.11.4","libs/jquery/ui/jquery.ui.menu":"1.11.4","libs/jquery/ui/jquery.ui.dialog":"1.11.4","libs/jquery/ui/jquery.ui.resizable":"1.11.4","libs/jquery/ui/jquery.ui.button":"1.11.4","libs/jquery/ui/jquery.ui.tooltip":"1.11.4","libs/jquery/ui/jquery.ui.effects":"1.11.4","libs/jquery/ui/jquery.ui.datepicker":"1.11.4"}},"shim":{"liveconnection/managers/connection":{"deps":["liveconnection/libs/sockjs-0.3.4"]},"liveconnection/libs/sockjs-0.3.4":{"exports":"SockJS"},"libs/setValueFromArray":{"exports":"set"},"libs/getValueFromArray":{"exports":"get"},"fly/libs/jquery.mobile-1.3.2":["version!fly/utils/jquery-mobile-init"],"libs/backbone.marionette":{"deps":["jquery","version!fly/libs/underscore","version!fly/libs/backbone"],"exports":"Marionette"},"fly/libs/underscore-1.5.1":{"exports":"_"},"fly/libs/backbone-1.0.0":{"deps":["version!fly/libs/underscore","jquery"],"exports":"Backbone"},"libs/jquery/ui/jquery.ui.tabs-1.11.4":["jquery","version!libs/jquery/ui/jquery.ui.core","version!fly/libs/jquery.widget"],"libs/jquery/flexslider-2.1":["jquery"],"libs/dataTables.fixedColumns-3.0.4":["jquery","version!libs/dataTables"],"libs/dataTables.fixedHeader-2.1.2":["jquery","version!libs/dataTables"],"https://sports.cbsimg.net/js/CBSi/app/VideoPlayer/AdobePass-min.js":["https://sports.cbsimg.net/js/CBSi/util/Utils-min.js"]},"map":{"*":{"adobe-pass":"https://sports.cbsimg.net/js/CBSi/app/VideoPlayer/AdobePass-min.js","facebook":"https://connect.facebook.net/en_US/sdk.js","facebook-debug":"https://connect.facebook.net/en_US/all/debug.js","google":"https://apis.google.com/js/plusone.js","google-platform":"https://apis.google.com/js/client:platform.js","google-csa":"https://www.google.com/adsense/search/async-ads.js","google-javascript-api":"https://www.google.com/jsapi","google-client-api":"https://apis.google.com/js/api:client.js","gpt":"https://securepubads.g.doubleclick.net/tag/js/gpt.js","newsroom":"https://c2.taboola.com/nr/cbsinteractive-cbssports/newsroom.js","recaptcha":"https://www.google.com/recaptcha/api.js?onload=loadRecaptcha&render=explicit","recaptcha_ajax":"https://www.google.com/recaptcha/api/js/recaptcha_ajax.js","supreme-golf":"https://sgapps-staging.supremegolf.com/search/assets/js/bundle.js","taboola":"https://cdn.taboola.com/libtrc/cbsinteractive-cbssports/loader.js","twitter":"https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js","video-avia":"https://vidtech.cbsinteractive.com/avia-js/1.9.0/player/avia.min.js","video-avia-cvui":"https://vidtech.cbsinteractive.com/avia-js/1.9.0/legacy/cvui/cvui.min.js","video-cvp":"https://vidtech.cbsinteractive.com/cvp/1.2.2/cvp.min.js","video-cvui":"https://vidtech.cbsinteractive.com/cvp/1.2.2/cvui.min.js","video-ima3":"https://imasdk.googleapis.com/js/sdkloader/ima3.js","video-ima3-dai":"https://imasdk.googleapis.com/js/sdkloader/ima3_dai.js","video-utils":"https://sports.cbsimg.net/js/CBSi/util/Utils-min.js","video-vast-tracking":"https://vidtech.cbsinteractive.com/sb55/vast-js/vtg-vast-client.js"}},"waitSeconds":300});



Read original article here

US

DHS to ramp up flights to Haiti as migrants overwhelm southern US border

Leave a comment

The department said in a statement Saturday it’s preparing additional transportation to accelerate the pace and increase the capacity of removal flights to Haiti, as well as other destinations, within the next 72 hours.

There are 14,353 migrants under the Del Rio International Bridge waiting to be processed by immigration authorities as of Saturday, according to Bruno Lozano, the mayor of Del Rio.

Haiti is still reeling from a major earthquake that resulted in more than 2,000 deaths and thousands more injuries, as well as the assassination of President Jovenel Moise in July. For those reasons, more than 50 Democratic lawmakers urged the Biden administration in a letter this week to halt deportations to the country.

“The Haitian government’s ability to safely receive its citizens will take months, if not years, to secure,” the letter said.

Many of the Haitians currently at the border are believed to have been living in South America after the 2010 earthquake in Haiti, but the toll of the pandemic on the region fueled migration to the US southern border.

In a statement outlining the administration’s strategy, DHS also announced that within the next 24 to 48 hours, Customs and Border Protection will surge 400 agents and officers to the Del Rio sector.

Border Patrol is also coordinating with Immigration and Customs Enforcement and the US Coast Guard to move people from Del Rio to other processing locations, including around 2,000 Friday.

Similar actions this year to process migrants elsewhere on the US-Mexico border have prompted criticism from immigrant advocates who argued that it led to confusion among migrants, and at times, put them in harm’s way.

In an acknowledgment that some Haitians previously lived in other countries before traveling to the border, the administration said it’s working “with source and transit countries in the region to accept individuals who previously resided in those countries.”

“The majority of migrants continue to be expelled under CDC’s Title 42 authority. Those who cannot be expelled under Title 42 and do not have a legal basis to remain will be placed in expedited removal proceedings,” the department said, referring to a public health order linked to the coronavirus pandemic that allows for the swift removal of migrants.

The number of Haitians arriving at the US southern border has gradually increased since the spring. In August, US Customs and Border Protection encountered 7,580 Haitians, according to the latest available data.

DHS has taken other measures to address Haitians in the US. In May, DHS Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas announced a new 18-month designation of Haiti for Temporary Protected Status, a form of humanitarian relief. TPS applies to people in the United States who would face extreme hardship if forced to return to homelands devastated by armed conflict or natural disasters and allows them to legally work in the US.

This story has been updated with additional information Saturday.

CORRECTION: An earlier version of this story misstated who said there are 13,990 migrants under the Del Rio International Bridge. It was Del Rio Mayor Bruno Lozano.

CNN’s Paul LeBlanc contributed to this report.

Read original article here

Health

Health Experts Say This Years Flu Season Could Overwhelm Hospitals

Leave a comment

  • Only 155 people were hospitalized for the flu during the peak of last year’s season. 
  • Health experts said the flu could make a rebound with an estimated 600,000 hospitalizations this year. 
  • Hospitals across the country are already overwhelmed with COVID-19 hospitalizations. 

Public health experts said this year’s flu season could result in three times as many hospitalizations, putting a further strain on the healthcare system during the pandemic, NBC News reported. 

The Centers for Disease Control reported that since 2010, there are somewhere between 9.3 to 45 million flu illnesses each year and more than 200,000 hospitalizations. 

Public health officials were expecting a “twindemic” last winter but only 155 Americans were hospitalized for influenza between October 1 and January 30, the peak of flu season. That’s in comparison to 8,633 Americans hospitalized for the flu during the same time frame the year prior. 

Experts said the lack of flu cases was most likely due to COVID-19 measures like mask-wearing and social distancing. However, some are now worried the drop in cases could mean a rebound this year. 

“The possibility of a ‘twindemic’ is pretty real this year,” Dr. Brian Dixon, director of Public Health Informatics at the Regenstrief Institute told WTHR. 

In two new non-peer-reviewed study preprints, Researchers at the University of Pittsburgh Graduate School of Public Health estimated that there could be at least 20% more flu cases this year compared to a normal year or in a worst-case scenario, double the cases.

Hospitalizations could be three-fold their normal amount with an estimated 600,000 influenza hospitalizations, according to the analysis. 

Dr. Mark Roberts, director of the Public Health Dynamics Laboratory at the University of Pittsburgh Graduate School of Public Health, said in a press release that as COVID-19 measures are relaxed, the flu and other respiratory illnesses will resurge, but higher flu vaccinations rates can help ease hospitalizations. 

“In a worst-case situation with a highly transmissible flu strain dominating and low influenza vaccination uptake, our predictive models indicate the potential for up to nearly half a million more flu hospitalizations this winter, compared to a normal flu season. Vaccinating as many people against flu as possible will be key to avoiding this scenario.”

The University’s analysis suggests that 75% of Americans would need to get a

flu shot
 to avoid this worst-case scenario. In the 2019-2020 flu season 51.8% of Americans A little over half got a flu vaccine, the CDC reported. 

David Kimberlin, co-director of the division of pediatric infectious diseases at the University of Alabama at Birmingham, told NBC News that he’s already seen kids enter the hospital this summer for respiratory illnesses normally seen in the winter, like the respiratory syncytial virus, croup, and hand, foot, and mouth disease.

Dr. Sean O’Leary, an infectious diseases physician at Children’s Hospital Colorado, told NBC News in July that there isn’t a clear-cut explanation as to why these respiratory ailments are spreading in the summer but said one reason could be the loosening of social distancing guidelines and mask-wearing. 

“There is a lot more mixing among people than there had been,” he said.

Kimberlin told the outlet his hospital is now overrun by the Delta variant and warned that adding a rise in flu cases to the mix “has the potential to be catastrophic.”

The US averaged 87,220 COVID-19 hospitalizations over the past week. Hospitals in some states, especially those with low vaccination rates, are at or close to full capacity. 

 

Loading Something is loading.

Read original article here