Tippecanoe County hospital officials say “the status quo is continuing” during the ongoing surge of COVID-19.
The rise in cases continues to keep hospitals at or near capacity, with employees under continued stress. Officials continued to emphasize the importance of vaccinations and face masks for protecting people from the virus.
Roughly 53 percent of the county has been vaccinated.
Franciscan Health’s Dr. Daniel Wickert said the surge has put a huge strain on staff.
“And these constant continued waves of surges put a continued strain on the people who are working in our facilities,” he said. “As we said before, they are tired, they are exhausted, they are frustrated, they are wondering if there is an end in sight and what does that look like.”
In the last two weeks, the county has seen nine COVID-related deaths, one of whom was a resident under 30 years old.
The current peak is projected to occur in mid-October.
Tippecanoe County Health Officer Dr. Jeremy Adler said if the region can’t get to at least a 70% vaccination rate, it may be trapped in a cycle.
“This cycle we’re seeing with dangerous new variant strains like the delta variant will just continue to happen over and over again,” he said. “There are already reports of a new variant called the mu variant in various parts of the US.”
Adler said the Indiana Department of Health will provide free COVID testing and vaccinations on Friday and Saturday at the White Horse Christian Church in Lafayette.
Officials also took time during the call to say they’ve seen an uptick in requests for medications such as ivermectin, which is used to treat parasites -- but won’t prescribe it for COVID.
Dr. Wickert said the hospital is happy to talk to patients about medical options, but patients cannot demand treatments that the hospital deems unsafe.
“If someone wants a medication that we do not believe to be an effective treatment we will not be giving that medication,” he said.
Dr. Adler said the health department has been asked for advice on the best dosage of either ivermectin for hydroxychloroquine to take for the treatment of COVID.
“My response has been zero milligrams,” he said. “Neither of them has been shown to be effective for COVID-19. There is actually quite a bit of evidence that they are quite dangerous when used in the context of COVID-19.”
The CDC released guidance in late August advising clinicians to educate patients on the risks of ingesting Ivermectin and underlining that the drug is not authorized or approved for the treatment of COVID.