Central Texas doctors seeing patients as young as 19 in ICU

Officials said ultimately what is going to bring us out of this latest surge and the pandemic altogether is the shot.

AUSTIN, Texas - "Vaccine or ventilator" was Austin Health Authority Dr. Desmar Walkes' message earlier this week.

Other doctors across Central Texas are cosigning on that same message.

"We are urging everyone, please get the vaccine it'll protect you it’ll protect your loved ones," said Dr. John David Hinze, chief of endoscopic lung surgery and pulmonary care specialist at Ascension Seton Medical Center Austin at a Facebook Live briefing with Travis County Judge Andy Brown.

State doctors calling on unvaccinated Texans to get the shot

State doctors are saying the upward trend in COVID-19 cases in Texas is driven by the Delta variant.

Dr. Hinze has been seeing the latest effects of COVID-19 firsthand. He said this Delta variant is different. "This is a meaner virus. It is now affecting people who we thought didn't have bad infections like teenagers and 20-year-olds," he said.

He said no one inside of his ICU is vaccinated except one person.

This variant appears to be indiscriminately hitting many demographics including pregnant women.

Surge in COVID-19 patients leads hospital to postpone some procedures

According to Austin Public Health, COVID-19 patients at Austin-area hospitals are trending younger than during any previous surge in coronavirus cases.

"What we are seeing is just an alarming rate of pregnant coming in with severe COVID illness. One-hundred percent of them are unvaccinated," said Dr. Jeny Ghartey, maternal medical director at Ascension Seton Medical Center Austin.

Hinze has had patients as young as 19 in the ICU, and some people need the assistance of ECMO. The process and machine gives patients' lungs a break, and buys time for the body to fight the virus. Officials said ultimately what is going to bring us out of this latest surge and the pandemic altogether is the shot

"This one patient told me right before I intubated him, he says ‘I'm terrified.’ You know how you keep from being terrified, you get the vaccine,’" said Hinze.

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