Letter: ICU beds filled with unvaccinated

To the Editor:

I could not disagree more with the author of last week’s letter to the editor “Arguments Were Misleading” who criticized Shaw Media for its editorial ”Hospitals are Overflowing Because of Selfishness.”

In my opinion, the writer misses Shaw’s major point. Shaw’s basic argument is that 60% of the people in Illinois are vaccinated, yet the vast majority of COVID-19 patients in Illinois’ intensive care units are filled with people who are not vaccinated. In mid-December, Duke University hospital reported 100% of their COVID-19 patients on ventilators were unvaccinated. Froedert (one of Milwaukee’s biggest hospitals) reported 88% of their COVID-19 patients in the ICU had not been vaccinated. These trends hold true all over the U.S. The bulk of ICU beds filled with unvaccinated COVID-19 patients prevents care for someone who has a heart attack, gets in a car accident or has a sudden illness requiring intensive care. This requires doctors and hospital administrators to adopt crisis standards of care and triage to decide who receives a bed.

Shaw gave an example in our own backyard regarding vaccinations/hospitalizations. Morris Hospital had 40 COVID-19 patients one week who were sick enough to be hospitalized. Thirty-fiveof the 40 were not vaccinated. It’s important to ask yourself, “What are the statistics telling me about my chance of survival if I become critically ill from COVID-19? What are the long-term health ramifications from COVID-19 and do I want to risk getting them?” While a vaccine does not prevent you from getting COVID-19, it is extremely effective at keeping you out of the hospital.

I understand that there may be people who cannot get a COVID-19 vaccine due to health reasons. But for those who can, you may want to consider the statistics, and at the same time help your fellow citizens by keeping yourself out of the hospital. This frees up beds for those who aren’t able to prevent their need for intensive care.

Pat McNamara

Yorkville