North Texas Doctors, EMS Concerned Over Rise in COVID-19 Cases – NBC 5 Dallas-Fort Worth
Doctors and other frontline workers across North Texas are seeing an increase in patients with COVID-19 or its symptoms, causing concern for months to come.
Despite months of promising declines, DFW notes that the storm is not over yet.
“We thought we could get this under control,” said Dr. Natalia Gutierrez of the Texas Health Physicians Group.
Fort Worth Department of Health director raises the alarm as COVID-19 cases rise. Scott Gordon reports.
Gutierrez works primarily at Texas Health Family Care in Carrollton.
It wasn’t until this weekend that the doctor saw two patients with COVID-19 for the first time in months.
“One was a young person who wasn’t vaccinated and that person has COVID pneumonia,” she said. “The other person was vaccinated, an elderly person, I want to say maybe 77. That person was vaccinated. However, the case for this person is very mild, so that this person is already recovering. “
Medstar first responders serving Tarrant County and surrounding communities are also reporting a higher incidence of patients with potential COVID infection after three months of steady decline.
No single group of people is affected.
“They are older Americans, they are young people, they work, they are homeless,” said Matt Zavadsky, MS-HAS, NREMT, chief transformation officer at Medstar.
The increase means that in preclinical examinations, patients will now be asked if they have been vaccinated against the virus.
All patients are examined before being transported to the hospital.
Zavadsky said Medstar was responding to 100 to 110 patients a day during the peak of the pandemic.
Last month there was the lowest number of patients at 49 per day, he said.
However, so far in July, 53 people a day have called 911 with symptoms of the virus.
The number includes nine people who suffered cardiac arrest and died at home.
“This is real,” Zavadsky told those who question the reality of the situation in Texas and the country. “It could either be the relaxation of some of the trips or other things that are happening. It could be due to the delta variant. Frankly it doesn’t matter. The fact is, people seem to get the coronavirus, vaccinated or not, but vaccines really help. “
In Tarrant County, the test-positive rate is 15 percent – the highest since March.
Fort Worth Health Director Brandon Bennett said the numbers had gone the wrong way and asked those who weren’t vaccinated for the syringe.
“This delta variant of the virus will move through this segment like wildfire,” said Bennett. “If people don’t get vaccinated now, even if they wait a couple of weeks, it’s too late. And we know that.”
Bennett said the rate of vaccinations in Tarrant County – once 30,000 a day – has slowed to a trickle. The busiest clinic at La Gran Plaza shopping mall is currently only giving 25 syringes a day, he said.
Scientists emphasize that the vaccine is safe. Dr. Gutierrez urges the public to speak to their doctor and not rely on false claims on social media.
“If you’re in a car and you’re in a car accident and you’re buckled up, you may have a bruise from your seat belt,” she said. “You can say the seat belt hurt you. At the same time, it prevented your death. So the vaccine will prevent your death. “
In the meantime, Medstar will work with faith groups and neighborhood associations to bring additional mobile vaccination clinics to the communities.
To register for an upcoming clinic, click here.
NBC 5’s Scott Gordon contributed to this report.
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