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'All of them are unvaccinated': Cape Fear Valley Health System has 23 COVID patients on ventilators

Fayetteville Observer - 10/12/2021

Oct. 7—As of Wednesday, all of the COVID-19 patients in the intensive care units at Cape Fear Valley Health were unvaccinated against the virus, a hospital official said.

Chief Clinical Officer Michael Zappa said there were 76 COVID-19 patients in Cape Fear Valley Health's eight hospitals and 23 were in the intensive care unit.

He said that in September, the health system saw 150 COVID-19 patients, which exceeded the previous high of 130 in January.

Since the start of the pandemic, Cumberland County has experienced 43,017 COVID-19 cases and 446 COVID-19 deaths, according to data maintained by the N.C. Department of Health and Human Services.

After the release of the COVID-19 vaccine, 390 COVID-19 patients have died at Cape Fear Valley Health hospitals, 93% of whom were not vaccinated against the virus, Zappa said.

"And of those 7% (who died) that were vaccinated, they had serious underlying medical conditions and immune suppressant conditions," Zappa said.

In order to combat the spread of the disease, COVID-19 patients are not being allowed visitors at this time, Zappa said. An exception is made for those patients at the end of their life, he said.

Since the start of the pandemic, 4,500 COVID-19 patients have been treated at Cape Fear Valley Health.

"Best speculation says that we probably will need — even the general population — another shot against COVID-19 in the future," Zappa said. "Studies show that its effectiveness after six or eight months may drop to 60% but it's still in the high 90% for preventing hospitalizations."

The Cumberland County Public Health Department provides COVID-19 vaccines and booster shots, Director Jennifer Green said.

"Right now, the CDC is recommending booster shots for those ... over the age of 18," she said. "They are recommending booster shots for those that are 65 and older or ... if you have a medical condition that would put you at risk for COVID or if you're 18 to 64 and you are at increased risk because of exposer or transmission."

Zappa said he believes that the COVID-19 vaccine saves lives.

"We have 23 patients in the ICU. They are all on ventilators," he said. "They are all fighting for their life and all of them are unvaccinated."

Green agreed that the COVID-19 vaccine saves lives.

"We've seen a lot of death. We've seen a lot of hospitalizations. We've seen a lot of severe illness," Green said. "If we want to get back to whatever normal looks like, then we have to have people getting vaccinated."

Health and education writer Ariana-Jasmine Castrellon can be reached at acastrellon@gannett.com or 910-486-3561.

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