Doctors are uniting in the fight against COVID-19 in metro Atlanta.
Doctors from six metro healthcare systems, including Emory, Grady and Wellstar, held a joint briefing on Thursday and made a plea for Georgians to get vaccinated.
“Hospitals continue to remain overwhelmed with patients in the metro Atlanta area,” said Dr. Sharon Pappas of Emory. She also said that emergency rooms are busy and wait time are long and staffing shortages are a concern.
Dr. Robert Jansen from Grady said it’s wall-to-wall stretchers at his hospital and there is no capacity left. He said that Grady has more patients than it has ever had.
Dr. Andi Shane with CHOA said during the briefing that Omiron has disproportionally affected childen. More than 9.5 million children have tested positive for the variant, including many children from Georgia. Dr. Shane also said that 95% of the children currently hospitalized in Georgia are children who are eligible for vaccinatioin but are not.
Dr. Jayne Morgan from Piedmont Healthcare also warned against intentionally trying to contract the Omicron variant.
“Even though your initial infection may be mild, the irony is you may find yourself much sicker down the road,” said Dr. Morgan.
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