COVID-19 Hospitalizations Have Doubled In MD In 3 Weeks: Gov. Hogan

MARYLAND — More than 1,000 people in Maryland are hospitalized with the coronavirus, the Maryland Department of Health reported Friday. To address the surge, the state ordered hospitals to update their emergency plans by Dec. 15 and establish monoclonal antibody infusion programs.

It is the first time Maryland has reported over 1,000 coronavirus patients hospitalized since April. At that point, the state was just beginning to get adults vaccinated against COVID-19.

“Maryland has begun to see an uptick in our key health metrics, and we are increasingly concerned by the sharp rise in hospitalizations, which have doubled over the last three weeks,” Gov. Larry Hogan said in a statement Friday.

Officials say 1,027 people are hospitalized as of Friday with the virus in Maryland. One month ago — on Nov. 10 — there were 505.

The Maryland Department of Health ordered hospitals to outline how they will maximize their capacity, with additional beds to be prioritized for COVID-19 patients.

"Hospitals are encouraged to consider bringing idle clinical or administrative space on-line or other space conversions for clinical care," according to the health order, which also promoted using regional and alternate care sites. "Hospitals should strongly consider rescheduling elective and nonurgent procedures that have any likelihood of requiring inpatient beds and/or a ventilator unless clinically warranted."

The order is effective until June 30 or until the federal health emergency is terminated, whichever comes first.

To curb hospitalizations, the state is also encouraging providers to offer COVID-19 positive patients the option of getting monoclonal antibody infusions. These treatments provide lab-made proteins that fight the coronavirus infection and can lessen the severity of the virus. Hospitals in Maryland have been directed to establish programs that allow for in-home infusions as well.

The state health secretary is also urging the Maryland Board of Physicians, Maryland Board of Pharmacy and Maryland Board of Nursing to permit recently retired licensees to be temporarily licensed and to make it easier for out-of-state practitioners to practice in Maryland.

Emergency legislation will be introduced in January to help hospitals address staffing shortages, according to Hogan, who introduced steps in September, including early graduations, to add more nurses to the state's health care systems.

Since COVID-19 vaccines wane in their effectiveness after six months, Hogan on Thursday also followed federal health guidance in authorizing booster shots for all Marylanders 16 and up.

"State health officials are taking these additional actions as we continue to use every tool at our disposal to help Maryland hospitals have the resources they need to respond to this and future hospital surges," Hogan said. "The single most important thing you can do to maintain your immunity against this virus and its variants is to get your booster shot."

Those who want to get a vaccine or booster can visit covidvax.maryland.gov or call the state's multilingual call center at 1-855-MD-GOVAX (1-855-634-6829).

See Also:

• COVID-19 Booster Shots Authorized For Teens In MD: Governor
• Omicron Variant In MD: Gov. Hogan Urges Boosters By Dec. 11