Metro's 3 Largest Hospitals Fill With Unvaccinated COVID Patients

CHARLOTTE, NC — Charlotte's three largest health systems joined together Thursday to deliver a dire warning to the community: Metro hospitals are filling up to capacity with unvaccinated COVID-19 patients.

"Quite frankly, beds are scarce," Dr. Sid Fletcher of Novant Health said Thursday during a news conference. "We are running short on resources."

As of Thursday, Sept. 2, Atrium Health, Novant Health and CaroMont Health reported 933 hospitalized COVID patients, of whom 857, or 92 percent, were unvaccinated. Of the 126 COVID patients on life support, 122 — or 97 percent — were unvaccinated.

"That's nearly 1,000 people hospitalized for COVID-19. That's really concerning to us," Fletcher said.

The news comes as North Carolina hospitals report that nearly 3,800 patients are currently hospitalized for COVID-19 around the state, according to the North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services. North Carolina reported 7,901 new COVID-19 cases Thursday, as only about 50 percent of those eligible to get a vaccine are considered fully vaccinated.

"The takeaway, the thing I want to make sure you hear, is the hospitals are backed up," Fletcher said. "We are incredibly full," he said.

Hospital emergency departments are seeing higher than average volumes at a time when medical teams are weary, with less staff working longer hours to manage an illness that is largely preventable with vaccinations, he said.

"We have bed space. We can make the physical space, we can do that. We have the PPE. We have the equipment. The thing we're really challenged by is the staffing," Fletcher said. "Right now, we're functioning, but we're really just managing that."

The hospital systems are finding COVID patients to be sicker and requiring a higher level of care.

"Every single facility in all of our footprints continues to be very strained and have challenges with capacity right now," said Dr. Katie Passaretti of Atrium Health.

"The burden of COVID in our healthcare system is being brought by unvaccinated individuals," she said.