More than half of COVID patients in Springfield ICU died in July: hospital official

In July, more than half of the patients admitted to a Springfield hospital system’s intensive care unit with coronavirus died, according to a hospital official.

The update came as health leaders continued urging people to get vaccinated.

Erik Frederick, Mercy Springfield’s chief administrative officer, wrote on Twitter that last month 51% of those admitted to the ICU across Mercy Springfield Communities — which includes Mercy Hospital Springfield and five regional hospitals — died.

Five days into August, the coronavirus has killed 17 patients, he said. As of Thursday, there were 144 COVID-10 patients across the hospital system.

COVID-19 vaccinations

As of Thursday, none of the patients in the ICU or on ventilators are fully vaccinated, Frederick said. Overall, 93% of those admitted to the hospital with the coronavirus are not vaccinated.

In Greene County, where Springfield is located, 43.1% of the population has initiated vaccination and 36.8% has completed the vaccination process. Statewide, 48.7% of the population has initiated the vaccine and 41.7% has completed it, according to the Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services.

In the past week, 874 more people tested positive for COVID-29 in Greene County, according to state data. Increasingly, hospitals are admitting children with the virus.

COVID patients in Springfield

On Sunday, CoxHealth CEO Steve Edwards said the Springfield hospital was treating 187 coronavirus patients, the most yet. He called it “a sad new record.”

On Wednesday, he wrote on Twitter, healthcare workers at the hospital were caring for 159 coronavirus patients. There had been six deaths the day prior.

“There are some therapies that offer some help, but there are no silver bullets,” Edwards wrote on Twitter. “If there were, we would be using them. There is a silver bullet for prevention, greater than 90% effective against severe disease. Get vaccinated.”

In total, according to a chart from Edwards, 576 coronavirus patients admitted to the hospital have died since the pandemic began.

Last Friday, more than 300 people were hospitalized for COVID-19 at two health systems in Springfield including three patients under age 10.

On July 29, there were 145 COVID-19 patients at Mercy Springfield, Frederick said at the time. Five of those patients were under the age of 20 and three were under age 10.

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