An 11-month-old girl infected with the coronavirus was airlifted to a hospital 150 miles away due to a shortage of pediatric beds in Houston, Texas. No major pediatric hospital in the area had a bed available, as the Delta variant surges in several US states.
The girl experienced seizures from contracting Covid-19 and was intubated at Lyndon B Johnson Hospital, Harris Health System spokeswoman Amanda Callaway said, according to CNN. However, the hospital did not have pediatric services.
A video released by the health system showed the girl being lifted with care onto an air ambulance on Thursday for the flight to a hospital in Temple, Texas.
The health system has experienced a spike in coronavirus patients and they are occupying at least half of the intensive care units, according to Callaway.
‘Couple that with normal emergency needs and it’s overwhelming the system,’ she said.
Harris Health System is part of the Texas Medical Center which claims to be the biggest in the world. It reported that 336 coronavirus patients were admitted on Thursday, which is the highest number it has recorded since February.
News of the baby girl getting airlifted comes as several US metro areas have reported running out of intensive care unit beds.
Nearby in the city of Austin, Texas, only 15 beds were left in all hospitals across Travis, Williamson, Hays, Bastrop, Blanco, Burnet, Caldwell, Fayette, Lee, Llano and San Saba counties last Friday, according to USA Today. The beds held patients who had Covid-19 as well as some with other health issues.
In Kansas City, Missouri, 85% of adult intensive care unit beds were full, according to ABC 9. Meanwhile, Little Rock, Arkansas also seemed to run out of beds, with a doctor telling CBS 11 that he called 20 hospitals to check for availability.
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