That means that physician’s offices, labs, outpatient clinics and hospitals will remain open, but non-urgent surgeries and other procedures may have to be delayed, especially if they require an overnight hospital stay, said Munson spokesperson Dianne Michalek. A temporary pause has been placed on sleep disorder services as well.
“The number of patients we are seeing in our hospitals right now are close to those we experienced during the worst of the pandemic last spring,” Christine Nefcy, Munson’s chief medical officer, said in a statement.
“Now, more than ever, we need our communities to band together with us by getting vaccinated, wearing a mask in public, practicing proper hand hygiene, and avoiding large gatherings whenever possible.”
The timing couldn’t be worse. Colder weather is coming, which means more people are moving indoors, where the virus spreads more easily. And the holiday season is approaching — a time when families and friends gather.
That’s another reason, Malani said, for anyone who’s eligible for a booster to get it now: It takes two weeks after the injection to get the added protection from the shot, which would make eating Thanksgiving dinner with friends and extended family a little bit safer.
