Covid-19 Hospitalizations Are Down, But Nurse Shortages Stretch Hospitals

March 2, 2022

(Wall Street Journal) – More than a month after the Covid-19 Omicron surge peaked and began to decline, and as states are lifting Covid-related restrictions, the staffing crisis at many hospitals across the country is still running high. A shortage of nurses and other staff means fewer beds are available for patients. Hospitalization counts have plunged as the Omicron wave recedes. By Monday, the seven-day average for hospitalized people with confirmed and suspected Covid-19 cases in the U.S. was 49,900, down 69% from an all-time high that topped 159,000 five weeks earlier, according to data from the Department of Health and Human Services. (Read More)