Arizona hospitals are seeing a surge of COVID-19 patients again

By Steve Goldstein
Published: Wednesday, November 17, 2021 - 12:45pm
Updated: Wednesday, November 17, 2021 - 12:49pm

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Dr. Marjorie Bessel
Banner Health
Dr. Marjorie Bessel

Arizona hospitals are, once again, seeing a surge of COVID-19 patients.

In the past six months, the state has reported nearly 350,000 COVID-19 cases with 19,000 hospitalizations for COVID-19-related illnesses.

Health care professionals who thought they had already seen the worst of the pandemic are contending with crowded waiting rooms and ICU beds as case rates have increased by more than 60% since mid-October. And 80% of COVID-19 patients are being admitted are unvaccinated.

Dr. Marjorie Bessel is the chief clinical officer with Banner Health.

The Show spoke with her to learn how our current COVID-19 situation compares to that of last year.

Arizona Coronavirus Cases, Deaths

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