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US bed shortage prompts hospital officials to reject COVID sick baby

Eleven-month-old girl, Ava Rivera, suffering from seizures due to COVID-19 was rejected by Houston hopitals.

A shortage of beds in hospitals in Texas' main city of Houston has forced officials to reject an 11-month-old girl with COVID-19.

Because of a shortage of pediatric beds in the Houston area, the infant, Ava Rivera, who had difficulty breathing, was transported on Thursday from Lyndon B. Johnson (LBJ) Hospital more than 200km to Baylor Scott & White McLane Children's Medical Center -- Templeon.

Baby Ava's mother, Estefani Lopez, told local media that it all started on Wednesday. Ava initially started showing mild symptoms of the coronavirus at the time, but by early Thursday morning she was in bad condition, she said.

"It hurts," said Lopez. "I wouldn't want this pain on no other mother ... to watch their kid flat-lining, having seizures, tubes down their throat, being hospitalized."

LBJ Hospital staff told Lopez in order for Ava to get the appropriate care needed they were forced to transfer her to a pediatric hospital immediately.

All the hospital beds were full in at least five of the Houston-area hospitals and Ava had to be moved to another city more than 200km away from home to get care at White McLane Children's Medical Center where she was admitted and moved to the pediatric Intensive Care Unit (ICU).

According to the latest reports from hospital officials, Ava has made "an amazing recovery" and was removed from the ventilator and is breathing on her own. 

According to the Texas Medical Center, the number of new COVID cases reported every day has nearly doubled in one week in the greater Houston area pushing the Houston health care system to near breaking point.

The US is now averaging 100,000 new COVID-19 infections a day.

US health officials are fearful that cases will continue to soar if more Americans don't embrace the vaccine as the Delta variant spreads through the country.

A new study suggests that vaccinated people have a similar liability of transmission as unvaccinated people.

Results of the new study prompted officials to recommend most fully vaccinated Americans wear masks indoors. 


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