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US reportedly facing historic shortages in healthcare staff

A nurse at Three Rivers Asante Medical Center runs to a room in the Intensive Care Unit to help as medical staff treat a Covid-19 patient on September 9, 2021 in Grants Pass, Oregon. (AFP photo)

The United States is reportedly facing historic shortages in healthcare staff amid the coronavirus pandemic, which has taken the lives of over 700,000 people in the country so far

As of Oct. 1, about 16 percent of American hospitals had critical staffing shortages, according to official data released by the US Department of Health and Human Services.

“We don’t have a single position we can afford to lose right now,” Eric Dickson, the president of UMass Memorial Health, told Bloomberg Radio last month. “I have areas that have a 50 percent vacancy rate. And God forbid we lose any more.”

Shortages in staff have also been reported in other sectors, such as tourism and food service, but “the consequences are different,” said Michael Weekes, the president of an association of human-services providers.

“While it may be disappointing for someone to wait for a lobster roll or an ice cream cone, or have a longer wait for their hotel room, when essential staff are missing from human services, clients’ and residents’ safety and health are immediately at risk,” he said.

‘J&J shot linked to blood clots’

This is while the deadly pandemic keeps taking more lives in the US and vaccine hesitancy remains a serious issue for the health sector.

On Friday, rare cases of blood clotting in deep veins was said to be possibly linked to Johnson & Johnson vaccines, according to the European Union's drug regulator.

The announcement was made during a Pharmacovigilance Risk Assessment Committee meeting, linking venous thromboembolism (VTE) and the J&J vaccines.

"VTE is a condition in which a blood clot forms in a deep vein, usually in a leg, arm or groin, and may travel to the lungs causing a blockage of the blood supply, with possible life-threatening consequences," the agency wrote in its meeting highlights.

AstraZeneca vaccines have previously been associated with a rare combination of blood clotting as well.

"We strongly support raising awareness of the signs and symptoms of rare events to ensure they can be quickly identified and effectively treated," the J&J company said in a statement in July.


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