St. Cloud Hospital Busy With "Regular Care" [PODCAST]

COVID-19 positive patients at St. Cloud hospital continue to drop this week. CentraCare spokesman Dr. George Morris joined me on WJON. He says they have 25 positive COVID-19 patients with less than 5 in the ICU/Critical Care unit. Morris says St. Cloud Hospital is back to being busy with "regular care". He says many people who deferred procedures or treatments due to the pandemic are now getting those things taken care of now. Morris says those who are in the hospital with COVID-19 are now typically under 65 years old and says people who are really sick often times stay a long time at the hospital. Morris says COVID for some people is still "very harsh, very real and lasts a long time." Listen to our 2-part conversation below.

I talked with Dr. Morris about long term effects of those who suffered COVID-19 and recovered. He says it is too early to tell if people who are battling through what he calls long Covid will completely recover. Morris says symptoms of long Covid include fatigue, shortness of breath and difficulty concentrating.

Dr. Morris says CentraCare continues to see interest from the public in getting the vaccine but that interest has waned in the last couple of weeks. He says he believes the Covid-19 vaccine is still the best way for the public to get to the 70% to 90% herd immunity. Morris says Stearns County has over 56% of 16+ adults vaccinated with Benton County at 38% and Sherburne County at 42%.

Morris says if people are interested in getting a vaccine to call 320-200-3200, got to centracare.com or reach out to the Minnesota Department of Health.