Dr. Joseph Varon hugs and comforts a patient in the COVID-19 ICU during Thanksgiving at the United Memorial Medical Center in Houston, Texas.Go Nakamura/Getty Images
- As coronavirus cases continue to surge nationwide, people might not be thinking of what's going on in hospitals as they disregard public health recommendations.
- The harsh reality is that many COVID-19 patients suffer painful symptoms and invasive treatments without loved ones by their side.
- Here's what it looks like to get hospitalized with severe COVID-19.
CDC Director Dr. Robert Redfield warned the public on Wednesday that the coming months could be the "most difficult in the public health history" of the US.
As of Monday afternoon, the US has recorded more than 14.8 million confirmed cases of COVID-19 and more than 283,000 deaths due to the illness. Hospitals across the country are nearing capacity, and while vaccine candidates offer hope for an end in sight, it's bound to be a long winter.
Firsthand accounts by healthcare workers have made it clear that hospitals are overwhelmed and understaffed. Months of watching COVID-19 patients die without their loved ones by their sides have taken a toll on these frontline workers, but most people don't see the human cost of the pandemic with their own eyes.
As Business Insider's Inyoung Choi wrote in an analysis, some Americans are simply too tired to care. Pandemic fatigue has worn down their patience, and mixed messaging by health officials has allowed people to downplay the threat of the virus.
While cases continue to surge nationwide, people might not be thinking of what's going on in COVID ICUs across the country as they're disregarding recommendations to wear a mask, social distance, and keep holiday gatherings small.
These photos show what happens when you get severe COVID-19, and why you don't want to get it now.