This Dec. 10, story has “Thomas” corrected to “Sanders” at paragraph 17.

Andrew Hay, Shannon Stapleton, and Peter Szekely

TAOS N.M., (Reuters) – This December 10th story incorrectly reads “Thomas” at paragraph 17. Instead of “Sanders”)

A year and half after the first COVID-19 vaccinations were administered in the United States of America, many hallmarks from earlier pandemics are being restored: mass vaccination sites, mask mandates, overcrowded hospitals, rising deaths, and increasing death toll.

In the hope that the coronavirus would be defeated soon, Sandra Lindsay, a New York City ICU nurse (NYSE:), received an injection of Pfizer (NYSE:) The first American resident to be inoculated with the vaccine was just approved last December 14.

Over 200 million Americans have had at least one dose of Pfizer/BioNTech in the past six years. Moderna (NASDAQ:) vaccines or one Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:)’s single-shot inoculation, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Despite the advances of science and medicine, death rates in this country continue to climb. Nearly 500,000 people died from COVID-19 since the initial dose. The country is expected to surpass 800,000.

Infections have risen to 50 million in just a few weeks. This is due to colder winters in Northern States, which encourages people indoors and allows for more viral transmission.

New York Governor Kathy Hochul, a Democrat from New York, temporarily imposed a requirement that face covers be worn inside venues and businesses where proof of vaccination is not required.

Hochul released a statement saying that the situation should not have been this dire.

Many Democratic governors used mask mandates to prevent infection during the worst pandemic surge. This was despite the fact that Republican governors largely avoided them as government overreach.

It has proven difficult to fight the virus because of its aggressive mutations. The most prominent is the Delta variant. Omicron has already been identified in half of the fifty states.

Experts say that vaccine politicization has contributed to the continued spread of the pandemic, often with worsening consequences.

New Mexico’s hospitals reach record capacities as ICUs fill with unvaccinated patients.

One of the worst-hit Southwestern hospitals, San Juan County’s critical care units filled up almost as quickly as patients died or were discharged. According to Dr. Erin Philpott, eight patients of hers had died over the week. Many of these were not vaccinated.

Philpott explained that sometimes it is difficult to feel it because there’s so much of it and it’s consistent.

“You can see the rooms fill up right after, and you don’t have a second to pause and just process all this loss.” Philpott also stated that many people who died from COVID-19 at San Juan Regional Medical Center were between their 30s to 40s.

The unvaccinated account for 94% to 19% of COVID-19-related deaths in the hospital. Philpott stated, “It’s almost impossible to see this or deal with it.” Philpott said, “I believe that’s why half of the staff are gone.”

Patricia Thomas was there to help a deceased patient. She placed a white sheet on his body and placed a photo of the family member at his feet. He was taken off life support by his family. He received his vaccinations. He was the father of five children, and twelve grandchildren.

Thomas cried and said, “We pulled the tubes out of him. They held his hand as he passed.” Today was pretty hard because it’s my third one this week.”

FUEL FOR THE FIRE’

New Mexico is similar to other states that had high early vaccination rates, such as Rhode Island, Vermont and New Hampshire. Immunity has declined in New Mexico which pushes these states towards the top for new cases.

Michelle Lujan Grisham the Democratic Governor of Texas pushed vaccines for 2021 in an effort to decrease hospitalizations.

“The fuel for this fire, our case counts, is unvaccinated individuals,” New Mexico Acting Health Secretary David Scrase told reporters. Our hospitals are in an extremely grave condition.”

According to officials, three of the four COVID patients aren’t vaccinated in this state. Michigan was also affected by one of the worst epidemics in America.

Health officials in Connecticut said this week that people who have not been vaccinated are more likely than others to contract COVID-19. They also report being 12 times more likely, 16 times more likely, to become hospitalized, and five times more likely, to get it.

The Omicron variant of Omicron was found in New Jersey. Governor Phil Murphy opened one of New Jersey’s once-closed mass vaccination locations this week to promote booster shots.

The majority of large vaccine sites, which were opened by states in order to accelerate the immunization process have now closed.

The CDC has estimated that approximately one-fourth (24%) of Americans have had additional booster shots. All people from 16 years old and above have been granted these shots.

A symbol of early pandemics, the contaminated ship cruise was also revived this week.

Norwegian Cruise Line (NYSE) Holdings announced Monday that a South African employee suspected of carrying the Omicron virus was one of 17 Omicron cases detected aboard a vessel which disembarked at New Orleans this weekend.

When very few cases were reported in the United States in March 2020 the Grand Princess, a cruise ship, was kept at sea until it could dock in Oakland. Following tests that revealed 21 cases of coronavirus, 2,400 passengers were taken to military bases for quarantine.