Dr. Morris; Covid-19 Cases Up at St. Cloud Hospital [PODCAST]

CentraCare spokesman Dr. George Morris joined me on WJON today.  He says St. Cloud Hospital has seen an increase in Covid-19 hospitalizations and an increase in the amount of people with Covid-19 in their ICU/Critical Care unit in the last week.  Last week when we talked he said that the age of the people with Covid-19 at St. Cloud Hospital had been trending younger but this week he indicated that they are seeing a resurgence of older people now hospitalized.

Dr. Morris says he likes seeing people adjusting to wearing masks as part of what they do.  He says mask wearing is helping to slow the spread of the virus.  Dr. Morris said even though research had indicated that antibodies against Covid-19 develop among those who have the virus and recover.  He suggested the antibodies may only protect who have had it for a period of time and a booster shot may be needed.

Dr. Morris expects a vaccine to be made available in 2021.  He says because of the need to make sure the vaccine is safe is why it may take longer.

Colleges are either underway or will be soon and so will high schools.  Dr. Morris says students who go away to college shouldn't come home on weekends because of the risk of infecting their parents and/or grandparents.  He says he is confident that K-12 schools are taking the necessary precautions for in-person learning this fall.