Covid Crisis Threatens Holiday Season as U.S. Hospitals Overflow

  • Doctors and nurses say they’re exhausted, frustrated and few
  • Months of vaccination campaigns haven’t been sufficient
A healthcare worker assists residents at a Covid-19 vaccination site in New York on Dec. 5.Photographer: Jeenah Moon/Bloomberg
Lock
This article is for subscribers only.

After months of warnings that vaccinations would ward off a Covid-19 disaster, the U.S. is sailing toward a holiday crisis.

Cases and hospital admissions are rising amid a season of family gatherings. Most victims have shunned inoculations. The situation is especially dire in the chilly Northeastern states, but doctors in many places report a grimly repetitive cycle of admission, intensive care and death. There are shortages of beds and staff to care for the suffering.