JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — Staff is busier and the patients are sicker. That's how Dr. Asma Salahuddin, pediatric hospitalist, described the daily grind at Wolfson Children's Hospital.
To the Jacksonville doctor, working during the pandemic has been exhausting. She is seeing more patients come in compared to last year and most of them are unvaccinated.
"Unfortunately I'm seeing more adolescents being admitted," Dr. Salahuddin said.
Ever since the pandemic started, Wolfson Children's Hospital said seven patients died from COVID-19. Four out of the seven deaths have happened since June 2021.
The hospital recently confirmed two children died this week from the virus. One of them was two weeks old. Two more children were admitted into the hospital Thursday.
"I think we're going to continue to see an increase in admissions," the pediatric hospitalist added.
However, Dr. Salahuddin is not giving up. When asked what keeps her moving forward, she said "it's the children" and described them as resilient.
"You're able to help them. Eventually, the majority of them get better," she said.
The work is not done, yet. Dr. Salahuddin hopes families will do their part in protecting children. She highly recommends children over the age of 12 get vaccinated.
If your child is under the age of 12, Salahuddin suggested parents should take the necessary precautions to protect them: masking up, hand washing and social distancing.