Hospitals in Cleveland and Minnesota are so stretched that they have taken out ads in newspapers begging people to get vaccinated and comply with public health guidelines such as mask wearing in an effort to reduce the number of coronavirus patients that need care, the Washington Post reports.
In Minnesota, nine health systems banded together to take out full page ads in newspapers across the state. “We’re heartbroken. We’re overwhelmed,” the headline reads. “At any time, you or your loved one might need our support,” it continues. “Heart attacks. Car accidents. Cancer. Stroke. Appendicitis. Now, an ominous question looms: Will you be able to get care at your local community hospital without delay? Today, that’s uncertain.”
Six hospital centers in Ohio–Cleveland Clinic, MetroHealth, University Hospitals, Summa Health, the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs and St. Vincent Charity Medical Center–took out a full-page ad in the Cleveland Plain-Dealer Sunday, the largest newspaper in a state where just 55% of eligible people are vaccinated, and only 36% have received boosters. “Help,” the headline reads simply. ““We now have more COVID-19 patients in our hospitals than ever before. And the overwhelming majority are unvaccinated. This is preventable.”
The ad ended with a plea: “We need you to care as much as we do.”