No ICU beds for children available in Dallas-area hospitals, county judge says

DALLAS COUNTY, Texas – The COVID-19 situation in Dallas County is growing dire as area hospitals are reaching full capacity, resulting in no beds available for children in the ICU, according to Dallas County Judge Clay Jenkins.

In an interview with CNN, Judge Jenkins said there are zero beds in Dallas County ICUs left for children, meaning if a child is sick or has a medical emergency, they may have to seek treatment elsewhere or wait until one eventually becomes available.

“That means if your child’s in a car wreck, if your child has a congenital heart defect or something and needs an ICU bed, or more likely if they have COVID and need an ICU bed, we don’t have one. Your child will wait for another child to die,” Jenkins told CNN.

Jenkins told CNN that there hasn’t been a bed in the ICU available for children for at least 24 hours.

As of Friday, August 13, Dallas County reported 915 positive cases, bringing the county’s cumulative total of confirmed COVID-19 cases to 282,742. The county also reported 4,244 COVID-19 related deaths.

Fortunately, the surge in COVID-19 cases has influenced others to receive their vaccine to help protect them against the delta variant.

As of Saturday, Dallas County Health and Human Services said they have given out nearly 500,000 vaccines at a mega-vaccine clinic.

Sixty-two percent of Dallas County residents ages 12 and older have received at least one dose of a COVID-19 vaccine as of Aug. 7, Dallas County reported.

You can see the county’s COVID-19 data here.

More on KSAT:

• Already had COVID-19? Your antibodies won’t protect you from getting the delta variant, SA doctor says
• Live COVID-19 updates: Attorney General Ken Paxton takes the state’s mask mandate ban to the Texas Supreme Court