COVID Updates for Travel Nurses: September 23, 2021

This week saw a grim COVID milestone update: the U.S. now has more reported deaths from COVID-19 than from the 1918 flu pandemic.

Clearly, this pandemic isn’t over just yet. Here’s what travel nurses should know about COVID this week, including what high-paying COVID-19 travel nurse jobs are available right now.

Interested in assignments in COVID-impacted areas? Start here.

What’s happening with COVID-19 right now

Case rates are back up again, according to the CDC’s weekly data.

Here are some quick data points about the numbers:

• Cases are up about 6.1% from the last recorded week
• Percent positivity of tests is 8.9%
• The Delta variant is still accounting for the majority of all cases
• To date, the U.S. has seen a total of 42,031,103 cases of COVID
• The death toll from COVID now stands at 672,738 in the U.S.

Unfortunately, as cases have increased, so have deaths. According to the CDC, the death rate has increased, up 17.4% from last week. On average, there are 1,448 weekly deaths from COVID right now.

What’s happening in hospitals right now

Although overall cases seem to be on the rise in the U.S. right now, hospitalizations have continued to decrease. In fact, there’s been a 5.7% decrease from the CDC’s last weekly update.

However, hospitalizations tend to lag behind an increase in cases, as it takes time for people to develop symptoms and complications that could land them in the hospital. That doesn’t mean that this increase in cases will definitely result in more hospitalizations, but past trends suggest it could happen.

The New York Times COVID tracker continues to give a helpful snapshot of what’s happening with COVID around the country. According to their data:

• West Virginia has the highest number of cases per capita
• The hard-hit Deep South is showing signs of improvement from virus cases
• Case numbers are rising in New Hampshire, Maine, Michigan and North Dakota

So far, the Upper Midwest and New England areas have been spared from summer Delta surges, so even a slow uptick in cases is making some experts hold their breath as to what will happen as colder months set in.

If you’re looking to travel to a hard-hit area or just wondering what kind of rates for travel nursing jobs are available right now, below is a sampling of some of the current travel nursing positions available:

• Idaho, Cardiovascular ICU: $8K/week
• California, L&D: $7.9K/week
• Missouri, L&D: $7.2K/week
• New Jersey, Postpartum, ICU, Pediatrics, NICU, ER, PACU, MICU/SICU, Med/Surg/Telemetry: $7.1K/week
• Illinois, Med/Surg/Telemetry: $7.1K/week
• California, ICU, L&D, ER, PACU, MICU/SICU, Med/Surg/Telemetry: $7K/week
• Michigan, NICU Level 3: $6.9K/week
• Indiana, L&D, MICU/SICU: $6.7K/week
• New Mexico, MICU/SICU: $6.7K/week
• Pennsylvania, Cardiac Cath Lab: $6.4K/week
• New York, PICU, Med/Surg: $6.4K/week
• Wyoming, L&D: $6.3K/week

Speak with a recruiter about available assignments in COVID-impacted areas today.

What’s happening with the vaccine

The NYT notes that two out of three Americans are fully vaccinated.

According to the CDC, a total of 181,728,072 million people in the U.S. have been fully vaccinated. There are now:

• 63.9% of the U.S. population with at least one dose (this number actually went down since our last update)
• 54.7% fully vaccinated Americans

The biggest vaccine update? The FDA is expected to make an official decision on booster shots following a recommendation from the FDA’s advisory panel.

The FDA panel recommended that the general public should not receive booster shots. Instead, it only recommended booster doses for people over the age of 65 and anyone at high risk, which includes healthcare workers and other workers exposed to COVID at their places of employment.

Some hospitals, healthcare facilities, and local health departments have started offering booster doses to people who fall under those guidelines. If you’re interested in receiving a booster dose, be sure to talk to your doctor about if you qualify and where to receive one.

Interested in assignments in COVID-impacted areas? Start here.