Mississippi has become the latest state to issue an urgent pandemic distress call to the federal government. Public-health official Jim Craig confirmed Wednesday that state leaders have asked the Biden administration to send a U.S. military hospital ship—such as the USNS Comfort—in a last-ditch attempt to prevent the state’s hospital system from falling into a complete collapse. The plea came after the dean of University of Mississippi Medical Center said the facility was treating 127 COVID-19 patients—including 26 children—with 90 percent of patients unvaccinated. Dean LouAnn Woodward warned: “The Mississippi hospital system will fail within the next five to seven or 10 days if the current trajectory continues.” UMMC has reportedly set up a federally staffed field hospital in its parking garage to help with the sudden overflow of COVID patients.
