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Louisiana anti-vaxxers blamed for burdening hospitals as Hurricane Ida approaches

Some of the southern states have one of the lowest vaccination rates, and the consequent hospitalisations have stretched the medical system

As Hurricane Ida threatened to repeat the devastation wreaked by Hurricane Katrina back in 2005, prompting evacuations in New Orleans and across the coastal region as it progressed toward Louisiana, online trolls were quick to pick on the anti-vaxxers that the Southern states of the US have become known for, advising them not to ignore science when it comes to staying safe from storms. 

Louisiana Governor John Bel Edwards has urged residents to quickly brace themselves for possible havoc saying: “By nightfall tomorrow night, you need to be where you intend to be to ride out the storm.” National Weather Service meteorologist Benjamin Schott during the Friday news conference with the governor added, “This will be a life-altering storm for those who aren’t prepared." Meanwhile, many of the local hospitals are also taking precautionary measures as the hurricane threatens to become a Category 4, all the while tackling the fourth surge of Covid-19.

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“We are at 95 percent capacity if you try to look at every bed that we have to put somebody in, so yeah, a hurricane presents another challenge,” said Dr Ralph Dauterive, VP Medical Affairs at Ochsner in Baton Rouge in Louisiana. Prior to the pandemic, hospitals could transfer patients in case a hurricane caused major damages, but new outbreaks of the virus are preventing that. “In major evacuations of major evacuations one of the things that we try to do is get patients out of the hospital and get them into other facilities, in other locations,” Dauterive said. “That’s not going to be that easy to do with this process, we will have to probably be in the hospital at the time, there is no place to send COVID patients.”

'You relied on horse medication'

Then there is a history of people in the Southern States being skeptical about taking vaccines. An NPR report from March this year said that eight of the 10 states which have the lowest Covid-19 vaccination rates are in the South. This might also explain why the hospitals are packed to the brim with Covid patients, leaving little to no space for potential casualties caused by Hurricane Ida. 

This prompted a number of social media trolls to make fun of the people of the South via some pretty insensitive tweets in the midst of an approaching hurricane. "I have a hard time having pity on people who are vaccine deniers (esp in southern states), and now many of their kids are in the hospital. Oh and #HurricaneIda is on the way. You had your chance. Instead you relied on horse medication. SMH #COVID," one of them said, while another noted, "Adults should only be allowed to evacuate for #HurricaneIda if you’ve had the vaccine. We’ll call it Ida vaccineuation." A third stated, "You who are in Louisiana or coastal Mississippi, get out now! Learn from the mistakes of those who stayed 16 years ago. #HurricaneIda is going to be Cat 4 according current forecasts. Yall might doubt the vaccine but don't doubt this!"

The next added, "Darn it why didn’t I get the hurricane vaccine. #COVID #HurricaneIda" One more commented, "#AntiVaxxers are just like moron's that stay to ride out cat5 Hurricanes near a huge body of water. I guess they don't believe in dying from hurricanes either #Idiots #COVIDIOTS #COVID #Delta #vaccine #HurricaneIda." Another quipped, "Wondering if Lousiana residents are going to ignore the evacuation mandates coming their way or are they going to treat this potentially deadly storm the same way they treat the vaccine? #HurricaneIda #COVID19 #mandates." A person reacted with, "All of these #Antivaxers in the hospitals in Louisiana are in big trouble......... #Covid #Delta #Ida #HurricaneIda."