Nurses Asking Texans to Stay Vigilant

For Immediate Release

July 26, 2021

Contact:

Caitlyn Gonzales
Texas Nurses Association
cgonzales@texasnurses.org

Download PDF Press Release

Nurses Asking Texans to Stay Vigilant

Texas Nurses are overwhelmed, and hospitals are nearing capacity.

Austin, TX – Nurses across Texas are highly concerned about the recent rise in cases in the state. Both rural and urban areas are seeing greater positivity rates and more hospital admissions, and the rate of both is rapidly climbing. In addition, hospitals have yet to recover from the nursing shortage in place before COVID and are now dealing with additional vacancies as exhausted nurses leave the profession.

“Nurses are burned out. ICU units are full,” said Cindy Zolnierek, PhD, RN, CAE, CEO of the Texas Nurses Association. “We are all tired of this; nurses are tired of this.”

TNA hears from nurses in all parts of Texas, and a clear pattern has emerged of unvaccinated people contracting COVID. Recent estimates from the Department of State Health Services show that 99.5% of deaths from COVID are unvaccinated people, and nurses confirm that most hospitalized patients are also unvaccinated.

In addition, as admissions rise, nurses are more exposed and testing positive even when vaccinated.

“We are asking Texans to do their part to help beat the virus,” said Zolnierek. “If you can get vaccinated, do that as soon as possible. The virus is real. The vaccine is free, safe and effective. Even if you get COVID after vaccination, the vaccine can help keep you out of the hospital.”

COVID-19 vaccines are proven to reduce the spread of the virus and the severity of the illness if someone does contract COVID. They are also still effective against the Delta variant, which is spreading rapidly in Texas.

TNA and the American Nurses Association supports mandatory vaccines in health care settings for COVID-19 and has signed on to the Joint Statement on Health Worker Vaccine Mandates, cosigned by over 40 organizations. Our nurses are also working on local initiatives to close the vaccine equity gap and help bring vaccines to marginalized populations.

As we see case numbers nearing where they were during last year’s summer surge, nurses are asking Texans to continue masking, physical distancing, handwashing and above all getting vaccinated. In comparison, last summer the state halted elective surgeries and other in-patient procedures. This summer, nurses are handling regularly scheduled procedures on top of the huge influx of COVID patients.

In addition, many nurses are experiencing incivility from patients admitted for COVID. Zolnierek asks Texans to understand that “nurses are only here to help. Help them do their jobs.”

Cosigned by:

Texas Nurses Association
Association of Women's Health, Obstetrics and Neonatal Nurses
Association of periOperative Registered Nurses of Greater Houston
Psychiatric Advanced Practice Nurses of Texas
Texas Clinical Nurse Specialists
Texas Collaboration of periOperative Nurses
Texas DNP
Texas Emergency Nurses Association
Texas Organization for Associate Degree Nursing
Texas School Nurses Organization