NYC, 2 Sep 2021, ZEXPRWIRE, We’re a hair’s breadth from submission’: National First Responders say COVID-19, psychiatric illnesses, pay and lack of supplies are the contributing factors in today’s emergency health care delays and turnovers.

Nearly a third of U.S. adults have yet to get the first shot. Areas, where vaccination rates are low, have seen sharp rises in cases in recent weeks, and authorities know more hospitalizations and untimely deaths are not far behind.

What’s Now Known…

• The Delta variant is as contagious as Chickenpox.
• ‘Breakthrough infections’ can also spread disease rapidly.
• Even those vaccinated should wear masks, says CDC.
• Healthcare workers in parts of the world are severely overwhelmed, says WHO.

Across the nation, EMS agencies along with other first responders are answering to the COVID-19 pandemic, the opioid crisis, and rampant suicides, while treating the emergency needs of an aging population, albeit in rural areas.

The burden of these psychological stressors, including the disproportionately high incidence of suicide attempts among, “first responders”, has been well documented. In many cases, this trauma is long overlooked due to many providers’ not realizing the effects of their exposure until years after the fact.

To learn more: tinyurl.com/wh25zdkb