NEW ORLEANS (WGNO) — According to the Louisiana Department of Health numbers the rate of hospitalizations per day is greater than the rate has been the last two previous waves of the virus.

“The big thing we are seeing now which is scary is the numbers in our hospitals. We are seeing across the state, hospitalizations dramatically increase,” Dr. Jeffrey Elder at LCMC Health said.

This is putting hospitals in a tough spot.

“This is straining resources. Taking up our scarce resources which is our hospital beds,” Dr. Elder said.

Dr. Elder said that more than 90 percent of the people currently in the hospitals are unvaccinated.

“Now this is a pandemic of the unvaccinated with critical illness,” he said.

He said for those breakthrough cases of unvaccinated folks getting COVID-19, they are recovering at home.

“For those who are unvaccinated, you have to get vaccinated. We don’t want to see this in our hospitals,” he said.

Dr. Elder said getting vaccinated is the responsible thing to do for the community to get back on track.

“For those who haven’t been vaccinated, what are your concerns, why haven’t you been vaccinated, I am happy to have these conversations all day long. We don’t want to see people die because they weren’t vaccinated,” Dr. Elder said.

Area hospitals are currently planning more vaccine events in the upcoming weeks. Doctors say in the past week, calls have doubled with interest from folks wanting to get vaccinated.