Indiana’s top medical group on Tuesday pleaded for more people to be vaccinated against COVID-19 because the state is at a peak of new infections and hospitalizations.

Republican Gov. Eric Holcomb will extend the state-wide public health emergency for another month, because the current state of emergency will expire on Wednesday, and legislative leaders have postponed it until January. The disputed proposal takes action, which includes steps to terminate the order.

Medical organizations warn that the vast majority of COVID-19 patients currently hospitalized are not vaccinated, and hospitals are under pressure to take care of more critically ill patients who stay in the hospital for longer periods of time.

According to the Indiana Department of Health tracking, as of Monday, the Indiana hospital has admitted 2,200 COVID-19 patients, and the number of such hospitalizations has increased by 82% in the past three weeks. About a quarter of these patients are being treated in the intensive care unit.

The Indiana Hospital Association, the Indiana Medical Association and the Indiana Nurses Association stated that more vaccinations are needed to ease the pressure on the state’s health care system.

“If current trends continue, everyone who needs medical care will be affected,” the groups said in a statement. “We urge all Indians who have not yet been vaccinated or are eligible for booster vaccines to get vaccinated before the arrival of winter to ensure that hospital beds are provided for all those in need.”

According to data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Indiana’s vaccination rate ranks 11th in the country at 50.6%. The state continues to average about 20 people die from COVID-19 every day, and the Indiana Department of Health added 119 more recent deaths on Tuesday, bringing the pandemic death toll in Indiana to 17,557.

Holcomb outlined two weeks ago that the legislature can incorporate administrative steps into state law, after which he will end the public health emergency he first issued in March 2020. However, Republican legislative leaders cancelled their plans for rapid approval of the measure after being opposed. Medical and business groups oppose provisions that mandate a broad exemption from workplace vaccination requirements.

Republicans in the House of Representatives took an unusual step on Monday to announce the text of the proposed bill in advance, giving it the name of House Bill 1001, which is usually used to be designated for passage after the legislative session is scheduled to begin on January 4. The primary task. In the 100-member House of Representatives, 56 out of 71 Republicans have supported the bill.

The bill, published online, removes the language and specifies that the medical exemption required by any employer for the COVID-19 vaccine includes “pregnancy or anticipated pregnancy.” Several doctors testified that this falsely indicated that the vaccine is not safe for pregnant women.

A spokesperson for Republican House Speaker Todd Houston did not immediately answer questions about how fast the House will try to advance the proposal and why the pregnancy language was abandoned.

Houston said last week that lawmakers are “determined to take quick action at this session to help end the state of emergency”.

Several Indiana hospital systems and some major employers, such as Indianapolis-based Eli Lilly and Company, adopted vaccine requirements for their employees even before President Joe Biden announced a federal authorization program for large corporations.

The Indiana Democrats argued that the Republicans were putting their lives and the state’s economic recovery at risk by appeasing vaccine doubters.

Lauren Ganapini, executive director of the State Democratic Party, said: “They would rather put extreme partisanship before creating a better future for Indians.” “Science and medicine are capable of fighting this epidemic. We require all Indians to fulfill their patriotic and civic obligations and help us get rid of this epidemic through vaccination.”