MONROE COUNTY, Pa. — Dr. Eric Tesoriero is a physician in the critical care unit at St. Luke's Monroe Campus near Stroudsburg.
"At St. Luke's, we are seeing fewer COVID cases than we did at the peak of the pandemic. While we are seeing a small number of cases throughout the network, it's important to say that any case we are seeing now is entirely preventable," said Dr. Tesoriero.
Right now, a vast majority of patients at the hospital battling COVID-19 are unvaccinated. The delta variant is now the dominant strain across the country and here in Monroe County.
Here's what doctors say to look out for.
"The main difference is that you may see a little milder symptoms earlier. The typical upper respiratory type symptoms—sore throat and runny nose—should make you pause and ask that question," said Dr. Tesoriero.
And what about breakthrough cases?
"While we are occasionally seeing breakthrough cases, the vast majority of cases that we are seeing are in unvaccinated individuals. While as a nation and health system, we occasionally see breakthrough infections like you described, by and large, it's an infection in someone who did not have a vaccination," said Dr. Tesoriero.
Doctors say the message is clear: Get vaccinated to help stop the spread of the virus.
"It's concerning in that the pandemic is really focused itself now on those who are unvaccinated for whatever reason," said Dr. Tesoriero. "It really reiterates the take-home message of have a good discussion with your health care provider about your decision and make sure that you're confident in the information you're getting that's going on."