For the second year in a row, KPRC 2 paid tribute to the hard-working heroes in our medical community.

This morning, frontline workers within the Texas Medical Center were celebrated with breakfast.

COVID-19 hospitalizations in the Texas Medical Center are about to match where Houston has hit during previous peaks, like the second wave in June/July 2020.

Here are things to know for Wednesday, July 21:

Texas Medical Center hosted a brief discussion about the latest COVID-19 trends, breakthrough cases and the impact of the Delta variant in the Houston area.

HOUSTON – The Texas Medical Center is hosting a briefing Tuesday that will provide an update on the vaccine rollout across the Texas Medical Center. Health experts said they’re concerned about the increasing cases in the area. Health experts said they saw the impact from Thanksgiving and believe the number of cases can continue to grow as families gather for the holidays. Families are encouraged to practice social distancing and take a COVID-19 test if planning to spend it with a “safe bubble” of people. Health experts have recommended patients talk to their doctor before taking the vaccine.

HOUSTON – Top doctors with the Texas Medical Center said there’s an alarming increase of COVID-19 cases in the Houston-area in the last few weeks. “We’re seeing significant growth of this virus, significant number of more cases, and sadly hospitalizations of our sickest of patients,” said Bill McKeon, President and CEO of the Texas Medical Center. McKeon said the medical center had 155 new hospitalizations for COVID-19 on Wednesday morning, which was a 43-percent increase from a month ago. They were treating 300 COVID-19 patients at Houston Methodist Hospital locations alone, which was an increase from 200 eight days ago. But with the news of two possible COVID-19 vaccines from Pfizer and Moderna, doctors said there’s hope in the future.

HOUSTON – Building on seven months of extensive data gathering, analysis and publication, the Texas Medical Center is updating its public dashboards to provide user-friendly information in tracking COVID-19 in greater Houston. The dashboard highlights the reproduction rate (rate at which COVID-19 is being spread), testing trends, number of overall positive cases, and ICU bed capacity, among other topics. KPRC 2 uses this information to keep news reports up-to-date for the nine counties the TMC serves. “There is no delay in the TMC data so when you look at testing data, positivity rate, people being hospitalized, you’re getting real-time data,” said Dr. Mark Boom, with Houston Methodist Hospital. President and CEO of TMC, Bill McKeon, said the real-time data shows proof when social distancing has worked.

You have to have an adequate number of ICU beds available to handle a surge in cases. The plan calls for three phases in which the TMC will increase the number of ICU beds. In phase one, where we are as of Monday, 1,330 ICU beds total exist. Officials said 445 of those beds are occupied by COVID-19 patients, the rest are occupied by other seriously ill patients. But the TMC said it can greatly expand that number of ICU beds.