TAMPA, Fla. — At least one doctor in Tampa says he had to turn away a cancer patient with an emergency because of the overflow capacity at area hospitals due to COVID-19.

"I had to turn away a cancer patient that needed emergency treatment simply for the fact that because my hospital didn't have any beds."

Dr. Nitesh Paryani, a Tampa oncologist, said there recently has been long wait times for patients to be treated in a Tampa hospital emergency room.   

He said, at one point the wait was 12 hours for people seeking emergency care.

"Delta is just ripping through the hospitals in ways that we couldn't have imagined and the strain it is causing on the health care system is unimaginable," said Dr. Paryani.

Doctors say the biggest way to avoid hospitalization due to COVID-19 is to get vaccinated. They say the majority of patients rushing to local ER's with COVID-19 symptoms are those that have not been fully vaccinated.

Dr. Nitesh Paryani, a Tampa oncologist, said there recently has been long wait times for patients to be treated in the emergency room.  (Spectrum News image) 

As the delta variant spreads and snarls patient care at local hospitals, the federal government is continuing efforts to produce more vaccine, with the likelihood third doses and boosters will be recommended starting this fall.

Pfizer & Biontech is currently seeking FDA approval for a third shot for its vaccine.  Currently, only a two shot regimen three weeks apart is needed.

Moderna is now seeking full FDA approval for its vaccine, which the Pfizer vaccine was given in the past week.

And those that were vaccinated with the Johnson & Johnson one-dose shot will likely need a booster eight months after their first shot.

There are close to 200 million American's that are either fully vaccinated or have received their first shot.

In Florida, the number of those vaccinated mirror the national numbers.   

Just over 50%, or 11.1 million Floridians have been full vaccinated, well short of President Joe Biden's July 4th goal of 70% vaccinated.