Overwhelmed and 'heartbroken' Minnesota doctors took out a full-page newspaper ad to beg people to get the COVID-19 vaccine

• Doctors in Minnesota pleaded in a full-page newspaper ad for people to get vaccinated.
• Executives from nine healthcare systems signed the letter, which was published in the Minneapolis Star Tribune.

Overworked doctors reaching their breaking point in Minnesota took out a full-page newspaper ad over the weekend to plead for more people in their state to get vaccinated.

Executives representing nine healthcare systems in the state signed on to an open letter urging all Minnesotans to get vaccinated or receive their COVID-19 booster shots as soon as possible.

"We're heartbroken. We're overwhelmed," read the ad, which was published in the Sunday edition of the Minneapolis Star Tribune.

—M Health Fairview (@MHealthFairview) December 13, 2021

"Our doctors, nurses, and people working in health care are doing everything we can to take care of you when you're sick. And yet every day, we're seeing avoidable illness and death as a direct result of COVID-19," read the ad.

The open letter then highlights how "critical" the situation is in the state, with emergency departments overfilled and hospital operations strained.

According to Minnesota's COVID response website, 98.7% of the state's adult ICU beds are currently in use. COVID patients are using around 40% of those beds.

"At any time, you or a loved one might need our support. Heart attacks. Car accidents. Cancer. Stroke. Appendicitis. Now, an ominous question looms: will you be able to get care from your local community hospital without delay? Today, that's uncertain," the doctors wrote.

"How does this happen in 2021 — almost two full years since this deadly pandemic began? How can we as a society stand by and watch people die when a simple shot could prevent a life-threatening illness?" the doctors added. "Your access to health care is being seriously threatened by COVID-19. We need to stop the spread!"

The nine doctors who signed on to the letter did not immediately respond to a request for comment from Insider.

According to The New York Times' COVID-19 vaccine tracker, only 64% of the eligible population in Minnesota has been fully inoculated. The Times' COVID-19 case tracker also recorded a 15% increase in COVID-19 cases in Minnesota over the last 14 days, with a 10% increase in hospitalizations over the same time frame.

Rahul Koranne, president of the Minnesota Hospital Association, told CNN that the ad was a "dire yet accurate summary" of the COVID-19 situation in the state, adding that emergency departments, ICUs, and surgeries are full, leading to the delay or cancelation of some scheduled procedures.

"Our health care heroes are exhausted, heartbroken, and overwhelmed after running this relentless ultramarathon for 22 months each day, evening and night," Koranne told CNN.

The US this week passed a grim milestone of 800,000 deaths and 50 million COVID-19 infections.

—M Health Fairview (@MHealthFairview) December 13, 2021