'Heartbreaking': Mississippi gets 2nd field hospital in days

Missisippi, one of the nation's least vaccinated states, has opened its second field hospital in days to treat a surge of coronavirus patients

JACKSON, Miss. -- On normal days, the garage is where people park while visiting Mississippi's only children's hospital, a building next door decorated with a logo of a rainbow and sun. Now air-conditioned tents with beds, monitors and oxygen fill the garage's bottom floor. By Wednesday, coronavirus patients will begin being treated in Mississippi's second field hospital opened within days on the University of Mississippi Medical Center campus. It comes as the surging delta variant of COVID-19 has overwhelmed hospitals in a state with one of the nation's lowest vaccination rates. The first emergency field hospital opened last week with federal government backing after hospitalizations began spiking in Mississippi; this one is being spearheaded by a Christian relief charity Samaritan's Purse. The North Carolina-based relief organization arrived Sunday with more than 50 more medical professionals to erect tents with 32 more beds. University of Mississippi Medical Center spokesperson Marc Rolph was somber about unfolding events.