The COVID-19 intensive-care unit at the United Memorial Medical Center in Houston on December 29. Go Nakamura/Getty Images Several hospitalized coronavirus patients expressed regret this week for not getting vaccinated. Their stories underscore the recent uptick in coronavirus hospitalizations - which may be encouraging more Americans to get vaccinated. Vaccination rates are increasing in states with recent COVID-19 surges like Arkansas and Louisiana. See more stories on Insider's business page. US health authorities are calling it "a pandemic of the unvaccinated." In the past two weeks, average COVID-19 hospitalizations have risen more than 50%, with unvaccinated people now representing the vast majority - about 97% - of hospitalized cases, according to the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.For many of these patients, their illness was a wake-up call."I'm admitting young, healthy people to the hospital with very serious COVID infections," Dr.