◼ Covid hospitalizations have surged 32% in Washington since December 20 ◼ University of Washington Medicine suspends elective surgeries through January 14 ◼ 25% to 30% of statewide COVID tests are positive ◼ Washington reported a record number of new COVID cases yesterday ◼ A UK report tracking the progress of hospitalized Omicron patients found 7 percent died within 28 days of admission, similar to hospitalized patients in South Africa ◼ Seattle Public Schools delays class restart on Monday to mass test students and teachers
[KIRKLAND, Wash.] – (MTN) Confusion is growing among Washingtonians who will return to work and school on Monday as pundits, health experts, and government leaders send mixed messages about the COVID variant Omicron.
The University of Washington announced beginning on Jan. 4, they will only test people who are symptomatic or have had close contact with a previously confirmed COVID case. Testing for work or travel requirements will no longer be supported.
The challenge facing testing labs is how samples are processed. During previous COVID waves, samples were tested as a pool, which increases efficiency. Technicians take four or five partial samples from individual test swabs and combine them together. The combined samples are PCR tested and if the result was negative, the individual samples tested together are marked negative. If the pool came back positive, each sample within the pool would be tested to identify the positive results. According to the UW Virology Lab, test samples this past week have been 25% to 30% positive, making pool testing ineffective.
Every Region in Washington State Has High or Extreme New Case Transmission
Data provided by the Washington State Department of Health on December 30, 2021 – vaccination rate data is through December 28, 2021, and booster data is through December 29, 2021
In South King County one test site in Auburn reported 49% of tests were positive for COVID. The total number of tests being run decreased significantly this past week due to weather and staff-related closures of test sites in Western Washington.
While headlines and soundbites describe Omicron as mild, an important detail is being left out – only if you’re vaccinated, boosted, and otherwise healthy. As the United States entered the last day of 2021, more than 90,000 Americans were hospitalized for COVID and more than 10,000 are being hospitalized each day.
“The previous finding of reduced overall risk of hospitalisation for Omicron compared to Delta is confirmed by the updated Study 1. In addition, both studies find a substantial reduction in risk of hospitalisation for Omicron cases after 3 doses of vaccine compared to those who are unvaccinated, with overlapping estimate ranges. Both studies have been run on relatively small numbers of hospitalised cases and will require iteration. Despite the estimated reduction in hospitalisation risk and preserved vaccine effectiveness against hospitalisation, the very high number of Omicron cases means that there may still be large numbers of admissions to hospital.”
NO PROMOTIONAL CONSIDERATION HAS BEEN GIVEN OR REQUESTED FROM PROJECT N95 OR ANY MANUFACTURER OF MASKS
CNBC reported this morning, “The latest data from the U.K. Health Security Agency found the risk of hospitalization for people infected with omicron is about a third of that posed by the delta variant.”
This appears to be good news but ignores multiple factors. First and foremost, this is more than double the relative risk that South Africa has reported. This is likely due to South Africa having a much younger and relatively more healthy population than Europe and North America.
Considering the potential impact on the United States, the United Kingdom has a much higher vaccination and booster shot rate. According to the U.K. Department of Health, 82% of all residents 12 and older were fully vaccinated through Dec. 22. Additionally, more than two-thirds of UK residents 12 and older who are eligible for a booster shot, have received one. Booster doses were recently introduced in the United States for adolescents 16 to 17 years old and are expected to expand to children 12 to 15 years old as early as next week.
Further analysis of United States Centers for Disease Control (CDC) data indicated only the New England states have a similar percentage of vaccinated residents. Among all US states, only Vermont and Maine had similar vaccination and booster rates to the UK. Hospitalization data in the first four hot spots of Hawaii, New York, Florida, and Washington do indicate that vaccines are helping to keep more people out of the hospital, but are not encouraging.
Vaccination Rates of United Kingdom Countries vs Most Vaccinated US States
UK Country
12+ Fully Vaccinated
12+ with Booster
Most Vaccinated US States
12+ Fully Vaccinated
18+ with Booster
Scotland
84%
58%
Rhode Island
85%
46%
Wales
83%
55%
Vermont
84%
54%
England
82%
55%
Connecticut
84%
41%
Northern Ireland
81%
48%
Maine
84%
48%
Washington
78%
41%
Texas
67%
31%
California
77%
36%
Florida
74%
31%
United Kingdom vaccination rate data from the BBC, December 23, 2021, using National Health Service data from December 19 to December 22, compared to the United States from the CDC, December 31, 2021 – Texas and California added to provide a benchmark among the states with the largest populations
In Washington, the most vaccinated counties are six to ten percent below the United Kingdom. San Juan County is the closest, with 77% full vaccinated and 58% boosted. The least vaccinated counties are 50 to 55 percent below the UK.
Vaccination Rates in Five Largest Washington Counties
County
Population
Population Vaccinated
Vaccinated with Boosters
King
2,293,300
74%
43%
Pierce
917,100
55%
34%
Snohomish
844,400
64%
36%
Spokane
527,600
53%
34%
Clark
512,800
57%
36%
Data from the Washington State Department of Health, December 30, 2021
New York City is about a week ahead of Seattle in the progression of Omicron, and from Dec. 22 to Dec. 30, hospitalizations for COVID more than doubled, while the number of COVID patients in the ICU almost doubled. With hospitals in Washington state already full and reports of Idaho Panhandle hospitals once again being overwhelmed with coronavirus cases, hospitalists are growing concerned that medical facilities will be overrun.
Miami-Dade County in Florida is seven to ten days behind Seattle. According to the New York Times, Florida has the fourth fastest-growing hospitalization rate in the country outpacing New York and Washington. Officials in Hawaii have requested 700 medical personnel from FEMA as hospitalizations surge. So many people are sickened from Omicron that inter-island air travel and ambulance services on O’hau are starting to be impacted. Officials in Maui announced that a booster shot is now required to be considered fully vaccinated.
The Dec. 31 report from the UK Health Agency also showed alarming data for clinical outcomes for people once they are hospitalized. The study reviewed 815 individuals with laboratory-confirmed Omicron cases where were admitted to the hospital within the last 28 days. The median age was 45.5 years old and 57 died from COVID-related illness – a seven-percent mortality rate among hospitalized patients. The age of those who died was between 41 and 99, and the median time was just five days after collecting their test sample for genomic sequencing.
South Africa has observed similar outcomes among the hospitalized. The NICD has reported 848 COVID-related deaths in the last 14 days, including 81 Friday. In Gauteng Province, The number of hospitalized COVID patients is up almost 300% from a month ago – 85 percent are unvaccinated. As Omicron is progressing among the hospitalized the ratio of patients on oxygen, in the ICU, and on ventilators is higher or equal to November, when the wards were full of Delta patients.
On Dec. 20, the WSDoH reported there were 610 hospitalized COVID patients in Washington – the lowest number since August. On Dec. 28, the number had leaped to 897. Harborview Medical Center in Seatle went from three COVID patients to 27 in the same time period.
The U.S. Centers for Disease Control has contributed to the confusion while outraging the medical community. Leaders announced on Dec. 27 new guidelines which shorten quarantine and isolation time in half for asymptomatic and mild cases of COVID. As part of the announcement, the CDC said they were following available data. When pressed to present studies or supporting evidence during a Dec. 29 media briefing, a CDC spokesperson indicated data was not available. The foundation of the new recommendations is dependent on the honor system, and that people will follow the guidelines, including wearing a properly fitted N95, KN95, KN94 mask for an additional five days.
If You Test Positive for COVID – Isolate
Everyone, regardless of vaccination status
Stay home for 5 days. If you have no symptoms or your symptoms are resolving after 5 days, you can leave your house.
Continue to wear a mask around others for 5 additional days.
If you have a fever, continue to stay home until your fever resolves.
If You Were Exposed to Someone with COVID – Quarantine
If you: Have been boosted
OR Completed the primary series of the Pfizer or Moderna vaccine within the last 6 months
OR Completed the primary series of the Jassen/Johnson & Johnson vaccine within the last 2 months
Wear a mask around others for 10 days.
Test on day 5, if possible.
If you develop symptoms get a test and stay home.
But, If You Were Exposed to Someone with COVID – Quarantine
If you: Completed the primary series of Pfizer or Moderna vaccine over 6 months ago and are not boosted
OR Completed the primary series of Jassen/Johnson & Johnson over 2 months ago and are not boosted
OR Are unvaccinated
Stay home for 5 days. After that continue to wear a mask around others for 5 additional days.
If you can’t quarantine you must wear a mask for 10 days.
Test on day 5 if possible.
If you develop symptoms get a test and stay home
Among nations dealing with surges of Omicron cases, only South Africa has adopted similar isolation and quarantine requirements. In politically charged low vaccination rate counties across the United States, it is highly unlikely these guidelines will be followed.
Seattle Public Schools announced they were suspending all classes on Monday so that staff, faculty, and students can get COVID testing. The district was able to secure 60,000 tests and designated several schools at mass testing sites. Social media was full of questions from parents in other large school districts such as Lake Washington and Bellevue, wondering why a similar pause wasn’t being initiated. The Northshore School District has been pool testing the student body for months. A program that has been very effective at keeping the number of cases within the district down.
The continued messaging of Omicron being mild is frustrating hospital leaders. “There are very, very few people who get the common cold who end up in the hospital,” explained Hilton Raethel, Healthcare Association of Hawaii’s President and CEO in an interview with KHON. “And our hospital counts are going up every single day and, again, the common cold generally does not land you in the hospital — COVID can and COVID will.”
Knowledge is the best tool to fight against fear. A wise person chooses to be informed so they can make sound decisions. To join the fight against COVID misinformation, you can share this update through your social media platform of choice.
[KING COUNTY, Wash.] – (MTN) Officials in five states have reported Omicron cases from Hawaii to New York, as the world races to better understand the danger the new variant presents.
In Washington, the first set of local COVID data was made available in a week, indicating that hospitalizations are plateaued again and new cases are down. Twenty-six counties no longer have high rates of transmission. There was an increase in new cases among 20 to 49-year-olds compared to last week.
Governor Jay Inslee reported that FEMA was sending two mobile vaccination clinics to King County, with the first one opening on December 20 in Federal Way.
One-third of the 3.3 million booster eligible residents of Washington have leveled up, while in some areas people are searching for appointments to get a third dose.
Almost 75% of residents age 12 and over are now fully vaccinated, and 17% of all Washington children ages 5 to 11 have received at least one dose of the Pfizer vaccine.
Locally, new COVID cases in the Bellevue, Lake Washington, and Northshore School Districts were down from last week. Vaccination rates for children 5 to 11 that live in the three districts are remarkable with some zip codes reporting almost 60% of all kids already receiving their first dose.
In national news, the United States has confirmed ten Omicron variant cases in California, Colorado, Hawaii, Minnesota, and New York. The infections in Hawaii, Minnesota, and several in New York were caused by community transmission.
President Joe Biden announced new programs to try and combat the spread of COVID in the United States, but Republicans in the Senate threatened to have the United States default on the national debt if he implemented meaningful strict measures.
In South Africa officials are becoming increasingly alarmed as new cases and hospitalizations increase exponentially. The Gauteng Province, home to 15.7 million is the hardest hit, but cases were increasing across the nation. Officials there reported COVID hospitalizations increased more than 23% overnight, and ICU admissions jumped almost 40%.
A study published tonight from South Africa reported that people relying on natural immunity had a 240% higher chance of reinfection with the Omicron variant, compared to the Beta or Delta variants.
In disinformation, we explore the claim that the Omicron variant is no worse than a cold or flu.
No promotional consideration has been given, or requested from the n95 project or any manufacturer of masks
Washington State Update for December 2, 2021
Washington state Covid-19 update
After a six-day break from updated and accurate data from the Washington State Department of Health, we’re back. A week ago the question was how much would Thanksgiving travel impact new case rates. The Omicron variant has changed the plot.
Vaccination data for the state was updated. A couple of counties had numbers drop from last week. This has happened before as data gets validated but this update dropped Grant County below 50% – so the brackets changed.
Skagit and Whatcom Counties new cases rates are down about 40% from three weeks ago. The surge of cases among mostly unvaccinated residents is winding down. New
New cases have decreased a smidge compared to last week but do not reveal any significant trends.
Percent of Total Population Fully Vaccinated
Total Population in Group
Average 14-Day New Case Rate
70.00% or above (3 counties)
2,343,250
127.7
60.00% to 69.99% (5 counties)
1,374,000
261.0
50.00% to 59.99% (15 counties)
3,420,400
227.8
40.00% to 49.99% (9 counties)
487,375
234.7
32.30% to 39.99% (6 counties)
151,850
176.7
14-Day New Covid-19 Cases per 100K average by Vaccination Rate for Total Population, Adjusted for Population by County
Through December 2, Washington’s statewide 14-day rolling average is 203.2 Covid-19 cases per 100K, and the 7 day rolling average is 82.7.
No counties have a case rate over 400.0. per 100,000 residents. Twenty-six counties representing 5.65 million Washingtonians have a 7 day moving average case rate under 100.
New cases by age declined for every age group except 20 to 49-year-olds, which increased. Hospitalizations for ages 20 to 34 also increased.
Age Group
7-Day Case Rate
7-Day Hospitalization Rate
Ages 0-11
91.5
0.1
Ages 12-19
83.3
0.5
Ages 20-34
100.1
9.1
Ages 35-49
100.1 (not a typo)
5.5
Ages 50-64
73.8
8.8
Ages 65-79
44.1
10.2
Ages 80+
40.6
17.0
7-day case rate and 7-day hospitalization rate is per 100K within the age group – the target for 7-day case rate is <25.0, but there are other factors such as vaccination rates within the age groups, how many total tests within the 7-day period, and the positivity rate within each age group
The USA Today COVID Tracker has not been updated since November 30 but reports 9,303 Washingtonians have died from Covid-19 related illness.
FEMA sending mobile vaccination clinics to Washington
Governor Jay Inslee announced that FEMA would be sending two mobile vaccination clinics to Washington. The first site will open on December 20 in Federal Way and is slated to operate for a month. A second location is planned but a date and location were not announced.
“This is great news in the ongoing fight against COVID. I am grateful for our strong partnership with the federal government, and these FEMA Family Mobilization Clinics coming to King County is a great result of that partnership,” said Inslee. “This is an innovative model that will help increase equitable access to vaccination for all Washingtonians.”
A constellation of partners is working with FEMA including the Washington State Department of Health, the King County Executive’s Office, and Seattle & King County Public Health.
Some people in Western Washington have reported problems in securing vaccination appointments for boosters due to high demand.
One-third of booster eligible Washingtonians have leveled up
The Washington State Department of Health reported 1.08 million of the 3.3 million eligible for boosters have rolled up their sleeves. There is significant evidence that vaccine and disease acquired immunity declines after five to seven months, but a number of factors such as age and other health issues can affect the duration.
There is some evidence within the genetic sequencing of the Omicron variant that disease-acquired immunity from previous mutations won’t be as strong as vaccine-based immunity.
Over 17% of Washington kids age 5 to 11 have received their first dose of the COVID vax
The Washington State Department of Health reported 116,121 children from 5 to 11 have received their first dose of the Pfizer COVID vaccine, about 17% of all eligible kids in Washington.
The Pfizer vaccine Emergency Use Authorization (EUA) was amended to include 5 to 11-year-olds. They receive two smaller doses and reach fully vaccinated after five weeks. Initial data indicates that due to the stronger immune response of children and adolescents, a booster or third dose is not needed. That could change with time or if another variant emerges that is vaccine-resistant.
Washington state approaching 75% of population 12 and older fully vaccinated
The Washington State Department of Health reported 80.8% of all Washingtonians 12 and older have received at least one dose of the COVID vaccine and 74.6% are fully vaccinated.
Although this is good news, Washington is starting to fall behind other states. The Mayo Clinic reported that Washington was in 10th place for 12 to 17-year-olds fully vaccinated, 9th place for 18 to 64-year-olds, and tied with 32 other states for first place for 65 and older.
Travel Advisories
Due to the confirmation of community transmission of the Omicron variant in the United States, we are advising our readers to reconsider air travel and recreational travel plans. Especially if those plans include going to places with large crowds or major events at enclosed buildings.
Thank you
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King County, Washington is reporting over 85.0% of age eligible residents are vaccinated with at least one dose. The highest rates of positivity are in areas with low vaccination rates statewide. The FDA has provided full approval of the Pfizer vaccine for anyone 16 and over and EUA approval for the Moderna and Johnson & Johnson vaccines. The Pfizer vaccine has EUA approval for children 5 to 15 years old.
COVID vaccines and boosters are free for anyone 5 and older. Lyft and Hopelink provide free transportation, and KinderCare, the Learning Care Group, and the YMCA offer free childcare during vaccination appointments or recuperation.
It has been a week since the last report and hospital status has improved significantly while the number of COVID patients receiving care remains elevated. The Washington State Department of Health reported 89.4% of staffed acute care beds were occupied with 10.2% of patients infected with Covid-19. There are 706 COVID patients statewide with an estimated 212 in the ICU – 114 requiring ventilators.
Statewide, there are an estimated 753 acute care and 151ICU beds available.
On Wednesday, the 7 day rolling average hospital admission rate for new COVID patients was statistically the same as last week – 65.
Hospital status by region – ICU Occupancy should be below 80%, ICU COVID Patients should be below 20%, Acute Care Occupancy should be below 80%, and Acute Care COVID Patients should be below 10%
– Blackwell (1*/4) – Dickinson/Explorer (2*/7) – Eastlake High (1*/3) – Ella Baker (1*/0) – Evergreen Middle School (1*/0) – Finn Hill Middle School (2*/18) – Inglewood Middle School (1*/0) – Juanita High (2*/39) – Kamiakin Middle School (2*/12) – Keller (2*/7) – Kirkland Middle School (1*/8) – Lakeview Elementary (2*/2) – Lake Washington High School (1*/7) – Mead (2*/7) – Northstar Middle School (12) – Redmond High School (1*/10) – Redmond Middle School (1*/19) – Rush (2*/8) – Thoreau (2*/6)
None
Northshore
YELLOW
– Bothell High School (3*/12) – Canyon Creek Elementary (5**/11) – Canyon Park Middle School (1*/4) – Crystal Springs Elementary (1*/17) – Fernwood Elementary (1*/0) – Frank Love Elementary (1*/10) – Kenmore Elementary (1*/6) – Kenmore Middle School (4*/32) – Kokanee Elementary (0/1) – Leota Middle School (1*/2) – Maywood Hills Elementary (3*/4) – Moorlands Elementary (1*/2) – Northshore Middle School (1*/13) – Ruby Bridges Elementary (0/1) – Shelton View Elementary (0/2) – Skyview Middle School (1*/4) – Sunrise Elementary (2*/2) – Timbercrest Middle School (2*/0) – Wellington Elementary (1*/1) – Woodin Elementary (0/2) Woodmore Elementary (0/4)
None
Local Districts Scorecard – * indicates positive cases only ** indicates 5 or more confirmed positive cases – (x*/y) x is positive cases and 7 quarantined, quarantined does not include positive cases
We redefined the school district statuses. Information for classroom and building closures has been a challenge to obtain, both for closures and reopening. We are adopting moving any school with more than ten active COVID cases reported into the red, and we’ve adjusted the third column to reflect this change.
Based on reader feedback, and improvement in the data we are receiving, we have adjusted how we are reporting data. The Lake Washington and Northshore School Districts are now reported as (X*/Y) or (X**/Y). X represents the number of positive cases while Y represents how many are in quarantine. The number in quarantine does not include positive cases. If there are two asterisks, that indicates five or more confirmed cases within the last 14 days at that school.
Confirmed COVID cases were down in the three school districts we track. The Bellevue School District did not have updated data for quarantined students today.
The Lake Washington School District updates data once a week, and we’ve had no parent confirmed reports on new COVID cases this week.
We continued to encourage parents to request daily updates from the Lake Washington School District. This change would bring the three school districts we track into alignment.
Bellevue-Bothell-Kirkland-Woodinville local COVID news
King County Public Health updated the vaccination rates by zip code and now reports the data from ages 5 and up. Vaccination rates for children between 5 to 11 remain remarkable for the region.
Percentage of King County Residents 5 and older who have received at least one dose of COVID vaccine, December 2, 2021
Zip Code
Percent vaccinated, at least one dose, 5 to 11 years old
Percent vaccinated, at least one dose, 5 and older
98155
46.8%
92.5%
98028
42.7%
88.5%
98011
37.2%
85.2%
98034
38.8%
84.3%
98033
59.5%
93.5%
98072
39.2%
88.2%
98077
35.7%
80.2%
98052
55.0%
94.6%
98004
51.3%
>95.0%
98039
44.6%
90.7%
98005
53.4%
94.8%
98007
32.3%
88.0%
98008
44.5%
91.2%
98053
46.0%
92.9%
98074
50.5%
>95.0%
98075
43.0%
>95.0%
Vaccination rates with at least one dose
National Round-Up
Johns Hopkins University Cumulative Case Tracker reports 137,602 new cases and 1,960 deaths nationwide on Thursday. New cases continue to grow at a significant rate in the United States. There is no way to know if Omicron is driving the increase, but current data indicates that over 99% of new cases are Delta or one of its sublineages.
At least 10 Omicron COVID variant cases confirmed in the United States
Health officials in California, Colorado, Hawaii, Minnesota, and New York confirmed at least one case of the Omicron variant in their states.
Yesterday, the Centers for Disease Control confirmed the first Omicron variant case in the United States. The travel-related case was an 18 to 49-year-old male tested in the San Francisco area. They were fully vaccinated with an mRNA vaccine but not eligible for a booster because six months hadn’t passed since their second shot. They returned from South Africa on November 22 and tested on November 29. They have mild symptoms and are quarantined at home.
Late tonight, California officials reported a second travel-related case in Los Angeles county. That person traveled from South Africa to Los Angeles via London and returned on November 22. They are fully vaccinated but did not receive a booster. They are experiencing mild symptoms and are quarantined at home. Health officials reported they have already contacted and tested all close contacts, and didn’t find any new cases.
This morning Minnesota officials reported a community transmission case. The person identified as male, traveled to New York City to attend an anime convention at the Javits Center from November 19 to 21. The event had 53,000 attendees. They were fully vaccinated with an mRNA vaccine and had received a booster in early November.
Around lunchtime, Colorado officials reported a travel-related case. The woman was fully vaccinated but had not received a booster. She told authorities she had worn a mask during all her travels and developed symptoms after returning home from southern Africa last week. She has mild symptoms and is quarantined at home.
In the late afternoon, New York Governor Kathy Hochul reported five cases in the metro New York City area. There wasn’t little information available on each case, which is a combination of community transmission and travel-related. Two were in Queens, two in Brooklyn, one in Suffolk County, and one was not identified. The condition and vaccination status weren’t readily available.
Close to press time, officials in Hawaii reported their first case of an unvaccinated individual. The person had not traveled so officials believe it was caused by community transmission. The person is unvaccinated and was previously infected with COVID. They were tested on November 29, and currently are experiencing moderate symptoms. The press release from the State of Hawaii Department of Health did not indicate if they were hospitalized.
President Joe Biden announces winter battle plan to fight COVID
Under the threat of letting the United States default on its national debt, President Joe Biden conceded he would not push further vaccine mandates and announced other measures to combat COVID and the Omicron variant.
Requiring travelers entering the country by air to test negative for Covid-19 within a day of departure, regardless of vaccination status or nationality
Extending the requirement that masks be worn on airplanes, trains and public transportation to March 18
Requiring private health insurance companies to cover 100% of the cost of at-home tests for COVID
Public education to encourage 100 million eligible adults to get boosters shots
Editor’s Note: Consider us very underwhelmed.
Global update
New Omicron variant cases and hospitalizations skyrocket in South Africa
The number of new COVID cases and hospitalizations in South Africa is increasing at an alarming rate, with officials concerned that a record peak in infections is only 14 to 21 days away.
The South Africa Department of Health (SADOH) reported 74% of all detected COVID cases in November and 90% of new cases in the last week of the month were the Omicron variant. New cases have increased exponentially since November 24, the same day South African officials alerted the World Health Organization of the new variant.
Officials haven’t provided specifics on how much more transmissible Omicron is to previous variants, only saying that is higher.
New COVID cases in South Africa November 11 to December 2, 2021
SADOH reported 11,535 new cases today, an increase of 468% from a week ago. The 7 day rolling average for new cases jumped to 5,093. South Africa is testing about 52,000 people a day as the positivity rate increase at a significant rate. Officials reported 22.4% of the tests performed on Wednesday as positive for COVID infection.
In Gauteng Province, home to 15.7 million people, the number of hospitalized patients increased 23.4% overnight, jumping from 1,035 to 1,351 total patients. ICU patients increased by 38.5% while people needing oxygen held steady at 15% and ventilator use increased from 27 to 30.
Study from South Africa indicates COVID reinfection risk is very high
Researchers look at data from 2.8 million individuals who had lab-confirmed COVID positive tests at least 90 days before November 27, 2021. Among that group, they identified 35,670 lab-confirmed reinfections. The study found that reinfection with the Beta or Delta variant was infrequent, with disease acquired immunity providing protection. The research did not take the severity of illness into consideration for the initial or subsequent infections.
Reinfection rates from November 1 to November 27 increased by 240%, indicating that natural immunity may not provide much benefit. The results of the study could have implications on the effectiveness of monoclonal antibodies, but more data is required.
The study was done by a number of respected individuals but has not been peer-reviewed.
Disinformation
Although some officials have stated that Omicron cases appear to be mild, disinformation campaigns have latched on to these statements and are claiming an infection is no worse than a cold or flu.
On November 26 and again on November 28, Dr. Angleique Coetzee said that the infections she saw in her private practice were ‘very mild.’ On November 28 she expanded her statement to say that the observation was ‘not anecdotally’ and other clinicians were echoing her findings. She also stated that hospitalizations were not increasing. Her comments were addressed in a World Health Organization Omicron update on the same day.
“There is currently no information to suggest that symptoms associated with Omicron are different from those from other variants. Initial reported infections were among university students—younger individuals who tend to have more mild disease—but understanding the level of severity of the Omicron variant will take days to several weeks.”
We do not believe that Dr. Coetzee is actively spreading disinformation and is speaking from her direct experience as a clinician. We also believe that people are misunderstanding what a ‘mild’ case of COVID means. A mild case is a case that doesn’t require clinical intervention or hospitalizations. With Covid-19 that’s more than a cold or the flu.
Dr. Rudo Mathivha is the head of critical care at Baragwanath Hospital in Soweto, a level 1 trauma center and the largest hospital in the Southern Hemisphere with 3,400 beds. Dr. Mathivha did a series of interviews in South Africa yesterday and reported she was seeing an increase in hospital admissions in children under 5 years old accompanied by a dramatic increase in patients needing high care and admission to the ICU.
“The number of ill patients presenting to hospitals has increased exponentially,” she said.
“We are seeing definitely a change in the demographic profile of patients. We are seeing toddlers under five presenting with symptoms and they are sick enough to require admission and to require supplemental oxygen.”
Researchers don’t know how severe Omicron infections will be at this time, and anyone making claims on the severity, either way, is not presenting informed information. Anyone claiming that Omicron is just a cold is spreading disinformation.
[KIRKLAND, Wash.] – (MTN) Public health officials are scrambling to understand the seriousness of the Omicron Covid-19 variant as a growing list of nations report probable and confirmed cases.
First confirmed on November 11 among four people from Botswana who had returned from traveling to neighboring South Africa, new cases in the nation of 59 million have leaped from 356 on the 11th to 3,220 on Saturday. Test positivity also increased dramatically in the last 16 days climbing from 1.1% to 9.2%. Test positivity over 5% is an indicator of under testing and over 7% is a signal there is growing community transmission.
Confirmed COVID cases in South Africa from November 11 to November 27, Data from South Africa Ministry of Health COVID Daily Report Dashboard
On Friday, the World Health Organization (WHO) named the variant formerly known at B.1.1.529, Omicron, and labeled it a Variant of Concern (VOC). The variant has more than 50 mutations from the original COVID strain and shares many mutations with other VOCs. There are 32 mutations on the spike proteins, which can potentially impact transmissibility and increase the level of vaccine escape the Delta variant has.
Before the WHO met on Friday, new cases were confirmed in Israel, Belgium, and Hong Kong. By Saturday, Italy, England, Germany, and the Czech Republic have reported confirmed cases. Netherlands officials stopped two flights arriving from Johannesburg and retested more than 650 people for Covid-19, finding 61 new cases. The people who tested positive have been placed in isolation and their cases are being genetically sequenced to determine which variant they have.
On Friday evening all but two confirmed cases of the Omicron variant outside of the African continent were travel-related. One case in Belgium appears to have been caused by community spread. In Hong Kong, a person in a quarantine hotel became infected by another COVID positive occupant “across the hall.” The case detected in Belgium involves an unvaccinated individual while the Hong Kong case involves a person vaccinated in May or June.
Disinformation is spreading that cases are only among the vaccinated. South Africa had some early success in rolling out the COVID vaccine, but today only 24.11% of the population is fully vaccinated. Further misinformation that vaccines created the mutation isn’t supported or factual. Vaccines prevent mutations by reducing the number of people who can be infected and only 6% of all Africans are vaccinated against COVID. Because most recreational international travel requires a person to be fully vaccinated, travel-related cases are creating a short-term data fallacy.
Many nations including the United States and Canada have announced travel restrictions or bans to a varying list of six to ten countries in the southern part of Africa. Starting Sunday, air travel from South Africa, Botswana, Zimbabwe, Namibia, Lesotho, Eswatini, Mozambique, and Malawi will be restricted to US citizens and lawfully permanent residents. Delta and United Airlines have direct flights to South Africa from the United States.
A chorus of epidemiologists and health officials are calling the restrictions ineffective and politically motivated.
Based on the history of other variants it is likely Omicron was circulating before its November 9 detection. The United States relaxed air travel restrictions on November 8. There are no confirmed or suspected cases in North America, but infectious disease expert Dr. Anthony Fauci told reporters it is “possibly” already here.
One mutation is working in favor of public health and helping track the spread of the new variant. Omicron is missing a protein, and the absence can be detected by a PCR test. Genomic sequencing is still required for final confirmation, but the mutation makes probable cases easy to detect.
Pfizer and its Germany partner BioNTech as well as Moderna announced on Friday there were studying the efficacy of the currently available COVID vaccines and have plans to create an update if required. Both indicated research would take approximately two weeks and Pfizer stated a new vaccine could be available in 100 days, pending regulatory approval.
“From the beginning, we have said that as we seek to defeat the pandemic, it is imperative that we are proactive as the virus evolves,” said Moderna’s Chief Executive Officer Stéphane Bancel. “We have three lines of defense that we are advancing in parallel: we have already evaluated a higher dose booster of mRNA-1273, second, we are already studying two multi-valent booster candidates in the clinic that were designed to anticipate mutations such as those that have emerged in the Omicron variant and data is expected in the coming weeks, and third, we are rapidly advancing an Omicron-specific booster candidate.”
Doctors at UW Medicine in Seattle are studying the effectiveness of antiviral medications against the new strain. Dr. Deborah Fuller, speaking with local TV station KCPQ, did not specifically state if monoclonal antibodies such as Regeneron, molnupiravir by Merck, or Paxlovid by Pfizer were being studied.
Regeneron has been an effective early treatment for COVID and is credited with preventing as many as 10,000 hospitalizations in Florida. Some of the mutations indicate that Omicron may be able to resist or escape the drug. Molnupiravir is an antiviral developed in 2019 as a treatment for Influenza, Ebola, and other viral infections. Research showed the oral medication halved severe Covid-19 infections and deaths and is pending Emergency Use Authorization (EUA) from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA). Paxlovid was developed as a therapeutic for Covid-19 and was 89% effective at preventing hospitalization. The antiviral is also an oral medication and is being reviewed by the FDA to receive a EUA.
Molnupiravir is an antiviral medication currently under evaluation by the FDA that has shown strong promise as a viable COVID treatment
New York Governor Kathy Hochul declared a state of emergency on Friday evening ahead of any new case spikes. The declaration goes into effect on December 3 and will enable the state to increase hospital capacity and release funds to hire additional staff and medical supplies. When the United States State Department eased travel restrictions on November 8, New York City was the number one chosen destination for European travelers. Orlando and Phoenix were number two and three.
A lot more will be known in the next two to four weeks about Omicron. The three questions epidemiologists will be working to answer include does Omicron spread faster than Delta, can Omicron escape some of our therapies and public health measures, and if those sickened by the new variant suffer from equal, more severe, or more mild symptoms.
Public health officials recommend that getting vaccinated and getting your booster if you’re eligible, wearing masks, avoiding crowded indoor spaces, and deferring travel are the best lines of defense until more is known. People who feel sick should not dismiss their symptoms as a cold or flu and should test for COVID. A positive result with a home test should be followed up with a PCR test to confirm the results and help public health track which variants are spreading.
The Washington State Department of Health is closed from Thursday to Sunday for the Thanksgiving holiday and has not made any statement.
As of Saturday afternoon, the number of confirmed cases globally can be counted in the dozens – caution and not panic should be the word of the day.
Knowledge is the best tool to fight against fear. A wise person chooses to be informed so they can make sound decisions. To join the fight against COVID misinformation, you can share this update through your social media platform of choice.
[KING COUNTY, Wash.] – (MTN) New cases declined slightly while hospitalizations now rest on a seven-day-old plateau as Washington approaches the end of the 21st month fighting Covid-19. Sixteen counties no longer have “high transmission” rates.
In state news, British Columbia and Washington have eased border crossing rules, waiving COVID test requirements at some crossings. Drivers who need to bypass road closures due to flooding and mudslides can cross the border without the required PCR test, but only if they agree they are transiting between border crossing.
Governor Inslee backed down from plans to use stricter measures for Washington employers with 100 or more workers, as the nation waits to see what happens to the Biden Administration’s OSHA Covid-19 vaccination requirements.
The Washington State Department of Health announced that free in-home COVID test kits will be made available in nine counties.
Locally, the Bellevue School District is down to five confirmed COVID cases districtwide between students and staff. In the Northshore School District, Maywood Elementary is dealing with a surge of new Covid-19 cases, with 11 cases, eight confirmed this week.
Nationally the number of new cases is up 14% and more governors provided guidance or directives to make booster shots available to all adults. The vaccination deadline is ten days away from the U.S. Navy and Marine Corps. The Pentagon reported 99% of sailors are vaccinated versus 93% of marines.
The NFL is dealing with another potential COVID scandal, with Tampa Bay Buccaneers wide receiver Antonio Brown accused of buying a fake vaccination card.
New Covid-19 case rates are showing a pattern of county hotspots instead of widespread transmission. As an example, Chelan County just rolled over 60% of all residents vaccinated this week but is dealing with a bump in new cases.
There remains a significant difference between lower-vaccinated counties and counties where at least 70% of the total population is fully inoculated.
If Washington state wants to ever get to a place of endemic spread, the data indicates the bare minimum vaccination rate would be 70% of the entire population.
Percent of Total Population Fully Vaccinated
Total Population in Group
Average 14-Day New Case Rate
70.00% or above (3 counties)
2,343,250
167.4
60.00% to 69.99% (4 counties)
1,242,200
328.5
50.00% to 59.99% (17 counties)
3,664,000
306.1
40.00% to 49.99% (9 counties)
375,575
285.1
31.80% to 39.99% (6 counties)
151,850
241.3
14-Day New Covid-19 Cases per 100K average by Vaccination Rate for Total Population, Adjusted for Population by County
Through November 17, Washington’s statewide 14-day rolling average is 264.5 Covid-19 cases per 100K. There are signs that a new plateau is forming with transmission rates too high coming into the start of the holiday travel season.
Chelan, Douglas, Klickitat, Lewis, Lincoln, Skagit, and Spokane counties have new case rates between 400.0 and 599.9. Okanogan and Grays Harbor Counties were just under 400.
Sixteen counties representing 3.52 million Washingtonians have a 7 day moving average case rate under 100.
The 7 day new case rate was unchanged and the hospitalization rate increased for elderly patients 80 and older..
Age Group
7-Day Case Rate
7-Day Hospitalization Rate
Ages 0-11
119.8
0.7
Ages 12-19
111.1
0.9
Ages 20-34
116.7
2.8
Ages 35-49
125.3
5.9
Ages 50-64
94.9
9.6
Ages 65-79
64.0
16.0
Ages 80+
66.0
25.7 (up)
7-day case rate and 7-day hospitalization rate is per 100K within the age group – the target for 7-day case rate is <25.0, but there are other factors such as vaccination rates within the age groups, how many total tests within the 7-day period, and the positivity rate within each age group
“Given the current situation in B.C., travelers who must transit through the United States to get to their residence in Canada are exempt from the COVID-19 pre-arrival test, the test in Canada, and quarantine requirements,” stated a Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA) spokesperson by email.
CBSA expects to be using pre-existing exemptions within federal government orders to apply to travelers who are simply transiting Washington State highways, such as between the Osoyoos border crossing and checkpoints entering Surrey.
Individuals will still need to present a valid passport to cross the international border.
Governor Inslee backs down on expansion of OSHA vaccine and test requirements
During media availability today, Governor Jay Inslee indicated the state was backing down on expanding pending Biden Administration rules that would require companies with more than 100 employees to have vaccinated staff or rest weekly. Earlier the governor had said the state was considering removing the testing requirement and applying the same standard to medium and large private employers that are required for state employees.
The new OSHA rules that were supposed to go into effect on January 5, 2022 are in limbo. The 5th Circuit Court of Appeals upheld a stay of the mandate, calling it “staggeringly overbroad,” saying it failed to account for the different levels of risk faced by workers in different workplace settings. The court ruled OSHA may not implement the mandate unless another court overturns the ruling.
The 6th Circuit Court was selected using a ping pong ball to hear the broader case, which will likely head to the Supreme Court.
Nine Washington counties offering free at-home Covid-19 test kits
Nine counties in the northeastern, south central, and southwestern parts of Washington will offer free at-home COVID tests to residents.
Kira Lewis, a public health nurse at the Spokane Regional Health District, says at-home tests take about 10 minutes, and could be taken Thanksgiving or Christmas morning before going over to a family member’s house.
“More testing in the community that’s accessible to all members of the public helps people make good decisions about their social lives and interacting with others,” she said. “That is important for the individual and it’s important for our community as a whole moving forward, continuing to have high rates of transmission in our area. We need to meet that with high rates of available testing.”
The nine counties are Adams, Benton, Cowlitz, Ferry, Franklin, Okanogan, Pend Oreille, Spokane, and Stevens.
Travel Advisories
Due to severe flooding and strained hospital resources, we are maintaining the travel advisory for the Northwest Hospital Region. The region includes Clallam, Jefferson, Kitsap, and Mason counties.
We continue to advise to avoid all nonessential travel to Alaska, Colorado, Idaho, and Montana. Hospital resources in these states remain constrained, and you may receive inadequate care if you experience a serious medical emergency.
Finally, we continue to recommend avoiding recreational travel to Wyoming. The situation continues to improve but hospital resources remain constrained.
Thank you
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Vaccination
More states open up booster shots to all adults
Kentucky, Louisiana, Maine, Massachusetts, Vermont, and Utah joined eight other states already opening up booster shots to all adults, as more governors try to get ahead of the start of a sixth wave.
New York and Rhode Island haven’t made boosters available to all adults statewide, but are asking healthcare providers not to turn anyone away in counties with high transmission rates.
If you are eligible for a Covid-19 booster shot Malcontent News strongly encourages you to not delay getting your second or third dose. It is fast, free, and easy. There is growing evidence that the half-life of Covid-19 vaccines is six to ten months, and the half-life for so-called natural immunity is 5 to 7 months.
According to the Washington State Department of Health, through November 7, 675,000 residents have received their Covid-19 booster. Over 1.8 million adults in Washington have a BMI of 25 or higher or are older than 65.
King County, Washington is reporting over 83.5% of age eligible residents are vaccinated with at least one dose. The highest rates of positivity are in areas with low vaccination rates statewide. The FDA has provided full approval of the Pfizer vaccine for anyone 16 and over and EUA approval for the Moderna and Johnson & Johnson vaccines. The Pfizer vaccine has EUA approval for children 5 to 15 years old.
COVID vaccines and boosters are free for anyone 5 and older. Lyft and Hopelink provide free transportation, and KinderCare, the Learning Care Group, and the YMCA offer free childcare during vaccination appointments or recuperation.
Hospital readiness continues to slowly improve except on the Olympic Peninsula. Although the number of COVID patients under care is in decline, the total number of hospitalized patients is unchanged due to deferred elective surgeries, increased movement among the population creating more injuries, and other wintertime diseases.
According to the DoH COVID Dashboard, 91.2% of all staffed acute care beds are occupied, and 12.3% of patients have Covid-19. Statewide, hospitals have the staff to support approximately 633 additional acute care patients.
ICUs are at 87.6% of capacity statewide, with 20.2% of ICU patients fighting Covid-19 – an estimated 238 patients with 49.1% on ventilators. The state has the staff to support approximately 147 additional ICU patients.
On Wednesday, the 7 day rolling average hospital admission rate for new COVID patients was 89. The Department of Health reported 882 Covid-19 patients statewide with 117 requiring ventilators. The number of hospitalized Covid-19 patients has been in the mid-800s to low-900s for seven days in a row.
Hospital status by region – ICU Occupancy should be below 80%, ICU COVID Patients should be below 20%, Acute Care Occupancy should be below 80%, and Acute Care COVID Patients should be below 10%
School Readiness
School District
Status
Less than 10 Active Cases
10 or More Active Cases
Bellevue
GREEN
– Bennett (1*) – Bellevue (1*) – International (1*) – Puesta del Sol (1*) – Somerset (1*)
None
Lake Washington
YELLOW
– Alcott (3*/11) – Audubon (1*/7) – Blackwell (2*/3) – Carson (1*/3) – Clara Barton (4*/24) – Eastlake High (1*/17) – Ella Baker (2*/4) – Evergreen Middle School (1*/0) – Finn Hill Middle School (5) – Inglewood Middle School (5**/34) – Juanita High (1*/12) – Kamiakin Middle School (2*/27) – Kirk Elementary (3*/13) – Kirkland Middle School (1*/10) – Lakeview Elementary (1*/1) – Lake Washington High School (3*/7) – McAuliffe (2*/6) – Northstar Middle School (12) – Redmond High School (1*/12) – Renaissance Middle School (1*/6) – Rose Hill Middle (1*/7) – Rush Elementary (3*/0) – Sandburg/Discovery (1*/4) – Smith Elementary (1*/9)
None
Northshore
RED
– Arrowhead Elementary (0/1) – Bothell High School (5**/9) – Canyon Creek Elementary (4*/24) – Canyon Park Middle School (1*/12) – Crystal Springs Elementary (3*/34) – Eastridge Elementary (1*/3) – Fernwood Elementary (1*/2) – Frank Love Elementary (0/6) – Hollywood Hills Elementary (2*/0) – Inglemoor High School (4*/1) – Kenmore Middle School (1*/2) – Kokanee Elementary (1*/1) – Leota Middle School (2*/1) – Moorlands Elementary (0/5) – North Creek High School (2*/8) – Northshore Middle School (1*/9) – Ruby Bridges Elementary (1*/4) – Shelton View Elementary (0/1) – Skyview Middle School (0/1) – Sunrise Elementary (1*/4) – Timbercrest Middle School (2*/8) – Wellington Elementary (1*/5) – Westhill Elementary (2*/3) – Woodin Elementary (3*/5) – Woodinville High School (2*/2) – Woodmoor Elementary (2*/3)
– Maywood Hills Elementary (11**/5)
Local Districts Scorecard – * indicates positive cases only ** indicates 5 or more confirmed positive cases – (x*/y) x is positive cases and 7 quarantined, quarantined does not include positive cases
We redefined the school district statuses. Information for classroom and building closures has been a challenge to obtain, both for closures and reopening. We are adopting moving any school with more than ten active COVID cases reported into the red, and we’ve adjusted the third column to reflect this change.
Based on reader feedback, and improvement in the data we are receiving, we have adjusted how we are reporting data. The Lake Washington and Northshore School Districts are now reported as (X*/Y) or (X**/Y). X represents the number of positive cases while Y represents how many are in quarantine. The number in quarantine does not include positive cases. If there are two asterisks, that indicates five or more confirmed cases within the last 14 days at that school.
The Northshore School District moves to status red with Maywood Hills Elementary reporting 11 confirmed COVID cases and eight this week. It is the largest Covid-19 outbreak in terms of new cases reported at the same time in the three school districts Malcontent News tracks since school started.
The Bellevue School District stays status green with five confirmed cases in the last 14 days districtwide. Additionally, we can process quarantine data by the day, and we will start tracking those numbers next week.
The Lake Washington School District updates data once a week, and we’ve had no parent confirmed reports on new COVID cases this week.
We continued to encourage parents to request daily updates from the Lake Washington School District. This change would bring the three school districts we track into alignment.
Kirkland-Bellevue-Woodinville
No update
National Round-Up
Johns Hopkins University Cumulative Case Tracker reports 111,106 new cases and 1,622 deaths nationwide on Wednesday. The Delta variant continues to target the unvaccinated and a very small, but growing number of people vaccinated more than six months ago. New cases are up 14% since last week.
Vaccination deadline looms for active duty U.S. Navy and Marine Corps personnel
The Pentagon reported that 99% of sailors and 93% of Marines were either fully or partially vaccinated, with the November 28 deadline ten days away. Among the five branches, the Navy has the highest vaccination rate while the Marines have the lowest.
Marines and sailors who choose not to get the Covid-19 vaccine by the end of November will be released from the service, in a general but honorable discharge, officials with those services have said, making them ineligible for some benefits from the GI Bill.
The Orange County Register reported a message sent to the troops said “Marines refusing to take the vaccine absent medical exemptions, religious accommodations or pending appeal,” will be processed for discharge and additional disciplinary action or even a court martial is not out of the question. The Navy has issued a similar message.
Army will push out soliders who refuse to get Covid-19 vaccine
Soldiers who refuse to get the COVID-19 vaccine and have not requested an exemption will no longer be allowed to re-enlist or be promoted, effectively ending their military careers, according to a report by Defense One. The new directive applies to active-duty troops as well as reservists and National Guardsmen, including those serving in states whose governors do not require the vaccine.
The Nov. 16 memo, signed by Army Secretary Christine Wormuth, says troops’ service records will be flagged the day they make their final vaccine refusal, which follows a meeting with a medical professional and a second order to get vaccinated. This flag will bar them from being promoted, reenlisting, continuing to receive enlistment bonuses, attending service-related schools, or receiving tuition assistance.
“I authorize commanders to impose bars to continued service…for all soldiers who refuse the mandatory vaccine order without an approved exemption or pending exemption request,” Wormuth wrote in the memo. “The Soldier will remain flagged until they are fully vaccinated, receive an approved medical or administrative exemption, or are separated from the Army.”
Tampa Bay Buccaneers wide receiver Antonio Brown accused of buying fake vaccine card
Days after brushing aside Green Bay Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers less than truthful vaccination status, wide receiver Antonio Brown is accused by his former chef of buying a fake vaccination card, plunging the NFL into another public relations mess.
The Tampa Bay Times broke the story earlier today, with the chef claiming Brown bought the card to avoid NFL protocols. If true, Brown in theory could face massive fines from the NFL for repeated protocol violations. Aaron Rodgers broke as many as 16 Coivid-19 protocols but was ultimately fined $14,650 for attending an unsanctioned Halloween party.
EXCLUSIVE: Bucs receiver Antonio Brown obtained a fake COVID-19 vaccination card to avoid NFL protocols, according to his former live-in chef.
Brown could be in additional trouble with the FBI. Buying a fake vaccination card is a federal crime. The Tampa Bay Buccaneers issued a brief statement via Twitter, indicating they had collected all vaccination records during the preseason and “no irregularities were observed.”
Phoenix will require all city employees to be vaccinated by January 22, 2022, or face termination. Phoenix joins other cities such as New York City, Los Angeles, San Francisco, and Seattle that already require government employees to be vaccinated against COVID.
A news release from UCHealth issued on Thursday states a team of about 20 nurses, providers, respiratory therapists, and administrators will be deployed to UCHealth Poudre Valley Hospital (PVH) for about a month. The team is expected to ease capacity and staffing challenges. The request came from Gov. Jared Polis.
“We are so grateful that this team will assist us in providing exceptional care in northern Colorado,” said Kevin Unger, the president, and chief executive officer at PVH and UCHealth Medical Center of the Rockies in Loveland. “We anticipate this additional support and other plans we already have in the works will help make a significant difference.”
District of Columbia
Mayor Muriel Bowser of Washington said on Tuesday that an indoor mask mandate in the nation’s capital would be eased on November 22, reflecting a shift away from mask requirements as coronavirus vaccination rates continue to rise and infections fueled by the Delta variant subside in the city.
The New York Times reported about 88 percent of the District of Columbia’s adult residents have received at least one vaccine dose, according to city health officials.
Masks will still be required in certain circumstances, including on public transportation, inside school buildings, and in congregate living facilities like nursing homes, college dormitories, and jails.
Idaho
In what could be read as a victory for Governor Brad Little and a blow to Lt. Governor Janice McGeachin, the Idaho legislature ended its special session making almost no changes to state COVID policies.
The Senate did adopt a memorial piece of legislation that sends a message to the president and Congress “to make a very forceful statement about our position on the presidential mandates related to Covid-19,” said Senate Majority Leader Chuck Winder.
The lawsuit alleges that the woman’s 15-year-old girl was vaccinated by a Walmart employee at the store’s pharmacy without parental consent. The 15-year-old girl wanted the COVID-19 vaccine so she could hang out with her friends.
“The biggest problem I have with this situation is that Walmart vaccinated my daughter without my consent and knowledge,” said the girl’s mom Michelle Tonkinson.
In a statement, Walmart said, “Walmart is committed to offering quality and compliant health care. We take allegations like this seriously. We will review the claims and respond with the court as appropriate once we are served.”
Massachusetts
Massachusetts health officials reported another 3,196 confirmed COVID-19 cases — the most in one day since February — and eight new deaths Thursday, according to a report by NBC 10.
The report pushed the state’s number of confirmed COVID-19 cases to 826,996 since the start of the pandemic and its death toll to 18,834.
The number of new confirmed cases in Wednesday’s report from the Department of Public Health had been the most in one day since September, according to archival data. But that report included “a backlog of testing results” from several prior days. The prior single-day high had been in February — and February 6 was the last time more than 3,196 cases were confirmed in one day.
Massachusetts Governor Charlie Baker announced the state was opening up booster shots to anyone over 18 years old, joining a growing list of states breaking with current FDA guidelines.
Minnesota
Hospitals across the state are delaying surgeries to free up bed space in the face of growing concerns over hospital capacity constraints, according to a report by KSTP.
“Things have been getting worse in the last couple of weeks,” said Rahul Koranne, president and CEO of the Minnesota Hospital Association. “We have emergency departments that are full of patients. We have patients in beds in hallways. Our units are full.”
Only 1.1% of ICU beds and 0.5% of non-ICU beds were available in the metro Thursday, according to response capacity data from the Minnesota Department of Health.
“Everybody’s delaying surgeries. We’re pulling this lever across the board. Our care teams, our leaders, our surgical teams are making this decision minute by minute,” Koranne said. “Shoulder surgeries, knee surgeries, but even the last couple of weeks, what we are having to do unfortunately is push back some heart surgeries. At the end of the day, we only have a limited amount of care capacity available.”
Missouri
On Thursday, the Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services once again reconfigured the state’s COVID data dashboard, adding thousands of previously unreported deaths and infections, according to a report by the St. Louis Dispatch.
Some date back to the spring of 2020, and many are instances of illness or death now attributed to Covid-19 but that weren’t publicly tallied by the state at the time.
As part of the update, the state also began reporting COVID cases that occurred after vaccination or prior infection. The numbers show that such cases have been remarkably rare, and are most common among those with underlying health conditions.
The department added 2,792 “probable” Covid-19 deaths, increasing the state total 22%
New Mexico
According to state health officials, around 25% of all COVID-19 cases in the last week were among children in a report by KOB.
School-age children are included in that group, so could this impact in-person learning? School districts around the state have new “enhanced” COVID procedures in place, in case the surge gets worse.
If a school has a certain percentage of COVID-positive cases, that facility would be required to start implementing those additional measures. The good news, so far, is that both Rio Rancho Public Schools and Albuquerque Public Schools said they have not reached that point, they hope to keep it that way.
Utah
For the third day in a row, 13 Utahns have been added to the death toll from COVID-19 — a number that now stands at 3,411 people, according to the Utah Department of Health in a story published by the Salt Lake Tribune.
The health department on Thursday also reported 1,789 new coronavirus cases in the past day. The rolling seven-day average for positive tests stands at 1,633 per day.
Intensive care units in the state remain near capacity, and over capacity in the state’s largest hospitals. According to the health department, 96.7% of all ICU beds and 101.8% of ICU beds in larger medical centers are occupied. (Hospitals consider anything over 85% to be functionally full.) Of all ICU patients, 44.2% are being treated for COVID-19.
Virginia
On Thursday, Sentara Healthcare faced off in court with one of their own doctors, Paul Marik, according to WTKR.
Marik, who is the director of the Critical Care Unit at Sentara Norfolk General Hospital, is suing the healthcare system because they won’t allow him to treat COVID-19 patients with the drug ivermectin, along with a host of other drugs that make up his developed MATH+ Protocol.
“Almost all of the treatments we use have been demonstrated to be safe and effective in randomized controlled trials,” Marik said.
Marik claims that Sentara’s policy may have led to the deaths of four of his patients who were never given the opportunity to learn of or be treated with potentially life-saving medicines. He said these actions are criminal.
There is not a single peer reviewed study that used accurate placebo controlled double blind study data that indicates Ivermectin is effective as a preventative or treatment. The largest validated study to date indicated that for the sickest patients, the antiparisitic drug was counterindicated.
Knowledge is the best tool to fight against fear. A wise person chooses to be informed so they can make sound decisions. To join the fight against COVID misinformation, you can share this update through your social media platform of choice.
[KING COUNTY, Wash.] – (MTN) New cases and hospitalizations are down and vaccination rates are up across the Evergreen state but for 9,028 Washingtonians progress came too late as the state crossed another grim milestone.
New cases continue to drop statewide and the Washington State Department of Health (DOH) reported 80% of all residents 12 or older have received at least one dose of the Covid-19 vaccine. Despite the success, Washington ranks about 14th nationally for the most vaccinated population. The DOH also reported that hospitalizations are down significantly from last week.
A report from the DOH indicated that children and adolescents in Eastern Washington have the highest incidents of Covid-19 infections in the state during the last two weeks of October.
Kaiser Peramente reported 828 Washington residents received an expired dose of the Moderna vaccine between October 25 and 27 and they are reaching out to impacted patients. If you have concerns you can call (206) 630-2080.
State Senator Doug Ericksen (Ferndale-R) reported he had COVID and was stuck in the Latin American nation of El Salvador. Ericksen, who has tried to block vaccination programs is reported to have flown out of the country by air ambulance tonight.
Locally, King County has updated how they report vaccination rates to include children 5 to 11 and the initial data is very encouraging. In the Bellevue-Kirkland-Woodinville region along with the supporting school districts, first dose vaccination rates ranged from 81.7% to 95.0% for all residents. In little more than a week, 18.5% to 35.5% of children 5 to 11 got their first dose of the COVID vaccine, depending on the zip code they live in.
Covid-19 cases in the Bellevue, Lake Washington, and Northshore School Districts remain under control.
Nationally, Dr. Anthony Fauci has called for boosters for all and the states of Arkansas, California, Colorado, New Mexico, West Virginia, along with New York City decided not to wait for FDA authorization. The DOH reported they will continue to follow existing federal guidelines.
When it comes to boosters, Mr. T. (yes, that Mr. T.) pity the fool who doesn’t get their booster shot. The 69-year old actor and former wrestler got his booster shot on November 13.
Pfizer has formally requested for Emergency Use Authorization from the FDA for the antiviral drug Paxlovid. In Phase 2 and 3 testing and when combined with another HIV drug, Paxlovid reduced hospitalizations by 89% for people infected with COVID, if taken within the first five days of early symptoms.
The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services announced new guidelines for residents of nursing homes. The sweeping changes essentially eliminates all visitation restrictions at any facility that receives federal funding.
In other national news, a Connecticut nursing home is reporting an outbreak of Covid-19 sickened 89 and killed eight. A grieving Georgia husband is accusing a school district of working his COVID positive wife to death because she didn’t have any sick time left. Brad Little, governor of Idaho got his Covid-19 booster and shared it on Twitter as the Gem State enters the third month under crisis standards of care. COVID cases are exploding in Maine, Minnesota, and Pennsylvania while hospitals in Alaska, Colorado, and Montana continue to struggle with resources.
A Texas doctor has had their privledges suspended for sharing COVID disinformation, while a doctor turned legislature in Maryland is facing disciplinary action for prescribing invemectin. In Michigan, a third lawmaker is facing criminal charges for groping a nurse practioner while seeking a prescription for his COVID infection.
The Washington State Department of Health has updated the vaccination rate data, shifting the brackets again. With 31.8% of the total population vaccinated, Stevens County remains the least vaccinated county in Washington while San Juan County at 74.5% is at the top of the pile.
Several counties with higher case rates moved into new brackets on Monday. We start to see a decline in these numbers at 55% vaccinated so some of the anomalies in the data will shift in the next 7 to 10 days. The least vaccinated counties are rural and largely agricultural. With the end of farming and harvest season and poor weather, people are congregating less often.
There remains a significant difference between lower-vaccinated counties and counties where at least 70% of the total population is fully inoculated.
Percent of Total Population Fully Vaccinated
Total Population in Group
Average 14-Day New Case Rate
70.00% or above (3 counties)
2,343,250
166.6
60.00% to 69.99% (4 counties)
1,242,200
323.2
50.00% to 59.99% (17 counties)
3,664,000
302.3
40.00% to 49.99% (9 counties)
375,575
362.5
31.80% to 39.99% (6 counties)
151,850
300.3 (down)
14-Day New Covid-19 Cases per 100K average by Vaccination Rate for Total Population, Adjusted for Population by County
Through November 15, Washington’s statewide 14-day rolling average is 267.0 Covid-19 cases per 100K.
Chelan, Douglas, Grant, Klickitat, Lewis, Lincoln, Skagit, and Spokane counties have new case rates between 400.0 and 599.9. Cowlitz, Mason, Pend Oreille, and Stevens counties were just under 400.
Fourteen counties representing 3.14 million Washingtonians have a 7 day moving average case rate under 100.
The 7 day new case rate and hospitalization rate has decreased from last week.
Age Group
7-Day Case Rate
7-Day Hospitalization Rate
Ages 0-11
118.9
0.9
Ages 12-19
113.8
0.7
Ages 20-34
120.1
2.7
Ages 35-49
126.6
5.4
Ages 50-64
90.8
9.4
Ages 65-79
62.6
14.1
Ages 80+
70.3
22.5
7-day case rate and 7-day hospitalization rate is per 100K within the age group – the target for 7-day case rate is <25.0, but there are other factors such as vaccination rates within the age groups, how many total tests within the 7-day period, and the positivity rate within each age group
The USA Today COVID Tracker reported 56 deaths on Monday. As of Monday, 9,028 Washingtonians have died from Covid-19 related illness.
IHME forecast points to a sixth wave and 13,530 Washingtonians dead by March 1
The updated IHME forecast points to a sixth wave for Washington with hospitalizations peaking on February 3, 2022. Although the forecast model shows a significant increase in confirmed cases, hospitalizations would not exceed the fifth wave that is currently winding down, and mortality is projected to be much lower due to the high vaccination rate.
If everyone in Washington were to wear a mask, the IHME model predicts we could save 1,500 lives.
Many hospitalists have reported they would not be capable of handling the stress and trauma of another wave, and feel unsupported by the community.
80% of Washingtonians 12 and above have received at least one dose of Covid-19 vaccine
The Washington State Department of Health reported 80.0% of Washingtonians 12 and older have received at least one dose of the Covid-19 vaccine, and 73.9% of the state is fully vaccinated.
According to the Mayo Clinic and through November 7, Washington state ranks eleventh in the United States for children ages 12 to 17 fully vaccinated, ninth for adults 18 to 64, and eight for seniors 65 and older.
When you consider at least a single dose, Washington drops to 14th place for children ages 12 to 17, 14th for adults 18 to 65, and in a 32-way first-place tie for seniors 65 and older.
The red-blue political divide is also strong in the data. Among children 12 to 17 and adults 18 to 64 the first red state is Utah in 19th place. For seniors over 65, Washington is tied with 31 other states that have achieved >99% vaccinated.
Vermont leads for the most vaccinated adolescents while Massachusetts leads with the most vaccinated adults and seniors.
Over 800 Kaiser Peramente patients received expired Moderna vaccine doses
Kaiser Permanente is contacting 828 patients across Washington state that were inadvertently given expired doses of the Moderna vaccine between October 25 and October 27. Both Kaiser Permanente and Moderna have stated that there is no impact on patient safety or efficacy.
“After consultation with Kaiser Permanente clinical experts, there is no evidence that the vaccine administered is ineffective or unsafe,” according to a statement from Kaiser Permanente. “Our clinical experts do not recommend a repeat vaccine dose for patients who were administered these doses.”
Patients with questions about their vaccines can call (206) 630-2080.
Eastern Washington children have the highest case rate in Washington
Education Service District (ESD) 101 encompasses Adams, Ferry, Lincoln, Pend Oreille, Spokane, Stevens, and Whitman Counties and had a 14 day new case rate of 569.5 per 100,000 children and adolescents.
King and Pierce Counties comprise ESD 121 and had a new case rate of 303.1 per 100,000. The lowest rate in the state was on the Olympic Peninsula, known as ESD 114 with a new case rate of 290.0.
Although severe COVID is uncommon in children and adolescents, Mary Bridge Hospital in Tacoma reported that 40% of their hospitalized Covid-19 patients in September developed MIS-C, which can be fatal.
There is little Information about long COVID among children and adolescents and most studies available currently are highly flawed. Among the limited studies that are credible, there isn’t significant evidence that long COVID symptoms last more than 12 weeks among pediatric patients.
State senator Doug Ericksen who fought against vaccine mandates infected with Covid-19 in El Salvador
Washington State Ultra-Conservative Freedom Caucus creator state senator Doug Ericksen (Ferndale-R) reached out to his Washington legislature allies requesting assistance after becoming Covid-19 positive in El Salvador. Ericksen was in the Latin American country as an election observer when he tested positive for COVID.
“I took a trip to El Salvador and tested positive for COVID shortly after I arrived. I cannot get back home, and it’s to the point that I feel it would be beneficial for me to receive iv monoclonal antibodies (Regeneron).”
Over 60% of the residents of El Salvador are fully vaccinated, however, hospitalized treatment for Covid-19 is mostly limited to comfort care and oxygen therapy. Ericksen has not shared if he is vaccinated, nor did he share if he was attempting unproven therapies such as Ivermectin, zinc, Vitamin C or Vitamin D, which would be available.
On October 19, Ericksen called for the resignation of Governor Jay Inslee (WA-D) due to the statewide vaccine mandate.
“Inslee has done significant damage to the credibility of state government and has eroded the public’s trust. Now he is firing thousands of public employees without regard to the harm it will cause. This effort to punish can only be seen as the willful act of a failed governor. Inslee has failed miserably. We don’t take this lightly. But the only thing that can allow our state to heal and move forward is for Jay Inslee to resign.”
On November 1, Ericksen indicated he would try to reintroduce Senate Bill 5144, which would “prohibit discrimination against those who are not vaccinated.”
“Washington state is number one in government coercion, but I don’t think that is an honor the people of Washington want,” Ericksen stated. “This is a natural result of a system that allows the governor to declare an emergency and then keep his sweeping emergency powers as long as he wants.”
There is an unconfirmed report that Ericksen was flown out of El Salvador on an air ambulance today.
Travel Advisories
We are lifting the travel advisory to Eastern Washington. Hospital resources and new case rates have dropped to a level where there are adequate medical resources to support a health emergency.
Due to severe flooding and strained hospital resources, we are maintaining the travel advisory for the Northwest Hospital Region. The region includes Clallam, Jefferson, Kitsap, and Mason counties.
We continue to advise to avoid all nonessential travel to Alaska, Colorado, Idaho, and Montana. Hospital resources in these states remain constrained, and you may receive inadequate care if you experience a serious medical emergency.
Finally, we continue to recommend to avoid recreational travel to Wyoming. The situation continues to improve but hospital resources remain constrained. Wyoming transfers critical patients to Colorado and Utah, and both states have limited to no capacity to take transfer patients.
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“To me, if you want to get to endemic, you have got to get the level of infection so low that it does not have an impact on society, on your life, on your economy,” Fauci said. “People will still get infected. People might still get hospitalized, but the level would be so low that we don’t think about it all the time and it doesn’t influence what we do.”
To get there, he said, would take a lot more people rolling up their sleeves for initial COVID-19 shots and boosters.
If the United States makes boosters available for everyone, it is possible the country can get control of the virus by spring of 2022, Fauci added.
Editor’s Note: Although we agree with Dr. Fauci, we believe it will be near impossible to convince the remaining 62 million American adults who are unvaccinated, to get vaccinated.
Get Your Booster
If you are eligible for a Covid-19 booster shot Malcontent News strongly encourages you to not delay getting your second or third dose. It is fast, free, and easy. There is growing evidence that the half-life of Covid-19 vaccines is six to ten months, and the half-life for so-called natural immunity is 5 to 7 months.
According to the Washington State Department of Health, through November 7, 675,000 residents have received their Covid-19 booster. Over 1.8 million adults in Washington have a BMI of 25 or higher or are older than 65.
King County, Washington is reporting over 83.5% of age eligible residents are vaccinated with at least one dose. The highest rates of positivity are in areas with low vaccination rates statewide. The FDA has provided full approval of the Pfizer vaccine for anyone 16 and over and EUA approval for the Moderna and Johnson & Johnson vaccines. The Pfizer vaccine has EUA approval for children 5 to 15 years old.
COVID vaccines and boosters are free for anyone 5 and older. Lyft and Hopelink provide free transportation, and KinderCare, the Learning Care Group, and the YMCA offer free childcare during vaccination appointments or recuperation.
There has been significant improvement for Hospital Readiness across Washington state except on the Olympic Peninsula. Many hospitals have restarted elective procedures and seasonal illness has returned to Washington state, adding to the overall patient load.
According to the DoH COVID Dashboard, 91% of all staffed acute care beds are occupied, and 12.8% of patients have Covid-19. Statewide, hospitals have the staff to support approximately 621 additional acute care patients.
ICUs are at 88.4% of capacity statewide, with 20.0% of ICU patients fighting Covid-19 – an estimated 236 patients with 44.9% on ventilators. The state has the staff to support approximately 153 additional ICU patients.
On Tuesday, the 7-day rolling average hospital admission rate for new COVID patients was 84. The Department of Health reported 830 Covid-19 patients statewide with 106 requiring ventilators.
Hospital status by region – ICU Occupancy should be below 80%, ICU COVID Patients should be below 20%, Acute Care Occupancy should be below 80%, and Acute Care COVID Patients should be below 10%
School Readiness
School District
Status
Less than 10 Active Cases
10 or More Active Cases
Bellevue
GREEN
– Bennett (1*) – Bellevue (1*) – Clyde Hill (1*) – International (1*) – Lake Hills (2*) – Newport Heights (1*) – Puesta del Sol (1*)
None
Lake Washington
YELLOW
– Alcott (3*/11) – Audubon (1*/7) – Blackwell (2*/3) – Carson (1*/3) – Clara Barton (4*/24) – Eastlake High (1*/17) – Ella Baker (2*/4) – Evergreen Middle School (1*/0) – Finn Hill Middle School (5) – Inglewood Middle School (5**/34) – Juanita High (1*/12) – Kamiakin Middle School (2*/27) – Kirk Elementary (3*/13) – Kirkland Middle School (1*/10) – Lakeview Elementary (1*/1) – Lake Washington High School (3*/7) – McAuliffe (2*/6) – Northstar Middle School (12) – Redmond High School (1*/12) – Renaissance Middle School (1*/6) – Rose Hill Middle (1*/7) – Rush Elementary (3*/0) – Sandburg/Discovery (1*/4) – Smith Elementary (1*/9)
None
Northshore
YELLOW
– Arrowhead Elementary (1*1) – Bothell High School (3*/13) – Canyon Creek Elementary (5**/18) – Canyon Park Middle School (1*/1) – Crystal Springs Elementary (3*/13) – Eastridge Elementary (0/3) – Fernwood Elementary (2*/3) – Frank Love Elementary (0/10) – Hollywood Hills Elementary (3*/0) – Inglemoor High School (5**/2) – Kenmore Middle School (2*/3) – Kokanee Elementary (1*/1) – Leota Middle School (2*/1) – Maywood Hills Elementary (3*/5) – Moorlands Elementary (0/5) – North Creek High School (2*/10) – Northshore Middle School (1*/22) – Ruby Bridges Elementary (2*/6) – Shelton View Elementary (0/2) – Skyview Middle School (0/1) – Sunrise Elementary (1*/4) – Timbercrest Middle School (0/5) – Wellington Elementary (0/3) – Westhill Elementary (3*/3) – Woodin Elementary (3*/7) – Woodinville High School (4*/2) – Woodmoor Elementary (3*/3)
None
Local Districts Scorecard – * indicates positive cases only ** indicates 5 or more confirmed positive cases – (x*/y) x is positive cases and 7 quarantined, quarantined does not include positive cases
We redefined the school district statuses. Information for classroom and building closures has been a challenge to obtain, both for closures and reopening. We are adopting moving any school with more than ten active COVID cases reported into the red, and we’ve adjusted the third column to reflect this change.
Based on reader feedback, and improvement in the data we are receiving, we have adjusted how we are reporting data. The Lake Washington and Northshore School Districts are now reported as (X*/Y) or (X**/Y). X represents the number of positive cases while Y represents how many are in quarantine. The number in quarantine does not include positive cases. If there are two asterisks, that indicates five ore more confirmed cases within the last 14 days at that school.
The Bellevue School District moves back to status green with eight confirmed cases in the last 14 days districtwide. In the Lake Washington School District, Inglewood Middle School reported five confirmed cases on Monday, moving the school to status yellow.
We continued to encourage parents to request daily updates from the Lake Washington School District. We would also encourage parents to request the Bellevue School District include data on close contacts and quarantines. These two changes would bring the three school districts we track into alignment.
Kirkland-Bellevue-Woodinville
King County Public Health updated the vaccination rates by zip code and now reports the data from ages 5 and up. This resets vaccination status through the region. Based on reader feedback, we have added zip codes 98008, 98053, 98074, 98075, and 98077 to fully ecompass the Lake Washington School District and the King County portions of the Northshore School District.
Vaccination rates for children between 5 to 11 are in a word, remarkable.
Percentage of King County Residents 5 and older who have received at least one dose of COVID vaccine, November 16, 2021
Zip Code
Percent vaccinated, at least one dose, 5 to 11 years old
Percent vaccinated, at least one dose, 5 and older
98155
20.5%
89.5%
98028
22.5%
85.9%
98011
18.0%
82.7%
98034
22.6%
81.7%
98033
35.5%
90.0%
98072
19.9%
85.2%
98077
18.5%
76.7%
98052
30.5%
91.7%
98004
25.0%
95.0%
98039
26.5%
87.5%
98005
26.7%
91.7%
98007
14.0%
86.0%
98008
19.1%
88.0%
98053
31.9%
90.2%
98074
28.1%
93.5%
98075
22.5%
91.4%
Vaccination rates with at least one dose
National Round-Up
Johns Hopkins University Cumulative Case Tracker reports 143,685 new cases and 1,241 deaths nationwide on Tuesday.
Pfizer formally requests Emergency Use Authorization for the antiviral Paxlovid and agrees to license the drug to 95 countries
“With more than 5 million deaths and countless lives impacted by this devastating disease globally, there is an urgent need for life-saving treatment options. The overwhelming efficacy achieved in our recent clinical study of Paxlovid, and its potential to help save lives and keep people out of the hospital if authorized, underscores the critical role that oral antiviral therapies could play in the battle against COVID-19,” said Albert Bourla, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, Pfizer. “We are moving as quickly as possible in our effort to get this potential treatment into the hands of patients, and we look forward to working with the U.S. FDA on its review of our application, along with other regulatory agencies around the world.”
In Phase 2 and Phase 3 testing, Paxlovid provided an 89% reduction in risk of COVID-19-related hospitalization or death from any cause in patients treated with PAXLOVID compared to placebo within three days of symptom onset, with no deaths in the treatment group. Similar results were seen within five days of symptom onset.
Additionally, Pfizer announced it has signed a voluntary licensing agreement to expand production of Paxlovid, to 95 low- and middle-income countries, covering 53% of the world’s population.
Dr. Soumya Swaminathan, Chief Scientist for the World Health Organization welcomed the news in a tweet.
Good to see the license for new #COVID19 antiviral from @pfizer will be available through @MedsPatentPool for LMICs. This drug can prevent severe illness in high risk individuals if given in 1st 5 days. @WHO guidelines group will review data when available & make recommendations https://t.co/SZgQ2bS8Z0
The 69-year old actor and retired professional wrestler Mr. T tweeted over the weekend that he received his Covid-19 booster shot, declaring, “I pity pain!”
He thanked his doctor and nurses and told TMZ he wanted to play it safe.
I am Blessed and I am Thankful. I just got my Booster Vaccination shot. My arm is a little sore but no pain. I Pity Pain! Thanks again to all the Doctors and Nurses…
More states break with the FDA/CDC and approve boosters for all
The list of states that are recommended for anyone 18 or older to get a booster continues to grow. Last week Colorado and California broke ranks with the FDA and recommended all residents over 18 who got their first dose of the Johnson & Johnson vaccine more than 60 days ago, or the mRNA Pfizer or Moderna second dose more than 180 days ago to get their COVID booster.
For some states, “the reason they’ve gone ahead and done this is they are really concerned about experiencing another wave in their state of transmissions and we have seen in some states an uptick in Covid-19 cases. Unfortunately, a lot of those are driven by those who are not vaccinated, but there are some breakthrough infections among those who are vaccinated,” Hemi Tewarson, executive director of the National Academy for State Health Policy, told CNN on Tuesday.
Washington, Oregon, California, Nevada, and Colorado created the Western States Pact to align their Covid-19 response, share research, and public education. The Washington State Department of Health stated last week that Washington has no plans to deviate from current federal guidelines.
Editor’s Note: It is our opinion that DOH’s stance is a mistake given the strong evidence that a sixth wave is coming. It is our recommendation to get a booster if you’re eligible, and a lot of people are eligible.
Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services eases rules for nursing home visits
“Early in the pandemic, visitation restrictions were implemented to mitigate the risk of visitors introducing COVID-19 to the nursing home. Today’s guidance update reflects that, while visitors, residents, or their representatives should be made aware of the risks associated with visiting loved ones, visitation should now be allowed for all residents at all times.”
Visits must also be allowed to take place indoors for all residents, whether they’re vaccinated or not, even when a facility is experiencing a COVID-19 outbreak investigation or when a resident is on transmission-based precautions or quarantine. While visits under such conditions are “not recommended” by the CMS, they must be allowed if that’s what a resident chooses.
State Updates
Connecticut
A Connecticut nursing home has moved into recovery mode after suffering an outbreak of COVID-19. Geer Village said that the outbreak, which started in September, left eight residents dead and 89 residents and staff members infected according to a report by CBS News.
The North Canaan-based facility, which includes independent and assisted living among other services, said it conducts bi-weekly testing on residents and staff. In a statement, Director of Nursing Cady Bloodgood and Chief Executive Officer Kevin O’Connell said they are continuing to “monitor the situation closely.”
“Sadly, we have lost 8 residents with serious underlying health issues to COVID,” the facility said on Friday. “We are encouraged to see 69 staff and residents already recovered and coming off isolation. While we must continue with COVID-19 prevention protocols, we want to assure everyone we are doing our best to keep residents and staff safe.”
Georgia
A husband is accusing school officials of making his wife continue to work at a Georgia school despite being COVID positive, ultimately causing her to die according to a report by WSB.
Sara Anderson, was a cafeteria worker at Conyers Middle School who died from COVID on October 5.
“She was a hard worker, and if a manager asked her to do anything, she did it,” Robert Anderson said. He said Sara started feeling sick on September 15 and felt worse the next day. He says her manager told her she was out of sick days and that she had to go into work.
“She was pressured into going to work again, and that was on the 17th. On the 18th, she passed out,” Robert Anderson said.
Doctors diagnosed Sara Anderson with COVID, and then COVID pneumonia. A few days later, she was in the ICU and passed on October 5.
Idaho
Idaho governor Brad Little received his Covid-19 booster shot publicly in an attempt to urge others in his state to get vaccinated. Idaho entered its third month operating at crisis standards of care on November 16, with COVID cases still raging through the Panhandle region.
State health officials Tuesday reported 1,627 COVID-19 patients were being treated in hospitals throughout Illinois, according to the Daily Herald. Of those hospitalized, 325 were in intensive care, according to the Illinois Department of Public Health.
Hospitalizations have increased by 16.8% from a week ago, IDPH figures show. Current the state test positivity rate is 2.8%, which points to over-testing, but increased from 2.2% a week ago.
Maine
More and more signs are emerging that COVID-19 is spreading rapidly through Maine, especially among unvaccinated populations, contributing to troubling spikes in hospitalizations and deaths as a holiday week approaches.
The state set yet another pandemic high with 275 hospitalizations on Tuesday and also set a record for the rate of tests that are coming back positive, 8.5 percent on average over the last seven days. Thirteen additional deaths were reported Tuesday as well.
Representative Andy Harris (R-Md.) said a complaint was filed against him with a medical board for prescribing ivermectin to COVID-19 patients.
Harris alluded to the complaint during the House Freedom Caucus meeting about vaccine mandates on Monday, The Baltimore Sun reported.
“An action is currently being attempted against my medical license for prescribing ivermectin, which I find fascinating, because as an anesthesiologist, I know I use a lot of drugs off-label that are much more dangerous,” Harris said at the meeting.
Michigan
Michigan state Senator John Bizon faces misdemeanor assault charges after a nurse practitioner with Oaklawn Medical Group accused him of inappropriately touching her while seeking medication to treat his Covid-19 infection.
The incident in question occurred on August 14, at Oaklawn After Hours Express in Marshall, according to a report filed with the Marshall Police Department on August 17. Two health practictioners filed complaints about Bizon groping them and making inappropriate comments.
Minnesota
Minnesota is preparing to expand COVID-19 vaccine booster access to all adults this week, with or without federal backing, and encouraged renewed protections in communities and schools against a worsening pandemic wave.
The positivity rate of COVID-19 diagnostic testing rose above a 10% high-risk threshold in Minnesota, which is reporting high viral transmission levels in 86 of 87 counties but particularly severe levels in central and northern counties with lower vaccination rates.
“I don’t think we can say that any place in Minnesota is in particularly great shape right now,” state Health Commissioner Jan Malcolm said.
Republican Rep. Scott Perry of Pennsylvania has tested positive for Covid-19, his office announced Tuesday, a day after he was elected chair of the conservative House Freedom Caucus.
Perry’s office said in a statement announcing his diagnosis that the congressman, who has not publicly indicated whether he has been vaccinated against the virus, is experiencing “quite mild” symptoms and he “will continue working while quarantining at home.”
Houston Methodist Hospital in Texas has suspended privileges for an ear, nose, and throat doctor after she tweeted several opinions on COVID-19 vaccines, including advising patients from getting it according to a report by XKAN.
A hospital representative confirmed the suspension of Dr. Mary Talley Bowden to The Washington Post. Houston Methodist said Bowden, who only recently joined staff and says she is vaccinated, is “spreading dangerous misinformation which is not based in science.”
Bowden tweeted earlier this month that she was “shifting focus to treating the unvaccinated” due to the “current climate and writing on the wall,” in addition to the promotion of experimental treatments over the FDA-approved coronavirus vaccines.
Knowledge is the best tool to fight against fear. A wise person chooses to be informed so they can make sound decisions. To join the fight against COVID misinformation, you can share this update through your social media platform of choice.
[KING COUNTY, Wash.] – (MTN) Dr. Anthony Fauci discussed the need to get booster shots and waning immunity in a discussion yesterday with Congresswoman Anna Eshoo (CA-D) when he was asked if a sixth wave was coming to the United States.
The surge that tore through the Pacific Northwest is coming to an end from Barrow, Alaska to Brookings, Oregon, and out to Boise, Idaho, while new hotspots are emerging in northern states plateauing the national decline in new cases and hospitalizations. Seventy-nine million Americans age five and up remain unvaccinated and millions more need boosters or wrongly believe they have lifetime natural immunity.
A study published in JAMA found a correlation between sleep apnea and a higher risk of hospitalization and having severe Covid-19 symptoms. The study did not indicate if CPAP therapy decreased the risk.
Johns Hopkins University data shows that new case rates in the United States have plateaued at a high level for the last three weeks and continue to be driven by the unvaccinated.
In Washington state, new cases continue to decline with almost half the population living in counties on the other side of the fifth wave. Hospitalizations also declined and we have lifted the avoid all unnecessary travel advisory for the East Hospital Region.
The Washington State Office of Financial Management reported 94.7% of all state employees are in compliance with the October 18 vaccine mandate and another 2% are either completing their vaccinations, waiting for accommodation, in the process of retiring, or facing termination.
The Kent School District joined Seattle Public Schools and the Bellevue School District (BSD) and canceled all classes on Friday due to staffing issues. In better news BSD moved to status green, with only 9 active Covid-19 cases reported between staff and students.
Nationally, the Department of Homeland Security updated the National Threat Advisory through February 8, 2022. DHS reported that domestic violent extremists remain their primary concern, and the agency had prevented “several” attacks. The bulletin indicated that there were no specific threats.
A survey by the Kaiser Family Foundation found that consumers of Fox News were more likely to believe Covid-19 disinformation. In related news, doctors are seeing a growing connection between prior COVID infections and erectile dysfunction in young men around the world.
New cases continued to decline statewide. The end of farming season, colder weather, and helping drive new case rates down in several sparsely populated counties in Eastern Washington. There remains a significant difference between lower-vaccinated counties and counties where at least 70% of the total population is fully inoculated.
Percent of Total Population Fully Vaccinated
Total Population in Group
Average 14-Day New Case Rate
70.00% or above (3 counties)
2,343,250
184.7
60.00% to 69.99% (4 counties)
1,242,200
305.3
50.00% to 59.99% (16 counties)
3,454,700
321.8
40.00% to 49.99% (10 counties)
584,875
317.5
31.60% to 39.99% (6 counties)
151,850
290.8
14-Day New Covid-19 Cases per 100K average by Vaccination Rate for Total Population, Adjusted for Population by County
Through November 10, Washington’s statewide 14-day rolling average is 277.0 Covid-19 cases per 100K.
Skagit County remains above 600, with a new case rate of 620.2 per 100K residents.
Chelan, Douglas, Grant, Klickitat, Lewis, Lincoln, Okanagan, Pend Orielle, and Spokane counties have new case rates between 400.0 and 599.9. Asotin County is just under 400.
Fourteen counties representing 3.13 million Washingtonians have a 7 day moving average case rate under 100. This includes some former hotspots such as Benton, Garfield, and Kittitas Counties.
The 7 day new case rate was mixed, slight down to unchanged except for ages 20 to 34, which saw a larger decline, and up significantly for ages 50 to 64. Hospitalizations were down significantly for adults and declined slightly for children and adolescents.
Age Group
7-Day Case Rate
7-Day Hospitalization Rate
Ages 0-11
125.8
0.8
Ages 12-19
127.2
1.2
Ages 20-34
127.8 (down)
2.2 (down)
Ages 35-49
130.2
5.5 (down)
Ages 50-64
130.3 (up)
9.8 (down)
Ages 65-79
70.6
14.8 (down)
Ages 80+
78.6
25.0 (down)
7-day case rate and 7-day hospitalization rate is per 100K within the age group – the target for 7-day case rate is <25.0, but there are other factors such as vaccination rates within the age groups, how many total tests within the 7-day period, and the positivity rate within each age group
Over 57,000 of the 62,145 impacted employees have verified they are vaccinated. Another 1,945 workers requested and received accommodation based on medical or religious grounds. Combined, almost 95% of all employees have met the state requirement. The number of employees who were terminated or quit increased slightly to 1,857.
The state reported another 1,259 workers are pending a final outcome. Some are finishing their vaccination series while others are waiting for accommodation decisions. There are also employees who are still pending termination.
Several unions negotiated that if a state worker planned to retire by December 31, they would be exempt from the mandate – and some of those employees fall into this group. According to the OFM, only 121 state employees opted to retire so far because of the mandate.
4,973 employees requested a religious exemption. 1,518 have been approved and 745 requests were withdrawn, another 1,306 people requested medical exemptions with 427 approved and 333 withdrawn.
The mandate’s impact on services statewide has been minimal. The Washington State Department of Transportation has cautioned that snow removal could be reduced during the upcoming winter season and Washington State Ferries are still managing service reductions on some routes.
Seattle and Kent School Districts join Bellevue in canceling school on Friday
The district said, “fatigue that educators and students are experiencing, locally and nationwide, 11 weeks into the return to in-class learning” was driving the staffing issue.
Kent School District (KSD) also announced they were canceling school on Friday.
Due to staff and substitute shortages, on “Friday, November 12, 2021, our schools will be closed and the central office will be open,” was posted on the KSD website.
SPS did not provide a make-up date while KSD reported the make-up day would be on March 25. We reported yesterday Bellevue Public Schools had canceled class for Friday.
A quirk in the holiday calendar has Veteran’s Day falling on a Thursday. Government offices and services will be closed nationwide, along with banks and there won’t be mail delivery. Because of the federal holiday, many are opting to take Friday off and have a four-day weekend.
“We recognize the late notice creates challenging circumstances for many families. Our hope is that the four-day weekend allows for some level of physical, mental, and emotional rest and recharging.”
A recent survey reported that 40% of school districts nationwide reported a critical shortage of staff and schools closing or moving to remote learning for November 12 has been reported in states such as Colorado and Louisiana.
Travel Advisories
Today, we are downgrading the avoid unnecessary travel advisory for the East Hospital Region to avoid recreational travel. Adams, Asotin, Ferry, Garfield, Lincoln, Pend Oreille, Spokane, Stevens, Wahkiakum, and Whitman counties join Clallam, Jefferson, Kitsap, and Mason counties in the avoid recreational travel advisory. Hospital resources remain limited. It is likely in the next seven days we will end the travel advisory to both regions.
We are maintaining our avoid all nonessential travel advisories for Alaska, Colorado, Idaho, and Montana. The Idaho Panhandle continues to experience an extreme number of Covid-19 hospitalizations. Hospital resources in all of these states are constrained, and you may receive inadequate care if you experience a serious medical emergency.
We continue to maintain our travel advisory for Wyoming and recommend avoiding recreational travel at this time.
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Vaccination
Dr. Fauci does not believe a sixth wave is inevitable, if people take action
Yesterday, Congresswoman Anna Eshoo (CA-D) spoke with Dr. Anthony Fauci on Facebook Live. During the 31 minute discussion, Eshoo asked Fauci if the United States would experience a “sixth wave” like Europe is having now.
Dr. Fauci did not see a sixth wave as inevitable but set the bar high to prevent it. He stated that 62 million Americans who are eligible for vaccination remain unvaccinated, and getting them vaccinated was a critical priority. He also addressed vaccine and natural immunity fading, and the need for people who are eligible to get booster shots as soon as possible.
If you are eligible for a Covid-19 booster shoot Malcontent News strongly encourages you to not delay getting your second or third dose. It is fast, free, and easy. There is growing evidence that the half-life of Covid-19 vaccines is six to ten months, and the half-life for so-called natural immunity is five to seven months.
King County, Washington is reporting over 89.2% of age eligible residents are vaccinated with at least one dose. The highest rates of positivity are in areas with low vaccination rates statewide. The FDA has provided full approval of the Pfizer vaccine for anyone 16 and over and EUA approval for the Moderna and Johnson & Johnson vaccines. The Pfizer vaccine has EUA approval for children 5 to 15 years old.
COVID vaccines and boosters are free for anyone 5 and older. Lyft and Hopelink provide free transportation, and KinderCare, the Learning Care Group, and the YMCA offer free childcare during vaccination appointments or recuperation.
Our belief that there was an issue with the East Hospital Region data was correct. The Washington Department of Health updated the information in today’s report that accurately reflects the situation. However, there appears to be a different error in the data that we suspect will be corrected on Friday or next week.
According to the DoH COVID Dashboard, 91% of all staffed acute care beds are occupied, and 13.6% of patients have Covid-19. This is not a sudden jump from yesterday and reflects a full dataset being provided. Statewide, hospitals have the staff to support approximately 642 additional acute care patients.
ICUs are at 88.3% of capacity statewide, with 23.0% of ICU patients fighting Covid-19 – an estimated 273 patients with 33.4% on ventilators. The state has the staff to support approximately 140 additional ICU patients.
On Tuesday, the 7-day rolling average hospital admission rate for new COVID patients had climbed back up to 111. The Department of Health reported 737 Covid-19 patients statewide on November 8, with 91 requiring ventilators. We believe that data is missing from these numbers. It is highly unlikely more than 200 Covid-19 patients were released in the last 24 hours.
Based on what we believe is accurate data out of the East Hospital Region, we are ending our travel advisory.
Hospital status by region – ICU Occupancy should be below 80%, ICU COVID Patients should be below 20%, Acute Care Occupancy should be below 80%, and Acute Care COVID Patients should be below 10%
– Alcott (19) – Bell (24) – Blackwell (5) – Carson Elementary (10) – Clara Barton (23) – Eastlake High (66) – Ella Baker (6) – Evergreen Middle School (1) – Finn Hill Middle School (5) – Frost (5) – Inglewood Middle School (13) – Juanita Elementary (1) – Juanita High (30) – Kamiakin Middle School (5) – Keller (6) – Kirk Elementary (20) – Lakeview Elementary (7) – Lake Washington High School (7) – McAuliffe (1) – Northstar Middle School (12) – Redmond High School (37) – Renaissance Middle School (1) – Rush Elementary (1) – Sandburg/Discovery (9) – Thoreau (5) – Timberline Middle School (14) – Twain Elementary (2)
None
Northshore
YELLOW
– Arrowhead Elementary (3) – Bothell High School (12) – Canyon Creek Elementary (13) – Canyon Park Middle School (1) – Crystal Springs Elementary (30) – Fernwood Elementary (5) – Frank Love Elementary (8) – Hollywood Hills Elementary (9) – Inglemoor High School (12**) – Kenmore Elementary (16) – Kenmore Middle School (11) – Kokanee Elementary (7) – Leota Middle School (2) – Maywood Hills Elementary (3) – Moorlands Elementary (1) – North Creek High School (7) – Northshore Middle School (34) – Ruby Bridges Elementary (13) – Shelton View Elementary (4) – Skyview Middle School (2) – Sunrise Elementary (5) – Timbercrest Middle School (3) – Wellington Elementary (5) – Westhill Elementary (2) – Woodin Elementary (1) – Woodinville High School (5) – Woodmoor Elementary (5)
None
Local Districts Scorecard – * indicates positive cases only ** indicates 5 or more confirmed positive cases
Malcontent News redefined the school district statuses in early October. Information for classroom and building closures has been a challenge to obtain, both for closures and reopening. We adopted moving any school with more than ten active COVID cases reported into the red, and we’ve adjusted the third column to reflect this change.
A number (X) represents Covid-19 positive and quarantined students and faculty combined. A number with an asterisk (X*) represents Covid-19 positive students and faculty only. Bellevue School District does not report quarantine numbers by the facility. Finally a number with two asterisks (X**) indicates a school facility with five or more confirmed Covid-19 cases in the last 14 days between students and faculty.
The Bellevue School District moved to status green today, having eight confirmed cases in the last 14 days districtwide. The Northshore School District continues to improve with the number of confirmed cases declining at many schools.
We continued to encourage parents to request daily updates from the Lake Washington School District. We would also encourage parents to request the Bellevue School District include data on close contacts. These two changes would bring the three school districts we track into alignment.
Kirkland-Bellevue-Woodinville
No update
National Round-Up
Johns Hopkins University Cumulative Case Tracker reports 79,829 new cases and 1,662 deaths nationwide on Wednesday.
Department of Homeland Security remains concerned about domestic violence exteremists
The Secretary of Homeland Security has issued an updated National Terrorism Advisory System (NTAS) Bulletin regarding the current heightened threat environment across the United States effective through February 8, 2022. The Homeland continues to face a diverse and challenging threat environment as it approaches several religious holidays and associated mass gatherings that in the past have served as potential targets for acts of violence. These threats include those posed by individuals and small groups engaged in violence, including domestic violent extremists (DVEs) and those inspired or motivated by foreign terrorists and other malign foreign influences.
Through the remainder of 2021 and into 2022, racially or ethnically motivated violent extremists and anti-government/anti-authority violent extremists will continue to pose a threat to the United States. Pandemic-related stressors have contributed to increased societal strains and tensions, driving several plots by DVEs, and they may contribute to more violence this and next year. If a new Covid-19 variant emerges and new public health restrictions are imposed as a result, anti-government violent extremists could potentially use the new restrictions as a rationale to target government or public health officials or facilities.
Historically, DVEs and individuals inspired by foreign terrorist organizations have targeted crowded commercial facilities, houses of worship, and public gatherings, which have at times caused mass causalities. The continued reopening of commercial and government facilities and the potential for ongoing societal and economic disruptions due to the pandemic, as well as mass gatherings associated with several dates of religious significance over the next few months, could provide increased targets of opportunity for violence, though there are currently no credible or imminent threats tied to any dates or locations.
Fifth Wave in the United States starting to mirror the U.K. as new case numbers nationally plateau
After weeks of plunging U.S. Covid-19 cases, the decline in infections has stalled out according to a report in CNBC.
New infections have dropped to an average of more than 74,000 per day over the past week, a 57% fall from the delta wave’s peak level of 172,500 new cases per day on September 13.
While that surely is good news, the downward trajectory has leveled off in recent weeks, bouncing between 70,000 and 75,000 new cases a day for nearly three weeks, according to data compiled by Johns Hopkins University.
“We came from a very high spot, so we had our spike a little bit earlier,” Dr. Sonja Rasmussen, a professor in the departments of pediatrics and epidemiology at the University of Florida College of Medicine, said of her state’s declining cases. She noted that the cooler fall and winter temperatures in the typically tropic climate make it easier for Floridians to spend time outside, where the virus does not spread as easily as it does indoors.
Malcontent News had predicted this seasonality impact. Cases are surging in areas where colder weather has moved people to indoor activities. In 2020 a similar pattern of severe cases in the south during the summer as residents moved to air-conditioned comfort shifting to the north as people moved indoors to keep warm.
Although some are calling the growing number of cases in cooler areas a “sixth wave,” states like Idaho, Alaska, Montana, Wyoming, and Colorado didn’t have the same spike that the Southeastern United States experienced.
Fox News viewers more likely to believe Covid disinformation
People who trust Fox News Channel and other media outlets that appeal to conservatives are more likely to believe falsehoods about COVID-19 and vaccines than those who primarily go elsewhere for news, a study has found.
“It may be because the people who are self-selecting these organizations believe (the misinformation) going in,” said Liz Hamel, vice president and director of public opinion and survey research at Kaiser.
Doctors link being nervous in the service and a failure to stand at attention with prior Covid-19 infection
The number of men in their twenties and thirties seeking help for erectile dysfunction is skyrocketing, and doctors are linking it to the after-effects of being infected with COVID-19.
Doctors around the world are seeing more younger men, both vaccinated and unvaccinated, report they can no longer perform in the bedroom or even be stimulated after they’ve recovered from COVID-19.
“We started to see our first patients with this issue post-COVID as early as last winter,” Greg Girard, manager of the Tulsa Men’s Clinic, told FOX23. “We’ve easily seen recently a more than 35 percent increase in the number of patients coming to us for help.”
“These are men mostly in their mid to late twenties and early thirties. We usually don’t see men seeking help or care until their forties and fifties.”
Girard said it appears the virus lingers in and is damaging the tiny blood vessels in the penis, and even after someone has recovered, the damage remains.
“There is no way to tell the difference between erectile dysfunction caused by COVID and E.D. caused by other factors, but we have ways of scanning and seeing what’s actually going on,” he said.
Sleep apnea severity linked to Covid-19 outcomes
The risk of severe illness from COVID-19 is higher in people with obstructive sleep apnea and other breathing problems that cause oxygen levels to drop during sleep, researchers say. They tracked 5,402 adults with these problems and found that roughly a third of them eventually tested posted for the coronavirus. While the chance of being infected did not increase with the severity of their problems, people with higher scores on the “apnea-hypopnia index” – a measure of the severity of their sleep-related breathing problems – had higher odds of needing to be hospitalized or dying from COVID-19, Drs. Cinthya Pena Orbea and Reena Mehra of the Cleveland Clinic and colleagues reported on Wednesday in JAMA Network Open. It is not clear if treatments that improve sleep apnea, such as CPAP machines that push air into patients’ airways during sleep, would also reduce the risk of severe COVID-19, said Pene Orbea and Mehra.
While crisis standards of care are still officially enabled at approximately 20 of Alaska’s hospitals, hospital officials have said that declining COVID-positive patient counts meant that facilities have not had to act on those standards in the last few weeks.
Nearly 11,000 votes were cast in the Oct. 26 special election, with the Assembly unanimously certifying the results during its Tuesday meeting.
The official reason for the recall attempt stemmed from Zaletel’s attendance at a public meeting in which recall backers say attracted more people than was allowed under COVID-19 protocols at the time.
Colorado
Although the current surge in Colorado is part of the “fifth wave,” it could be an unnerving omen about what awaits other states in the coming months.
Gov. Jared Polis said Wednesday that the state will take new steps such as increasing the number of hospital beds and making indoor events safer as Colorado’s hospital bed capacity has hit an all-time low.
This update came at a meeting of the Governor’s Expert Emergency Epidemic Response Committee (GEEERC), at which state epidemiologist Dr. Rachel Herlihy said that COVID-19 cases have increased rapidly over the past few days.
There are 759 hospital beds available in Colorado, and 1,426 COVID-19 patients are currently hospitalized.
Of those who are currently hospitalized, 79% of them are unvaccinated, she said, adding that unvaccinated patients are 8.9 times more likely to be hospitalized for COVID-19.
The maximum number of COVID-19 patients that Colorado hospitals can accommodate is about 2,000, and current models show that the state will exceed that number by late next month.
“My world is still fully COVID,” said Combs. She has worked in ICUs for 18 years and has been a nurse for more than 20.
Combs says a great percentage of critical COVID patients now are not merely in disbelief, as she’s witnessed with cancer patients over the years, but disbelievers.
“It’s hard though when you know that you’re doing good for the patients, but they’re yelling at you,” she said. “They’re telling you it’s not real. They’re telling you that you’re a murderer.”
Some believe the hospital is making them sick.
“’I can’t breathe,’” she hears them say. “Exactly. That’s because you have COVID. ‘Well no I don’t have COVID, that’s not real.’ I’ve had these conversations with people.”
“We didn’t lose one, two, three — we lost nine,” the sheriff said, noting that the first death from the virus came in April 2020.
The South Florida SunSentinel reported that black and white photos of the victims were on stage at the church in Sunrise: Deputy Shannon Bennett, 39; Nikima Thompson, 41; Wiley Huff, 73; Lt. Aldemar Rengifo Jr., 54; Pamela Ford, 54; Stephen Adams, 42; Sgt. Shane Owens, 48; Edwin Sanchez, 61; and Tasha Blackwood, 54.
Covid-19 has been the largest killer of law enforcement in 2020 and 2021.
The baby died in October in the Southwest health district, which includes Adams, Canyon, Gem, Owyhee, Payette, and Washington counties. To protect the privacy of the family, additional information about the infant will not be released, according to IDHW.
“Our hearts go out to the family of this child,” said Elke Shaw-Tulloch, administrator for the Idaho Division of Public Health. “Infection with the virus can have devastating impacts on families, and this situation highlights the seriousness of COVID-19.”
While Idaho has made transferring COVID patients to other states a leading economic export, the state legislature is poised to vote on blocking vaccine mandates.
Idaho Association of Commerce & Industry President Alex LaBeau told lawmakers that such a law would put “tyrannical practices on the free market.”
The Legislature is scheduled to reconvene Monday, mainly to pass a law or laws to thwart President Joe Biden’s vaccine mandates. But potential laws aimed at preventing Idaho employers from requiring employees to get the coronavirus vaccine is also likely to be introduced by far-right Republican lawmakers.
Most mainstream Republicans are wary of government getting between employers and employees, including Republican House Speaker Scott Bedke and Republican Senate President Pro Tem Chuck Winder. Both have said lawmakers will look at legislation that would allow the state to initiate legal action over federal vaccine mandates on private employers. The legislation would include $2 million for a potential legal battle.
About a dozen potential laws are expected to be brought forward next week. Those proposed laws are likely to include some from far-right lawmakers that would prevent Idaho employers from requiring employees to get the COVID-19 vaccine. It’s not clear how they will do in the House and Senate if brought forward.
“As we hear about possible legislation from self-proclaimed ‘champions of liberty and limited government’ in support of guaranteed salaries and stripping the rights of entrepreneurs, we couldn’t stand by quietly as this thinly cloaked socialism gets wrapped up in a facade of freedom,” LaBeau wrote.
Editor’s Note: Yes, you read that right, conservative business-owning Republicans are calling far-right Republicans “socialists.”
There are currently 525 patients hospitalized with COVID-19, up from 481 on Monday. Of those hospitalized with COVID-19, 71.6% are unvaccinated and 85% of those listed in intensive care with COVID-19 are unvaccinated.
The number of long-term care facilities reporting a virus outbreak increased from 28 to 29 since Monday.
Iowa is also seeing a late-stage “fifth wave” as the weather has turned cooler and people moved indoors.
Montana
Dr. Justin Buls, the Kalispell site director of the Family Medicine Residency of Western Montana, is also a school trustee on the West Valley School District in the Flathead, and that board last month voted to distance itself from the comments he posted to his Facebook account, which also included updating his profile picture to show a swastika made with syringe needles.
KPAX reported University of Montana spokesman Dave Kuntz said that while Bulls remains affiliated with the university’s physician training program, which includes supervising medical doctors in training, the institution is aware of the comments and the controversy.
“The UM Family Medicine program doesn’t endorse these personal views,” Kuntz said. “We don’t support hate-speech and anti-Semitism, and we expect that of our community members, especially those in critical teaching roles, and expect physicians to act in a way that meets those. Dr. Buls hasn’t lived up to them.”
Repeated messages to Buls by the Daily Montanan via his social media account and through a university spokesperson went unanswered.
However, archived posts from his Facebook account show that he was suspended at least twice from Facebook and independent fact-checkers also flagged several of his posts. In his comments, he also claims the COVID-19 virus was created in a lab and “released on purpose to kill millions of people,” a narrative that is popular in some social media circles but without a factual basis.
That player was still in the hospital Wednesday, though Zimmer said the player is “stable now.” Zimmer added the situation “was scary.”
The Vikings are dealing with a COVID-19 outbreak. The team placed three players — center Garrett Bradbury, guard Dakota Dozier, and safety Harrison Smith — on the Reserve/COVID-19 list Thursday. The team placed two additional players — linebacker Ryan Connelly and practice squad tackle Timon Parris — on that list Monday.
Kirk Cousins, the starting quarterback for the Vikings, is one of the league’s most outspoken critics of the Covid-19 vaccine.
In life, Dr. Christopher Foley was a beloved husband, father, and grandfather. He cycled regularly, played handball, and had a passion for Irish music.
As a physician who trained in internal medicine at the University of Minnesota and became a natural medicine doctor, Foley’s “passion lay truly in taking care of other people,” said his son, Logan.
But through his Vadnais Heights-based practice, Foley also spread falsehoods about the COVID pandemic and vaccines. Foley died in October of complications from Covid-19. He was 71. At his funeral, Foley’s son Logan confirmed his father’s death from COVID and that he was unvaccinated.
Wisconsin
For a second day in a row, testing identified more than 3,000 new coronavirus cases in Wisconsin, as the state saw the highest one-day increase in its death toll in two weeks. At the same time, the Wisconsin Department of Health Services, which has dealt with a number of issues with vaccination reporting the past couple of weeks, revised the total number of doses back to Friday’s figure while it solves the latest problems.
The latest DHS report says there are 3,370 more confirmed cases in the past day. This caused the 7-day average to jump again, from 2,295 to 2,453 cases per day, the highest 7-day average in a month.
It comes as no surprise with the rising case numbers this past week that more counties saw their virus activity labels upgraded — or downgraded, depending on your perspective. The DHS says 8 counties have “critically high” virus activity, which is twice as many counties as the last two weeks; 62 counties have “very high” activity, down from 65 counties last week; 2 counties have “high” activity, down from 3 counties. No counties have “moderate” or “low” virus activity.
Knowledge is the best tool to fight against fear. A wise person chooses to be informed so they can make sound decisions. To join the fight against COVID misinformation, you can share this update through your social media platform of choice.
[KING COUNTY, Wash.] – (MTN) Three weeks after the October 18 vaccine mandate deadline, new cases rates are plummeting statewide while the number of vaccinated residents increases. Additionally, hospitalizations have broken through a weeks-long plateau. It is safe to say that Washington is on the other side of the fifth wave.
The Department of Health reported that almost 80% of Washington residents 12 and older have received at least one dose of the Covid-19 vaccine on Thursday. Remarkably, that’s only good enough to put the state in fourteenth place nationally.
There was a massive decline in the number of acute care patients in the East Hospital Region, and the state is reporting more than 1,000 acute care beds available for the first time since early August.
The Bellevue School District has announced that schools will be closed on Friday due to low staffing levels, pending inclement weather, and Covid-19 protocols.
Despite the good news locally and statewide, there are growing signs that health officials nationally are growing more concerned about a looming sixth wave. Pfizer has formally requested booster shot emergency use authorization of its Covid-19 vaccine for anyone over 18 years old. In Colorado, state health officials have told all residents over 18 years old who are eligible for a booster to seek one. New Mexico health officials partially blamed waning vaccine protection for driving a growing surge in the state.
Emerald Robinson, the White House reporter for Newsmax has been suspended by the agency and permanently banned by Twitter for spreading Covid-19 disinformation. In contrast, Aaron Rodgers is being fined $14,650 by the NFL for attending a Halloween party.
Alaska officials believe the worst is over, however, 20 hospitals are still operating using crisis standards of care.
Howard Breidenbach of Myrtle Beach, Oregon was an anti-vaxxer and conspiracy theorist who spent 102 days at UW Medical Center in Seattle fighting for his life. He has long COVID and lost everything five years before retirement, and he is now begging others regardless of their politics to get vaccinated.
Finally, a Utah elementary school teacher has been suspended for teaching a lesson about Covid-19 disinformation, racism, and insurrection.
New case rates dropped statewide indicating that the weeks-long plateau and the step down from last week are broken. After 82 days it is becoming increasingly clear the Delta surge in Washington state is coming to an end.
There remains a significant difference between lower-vaccinated counties and counties where at least 70% of the total population is fully inoculated.
Percent of Total Population Fully Vaccinated
Total Population in Group
Average 14-Day New Case Rate
70.00% or above (3 counties)
2,343,250
188.2 (down)
60.00% to 69.99% (4 counties)
1,242,200
308.3 (down)
50.00% to 59.99% (16 counties)
3,454,700
327.6 (down)
40.00% to 49.99% (10 counties)
584,875
322.4 (down)
31.50% to 39.99% (6 counties)
151,850
300.3 (down)
14-Day New Covid-19 Cases per 100K average by Vaccination Rate for Total Population, Adjusted for Population by County
Through November 9, Washington’s statewide 14-day rolling average is 281.6 Covid-19 cases per 100K.
Skagit County remains above 600, with a new case rate of 627.8 per 100K residents.
Chelan, Douglas, Grant, Klickitat, Lewis, Lincoln, Okanagan, Pend Orielle, and Spokane counties have new case rates between 400.0 and 599.9. Cowlitz, Mason, Pend Oreille, and Stevens counties were just under 400.
Thirteen counties representing 3.1 million Washingtonians have a 7 day moving average case rate under 100.
The 7 day new case rate was down for all ages (just slightly for 80 and above) while hospitalizations were mostly unchanged.
Age Group
7-Day Case Rate
7-Day Hospitalization Rate
Ages 0-11
130.2 (down)
0.9
Ages 12-19
133.9 (down)
1.3
Ages 20-34
127.8 (down)
2.7
Ages 35-49
127.5 (down)
6.6
Ages 50-64
103.2 (down)
11.4
Ages 65-79
71.6 (down)
16.7
Ages 80+
76.1
28.6 (up)
7-day case rate and 7-day hospitalization rate is per 100K within the age group – the target for 7-day case rate is <25.0, but there are other factors such as vaccination rates within the age groups, how many total tests within the 7-day period, and the positivity rate within each age group
Almost 80% of Washingtonians 12 and above have received at least one dose of Covid-19 vaccine
The Washington State Department of Health reported 79.6% of Washingtonians 12 and older have received at least one dose of the Covid-19 vaccine, and 73.5% of the state is fully vaccinated.
According to the Mayo Clinic and through November 7, Washington state ranks tenth in the United States for children ages 12 to 17 fully vaccinated, ninth for adults 18 to 64, and eight for seniors 65 and older.
When you consider at least a single dose, Washington drops to 14th place for children ages 12 to 17, 14th for adults 18 to 65, and in a 32-way first-place tie for seniors 65 and older.
The red-blue political divide is also strong in the data. Among children 12 to 17 and adults 18 to 64 the first red state is Utah in 19th place. For seniors over 65, 32 states have achieved >99% vaccinated.
New case rates in Washington started to plummet 16 days after the October 18 vaccine mandate deadline passed for state, educational, and healthcare workers.
Travel Advisories
With new cases starting to decline statewide, we continue to hope the East Hospital Region travel advisory can end in the next 2 to 9 days. For now, we’re maintaining our recreational travel advisory to the region, including Adams, Asotin, Ferry, Garfield, Lincoln, Pend Oreille, Spokane, Stevens, Wahkiakum, and Whitman counties. Acute care and ICU capacity remain limited.
Additionally, we are maintaining the travel advisory for the Northwest Hospital Region. The region includes Clallam, Jefferson, Kitsap, and Mason counties.
We are adding Colorado to our list of states to avoid all nonessential travel. Last Sunday, Governor Jared Polis signed an executive order implementing crisis standards of care. We continue to strongly advise against all nonessential travel to Alaska, Idaho, and Montana. Alaska and the Idaho Panhandle are experiencing an extreme number of Covid-19 hospitalizations. Hospital resources in these regions are constrained, and you may receive inadequate care if you experience a serious medical emergency.
We are downgrading our travel advisory for Wyoming and recommend avoiding recreational travel at this time. The situation has improved significantly in the last two weeks.
Thank you
Thank you to our new subscribers and those of you who have made one-time contributions. On behalf of the entire team, thank you for helping us keep the lights on!
No promotional consideration has been given, or requested from the n95 project or any manufacturer of masks
Vaccination
Pfizer formally requests Covid-19 boosters for adults approved
Pfizer and BioNTech announced they’re formally seeking emergency use authorization from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for Emergency Use Authorization for a Covid-19 vaccine booster for all individuals over 17 years old.
The submission is based on the results of a Phase 3 trial involving more than 10,000 participants. The trial found boosters were safe and had an efficacy of 95% against symptomatic Covid-19 against the more transmissible Delta variant, which was the dominant strain during the study.
Get Your Booster
If you are eligible for a Covid-19 booster shoot Malcontent News strongly encourages you to not delay getting your second or third dose. It is fast, free, and easy. There is growing evidence that the half-life of Covid-19 vaccines is six to ten months, and the half-life for so-called natural immunity is 5 to 7 months.
If you’re supportive of vaccination, the biggest step you can take to help stop a sixth wave is get your booster shot.
King County, Washington is reporting over 89.2% of age eligible residents are vaccinated with at least one dose. The highest rates of positivity are in areas with low vaccination rates statewide. The FDA has provided full approval of the Pfizer vaccine for anyone 16 and over and EUA approval for the Moderna and Johnson & Johnson vaccines. The Pfizer vaccine has EUA approval for children 5 to 15 years old.
COVID vaccines and boosters are free for anyone 5 and older. Lyft and Hopelink provide free transportation, and KinderCare, the Learning Care Group, and the YMCA offer free childcare during vaccination appointments or recuperation.
We continue to believe there is a problem with the state hospitalization data and that information is missing from the East Hospital Region. A more than 30% decline in total acute care patients over a weekend or the addition of almost 350 staffed acute care beds seem unlikely.
According to the DoH COVID Dashboard, 86% of all staffed acute care beds are occupied, and 13.3% of patients have Covid-19. Statewide, hospitals have the staff to support approximately 1,079 additional acute care patients.
ICUs are at 88.7% of capacity statewide, with 24.0% of ICU patients fighting Covid-19 – an estimated 287 patients with 46.4% on ventilators. The state has the staff to support approximately 133 additional ICU patients.
On Tuesday, the 7-day rolling average hospital admission rate for new COVID patients was 109. The Department of Health reported 950 Covid-19 patients statewide on November 8, with 133 requiring ventilators.
Hospital readiness in the East Region has improved dramatically. However, there is no information to indicate there was a surge in staffing or resources to add so many beds over the previous weekend. We have submitted a question to the Washington State Department of Health. If the data is accurate, the travel advisory for the East Region will be lifted immediately.
Hospital status by region – ICU Occupancy should be below 80%, ICU COVID Patients should be below 20%, Acute Care Occupancy should be below 80%, and Acute Care COVID Patients should be below 10%
– Alcott (19) – Bell (24) – Blackwell (5) – Carson Elementary (10) – Clara Barton (23) – Eastlake High (66) – Ella Baker (6) – Evergreen Middle School (1) – Finn Hill Middle School (5) – Frost (5) – Inglewood Middle School (13) – Juanita Elementary (1) – Juanita High (30) – Kamiakin Middle School (5) – Keller (6) – Kirk Elementary (20) – Lakeview Elementary (7) – Lake Washington High School (7) – McAuliffe (1) – Northstar Middle School (12) – Redmond High School (37) – Renaissance Middle School (1) – Rush Elementary (1) – Sandburg/Discovery (9) – Thoreau (5) – Timberline Middle School (14) – Twain Elementary (2)
None
Northshore
YELLOW
– Arrowhead Elementary (4) – Bothell High School (11**) – Canyon Creek Elementary (5) – Canyon Park Middle School (1) – Crystal Springs Elementary (8) – Fernwood Elementary (5) – Frank Love Elementary (6) – Hollywood Hills Elementary (6) – Inglemoor High School (13**) – Kenmore Elementary (16) – Kenmore Middle School (12) – Kokanee Elementary (7) – Leota Middle School (2) – Maywood Hills Elementary (2) – Moorlands Elementary (1) – North Creek High School (7) – Northshore Middle School (57) – Ruby Bridges Elementary (14) – Shelton View Elementary (5) – Skyview Middle School (7**) – Sunrise Elementary (6) – Timbercrest Middle School (2) – Wellington Elementary (5) – Westhill Elementary (3) – Woodin Elementary (1) – Woodinville High School (4) – Woodmoor Elementary (6)
None
Local Districts Scorecard – * indicates positive cases only ** indicates 5 or more confirmed positive cases
We redefined the school district statuses. Information for classroom and building closures has been a challenge to obtain, both for closures and reopening. We are adopting moving any school with more than ten active COVID cases reported into the red, and we’ve adjusted the third column to reflect this change.
There were no significant changes today.
We continued to encourage parents to request daily updates from the Lake Washington School District. We would also encourage parents to request the Bellevue School District include data on close contacts. These two changes would bring the three school districts we track into alignment.
Bellevue School District to close on Friday due to staffing shortages
The Bellevue School District (BSD) announced there would be no classes on Friday, November 12, due to staffing shortages, anticipated inclement weather, and Covid-19 restrictions. Athletics programming for Friday will run as currently scheduled while regularly scheduled afterschool activities are canceled.
Some of the creative solutions we have provided in the past with staff shortages, will not work with the Covid-19 restrictions,” the statement from the District said. “For example, combining classes is not an option at this time.”
Although poor weather is forecasted for Friday, there is nothing in the weather models to indicate a significant wind event or freezing precipitation.
The District also addressed the issue of childcare.
“We recognize that this notice may result in the need for childcare for families. Right at School, our partner in providing childcare is on hand to assist those who wish to get quick access to their services.
Friday, January 28, 2022 will be the makeup day.
Schools were struggling with low staffing levels before the pandemic and in Washington over 97% of school staff got vaccinated or had an exemption approved.
Kirkland-Bellevue-Woodinville
No update
National Round-Up
Johns Hopkins University Cumulative Case Tracker reports 125,350 new cases and 1,207 deaths nationwide on Tuesday.
Pfizer CEO says people who spread COVID misinformation are “criminals”
People who spread misinformation on Covid-19 vaccines are “criminals” and have cost “millions of lives,” Pfizer CEO Albert Bourla said Tuesday, in a report by CNBC.
Speaking with Washington D.C.-based think tank Atlantic Council, Bourla said there is a “very small” group of people that purposefully circulate misinformation on the shots, misleading those who are already hesitant about getting vaccinated.
“Those people are criminals,” he told Atlantic Council CEO, Frederick Kempe. “They’re not bad people. They’re criminals because they have literally cost millions of lives.”
Bourla’s comments come as millions of eligible adults in the U.S. have yet to get vaccinated even though the shots have been available to most Americans most of this year. Public health experts say misinformation is likely playing a large role.
Editor’s Note:We agree.
NFL opts for field goal for Aaron Rodgers and Green Bay Packers punishment
The NFL has concluded its review into the Green Bay Packers’ COVID-19 protocols implementation and fined the franchise $300,000 and quarterback Aaron Rodgers and wide receiver Allen Lazard $14,650 each for violations of the league and NFL Players Association protocols, NFL Network’s Mike Garafolo reported Tuesday night.
Rodgers and Lazard’s fines are a result of attending a team-sanctioned Halloween party, Garafolo reported. As both are unvaccinated, they are prohibited from attending gatherings outside team facilities. Per the NFL/NFLPA protocol guidelines, gathering outside of the club facility in a group of more than three players is subject to a $14,650 fine.
The permanent suspension follows a temporary 7-day Twitter suspension Robinson received last week in the wake of false claims she made about the COVID-19 vaccine.
Last week, Robinson tweeted that the Covid-19 vaccines contained a bioluinescent marker called LUCIFERASE so you could be tracked, and claimed it was the mark of the Devil.
The tweet was deleted, and Newsmax suspended Robinson from her duties the same week. The Cheif Content Officer of the conservative news organization was forced to make a statement to minimize damage to the network.
Newsmax has been “a strong proponent that Covid 19 vaccines are overarchingly safe and effective,” said Elliot Jacobson, executive vice president and chief content officer for the network.
State Updates
Alaska
Hospital officials believe that the worst is over in Alaska while 20 hospitals continue to operate using crisis standards of care.
“It feels like we’re at a turning point,” said Jared Kosin, president and CEO of the Alaska State Hospital and Nursing Home Association, while speaking to the Anchorage Daily News.
“We’re feeling like the situation (in hospitals) is becoming manageable in a way that it hasn’t been in a long time,” he said.
There were 131 people hospitalized with COVID-19 by Tuesday, state dashboard data showed, with about 14.4% of the state’s hospitalized patients considered to have active cases. That’s a significant decrease from a high of more than 200 people hospitalized on average since September.
In Fairbanks, Memorial Hospital announced they were returning to contingency care.
Alaska’s new case rate, positivity, and ICU availability remain concerning, but the situation is clearly improving.
Colorado
If you’re 18 or older in Colorado, the state says you qualify for a COVID-19 vaccine booster shot.
The Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment says it continues to follow the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s recommendation: “You should get a booster dose if you are 18 to 64 years old and at high risk because of where you live or work.”
But CDPHE said that almost everyone 18 or older in the state is at risk in the workplace or where they live, as an estimated 1 in 48 Coloradans is infected with COVID-19. “Because disease spread is so significant across Colorado, all Coloradans (ages 18+) qualify for a booster,” CDPHE said.
The state has also issued a public health order preventing any vaccine provider from refusing a COVID-19 vaccine booster shot to anyone who says they meet the qualifications.
Minnesota
The latest data from the Minnesota Department of Health added 7,173 new cases to the state’s pandemic totals and continued a trend of rising daily cases over the past two weeks, according to a report by the Star Tribune.
Over the weekend, however, the high volume of new cases meant that staffing wasn’t sufficient to review all the data, the Health Department said. The tally reported Tuesday is about 2,500 cases shy of the true count for the 72-hour weekend reporting period.
“That’s pretty alarming that they couldn’t process all the incoming cases,” said Dr. David Boulware, an infectious disease specialist at the University of Minnesota. “I’m becoming more concerned as our hospitalized cases are this high already preinfluenza and, as the weather turns colder, our cases may likely increase just like last year, further straining the limited number of hospital beds in Minnesota.”
More unvaccinated people need to get immunized, Boulware said, “as the majority of hospitalizations and deaths are occurring among the unvaccinated group.”
Across the Allina Health System on Tuesday, 222 out of 297 patients hospitalized with COVID-19 were unvaccinated — about 75% of the total. Unvaccinated patients accounted for 56 of the 61 patients with COVID-19 in intensive care units, Allina reported, and 53 of the 58 patients on ventilators.
New Mexico
New Mexico ranks fifth in the country for new COVID-19 cases per capita, according to the CDC and a report by KOB News in Albequerque.
“Even if you’re vaccinated, if you are in a sea of people who are unvaccinated and have COVID, COVID is just two times more transmissible, or contagious, than the original COVID,” said Dr. Laura Parajon, the deputy secretary of the New Mexico Department of Health.
From February through November, more than 80% of COVID-19 cases in New Mexico are from unvaccinated people.
Oregon
An Oregon man is alive and back home after 102 days at UW Medical Center in Seattle due to Covid-19. Howard Breidenbach of Myrtle Creek in southern Oregon admits he did not take the virus seriously.
“This is a conspiracy, just a flu they’re overinflating,” he recalled of his feelings prior to getting sick.
“I thought I was dead,” Breidenbach said. “Couldn’t remember my birthday, couldn’t remember my name.”
“We were set to retire within five years,” he said. “I lost everything.”
During his Zoom interview with KGW Tuesday, Breidenbach was still connected to an oxygen tank and could not suppress his coughing. “The COVID cough never goes away,” he said.
He is now fully vaccinated against Covid-19 and urged people to separate pandemic issues from politics.
Utah
An elementary school teacher in the Alpine School District is under investigation for teaching students an anti-vaccine, pro-insurrection, and racist lesson about the United States.
“As in previous years, schools are holding special flag ceremonies and assemblies to honor parents and grandparents of students who are veterans and to offer thanks to those who continue protecting our freedoms. An isolated incident that occurred on Monday at an elementary school is unfortunate, concerning, and is being investigated by school and district administration. District policy prohibits political advocacy,” the statement reads.
A Dry Creek Elementary parent who asked not to be identified said Larry Law made several references to fighting bullies, including Covid-19 vaccine mandates, and showed images of dictators of predominantly Asian descent as an example of what a bully looks like. The parent called it a “pro-fighting platform.”
“It was just basically full of anti-Asian rhetoric talking about how people getting free handouts like food from the grocery store is anti-American and for lazy people,” the parent said.
The parent also claimed Law expressed his support for the January 6 Insurrection, and that the “government telling us we should get vaccinated is the government being a bully and we need to fight back against the bullies.”
Law helps run an alternative medicine blog called Angie’s Option Grass Roots Movement. The most recent post, dated Tuesday and penned by Law, rails against the FDA’s recent approval of the Covid-19 vaccine for children.
Editor’s Note: Normally, we would not quote the Deseret News. They are a publication known for sharing disinformation, but this story is important. The antivax and antigovernment movement are intertwined, and many vocal antivaccination advocates are embedded in MLM and the supplement trade.
Knowledge is the best tool to fight against fear. A wise person chooses to be informed so they can make sound decisions. To join the fight against COVID misinformation, you can share this update through your social media platform of choice.
[KING COUNTY, Wash.] – (MTN) Three weeks after the vaccination mandate deadline passed for state, healthcare and education workers, the vaccination rate increased dramatically statewide and in King County. New cases continue to drift downward, with Eastern Washington showing the most improvement. Over 7 million Washingtonians now live in counties where at least 50% of all residents are fully vaccinated.
Within our coverage area, the northern half of Kirkland continues to have the third-lowest vaccination rate along the I-405 corridor.
Big Bird got “vaccinated” in front of the public for the second time since 1972, and it’s made some people very mad.
The land border between Canada and the United States reopened for the first time in 20 months. The happiest people in North America about the reopening live in Point Roberts who have ended more than 500 days of exile.
Vaccinations are available for children 5 to 11, and demand is far exceeding the supply. In Seattle, Seattle Public Schools have opened clinics at 54 locations.
Delta VUI-21 growth has slowed down in the U.K., but the variant under investigation continues to spread. Europe is now the epicenter for Covid-19 on the planet, with several Eastern European nations setting new records.
The Washington State Department of Health has updated the Covid-19 vaccination data, and there were significant increases statewide. Twenty-three of 39 counties have at least 50% of the total population vaccinated for COVID, representing 7.04 million people.
New case rates continue to drop in Eastern Washington three weeks after the vaccine mandate deadline for state employees, healthcare workers, and school employees.
Currently, the vaccination data does not include 5 to 11 years, which became vaccine eligible last week. We expect the reporting data to be updated in the coming weeks. There continues to be a significant drop in new case rates in counties where more than 70% of the eligible population are vaccinated.
Percent of Total Population Fully Vaccinated
Total Population in Group
Average 14-Day New Case Rate
70.00% or above (3 counties)
2,343,250
203.7
60.00% to 69.99% (4 counties)
1,242,200
323.1
50.00% to 59.99% (16 counties)
3,454,700
351.1
40.00% to 49.99% (10 counties)
584,875
346.4
31.50% to 39.99% (6 counties)
151,850
342.2
14-Day New Covid-19 Cases per 100K average by Vaccination Rate for Total Population, Adjusted for Population by County
Through November 8, Washington’s statewide 14-day rolling average is 301.9 Covid-19 cases per 100K. Health officials would prefer to see these numbers drop lower as we move closer to the holidays.
Only Skagit County has a case rate between 600.0 to 799.9. Over the weekend, the case rate increased to 657.0. Klickitat was just under 600.
Asotin, Chelan, Douglas, Ferry, Garfield, Grant, Grays Harbor, Klickitat, Lewis, Lincoln, Okanagan, Pend Orielle, and Spokane counties have new case rates between 400.0 and 599.9. Cowlitz, Mason, Pend Oreille, and Stevens counties were just under 400.
Eleven counties have a 7 day moving average case rate under 100, and San Juan and Wahikakum counties were under 25.
The 7 day new case rate was up among adolescents and young adults, ages 50 to 64, and people 80 and above. Hospitalization rates drifted downward except for geriatric patients over 79 years old.
Age Group
7-Day Case Rate
7-Day Hospitalization Rate
Ages 0-11
147.1
0.8
Ages 12-19
150.4 (up)
1.1
Ages 20-34
142.4 (up)
3.1
Ages 35-49
144.7
6.8
Ages 50-64
115.7 (up)
11.6
Ages 65-79
79.7
16.6
Ages 80+
81.2 (up)
26.5 (up)
7-day case rate and 7-day hospitalization rate is per 100K within the age group – the target for 7-day case rate is <25.0, but there are other factors such as vaccination rates within the age groups, how many total tests within the 7-day period, and the positivity rate within each age group
10 million doses of Covid-19 vaccine administered across Washington
The Washington State Department of Health (DOH) is pleased to announce another significant milestone has been reached in the state’s COVID-19 vaccine rollout. As of November 6, more than 10 million doses of vaccine have been given out across Washington since distribution began in mid-December 2020.
“Giving out 10 million doses of life-saving vaccine is something we should all be proud of here in Washington,” said Umair A. Shah, MD, MPH, Secretary of Health. “Knowing that younger kids can now be protected from the worst outcomes of this virus is an incredible relief, not just for parents and families, but for everyone. The more people vaccinated, the more community protection we have, and that’s good for us all.”
The achievement was reached thanks to the hard work of providers, local and private sector partners, DOH staff, community members, and countless others whose commitment to community health and safety has been vital to our state’s continued success.
Border between British Columbia and Washington reopens after 20 months
Cars lined up at the Peace Arch border crossing to enter Blaine, Washington, as the land border between Canada and the United States opened for the first time in 20 months. Traffic this evening was light after a flood of cars heading south entered Washington state.
No place on Earth was more relieved about the border reopening than the residents of Point Roberts.
Point Roberts is a small Washington town located on the tip of Canada’s Tsawwassen peninsula. It is surrounded by water on three sides and attached to land through Canada only.
When the U.S.-Canadian border closed in 2020, many Canadians were separated from loved ones, friends, and their homes in towns like Point Roberts. American residents were separated from the rest of the United States, having to endure financial and emotional hardship.
“We’re going to be thrilled to get our Canadians back because, like I said before, [they own] 75% of our properties and [contribute] 90% of our economy. We just hope that the Canadians will relax that unnecessary testing,” said Brian Calder, president of the Point Roberts Chamber of Commerce told KING 5 News.
On Monday, some Canadian families returned to the Washington town to winterize their homes.
Seattle Public Schools starts vaccination clinics for children ages 5 to 11
Seattle Public Schools (SPS) started running vaccine clinics today that will offer first doses of the Pfizer vaccine to children 5 to 11 at 40 schools during the day and 14 regional clinics on the weekend and evenings through November 23. Second dose clinics will be offered from November 29 to December 14.
SPS vaccine clinics are organized to prioritize families who face more barriers to vaccination while regional clinics are open to all SPS students who are 5 years and older.
Students do not have to be enrolled in that specific school. SPS vaccine clinics are organized to prioritize families who face more barriers to vaccination. Please attend the clinic in the area that is convenient to where you live.
There may be scarcity in vaccine supply in the first few weeks after approval but should stabilize after a few weeks and eventually, everyone will be able to get vaccinated. If a clinic needs to be postponed due to vaccine supply, we will re-schedule the clinic as soon as possible.
At the regional clinics, students under 18 years of age must be accompanied by a parent or guardian.
The Pfizer vaccination requires two shots. Students should plan to be available for both school clinic dates to receive both doses of the vaccine.
Travel Advisories
With new cases starting to decline statewide, we continue to hope the East Hospital Region travel advisory can end in the next 3 to 10 days. For now, we’re maintaining our recreational travel advisory to the region, including Adams, Asotin, Ferry, Garfield, Lincoln, Pend Oreille, Spokane, Stevens, Wahkiakum, and Whitman counties. Acute care and ICU capacity remain limited.
Additionally, we are maintaining the travel advisory for the Northwest Hospital Region. The region includes Clallam, Jefferson, Kitsap, and Mason counties.
We are adding Colorado to our list of states to avoid all nonessential travel. Last Sunday, Governor Jared Polis signed an executive order implementing crisis standards of care. We continue to strongly advise against all nonessential travel to Alaska, Idaho, and Montana. Alaska and the Idaho Panhandle are experiencing an extreme number of Covid-19 hospitalizations. Hospital resources in these regions are constrained, and you may receive inadequate care if you experience a serious medical emergency.
We are downgrading our travel advisory for Wyoming and recommend avoiding recreational travel at this time. The situation has improved significantly in the last two weeks.
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Vaccination
Pfizer may seek clearance of Covid-19 booster for ages 18 and up
Pfizer and German partner BioNTech are expected to seek authorization for their COVID-19 vaccine booster shot for people aged 18 and above as soon as this week, according to a report in the Washington Post.
There were multiple reports three weeks ago the FDA and CDC were having talks about lowering the age for booster shots to 40 years old for people who got the Pfizer or Moderna vaccine. Data out of the U.K. and Israel have indicated that boosters had a significant impact in reducing hospitalizations and deaths during their most recent surges.
King County, Washington is reporting over 89.2% of age eligible residents are vaccinated with at least one dose. The highest rates of positivity are in areas with low vaccination rates statewide. The FDA has provided full approval of the Pfizer vaccine for anyone 16 and over and EUA approval for the Moderna and Johnson & Johnson vaccines. The Pfizer vaccine has EUA approval for children 5 to 15 years old.
COVID vaccines and boosters are free for anyone 5 and older. Lyft and Hopelink provide free transportation, and KinderCare, the Learning Care Group, and the YMCA offer free childcare during vaccination appointments or recuperation.
A significant amount of data from the East Hospital Region was missing in the Monday report. We are not providing updated hospitalization data in today’s report.
On Sunday, the Washington State Department of Health reported 1,007 Covid-19 patients statewide with 159 on ventilators. Hospitalizations are drifting downward after increasing 7% from October 22 to October 29.
– Alcott (19) – Bell (24) – Blackwell (5) – Carson Elementary (10) – Clara Barton (23) – Eastlake High (66) – Ella Baker (6) – Evergreen Middle School (1) – Finn Hill Middle School (5) – Frost (5) – Inglewood Middle School (13) – Juanita Elementary (1) – Juanita High (30) – Kamiakin Middle School (5) – Keller (6) – Kirk Elementary (20) – Lakeview Elementary (7) – Lake Washington High School (7) – McAuliffe (1) – Northstar Middle School (12) – Redmond High School (37) – Renaissance Middle School (1) – Rush Elementary (1) – Sandburg/Discovery (9) – Thoreau (5) – Timberline Middle School (14) – Twain Elementary (2)
None
Northshore
YELLOW
– Arrowhead Elementary (7) – Bothell High School (10**) – Canyon Creek Elementary (5) – Canyon Park Middle School (1) – Crystal Springs Elementary (4) – East Ridge Elementary (1) – Fernwood Elementary (8) – Frank Love Elementary (9) – Hollywood Hills Elementary (6) – Inglemoor High School (16**) – Kenmore Elementary (20) – Kenmore Middle School (24) – Kokanee Elementary (5) – Leota Middle School (1) – Maywood Hills Elementary (3) – Moorlands Elementary (1) – North Creek High School (6) – Northshore Middle School (42) – Ruby Bridge Elementary (5) – Shelton View Elementary (3) – Skyview Middle School (12**) – Sunrise Elementary (1) – Timbercrest Middle School (3) – Wellington Elementary (6) – Westhill Elementary (14) – Woodin Elementary (1) – Woodinville High School (5) – Woodmoor Elementary (14)
None
Local Districts Scorecard – * indicates positive cases only ** indicates 5 or more confirmed positive cases
We redefined the school district statuses. Information for classroom and building closures has been a challenge to obtain, both for closures and reopening. We are adopting moving any school with more than ten active COVID cases reported into the red, and we’ve adjusted the third column to reflect this change.
Highland Middle School in the Bellevue School District has five confirmed Covid-19 cases between faculty and students, which is the biggest change in the area schools.
The Northshore School District had a small surge of cases over the last two weeks that has run its course. The number of schools dealing with 5 or more cases dropped to three over the weekend.
We continued to encourage parents to request daily updates from the Lake Washington School District. We would also encourage parents to request the Bellevue School District include data on close contacts. These two changes would bring the three school districts we track into alignment.
Percentage of King County Residents 12 and older who have received at least one dose of COVID vaccine, November 8, 2021
Vaccination rates for adolescents ages 12 and 19 in North King County continue to lag far behind the rest of the eastside.
Kirkland-Bellevue-Woodinville
King County Public Health updated the vaccination rates by zip code, with the numbers improving throughout the region. The northern half of Kirkland continues to lag behind the rest of the eastside. Bothell and the Juanita-Finn Hill-Kingsgate regions of Kirkland remain below 90% vaccinated and below the King County average.
Percentage of King County Residents 12 and older who have received at least one dose of COVID vaccine, November 8, 2021
Zip Code
Percent vaccinated, at least one dose, 12 and older
98155
>95.0%
98028
91.7%
98011
88.5%
98034
87.0%
98033
>95.0%
98072
>95.0%
98052
>95.0%
98004
>95.0%
98039
>95.0%
98005
>95.0%
98007
92.1%
Vaccination rates for those 12 and older by zip code – at least one dose
National Round-Up
Johns Hopkins University Cumulative Case Tracker reports 21,968 new cases and 119 deaths nationwide on Monday. Most states discontinued reporting Covid-19 related data over the weekend. The Monday report is missing large amounts of data.
Sixth wave watch Delta VUI-21
There is mixed news out of the U.K. and Europe about Delta VUI-21, the AY.4.2 variant of Covid-19. After new cases increased 60% a week for four weeks in a row, growth slowed down. Delta VUI-21 makes up 12% of cases in the U.K. and has been detected in 42 countries.
The variant was first identified in July and is slightly more transmissible than the Delta and Delta Plus variants (Delta AY.4.2 is commonly misnamed Delta Plus). The variant does not appear to be more vaccine-resistant or make people sicker. It may carry a higher viral load when someone is contagious, which is problematic for the unvaccinated, partially vaccinated, and immunocompromised.
The World Health Organization now says that Europe is the new global epicenter for Covid-19, and issued a warning to North American nations to not their guard down too soon. Russia is reporting almost 40,000 cases a day with a record number of deaths. Several oblasts have indicated they may impose even stricter restrictions, including shuttering businesses to try and slow the spread.
Greece, Croatia, Iceland, Slovakia, Slovenia, Austria, Germany, and Russia are at or have tied their peaks this week with Finland and Ukraine not far behind.
In contrast, Spain, which is 80% vaccinated, and Portugal, which is 88% vaccinated, have some of the lowest case rates on the planet.
The new surge in Europe is peaking in many countries during the same week airplanes full of international tourist travelers landed at U.S. airports for the first time in 18 months.
A Single dose of REGEN-COV monoclonal antibodies over 81% effective in preventing Covid-19 infections for up to 8 months
The monoclonal antibody treatment, called REGEN-COV, is currently available under an emergency use authorization by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration to treat patients with mild to moderate COVID-19 and are at risk of developing severe symptoms. It has also received FDA emergency approval as a post-exposure preventive treatment for some people at high risk for developing severe COVID-19, are not fully vaccinated or are immunocompromised, and have known exposure to the virus.
Four subcutaneous injections of the monoclonal antibody treatment protected uninfected people from contracting COVID-19 by 81.6% during the follow-up period of two to eight months, up from 81.4% after one month. Four injections of the treatment are considered one dose.
Big Bird getting vaccinated makes Senator big mad
Big Bird ruffled some conservatives’ feathers this weekend by announcing that he had been vaccinated against COVID-19.
The beloved Muppet tweeted on Saturday (ha ha – tweeted) that he had gotten the shot, which is newly available for Americans between the ages of 5 and 11.
“My wing is feeling a little sore, but it’ll give my body an extra protective boost that keeps me and others healthy,” he wrote.
Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, decried Big Bird’s tweet as “government propaganda.”
Sesame Workshop, the production company behind the show which first aired in 1969 and helped launch the career of Jim Henson and beloved Muppets such as Kermit the Frog, moved from PBS to HBO in 2015. In 2020 the show moved again from HBO to the HBO Max streaming service.
It’s not the first time Big Bird was vaccinated as part of an educational campaign. In 1972, the fictional character was vaccinated for Measles on the show Sesame Street.
COVID misinformation is rampant in the United States
More than three-quarters (78%) of U.S. adults either believe or aren’t sure about at least one of eight false statements about the COVID-19 pandemic or COVID-19 vaccines, with unvaccinated adults and Republicans among those most likely to hold misconceptions, a new KFF COVID-19 Vaccine Monitor report shows.
Nearly two-thirds (64%) of unvaccinated adults believe or are unsure about at least half of the eight false statements – more than three times the share of vaccinated adults (19%). Nearly half (46%) of Republicans believe or are unsure about at least half the statements, three times the share of Democrats (14%).
The findings highlight a major challenge for efforts to accurately communicate the rapidly evolving science about the pandemic when false and ambiguous information can spread quickly, whether inadvertently or deliberately, through social media, polarized news sources, and other outlets.
State Updates
Alaska
Alaska on Monday reported 53 more COVID-19 deaths, most of which happened in September, as well as 1,387 new infections logged over the weekend and a continued drop in hospitalizations, according to a report by Anchorage Daily News.
The new COVID-19 cases reported over the weekend follow a trend of decreasing case counts that Alaska has seen recently after several weeks of plateauing daily COVID-19 numbers, a state health official said.
In an emailed statement Monday, Dr. Michael Savitt, chief medical officer at the Anchorage Health Department, wrote that the department is “cautiously optimistic,” about recent decreasing COVID-19 trends for the city, but that Anchorage continues to be in a “high-risk environment.”
“Hospitals remain at near capacity levels,” Savitt wrote. “We hope to see those numbers start to decrease soon as well.”
There were 128 people hospitalized with COVID-19 by Monday, state dashboard data showed, with about 13.6% of the state’s hospitalized patients considered to have active cases of the virus. That’s a decrease from recent weeks when often one in five patients had a case of the virus.
Florida
The first hospital in the state of Florida to treat a coronavirus patient is now celebrating another first: No COVID patients in its care since the pandemic began, Fox News reported.
“There’s been a lot of progress done in a very short period of time. So it’s a great thing for everybody,” chief nursing officer of Doctor’s Hospital in Sarasota, Todd Haner, said at a press conference on Friday. “I can tell you that the morale is much better.”
Doctor’s Hospital had the first COVID-19 patient in the state back in February 2020 and has been treating virus patients since. But last week, that all changed when the hospital reported not having a single COVID patient.
Idaho
Idaho’s seven-day moving average of new COVID-19 cases fell below 700 per day for the first time since August, Idaho Department of Health and Welfare data showed Monday. The decline comes a month after caseloads hit a peak across the state, though health officials still reported more than 1,100 new cases and 34 deaths since Friday, according to the Idaho Statesman.
The moving average, which indicates how many cases have been reported each day on average over the past week, was 689 on Monday, the lowest it’s been since Aug. 26. That metric is nearly half of the moving average of 1,365 set one month ago, during the height of Idaho’s most recent surge.
Though recent data shows caseloads trending downward in Idaho, the state still reported 1,192 new COVID-19 cases since Friday. About 29% of those cases — 351 — were reported in Ada County. But the state’s most populous county saw its seven-day moving average for new cases fall to 196 per day on Monday, the first time it has been less than 200 since mid-September.
To date, Idaho has reported 297,140 cases and 3,678 COVID-related deaths. More than 500 of those deaths, or about 15% of the state’s total, were reported in the past 30 days.
Montana
There were 908 new COVID-19 cases reported Monday, Nov. 8 in Montana, with 7,815 total active cases in the state, in a report by KTVQ.
The number of people actively hospitalized due to COVID is 351, an increase from the 343 hospitalizations reported on Friday. The cumulative number of hospitalizations in Montana due to the virus is 9,154, with the state reporting 31 new hospitalizations since their last report. To date, roughly 1 in 20 (5.05%) reported COVID-19 cases in the state have resulted in hospitalization.
New Hampshire
The number of active COVID-19 cases in New Hampshire is now at its highest level since January, before vaccines were widely available, according to WMUR.
According to the state Department of Health and Human Services, there are now 5,164 current COVID-19 cases, the highest total since January 29.
More than 26% of the newly announced cases are in children under the age of 18.
The state’s seven-day total test positivity rate has risen to 7.2%, which is the highest that rate has been since Jan. 7.
The number of current hospitalizations has moved up again and is at 212 as of Monday.
North Dakota
A North Dakota lawmaker and an organizer of a rally Monday to oppose COVID-19 vaccine mandates is infected with the coronavirus and won’t attend the event, KSTP Channel 5 reported.
Republican Rep. Jeff Hoverson posted on Facebook Sunday that he was “quarantining and each day is getting better.” The Minot lawmaker said he is taking the deworming drug ivermectin as a COVID-19 treatment and has not checked into a hospital.
“Covid is real and like a really bad flu,” Hoverson wrote.
Hoverson, a pastor, told The Associated Press that was diagnosed last week.
“I’m feeling rough,” he said Monday. “But this ivermectin is keeping me out of the hospital.”
Ivermectin is designed to fight parasitic infections but conservative commentators have promoted it as a treatment for COVID-19, despite a lack of conclusive evidence that it helps.
Texas
Unvaccinated Texans died from COVID-19 at 40 times the rate of vaccinated Texans and were 45 times more likely to test positive for the disease in 2021, according to a new study from the Texas Department of State Health Services.
DSHS reviewed vaccination, death, and tests records from Jan. 15 to Oct. 1 to come up with the figures, according to WFAA.
“We have millions and millions of records that we had to go through for this analysis,” said Dr. Jennifer Shuford, DSHS’s chief epidemiologist.
According to the review, 7.7% of deaths and 3% of positive cases in the January – October time frame were in fully-vaccinated Texans.
“We know that there’s all these bad outcomes for actually getting COVID-19, but the complications from the vaccine are very few and impact very few people,” Shuford said. “What we hope is that people across Texas will understand the threat of COVID-19.”
[GREEN BAY, Wisc.] – (MTN) In three days, Aaron Rodger’s fall from grace has been spectacular. An NFL career that has spanned 17 years with the Green Bay Packers, with the first three years in the shadow of Brett Farve and his I’m retiring, no I’m not, yes I am drama. He is a three-time NFL MVP, Super Bowl XLV champion, and his entire career is with Green Bay. A lie about his COVID vaccination status, egregious breaches of NFL Covid-19 protocols, a positive test, and a deep fall into the disinformation rabbit hole has put the Packers and the NFL in a well-deserved hot seat.
On August 30, 2021 the NFL and the NFL Players Association agreed on updated COVID protocols for the 2021 regular season. Unvaccinated players are required to be tested daily regardless of schedule or status. They are not permitted to enter any facilities or interact with other team members until they know their test results. If an unvaccinated player was in close contact with a person who tested positive, they must isolate for five days.
On October 24, Green Bay played Washington, where Rodgers threw to Davante Adams seven times. The next day, Adams tested positive for Covid-19. By protocol, Rodgers should have immediately started a five-day quarantine. It is undeniable he was a close contact. Adams and Rodgers would have been in multiple huddles on the field, talked on the bench, and interacted in the locker room. The five-day quarantine rule would have made Rodgers ineligible to play on October 29. The Packers defeated the Arizona Cardinals in that game, who were undefeated before Thursday night. That win for the Packers could have playoff implications.
Additionally, Rodgers is required by NFL rules to wear a mask when indoors and during weight training. He has not worn a mask during media availability or by all reports in the clubhouse or locker room.
Rodgers lied on August 20 when he said he was immunized. Rodgers tried to get an exemption from vaccination after seeking alternative homeopathic treatment to boost his immune system, which the NFL denied. Green Bay knew he wasn’t vaccinated, and they broke protocol. When Rodgers should have been riding the pine, he took to the field. That’s called cheating.
Aaron Rodgers confirmed he's had the COVID-19 vaccine.
"Yeah I've been immunized." he said. "There's guys on the team that haven't been vaccinated and it's personal decision, not going to judge those guys."
In 2015 a different quarterback was embroiled in a cheating scandal. Tom Brady was accused of ordering New England Patriots staffers to lower the pressure in game balls because it allegedly gave him a better grip. Over two years, the NFL spent ridiculous amounts of money on an investigation that turned every armchair quarterback into experts on physics, the Ideal Gas Law, obscure NFL rules on the control, testing, and use of game balls, and federal law.
Brady’s use of footballs that were less than 1 PSI under regulation and the convenient destruction of a cellphone he was asked to retain ended with a four-game suspension at the start of the 2016 season.
In the end, Brady started playing again with the Patriots 3-1. He would go on to have an 11-1 record for the rest of the regular season. The Patriots would go to the Super Bowl, and Brady led the team to the most remarkable comeback in Super Bowl history. Down 28 – 3, Brady carved up the Atlanta Falcons for the first Super Bowl overtime game in history. The Patriots racked up 31 unanswered points and won 34-28.
It’s also worth pointing out that Rodgers appeared to defend Brady at the height of Deflategate in an offhand comment about how Rodgers liked playing with his balls overinflated. Ironically, just days before Covidgate broke, Rodgers talked with Phil Simms about Deflategate and how his comment was a “ridiculous narrative.”
Rodgers isn’t the first NFL player to say things some Americans would find controversial. Colin Kaepernick appeared to have a promising NFL career ahead of him. During his first full season in 2012, he led the 49ers to Super Bowl XLVII. Had he not played five snaps in 2011, he would have been the first rookie quarterback to make it to the big game in NFL history.
On his way to the Super Bowl, he squared off against Rodgers and the Packers in his first career playoff game – leading San Francisco to a 45 – 31 victory. He had endorsement deals, an intense rivalry between the Seahawks and 49ers started to take hold, and he was part of what many believed would be the next generation of elite quarterbacks.
Kaepernick’s 2015 season was a disaster. He fought with new head coach Jim Tomsula who lasted just one season. He was benched after seven games and then deactivated for the rest of the season due to a shoulder injury that required three surgeries. In February 2016, he wanted out of San Francisco.
In the lead-up to the start of the 2016 season, Kaepernick became increasingly socially engaged. In July, he posted on social media about the police shootings of Alton Sterling, Philandro Castile, and Charles Kinsey. At the third pre-season game of the year, reporter Steve Wyche noticed Kaepernick sitting on the bench instead of standing for the National Anthem. “I am not going to stand up to show pride in a flag for a country that oppresses black people and people of color. To me, this is bigger than football, and it would be selfish on my part to look the other way. There are bodies in the street and people getting paid leave and getting away with murder,” was Kaepernick’s reply.
No one had noticed Kaepernick had not taken to the field for the previous two games.
NFL player Nate Boyer, who played one game with the Seattle Seahawks and was a U.S. Army green beret with combat tours in Iraq and Afghanistan, gave Kaepernick advice. He told him privately it would be more respectful to kneel during the National Anthem, believing that Kaepernick could make his statement while showing respect to military veterans.
The backlash was ferocious and became fodder for the 2016 Presidential election. Pundits and politicians tore into Kaepernick, and by the end of the season, he was a free agent. He practiced with the Seattle Seahawks in 2017 to no avail. The local media response was swift and furious, and Kaepernick was excommunicated. Pete Carroll, the Seahawks head coach, would express regret in not signing Kaepernick to be Russell Wilson’s backup three years later.
The NFL would reach an “undisclosed settlement” with Kaepernick – rumors put the amount north of $20 million. In late November, the NFL set up a “workout” where teams could evaluate his readiness for a possible return to the field. Instead of holding the workout session on a traditional Tuesday, the NFL switched the schedule to Saturday, when most NFL teams prepare for Sunday games. The workout session was dismissed as a farce.
Kaepernick was canceled by a “mob” for following the advice of a combat veteran to protest injustice to Black Americans peacefully. The same people that canceled Kaepernick in 2016 would be screaming into social media during Black Lives Matter protests, “why can’t they just protest peacefully?”
People who follow the anti-vaccination movement have an expression for people who claim rules and scientific evidence are wronging them. The wails of injustice and outrage are called an “oppression kink.”
After discovering the “immunized” lie, the Packers’ cheating, the attempted cover-up, and then the positive test, the best course of action for Rodgers would have been to ride the socially distanced pine for ten days. Instead, Rodgers went on the Pat McAfee Show on Friday and self-destructed.
Rodgers insisted he isn’t “a anti-vax, flat-earther” but rather “a critical thinker.” He claimed he was a victim of a “woke mob” coming to cancel him, and he is the victim of a “witch hunt.” He compared his struggle and to those who don’t want to get vaccinated to the Civil Rights movement of the 1950s and 1960s, and slain leader Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.
The choice of the words “woke mob” and the MLK comparison is stunning when you look through the lens of how pundits, politicians, players, and the NFL handled Colin Kaepernick. The NFL invested more money and scientific resources into the air pressure of 12 footballs in what New England Patriots fans still call a “witch hunt” than the NFL invested in investigating Aaron Rodgers’s holistic medicine “immunization” program.
While talking with McAfee, Rodgers would go on to say, “This idea that it’s a pandemic of the unvaccinated, it’s just a big total lie.”
Unvaccinated individuals are 11 times more likely to die of COVID. The unvaccinated have plunged Alaska, Idaho, Montana, Wyoming, and Colorado into crisis standards of care and brought Washington, Oregon, Texas, Mississippi, Alabama, and Florida to the very brink earlier this year.
“If the vaccine is so great, then how come people are still getting COVID and spreading COVID and, unfortunately, dying of COVID,” Rodgers quipped.
No vaccination is 100% effective, and some vaccines work not by preventing an infection outright but by blunting the severity of infection to avoid hospitalization and death. The original polio vaccine, the influenza vaccine, and the pneumonia vaccine are examples of this. Fully vaccinated immunocompromised individuals for disease beyond COVID are still at risk for infection. Gen Xers who got the MMR vaccines have been advised to get a booster as data has shown the measles part of the MMR doesn’t provide a lifetime of protection. Breakthrough COVID infections are a tiny part of total hospitalizations and deaths in the United States.
Rodgers advocated for the use of Ivermectin and claimed he was taking it. Full stop. If Ivermectin was effective as a preventative, why did Rodgers get COVID? He then went full conspiracy theory, including expressing issues with potential infertility, claiming we lack knowledge or understanding of mRNA-based vaccines and praising Joe Rogan for his medical advice.
Tom Brady didn’t use his fame and a national platform to spread medical disinformation that is literally killing people. However, he was benched for four games for the crime of destroying a cell phone and playing half-a-game with deflated balls.
Colin Kaepernick never endangered his teammates, their families, or the people that interacted with him. Kaepernick took a knee for social justice and tried to educate America about racial inequality for Black Americans. Four years later, his former sponsors, the NFL, NFL Commissioner Rodger Goodell, and Pete Carroll of the Seattle Seahawks, couldn’t line up fast enough to go, “we were wrong, sorry.” He still isn’t playing football, and he almost certainly never will. For the sin of taking a knee, Kap was blackballed forever after taking the good-natured advice of a military veteran.
Aaron Rodgers has created a massive problem for the NFL. He has revealed himself as a person wrapped in conspiracy theories, an anti-vaxxer, and a person with an oppression kink. If he’s fined and suspended like Brady, he’ll cry witch hunt. If he’s drummed out of the NFL with still years left to play, he’ll cry it was the fault of a woke mob.
If the NFL does nothing, fans should cry foul. Rodgers broke the rules of the game. Green Bay and the coaching staff did not follow NFL rules and didn’t bench Rodgers on October 25. These are cold hard facts. There are established penalties for breaking these rules. At the bare minimum, the Packers and Rodgers need to face the consequences.
Rodgers sponsors will have to decide how they want to move forward on the issue of medical disinformation. Tonight his list of sponsors is one fewer, with Prevea Healthcare walking away for its relationship. Adidas, Panini, Bose, TaylorMade, State Farm, and Zenith have not made any statements at this time, but the public relations disaster hit on Friday afternoon.
The biggest irony of all might go back to Tom Brady. Brady is deep into the junk science of alkaline foods and aligned with nutritionist Alex Guerrero. His degree is from a school that lost accreditation three years after he graduated. Guerrero was sanctioned for claiming he is a doctor capable of curing AIDS, multiple sclerosis, heart disease, diabetes, arthritis, and Parkinson’s disease through his exclusive supplement Supreme Greens. Brady not only follows Guerrero’s program, he promotes and advocates it. His support of Guerrero’s junk science is considered a significant reason he ultimately left the New England Patriots.
Knowledge is the best tool to fight against fear. A wise person chooses to be informed so they can make sound decisions. To join the fight against COVID misinformation, you can share this update through your social media platform of choice.
[KING COUNTY, Wash.] – (MTN) New COVID cases are down 10% this week providing the strongest signal yet the fifth wave is winding down in Washington. Hospitalizations remain on a plateau but if new cases continue to decline, the number of Covid-19 patients should start to drop in another 10 to 14 days.
Washingtonian children between 5 to 11 got the first doses of the Pfizer COVID vaccine, with thousands more expected in the coming days. The Western States Safety Review Workgroup recommended the vaccine today. Healthcare providers and pharmacies are asking for patience as supply catches up with demand. Children vaccinated by November 15 will be fully immunized by Christmas. For three Tri-Cities children, the vaccine didn’t come soon enough.
A Benton County sheriff deputy who is a school resource officer for multiple districts is unvaccinated, creating a conundrum for officials due to a loophole. Malcontent News received more information about the Eatonville School District, where three employees remain on unpaid leave, and school district attorneys believe they are not at risk of losing state funding. Kenton Gartrell, who was a candidate for the Yakima School District was warned he had to wear a mask or face a trespass order.
Palmer Davis, one of the key people for spreading COVID disinformation and arranging protests in Oregon and Washington announced on her blog she is selling her house, and implied will leave Washington state. A report in The Guardian called out Sinclair Broadcast Group and Clark County Today for spreading COVID disinformation.
The U.S. Air Force announced 800 active duty service members refused to get vaccinated and could face disciplinary action or discharge. Another 5,000 are awaiting a decision on their exemption requests.
A pilot with American Airlines and seller of online supplements has set up a website to support Southwest Airline employees in the name of medical freedom and donations.
Green Bay Packers Quarterback Aaron Rodgers said he was vaccinated. Turns out he isn’t and he has COVID. If he is asymptomatic he can return to the field on November 13.
Colorado joined Alaska, Idaho, and Montana declaring crisis standards of care due to a significant number of COVID patients, and we have updated our travel advisory list.
For the first time since we have tracked data by total population vaccinated, all groups have a 14 day new case rate below 400.0. Twelve Washington counties are reporting 7 day moving average case rates below 100 and three counties, Columbia, Garfield, and San Juan are below 25. A new case rate under 25 indicates Covid-19 is endemic in those counties.
The statewide vaccine mandate deadline for hundreds of thousands of workers was 16 days ago. For the holdouts that waited until the last minute, peak protection against Covid-19 was reached this week. The sharp drop in new cases is happening concurrently with peak protection being reached by tens of thousands across the state.
The inversion of new cases rates between counties 40% to 49.99% vaccinated and 50% to 59.99% vaccinated is statistically insignificant.
Percent of Total Population Fully Vaccinated
Total Population in Group
Average 14-Day New Case Rate
70% or above (3 counties)
2,343,250
200.4
60.00% to 69.99% (4 counties)
1,242,200
335.0 (down)
50.00% to 59.99% (15 counties)
3,433,900
354.3 (down)
40.00% to 49.99% (9 counties)
599,225
347.8
31.20% to 39.99% (8 counties)
158,300
367.0 (down)
14-Day New Covid-19 Cases per 100K average by Vaccination Rate for Total Population, Adjusted for Population by County
Through November 2, Washington’s statewide 14-day rolling average is 304.8 Covid-19 cases per 100K – a significant drop from yesterday. If this trend can continue hospitalizations should start to decline faster in two to three weeks.
Lincoln and Skagit counties have new case rates between 600.0 to 799.9 – both are in the low 600s.
Asotin, Chelan, Douglas, Grant, Ferry, Klickitat, Lewis, Okanagan, Skamania, Spokane, and Stevens counties have a new case rate between 400.0 and 599.9. Cowlitz, Mason, and Pend Oreille were just under 400.
The 7 day case rate was down across all groups. Hospitalization rates were mostly unchanged except for people 65 to 79, which saw a decrease, and those 80 and above which saw a slight increase.
Age Group
7-Day Case Rate
7-Day Hospitalization Rate
Ages 0-11
132.8
0.5
Ages 12-19
117.8
0.9
Ages 20-34
124.3 (down)
3.9
Ages 35-49
137.9 (down)
7.5
Ages 50-64
105.3
11.7
Ages 65-79
79.6 (down)
17.4 (down)
Ages 80+
78.3
22.1 (up)
7-day case rate and 7-day hospitalization rate is per 100K within the age group – the target for 7-day case rate is <25.0, but there are other factors such as vaccination rates within the age groups, how many total tests within the 7-day period, and the positivity rate within each age group
Western States Scientific Safety Review Workgroup recommends Covid-19 vax for children 5 to 11
The governors of California, Nevada, Oregon, and Washington approved the use of the Pfizer vaccine for children 5 to 11 after the information provided by Pfizer, the FDA, and CDC was reviewed by the Western States Scientific Safety Review Workgroup. Dr. Arthur Reingold, MD, and Chair of the group released a letter today in support of vaccinating children 5 to 11 to protect them from Covid-19.
The Western States Scientific Safety Review Workgroup thoroughly reviewed the evidence from the clinical trial in children ages 5-11 years of the 10 µg PfizerBioNTech COVID-19 vaccine presented to the U.S. Federal Drug Administration’s Vaccine Related Biological Products Advisory Committee (VRBPAC) on October 26, 2021 and the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s Advisory Committee on Immunizations Practices (ACIP) on November 2, 2021 and considered the committees’ discussions.
The Workgroup carefully assessed the safety data for the vaccine, including the absence of any severe adverse events among vaccine recipients in the clinical trial. Reactions were mild, self-limited, similar to those seen in adolescents and adults and with other vaccines routinely recommended for children and were less common in those ages 5-11 years than in those 16-25 years. Based on the substantial experience in older children and adolescents, the Workgroup concluded that the risk of myocarditis following receipt of the lower dose vaccine in children 5-11 years of age is likely to be low.
The Workgroup noted the vaccine’s efficacy of more than 90% against symptomatic COVID-19 disease in this age group. Expanding COVID-19 vaccination in this age group will protect children 5-11 years of age who are vaccinated and allow them to more safely engage in educational and other activities important to their health and development; give parents a means of further protecting their children; and contribute to control of the COVID-19 pandemic in our states. The Workgroup strongly urges that states make every effort to reduce or eliminate disparities in the availability and uptake of COVID-19 vaccines in children 5-11 years of age, as well as in older children, adolescents, and adults.
Based on this review, the Workgroup concluded the vaccine is safe and effective in this age group. Because substantial numbers of children of this age remain at risk of COVID-19 illness and its complications, including hospitalization and death, the Workgroup is confident that the benefits of this vaccine for children ages 5-11 years substantially outweigh any known or likely risks. Therefore, the Workgroup supports its use under Emergency Use Authorization (EUA) as a two-dose series of 10 µg per dose given three weeks apart.
Benton County Sheriff deputy is unvaccinated school resource officer
Brad Klippert, who has been a Benton County sheriff school resource officer for the Kiona-Benton City school district for more than 20 years, told the Tri-City Herald he has not gotten a COVID-19 vaccination nor been asked for a medical or religious exemption from the requirement.
He also fills in as the school resource officer for the Finley School District.
That flies in the face of a new state requirement that began Oct. 18 that any employee or contractor working with children in Washington schools needs to have either the vaccine or an exemption, according to the Office of the Superintendent of Public Instruction.
“In this case, the Kiona Benton School District contracts with the Benton County Sheriff’s Department for school resource officer (SRO) services,” Katy Payne, the office’s director of communications, told the Herald. “The sheriff’s department is required to verify the vaccination status and process requests for exemptions of any SROs they send to school districts.”
The Washington state vaccine mandate did not require sheriff deputies to get vaccinated, so deputy Klippert is in compliance with the department. However, the mandate did require anyone working within public or private schools to provide proof of vaccination or receive an exemption.
King County sheriff deputies were required to get vaccinated by October 18 by a mandate established by the County Council and King County Executive Dow Constantine.
Three Tri-Cities students ages 10 to 19 have died of Covid-19 in 2021
Whatcom County has had 9 Covid-19 related deaths in the last 10 days
Whatcom and Skagit counties have become Covid-19 hot spots in the last couple of weeks, with the virus tearing through pockets of unvaccinated people.
The death reported Tuesday was for a resident who first tested positive for COVID-19 on Oct. 11, The Bellingham Herald’s analysis of the state’s epidemiological data showed. It represents the ninth epidemiological death the county has seen in October and increased the county’s total number of deaths since August 1 to 52, the Bellingham Herald found.
Eatonville School District teacher termination tempest in a teacup
There have been multiple stories about the Eatonville School District and the School Board defying the Superintendent of Public Instruction Chris Reykdal, Eatonville over the removal of unvaccinated staff in the district.
On October 25, Jeff Lucas, Chairman of the Eatonville School District Board of Directors reported in an e-mail only three staffers are unvaccinated and don’t have an approved accommodation. Additionally, the letter indicates school district attorneys do not believe district funding from the state is at risk.
“First, despite what the whole world is saying, the mandate does not specify people be terminated. They are “prohibited from engaging in work”. OSPI and our attorneys have told us that means these folks are not working and therefore not being paid.”
“Second, that is exactly what’s happening. We haven’t opened the door for a COVID free for all. All the masking and distancing requirements remain. We have 3 people, not 15 as most think, that are refusing vaccine and any accommodation. They haven’t been to work for 2 weeks and will not return until they get the vaccine or agree to accommodations.”
“Third, there is not a funding threat as we are not violating the mandate. It’s certainly a bit of semantics but if they were determined to terminate these employees, they could have very easily used that exact language, and should have.”
Yesterday, Superintendent Reykdal indicated the district was at risk of losing funding and said Eatonville was the only district that has not started the termination process for unvaccinated staff.
Leader of Covid-19 disinformation group Waking Up Washington calling it quits
Palmer Davis has been a principal organizer of Covid-19 anti-mask, anti-vaccine, and anti-mask rallies. She has aligned herself with America’s Frontline Doctors, Scott Miller, Joey Gibson, and Patriot Prayer, the Proud Boys, and runs websites that sell fake COVID cures.
In a blog on one of the websites she manages, Davis announced she was calling it quits and likely leaving Washington.
“A sign wave in the snow. Waking Up WA was just a way to give back to the freedom community. It was never a brand I wanted to build, it was never about me… I never even wanted WA to be a state that needed such a huge ecosystem of activists to try to save it.“
“Many protests and rallies later, I am proud of the work we’ve done. Never perfect, never finished – just … better. A sign wave outside Costco is always better than shopping at Costco.“
“I don’t want to leave, but I also have to be honest. I have to sell my house, my folks have gone to Idaho, and I have… no skin… in this game.”
“My name is Palmer, and I started Waking Up WA in early 2021 to do sign waves in Vancouver. I am not the biggest, I am not the boldest, and I am not the bravest activist in this state.”
Earlier in the summer, Davis was able to draw hundreds at events across the state, sometimes charging admission fees of $20 per person. The last event the group promoted was on October 30 in Winlock for “Freedomween.” A planned protest at Harborview Medical Center on September 25 drew no interest, and the Free to Choose protest on October 18 outside of Seattle City Hall drew about 100 people from across the state. A protest in Olympia on October 22 drew a scant group.
Report in The Guardian calls out Sinclair Broadcast Group and Clark County Today for platforming Covid-19 misinformation
Clark County Today has published content from prominent anti-vaccine groups or advocates for unproven Covid-19 treatments. Although they have innocuous names that mimic traditional local news outlets, their content often promotes anti-vaccine views or furthers Covid-19 conspiracy theories. Researchers have come to call these types of organizations “pink slime” outlets and they have become a growing part of the media landscape in recent years.
“The problem that occurs with this is that they don’t have the same journalistic standards – many of them have a decided political agenda to them,” Abernathy said.
In one post from early October, Clark County Today, which was founded by David Madore, a wealthy Republican donor who has bankrolled local candidates in Washington state, republished an article from the anti-vaccine Children’s Health Defense in full. Another article on the site covers local support for Scott Miller, a physician’s assistant whom the state medical commission suspended in October for advocating ivermectin, but does not mention allegations that he attempted to bully local hospital staff into prescribing the drug and spread medical misinformation that resulted in the suspension.
The publication responded to The Guardian stating in part “the site’s coverage of the pandemic was informed by the “one-sided” approach from “mainstream news media, social media and even Big Tech.”
Yakima School District warned school board candidate to wear a mask or get a no trespass order
According to the letter sent by Yakima School District’s director of safety and security, Sara Cordova, Kenton Gartrell was in violation of a Yakima School District Operational Procedure – Disruption of School Operations and RCW 28A.28A.635.20 willfully disobeyed school administrative personnel while at his daughter’s open house at Nob Hill Elementary at the beginning of the school year.
In a report provided by KOMO News, Gartrell said the confrontation between him and two school administrators began after he claims he was told he needed to leave because he refused to put a mask on.
The letter obtained from the district says as Gartrell and his family were leaving, two administrators met them outside to reiterate the expectation that all people inside the building must wear a mask. The letter says Gartrell began recording the interaction, where he argues with the principal that the mask requirement is not law, and that he expects accommodations for him and his child regarding masks and vaccines, then calls her a “bureaucratic bully.”
In early results, Gartrell was losing in his election bid.
Travel Advisories
With new cases starting to decline statewide, we continue to hope the East Hospital Region travel advisory can end in the next seven to 14 days. For now, we’re maintaining our recreational travel advisory to the region, including Adams, Asotin, Ferry, Garfield, Lincoln, Pend Oreille, Spokane, Stevens, Wahkiakum, and Whitman counties. Acute care and ICU capacity remain limited.
Additionally, we are maintaining the travel advisory for the Northwest Hospital Region. The region includes Clallam, Jefferson, Kitsap, and Mason counties.
We are adding Colorado to our list of states to avoid all nonessential travel. On Sunday, Governor Jared Polis signed an executive order implementing crisis standards of care. We continue to strongly advise against all nonessential travel to Alaska, Idaho, and Montana. Alaska and the Idaho Panhandle are experiencing an extreme number of Covid-19 hospitalizations. Hospital resources in these regions are constrained, and you may receive inadequate care if you experience a serious medical emergency.
We are downgrading our travel advisory for Wyoming and recommend avoiding recreational travel at this time. The situation has improved significantly in the last two weeks.
Thank you
Thank you to our new subscribers and those of you who have made one-time contributions. On behalf of the entire team, thank you for helping us keep the lights on!
No promotional consideration has been given, or requested from the n95 project or any manufacturer of masks
Vaccination
Vaccinate Washington web portal now includes Pfizer-BioNTech pediatric ages 5 to 11 vaccine locator
Despite up to 316,000 doses of the Pfizer vaccine for children ages 5 to 11 expected to arrive in Washington this week, officials are asking for patience and kindness as parents scramble to make appointments. The Washington State Vaccine Locator provided by the Washington State Department of Health has added Pfizer-BioNTech pediatric ages 5 to 11 as a filter for searching for appointments and locations.
To find a location for your child, or a booster for yourself, you only need to provide your zip code at the Vaccinate WA website. On the results page, you can click on the down arrow to add filters, and select Pfizer-BioNTech Pediatric age 5 – 11.
A search this afternoon provided four locations in Seattle including Docere Center for Natural Medicine, UW Medicine at two locations, and Harborview Medical Center.
King County, Washington is reporting over 88.6% of age eligible residents are vaccinated with at least one dose. The highest rates of positivity are in areas with low vaccination rates statewide. The FDA has provided full approval of the Pfizer vaccine for anyone 16 and over and EUA approval for the Moderna and Johnson & Johnson vaccines.
COVID vaccines and boosters are free for anyone 5 and older. Lyft and Hopelink provide free transportation, and KinderCare, the Learning Care Group, and the YMCA offer free childcare during vaccination appointments or recuperation.
According to the DoH COVID Dashboard, 91% of all staffed acute care beds are occupied, and 15.0% of patients have Covid-19. Statewide, hospitals have the staff to support approximately 648 additional acute care patients.
ICUs are at 88.5% of capacity statewide, with 25.0% of ICU patients fighting Covid-19 – an estimated 295 patients with 58.0% on ventilators. The state has the staff to support approximately 138 additional ICU patients.
On Tuesday, the 7-day rolling average hospital admission rate for new COVID patients was 94. The Department of Health reported 1,045 Covid-19 patients statewide on November 2, with 170 requiring ventilators.
Hospital Region readiness was largely unchanged from yesterday.
Hospital status by region – ICU Occupancy should be below 80%, ICU COVID Patients should be below 20%, Acute Care Occupancy should be below 80%, and Acute Care COVID Patients should be below 10%
– Alcott (5) – Bell (24) – Blackwell (5 – see notes) – Carson Elementary (6) – Clara Barton (3) – Eastlake High (48) – Ella Baker (6) – Finn Hill Middle School (6) – Frost (5) – ICS (4) – Juanita Elementary (1) – Juanita High (17) – Kamiakin Middle School (25) – Keller (6) – Kirk Elementary (10) – Lakeview Elementary (7) – Lake Washington High School (7) – McAuliffe (1) – Muir Elementary (1) – Redmond Middle School (1) – Redmond High School (52) – Rockwell (2) – Sandburg/Discovery (4) – Timberline Middle School (28) – Twain Elementary (15)
None
Northshore
YELLOW
– Arrowhead Elementary (2) – Bothell High School (20**) – Canyon Creek Elementary (3) – Canyon Park Middle School (2) – Crystal Springs Elementary (17) – East Ridge Elementary (3) – Fernwood Elementary (5) – Frank Love Elementary (10) – Hollywood Hills Elementary (7) – Inglemoor High School (23**) – Kenmore Elementary (22) – Kenmore Middle School (5) – Kokanee Elementary (7) – Lockwood Elementary (12**) – Maywood Hills Elementary (2) – Morelands Elementary (1) – North Creek High School (20**) – Northshore Middle School (13) – Ruby Bridge Elementary (10**) – Shelton View Elementary (8) – Skyview Middle School (17**) – Timbercrest Middle School (4) – Wellington Elementary (8**) – Westhill Elementary (19) – Woodin Elementary (8**) – Woodinville High School (4) – Woodmoor Elementary (11)
None
Local Districts Scorecard – * indicates positive cases only ** indicates 5 or more confirmed positive cases
We redefined the school district statuses. Information for classroom and building closures has been a challenge to obtain, both for closures and reopening. We are adopting moving any school with more than ten active COVID cases reported into the red, and we’ve adjusted the third column to reflect this change.
There was a parent confirmed Covid-19 case reported at Blackwell Elementary in the Lake Washington School District on Monday and an additional parent confirmed COVID case on Tuesday, including three in quarantine. Because LWSD updates data weekly, we add a footnote for parent-reported cases during the week.
We continued to encourage parents to request daily updates from the Lake Washington School District. We would also encourage parents to request the Bellevue School District include data on close contacts. These two changes would bring the three school districts we track into alignment.
Kirkland-Bellevue-Woodinville
Kirkland Health Fair and Community Vaccination Event on November 6
The Kirkland Health Fair and Community Vaccination Event will be held on Saturday, November 6, from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m at Juanita High School. Hosted by the City of Kirkland in partnership with Public Health – Seattle and King County, the event will provide Covid-19 vaccination, information, education, and more.
At this time, organizers are not planning to provide vaccinations for children 5 to 11 years old, according to David Wolbrecht, Senior Neighborhood Services Coordinator with the City of Kirkland. We do have an inquiry in with the City to learn if this will change now that the vaccination is approved and doses are available.
Save the date! The Kirkland Health Fair and Community Vaccination Event takes place 10 am – 2 pm, Sat 11/6 at Juanita High School. We are partnering with @KCPubHealth to provide COVID-19 vaccinations, vaccine info & education, & much more! More information to come. pic.twitter.com/JJcFnqggrJ
Johns Hopkins University Cumulative Case Tracker reports 72,754 new cases and 1,461 deaths nationwide on Tuesday. The United States broke 750,000 confirmed Covid-19 related deaths since February 29, 2020 today. That is close to every man, woman, and child in the state of North Dakota dying in 21 months.
800 U.S. Air Force personnel refuse to get vaccinated by deadline
The United States Air Force (USAF) and Space Force reported that 800 active duty service members among a force of 326,000 have refused to get vaccinated or seek an accommodation. The number is well below the 12,000 figure shared last week.
Just under 5,000 USAF personnel have a questionable future, among almost 8,500 who remain unvaccinated. Almost 5,000 have requested a religious exemption and are awaiting a decision. Another 2,700 will retire before April 1, 2022, and under Pentagon rules, do not have to get vaccinated.
The remaining 800 could face disciplinary action or discharge, although USAF leaders have not announced what the next course of action will be. The Military Times reported that local commanders would make final decisions. Airmen and officers who receive a less than honorable discharge will be ineligible for veterans’ benefits, according to the same report.
The Pentagon reported 315,500 were fully vaccinated or completing their final doses and just under 2,000 had been granted accommodations on medical grounds.
Different branches have different deadlines, with the Air Force having the earliest requirement. The United States Navy reported almost 99% of their active duty force was at least partially vaccinated, the highest of the military branches. The last group required to get vaccinated is reservists and the National Guard, with a deadline of June 30, 2022.
CDC issues Level 4 travel advisories to four nations due to Covid-19 risk
The CDC added Belgium, Burkina Faso, Russia, and Slovakia to its list of Level 4 countries representing a very high risk of Covid-19 exposure.
Level 4 is the highest rating and advises people to avoid all travel if possible. COVID cases have been surging in Europe and the Covid VUI-21, also known as Delta Plus, continues to grow in the United Kingdom, Russia, and Denmark, where the variant has been identified.
Other European nations with a Level 4 travel advisory include Albania, Austria, Belarus, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Estonia, Georgia, Greece, Kosovo, Latvia, Lithuania, Moldova, Norway, Romania, Serbia, Switzerland, Turkey, Ukraine, and the United Kingdom.
Denmark is under a Level 3 travel advisory.
The travel advisories come as the United States will allow vaccinated international tourist and business travelers to return to the United States starting on November 8.
Southwest Airlines Covid-19 disinformation website and Telegram group run by person selling supplements on Tik Tok
The disruption to flights happened just hours after Southwest announced they would require the Covid-19 vaccine for its employees. The airline blamed air traffic control issues and weather for the disruption. The pilot union blamed a 28% staff reduction in 2020 and insisted that aircrews were not staging a sick out.
Despite the claims no organized action was taken, there was only a single, short-lived disruption of air traffic control in Florida and some weather delays in Texas. A bipartisan group of congressional leaders is calling for Southwest and other airlines to be investigated after they received billions in aid to protect payroll and retain employees and now blame poor service on staffing reductions.
Now a new public-facing website called Southwest Freedom Fliers has created the illusion of a broader vaccination revolt behind the scenes.
“Southwest Freedom Flyers is a grassroots collection of Southwest Airlines Employees fighting in opposition to vaccine mandates” the website states.
“We are an independent group but coordinating with an industry wide effort to preserve our religious and medical freedoms.”
The website does have a disclaimer, “We do not speak for or represent Southwest Airlines or any unions. We are not affiliated with Southwest Airlines or any unions.“
According to Yahoo News, the person behind the website is Shawn Alexander Walker. Walker, in a video that has gone viral in the anti-vaccination community and was amplified by Candace Owens, explains part of the reason why he formed the movement.
“I have to choose between putting food on the table for my family, and freedom of choice,” Walker says before opining about the nature of America on top of footage of a Civil War reenactment. He then warns that “shifting baseline syndrome” will destroy the nation’s conception of freedom entirely, complete with pseudoscientific graphics of brain activity to bolster this point. The video ends with Walker directing viewers to a website for a group of pilots, dubbed the U.S. Freedom Flyers, who oppose the vaccine mandate.
Walker doesn’t even appear to work for Southwest Airlines, appearing in Tik Tok videos wearing an American Airlines lanyard. He is also a rep for the supplement Cell Sauce, which he promotes heavily on his channel.
Medical freedom is coded language for the antivaccination movement and the site has the option to donate to Walker’s group, which he claims is listed as a 501(c)(4) charitable organization.
Aaron Rodgers claimed he was vaccinated, turns out he isn’t and is now COVID positive
Green Bay Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers has tested positive for COVID-19 and will not play against the Kansas City Chiefs on Sunday, a source confirmed to ESPN.
The NFL has considered Rodgers as unvaccinated since the start of the season, despite his statement that he was vaccinated during a press conference earlier this year..
Rodgers was placed on the league’s reserve/COVID-19 list along with cornerback Isaac Yiadom on Wednesday, and the NFL said it would look into how the Packers have handled the league’s Covid-19 protocols.
State Updates
Alaska
Alaska reported 195 Covid-19 patients in hospitals across the state and hospitalized and 688 new cases on Wednesday. Test positivity dropped to 8.2% while the 7 day moving average for new cases held steady at 589 per 100,000 residents. The state had 27 ICU beds available. Reluctantly accepted emergency measures in Anchorage combined with colder weather creating more isolation are starting to drive numbers down.
It isn’t all good news. This past week’s 7 day case total for the Yukon-Kuskokwim region was the 14th highest since the beginning of the pandemic and the sixth highest in 2021 according to KYUK Public Media. The hospital in Bethel has been operating under crisis standards of care for weeks.
The Yukon-Kuskokwim Health Corporation reported 254 new COVID-19 cases in the region from Oct. 25 to Oct. 31. YKHC also reported two new hospitalizations in-region, two medevacs, and the deaths of three residents due to the virus during this one week period.
On Tuesday, Governor Mike Dunleavy signed an executive order that prohibits all state agencies from participating in or assisting with federal vaccine mandates for employers. The order also tasks the state’s attorney general with reviewing all federal vaccine mandates and looking for ways to challenge them in court.
Colorado
Hospitals in Colorado are being allowed to turn away patients as the state experiences its worst COVID surge in a year, according to a report by NBC News.
An order signed Sunday by Gov. Jared Polis gives health care professionals the authority to prioritize crisis care under the direction of the state health department.
While the state has a nearly 80 percent partial vaccination rate, unvaccinated people with severe Covid-19 are overwhelming hospitals, many of which reported being over 90 percent capacity, according to Scott Bookman, Covid-19 incident commander for the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment.
Colorado has the fifth-highest number of COVID patients in the nation, and 80% to 90% are unvaccinated.
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