[SEATTLE, Wash.] – A 37-year-old Lynnwood, Washington man was indicted Wednesday by a federal grand jury for a hate crime and four counts of interstate threats, announced U.S. Attorney Nick Brown. Joey David George will be arraigned on the indictment on August 11, 2022, in Seattle Federal Court. George remains detained at the Federal Detention Center at SeaTac, Washington.
“By law, the decision to charge a hate crime is appropriately deliberate – with consultation and approval from DOJ’s Civil Rights Division in Washington DC,” said U.S. Attorney Nick Brown. “In this case, the hate-filled threats to kill, based on race, are fittingly being prosecuted as a hate crime.”
The probable cause court filing on July 21 outlined the alleged incidents. According to records filed in the case, on July 19 and 20, George allegedly telephoned a grocery store in Buffalo, New York, and threatened to shoot Black people in the store.
“On July 19, 2022, an individual called a Tops grocery store in Buffalo, New York. The caller, who identified himself as “Peter,” spoke with an employee at the store. The caller asked how many Black people were in the store. He said he would make the news if he shot and killed all of the Black people, including all of the women, children, and babies. He asked if the employee had cleared out the building. He said there was a chance he was already in the store or somewhere nearby. He said that if he did not see anyone at the store, he would travel to the Jefferson Tops store,” the court filing said.
The Tops Friendly Market store in Buffalo had reopened on July 14, two months after a racially motivated mass shooting left ten dead and three injured. In the second call, George allegedly ranted about a “race war.” Law enforcement traced the phone number and identified George as the person who made the call. The second Tops location in Buffalo on Jefferson Avenue, had a grand reopening on July 16 after an extensive renovation.
In addition to the calls to Buffalo, George is charged in connection with a May 2022 call to a Shari’s Restaurant and Pies in San Bruno, California. In that call, George, using the pseudonym “Tony Sumorrah,” talked to a San Bruno, California police officer. George told the officer that he called Shari’s restaurant because “he wanted to attack Black people and strike fear into the Bay Area’s Black community. He stated Black people are not human but rather “sub-humans.” He said he was proud of his actions because he instilled fear in the employees and customers of the restaurant.”
The San Bruno police department obtained location data for the origination point of the call. The call was made from Lynnwood, Washington, using a T-Mobile-provided cellphone number with Joey George as the subscriber. T-Mobile confirmed the May 12 call to Shari’s came for George’s number and phone. In the eyes of the law, a restaurant is a place of public accommodation, which added the hate crime charge: Interference with a Federally Protected Activity.
Additionally, George is charged with making interstate threats to a business in Maryland, saying he intended to shoot Black people at the store. The fourth count of the indictment charges him with making interstate threats to bomb a restaurant in Connecticut.
On January 16, 2022, George threatened marijuana dispensaries in Seattle and Skyway. An employee answered the call, and the male caller asked if there were any Black employees at the business. The male caller stated that he carried a gun and would go to the business to shoot any Black people who were there at the time of his arrival. According to the dispensary, a similar threat was made to their Skyway location. T-Mobile records show the call to the Seattle business came from George’s cellphone. George is not facing charges for the January 2022 incident, and it is unclear if the Seattle Police Department was contacted about the threat and if they were if they initiated a case and performed an investigation.
George is facing up to 30 years in prison based on the five charges.
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[KING COUNTY, Wash.] – (MTN) New Covid-19 cases are stuck on a plateau while hospitalizations increased 7% over the last week. An analysis of available data provides strong evidence the pandemic of the unvaccinated continues.
The FDA has authorized the Pfizer Covid-19 vaccine for emergency use in children 5 to 11 today. The Centers for Disease Control Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices is meeting on November 2 and 3. It is widely expected the panel will support the authorization. UW Medicine has announced a waitlist for parents who want to get their children immunized.
Washington Governor Jay Inslee expressed growing concern over the case rates and said the state is at a “fork in a road.” In what is likely the last broad challenge for the state vaccine mandate, a U.S. District Judge denied a last-ditch effort to block the public health rules on the grounds it was a violation of civil rights.
Data from August to September is supportive of following the Centers for Disease Control’s back-to-school guidelines, with Washington schools reporting 189 outbreaks statewide, with only a handful resulting in school closures.
A former naturopathic doctor on the Olympic Peninsula was convicted for misbranding drugs, reselling them, and making false claims of offering a COVID cure. Richard Marschall, 68, has been convicted for the third time since 2011. Washougal Physician Assistant Scott Miller will face the medical board on November 3, for allegedly spreading Covid-19 disinformation. Miller had his license suspended earlier this month after an investigation into his activities that started in August 2021.
Washington State University tried to counter the COVID misinformation former football coach Nick Rolovich believed as early as April 2021 to no avail.
Last week, Snohomish barber Bob Martin had two court hearings after a judge rejected his promissory note to cover $90,000 in fines he accumulated last year. Martin is tight-lipped about the hearings, and the court has yet to release the transcripts.
The Washington Medical Coordinator Center at Harborview, Virginia Mason Franciscan Health, and Swedish Health Services each received the Community Health Leadership Award from the Washington State Hospital Association for their 2021 Covid-19 related efforts.
Proud Boy Tusitala “Tiny” Toese is reported to be hospitalized and in “poor” condition. Toese was shot on September 4 in Olympia after the Proud Boys group he was with left an anti-mandate protest to go “hunting.”
COVID hospitalizations have increased 7% since October 22, reversing weeks of improvement. Unvaccinated people continue to hold up relief for the stressed medical system.
Malcontent News moved the Northshore School District to status red due to Bothell High School, and Lockwood Elementary reporting ten confirmed Covid-19 cases each on Friday.
Twelve states are suing the Biden Administration in an attempt to block a looming vaccination mandate.
The U.S. Supreme Court, in a 6-3 decision, refused to block Maine’s vaccination mandate for healthcare workers. The decision may have further strengthened Jacobson versus Massachusetts.
The Pentagon reported that 96.4% of active-duty U.S. Air Force personnel and 98% of special forces are vaccinated. For the Air Force it still leaves up to 12,000 members facing disciplinary action.
In disinformation, we take a critical look at a September 30 article entitled, Increase in COVID-19 are unrelated to levels of vaccination across 68 countries and 2947 counties in the United States. Daniel Horowitz has held this up as proof that vaccinations don’t work. Is it true?
The New case rate was almost unchanged from yesterday. The least vaccinated counties have 228% more new cases per 100,000 residents than the most vaccinated. San Juan County reported a 7 day moving average of 11.5, which is considered “normal.” Three of the five counties with the lowest new case rate have more than 70% of their total population fully vaccinated.
Percent of Total Population Fully Vaccinated
Total Population in Group
Average 14-Day New Case Rate
70% or above (3 counties)
2,343,250
214.3
60.00% to 69.99% (4 counties)
1,242,200
335.9 (down)
50.00% to 59.99% (14 counties)
3,172,600
389.7
40.00% to 49.99% (10 counties)
860,525
406.7
30.80% to 39.99% (8 counties)
158,300
467.8
14-Day New Covid-19 Cases per 100K average by Vaccination Rate for Total Population, Adjusted for Population by County
Through October 28, Washington’s statewide 14-day rolling average is 335.5 Covid-19 cases per 100K – statistically unchanged from yesterday. Although new case rates are dropping in the eastern half of the state, they remain stubbornly high.
One county, Ferry, is between 800.0 and 999.9 with 859.7 new cases per 100K residents.
Four counties, Grant, Klickitat, Lincoln, and Skagit, have a new case rate between 600.0 to 799.9.
New cases by age were unchanged while the hospitalization rate declined for geriatric patients over 79 years old.
Age Group
7-Day Case Rate
7-Day Hospitalization Rate
Ages 0-11
150.8
0.5
Ages 12-19
146.4
0.8
Ages 20-34
146.4 (not a typo)
3.5
Ages 35-49
161.8
8.9
Ages 50-64
129.2
13.7
Ages 65-79
96.4
19.8
Ages 80+
90.2
35.9 (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
The USA Today COVID Tracker reported 31 Covid-19 related deaths in Washington state on Thursday. The Washington State Department of Health is reporting 8,628 Washingtonians have died since February 29, 2020. That is equal to every man, woman, and child in Hoquiam, Washington dying.
Governor Inslee express concern as Washington reaches a “fork in the road” with Covid-19
During a press briefing yesterday, Governor Jay Inslee (WA-D) expressed growing concern over plateauing cases and the potential for Washington state to move into a “sixth wave.”
“We still have an extremely dangerous pandemic on our hands,” Inslee told reporters, adding that the state is still seeing more than 2,000 new Covid-19 cases a day.
The plateau is concerning to public health officials because case rates and COVID hospitalization rates are still similar to last winter’s wave. Hospitals in Washington have limited capacity to care for a surge in patients over the winter if new case rates and hospitalizations don’t start to decrease again.
Inslee said the state has reached “a fork in the road.” Residents can either accept Covid-19 or continue to fight it, and the only way out is by getting vaccinated.
“Every day, I believe we should fight it,” he said.
New Covid-19 cases were declining from mid-September to mid-October, but are now stubbornly sitting at new normal that is well above what experts consider acceptable. Over the last week, COVID-related hospitalizations have increased 7%.
On October 20, Malcontent News predicted that another wave of Covid-19 will sweep across the United States starting in mid to late December and peak in February 2022.
Federal judge tosses civil rights based lawsuit attempting to block Washington state Covid-19 mandate
A federal judge in Eastern Washington on Monday denied a bid by firefighters, state troopers, and others to halt Washington’s Covid-19 vaccine mandate for state workers and emergency responders. The Associated Press reported U.S. District Court Judge Thomas Rice denied the motion.
Dozens of municipal, county, and state workers sued Governor Jay Inslee, Spokane Fire Chief Brian Schaeffer, Washington State Patrol Chief John Batiste, and others. The case was filed just days before the October 18 mandate deadline. The plaintiffs claimed their civil rights were being violated by the requirement they get vaccinated to continue in their jobs.
In his ruling, Rice wrote: “The Supreme Court has long endorsed state and local government authority to impose compulsory vaccines… Federal courts have routinely analyzed such cases using rational basis and regularly reject cases similar to this one that challenge vaccine mandates based on free exercise of religion.”
Rice was referring to the 1905 U.S. Supreme Court decision of Jacobson versus Massachusetts that decided the Tenth Amendment gave municipalities, counties, and states the power to make public health decisions that aim to protect the larger population. The decision has been challenged dozens of times in the last 116 years.
Judge Rice’s decision ended the last large-scale lawsuit attempting to block or pause the vaccine mandate. As of October 25, 94% of Washington state employees, 99.7% of Washington educators, and an estimated 97% of Washington healthcare workers, including firefighters, were fully vaccinated, completing vaccination, have an exemption review pending, or received an approved exemption with accommodation.
Following back to school guidelines by the CDC has had a positive impact in Washington
From August 1 to September 30, there have been 189 Covid-19 outbreaks in Washington schools involving 1,284 confirmed infections according to the Washington Department of Health.
State Epidemiologist Dr. Scott Lindquist, Deputy Secretary of Covid-19 Response Lacy Fehrenbach, and Acting Assistant Secretary for the DOH Michele Roberts shared the information on Wednesday during a press briefing.
Almost 88% of the confirmed Covid-19 cases involved students. Unlike other states such as in the southeast, where dozens of children were sickened in superspreader events that closed entire school districts, the average number of cases per event was five.
“That relatively small number of cases in each outbreak is an indication that schools are continuing to do a really good job on layered prevention measures and responding when they have cases and outbreaks,” Fehrenbach said.
A few districts were forced to move single schools to remote learning to manage outbreaks including in Medical Lake, Edmonds, and Eatonville.
Former naturopathic doctor convicted of selling fake Covid-19 cures
A former Port Angeles naturopathic physician who falsely claimed that two substances containing garlic extract and larch tree starch could treat and prevent Covid-19 has been found guilty of introducing misbranded drugs into interstate commerce. The conviction of Richard Marschall, 68, was first reported by the Peninsula Daily News.
The federal jury last week found that Richard Marschall, 68, misbranded the drugs and fraudulently marketed them, according to a press release from the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Seattle.
This is the third conviction for Marschall since 2011 for making false claims. On his Facebook page, he made claims that two supplements, allicin a garlic extract, and IAG a larch tree starch had antiviral properties that would cure Covid-19.
Both supplements are made in the United States and neither maker makes any claims that their products are antiviral. Marschall was charging $140 for the supplements plus shipping and handling. He added his own labels making false claims about the abilities of the combination.
A 60 count bottle of allicin is $21.95 and a 3.6 ounce bottle of IAG is $39.48 on Amazon with free Prime shipping. A 400 pack of ink jet-ready bottle labels is $9.99.
Washington physician assistant has November 3 medical board hearing after allegedly peddled Covid-19 disinformation
Washougal Physician Assistant Scott Miller is facing a medical board hearing on November 3 after state officials suspended his license on October 16 for allegedly creating and spreading Covid-19 disinformation.
Accusations against Miller included:
Starting a public camaign promoting ivermectin as a Covid-19 cure
Prescribing ivermectin to at least one patient without providing an adequate examination
Interfering with the care of hospitalized patients
Engaging in a hostile and threatening campaign against both hospitals and individual physicians regarding Covid-19 treatment
Lying on his licensing application and denying he was already under investigation by the state of California
Miller spoke at a Camas School Board Meeting in May of 2021 against mask mandates and promoted ivermectin as a “cure.”
“I don’t know anybody that’s died (from COVID-19),” Miller said. “I’ve treated 350 COVID patients. Do you know there’s treatment? … I treat people every day. I had 90 COVID patients come into my clinic last month.” Miller then went on to call the school board “pure evil.”
Miller runs Miller Family Pediatrics in Washougal, Washington. A GoFundMe for Miller was suspended on October 19. Organizers moved to the crowdfunding platform GiveSendGo. On October 29, $11,477 had been raised to support his defense, which is far short of the $50,000 goal set by organizers.
Washington State University infectious disease professor attempted to explain Covid-19 vaccines to Nick Rolovich
In April 2021 when officials at Washington State University learned that former football coach Nick Rolovich was falling down a disinformation hole, they arranged a meeting between Rolovich and Dr. Guy Palmer, a world-renowned WSU regents professor of pathology and infectious diseases.
According to a report by ESPN, Rolovich drove a conversation that focused on topics that were consistent with what Palmer said has been shared by the “anti-vax crowd on social media” over the past several years.
Questions included if Bill Gates was behind the vaccine or if SV40 was in the Covid-19 vaccines.
“I just tried to address those kind of more specific questions that have come up and I think many of those concerns were widely shared on social media, by individuals, and I just addressed them with the best data that I could and tried to give him clear answers,” Palmer said.
Palmer says that Rolovich’s primary concern was around side effects and he never brought up religious beliefs or questioned if fetal cells were used in the testing, development, or manufacturing of the vaccines.
Rolovich, through his lawyer, announced his plans to sue WSU after his religious exemption was declined and he was terminated on October 18. Rolovich served as head coach of the Cougars for less than two seasons with a 5 and 6 record. During his time as head coach of the UH Rainbow Warriors, they achieved a record of 28 and 27. At the time of his termination, Rolovich was the highest-paid public employee in Washington state.
Snohomish barber goes before two judges to answer questions about his anti-lockdown actions
Bob Martin because a cause celebre when he refused to close his Snohomish, Washington barbershop in 2020 when the state was under lockdown. Over the months that followed, the retired Marine Corps veteran racked up over $90,000 in fines for his continued refusal to close.
The barbershop became a rallying point for people against lockdowns and to a lesser extent, people desperate for a haircut.
“I’m not going to let the parasites in Olympia tell me that I cannot work,” Martin told KOMO News. “It’s my right to work.”
Martin insists the $90,000 in fines has been paid to the state of Washington through a promissory note. Last week a Snohomish County judge told Martin that the note does not satisfy his debt. Martin had two court hearings last week but the results of those hearings and transcripts have not been released.
Three Puget Sound area hospitals lauded by the Washington State Hospital Association for Covid-19 related efforts
Three Western Washington hospitals are receiving the Community Health Leadership Award for taking an innovative approach to addressing the pandemic in 2021 according to a report by Patch.
The Washington Medical Coordination Center at Harborview Medical Center was recognized for helping triage and placing Covid-19 patients across the state, and from across the region.
Virginia Mason Franciscan Health was lauded for its vaccination program that spanned across three counties. At its peak, the hospital system was vaccinated 3,100 people a day.
Swedish Health Services was commended for setting up 21 mobile vaccination clinics in under-served areas reaching out to rural, poor, and BIPOC communities. The hospital network partnered with the Ethiopian Community Center, and Pacific Islander Community Association.
Proud Boy shot after providing “security” at Olympia anti-vaccine mandate rally reportedly back in the hospital
Social media reports indicated Tusitala “Tiny” Toese, who was shot in the leg on September 4 shortly after providing “security” at an End the Mandate protest in Olympia, was back in the hospital and in “poor” condition.
On September 4 a group of 50 to 75 heavily armed Proud Boys roamed the streets of Olympia after leaving the End the Mandate protest to go “hunting,” as reported by independent journalists. The group assaulted several people who were not associated with any protest or counterprotest and attacked reporter Alissa Azar. Approximately 20 minutes after leaving the protest, they identified a small group of counterprotesters who were attempting to flee from the group.
Security camera video shows a man stopping, pulling out a handgun, and firing five shots. Toese was shot in the leg and required a short hospital stay in Olympia. A 36-year-old Olympia man was arrested on September 23 for the shooting and charged with first-degree assault.
Toese, who held more of an enforcer role, has been an acting regional leader for the Proud Boys since the January 6 Insurrection. Ethan Nordean of Washington is alleged to be the Proud Boy leader on January 6 after Enrique Tarrio was arrested on January 4. Nordean is currently in federal custody awaiting trial. Alan Swinney was arrested after multiple incidents in Portland, Oregon in August 2020 and was recently convicted on 11 of 12 charges, including one count of first-degree assault. Rufio Panman was also arrested for his involvement in the January 6 Insurrection and remains in federal custody.
Toese was seen at several anti-vaccination, anti-mask, and anti-mandate protests shortly after his shooting including an anti-mask protest on September 10.
No specific information on Toese’s condition was available beyond he is allegedly hospitalized and in “poor condition.” There was no information on if the hospitalization is related to the shooting or a different medical condition.
Travel Advisories
We are very encouraged by the hospital readiness data for the East Hospital Region and believe we can end the travel advisory in the next five to 12 days. For now, we’re maintaining our recreational travel advisory to the East Hospital 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 continue to strongly advise against all nonessential travel to Alaska, Idaho, Montana, and Wyoming. 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. Data out of Wyoming is encourage and we may drop our travel advisory in the next 14 to 21 days.
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!
The immune responses of children 5 through 11 were comparable to adolescents and young adults. In addition, the vaccine was found to be 90.7% effective in preventing COVID-19 in children 5 through 11. The vaccine’s safety was studied in approximately 3,100 children who received the vaccine and no serious side effects.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s (CDC) Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices will meet next week on November 2 and 3 to discuss further clinical recommendations.
“As a mother and a physician, I know that parents, caregivers, school staff, and children have been waiting for today’s authorization. Vaccinating younger children against COVID-19 will bring us closer to returning to a sense of normalcy,” said Acting FDA Commissioner Janet Woodcock, M.D. “Our comprehensive and rigorous evaluation of the data pertaining to the vaccine’s safety and effectiveness should help assure parents and guardians that this vaccine meets our high standards.”
The Pfizer-BioNTech Covid-19 Vaccine for children 5 through 11 is administered as a two-dose series, three weeks apart, as a 10 microgram dose. Individuals 12 years of age and older receive a 30 microgram dose. Full efficacy is reached two weeks after the final dose is administered.
Health and Human Services have purchased 28 million doses with regional distribution beginning next week.
King County, Washington is reporting over 88.1% 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 are free for anyone over 12 years old, and no appointment is necessary at most locations. 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 15.3% of patients have Covid-19. Statewide, hospitals have the staff to support approximately 607 additional acute care patients.
ICUs are at 88.3% of capacity statewide, with 25.0% of ICU patients fighting Covid-19 – an estimated 296 patients with 49.0% on ventilators. The state has the staff to support approximately 140 additional ICU patients.
On Thursday, the 7-day rolling average hospital admission rate for new COVID patients is 102. The Department of Health reported 1,096 Covid-19 patients statewide on October 28, with 144 requiring ventilators.
After declining for weeks Covid-19 hospitalizations increased 7% over the last 7 days. We analyzed the latest Covid-19 Cases, Hospitalizations, and Deaths by Vaccination Status report by the DOH to determine if the growing hospitalization numbers are being driven by breakthrough cases.
From September 15 to October 12, unvaccinated individuals from 12 to 34 were 16 times more likely to be hospitalized, 35 to 64 were 18 times more likely, and 65 and over were 9 times more likely. The total number of vaccinated individuals. Statewide since vaccines have become available, 12.1% of hospitalizations have been breakthrough cases.
According to King County Health over the last 30 days, 3,248 unvaccinated people have been hospitalized with Covid-19, compared to 378 fully vaccinated individuals. The 10% rate aligns closely with the broader state average. No vaccine is 100% effective. Even if we make the bad assumption, statewide hospitalizations would still be close to 1,000. The growing hospitalization numbers continue to be fueled by the unvaccinated.
Hospital readiness gave back some improvements from earlier this week with the East Hospital Region going status red across all four metrics again.
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 Elementary (4) – Carson Elementary (6) – Clara Barton (4) – Einstein (3) – Eastlake High (11) – Ella Baker (8) – Finn Hill Middle School (6 + 1 see notes) – ICS (4) – Juanita Elementary (3) – Kamiakin Middle School (20) – Kirk Elementary (2) – Lakeview Elementary (3) – Lake Washington High School (27) – Muir Elementary (1) – Redmond Elementary (9) – Redmond Middle School (64) – Redmond High School (46) – Timberline Middle School (45**) – Twain Elementary (27)
None
Northshore
RED
– Arrowhead Elementary (5) – Canyon Creek Elementary (5) – Canyon Park Middle School (2) – Crystal Springs Elementary (5) – East Ridge Elementary (7) – Fernwood Elementary (3) – Frank Love Elementary (24) – Hollywood Hills Elementary (2) – Inglemoor High School (13) – Kenmore Elementary (6) – Kenmore Middle School (17) – Kokanee Elementary (6) – Leota Middle School (1) – Maywood Hills Elementary (3) – Morelands Elementary (2) – North Creek High School (9**) – Northshore Middle School (16) – Ruby Bridge Elementary (68) – Shelton View Elementary (4) – Skyview Middle School (9) – Timbercrest Middle School (9) – Wellington Elementary (14**) – Westhill Elementary (11) – Woodin Elementary (50**) – Woodinville High School (7) – Woodmoor Elementary (5)
– Bothell High School (25**) – Lockwood Elementary (20**)
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.
The Northshore School District moved to red status with two facilities reporting ten confirmed Covid-19 cases each today. Bothell High School and Lockwood Elementary doubled the number of cases this week. There are four additional schools that have five to nine confirmed COVID cases.
We received a parent confirmed report of an additional Covid-19 case at Finn Hill Middle School. The Lake Washington School District only updates data. We rely on confirmed parental reports to provide additional details.
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
UW Medicine opens up Covid-19 vaccine waitlist for children 5 to 11 years old
With the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) granting emergency use authorization to the Pfizer vaccine for children 5 to 11 years old, UW Medicine has opened up a waitlist. Although the use of the vaccine has been authorized, federal supply rules require the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) to formally recommend the protocol.
To join the vaccine waitlist, parents or guardians can call 844-520-8700. Individuals who register will receive a text or phone call when it is time to schedule an appointment. Scheduling is done online through a single-use registration link. UW Medicine is not accepting walk-in appointments for vaccination.
A CDC panel is meeting on November 2 and 3. A formal recommendation to vaccinate children from 5 to 11 is widely expected next week and the Seattle Times reported Central Puget Sound is receiving an initial shipment of 316,000 doses.
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 we do not know if vaccination for 5 to 11-year-olds will be 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 76,957 new cases and 2,141 deaths nationwide on Thursday.
12 states sue Biden administration over Covid-19 vaccine rule
Eleven states filed lawsuits Friday to stop President Joe Biden’s COVID-19 vaccine mandate for federal contractors, arguing that the requirement violates federal law.
Attorneys general from Alaska, Arkansas, Iowa, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, New Hampshire, North Dakota, South Dakota, and Wyoming signed on to the lawsuit, which was filed in a federal district court in Missouri.
The states asked a federal judge to block Biden’s requirement that all employees of federal contractors be vaccinated against the coronavirus, arguing that the mandate violates federal procurement law and is an overreach of federal power.
“If the federal government attempts to unconstitutionally exert its will and force federal contractors to mandate vaccinations, the workforce and businesses could be decimated, further exacerbating the supply chain and workforce crises,” Missouri Attorney General Eric Schmitt, a Republican, said in a statement. “The federal government should not be mandating vaccinations, and that’s why we filed suit today – to halt this illegal, unconstitutional action.”
That lawsuit, along with one filed Friday by Texas and Thursday by Florida, brings to 12 the number of states challenging the Biden administration mandate in three federal courts.
Alaska, Montana, and Wyoming currently have hospitals operating at crisis standards of care due to a surge in COVID cases.
Supreme Court refuses to block Maine’s Covid-19 vaccine mandate
The U.S. Supreme Court has rejected an emergency appeal from Maine health care workers to halt a COVID-19 vaccine mandate that took effect Friday.
Health care workers at hospitals and nursing homes throughout the state risk losing their jobs if they are not vaccinated and religious exemptions are not being offered.
According to Fox News, three justices – Neil Gorsuch, Clarence Thomas, and Samuel Alito – signed on to a dissent written by Gorsuch, who suggested they would have adhered to the request from Maine health care workers.
“This case presents an important constitutional question, a serious error, and an irreparable injury,” Gorsuch wrote. “Where many other States have adopted religious exemptions, Maine has charted a different course. There, healthcare workers who have served on the front line of a pandemic for the last 18 months are now being fired and their practices shuttered. All for adhering to their constitutionally protected religious beliefs.”
The case could be significant for future challenges to municipal, county, state, and private employer public health-related mandate challenges. In 2021, no case brought before the Supreme Court has given relief to plaintiffs looking to modify or block vaccine mandates. The 6 to 3 decision could have closed the door for those seeking public health exemptions based on religious grounds.
96.4% of active duty US Air Force personnel are vaccinated
The U.S. Air Force is reporting up to 12,000 personnel could be facing disciplinary action for refusing to get vaccinated for Covid-19. The Air Force is the first military branch to approach a vaccine mandate deadline.
Air Force officials would not provide any information on the status of the estimated 12,000 hold-outs. When compared to other mandates across the United States, a 96.4% vaccination rate is high before factoring in medical or religious exemption requests and previously planned retirements.
According to the Pentagon, only one active-duty service member has received an exemption.
Different military branches have different vaccination deadlines ranging from the U.S. Air Force November 1 deadline to a June 30, 2022 deadline for the National Guard.
So far In 2021, 71 military personnel have died from Covid-19 – none were fully vaccinated.
SOCOM’s commander, Army Gen. Richard D. Clarke, shared the statistic during the annual Military Reporters and Editors Conference here and said that percentage includes special operators like SEALS and Green Berets, but also administrative and other troops that make up the joint force of roughly 70,000.
State Updates
Alaska
Multiple hospitals operate under crisis standards of care across Alaska with 232 Covid-19 patients hospitalized and a sky-high new case rate. Health officials are reporting 629 new COVID cases per 100,000 residents and a test positivity rate of 9.2%. Over 60% of new cases are among people under 40 years old. Although the transmission rate has plateaued, it has remained unchanged for more than six weeks as COVID rages through unvaccinated communities.
Earlier in the month, a series of contentious meetings at Anchorage City Hall debating a mask mandate for Alaska’s large city turned into a super spreader event. Several members of Mayor Dave Bronson’s administration became sick with Covid-19, including some breakthrough cases. William Topel, a well-known anti-vaccination activist was among the hundreds of mostly unmasked people in the packed room.
Topel, 68, had multiple health issues became ill with Covid-19 shortly after the meeting, and quickly declined in health. He was hospitalized in Anchorage and died of COVID-related illness on October 13. His supporters remained defiant at his funeral on October 25, according to Alaska Public Media.
“God’s going to use this as a fulcrum to propel us into victory,” friend and fellow activist Dustin Darden told the crowd after Topel’s burial. “We’re going to take every square inch of Anchorage, everything that Bill stood for every time he was out there, it’s just been amplified 1,000 times.”
After more than a week of theatrics that included Mayor Bronson supporting the use of Nazi symbols, and seven meetings that frequently devolved into screaming matches, the Anchorage Assembly voted to issue an emergency mask mandate. On October 13, the same day Topel died, Bronson vetoed the decision. A day later, the Assembly overrode the veto by vote, requiring masks on October 14.
On October 27, the Anchorage Assembly meeting scheduled to discuss routine city business devolved into an anti-mask debate again.
On Saturday, anti-vaccination activists are holding the “Alaska Early Treatment Summit” that includes Robert W. Malone, Ophthalmologist Richard Urso MD, and Ryan Cole, MD, head of Ada County Health in Idaho and currently under investigation by the state medical board.
Malone claims he had Covid-19 in February 2020 and suffers from long hauler syndrome. He states he got the Moderna vaccine in hopes it would “cure” his symptoms, but believes the vaccination made it worse.
Malone is also the originator of the disinformation claim that people who receive the Covid-19 vaccine will die within six months to three years. The first Phase 1 trials started in April 2020 and in the United States, four vaccine-related deaths have been reported due to an extremely rare but dangerous condition called VITT.
Idaho
Idaho is facing good news, bad news situations as new case rates and hospitalizations plateau and fall respectively, while Covid-19 continues to rage in Northern Idaho and the Panhandle. The apocalyptic forecasts of 30,000 new cases a week (that Malcontent News reported was likely too grim) have not materialized, however, new cases are still running between 8,000 and 10,000 a week. Test positivity dropped to 11.5% but remains well above the optimal rate of 3% to 5% which would indicate adequate testing.
The Panhandle District accounts for 22% of Idaho’s new cases and Kootenai Health in Coeur d’Alene has been operating in crisis standards of care for almost two months. State officials don’t see the hospital situation improving much with concerns over the approaching flu season and continued spread in the unvaccinated population.
Since Covid-19 first arrived in the Gem State, there have been 290,872 confirmed cases – 4.5% vaccination breakthroughs. The state has recorded 3,543 Covid-19 related deaths.
Dr. Kathryn Turner, the deputy state epidemiologist, said North Idahoans are also not very helpful when it comes to contact tracing for the coronavirus.
“People are not as cooperative as in other parts of the state,” Turner said.
Idaho does not provide daily hospitalization data. The most recent report stated 570 were hospitalized with Covid-19, 163 in the ICU, with more than half on ventilators. Under normal conditions, Idaho has 170 staffed ICU beds.
Only two “large” hospitals, Community Medical Center and Northern Montana Hospital had normal occupancy rates. The largest hospital, Billings Clinic, was caring for 277 patients, including 76 people infected with Covid-19.
To date, 5% of confirmed COVID cases require hospitalization. Currently, 1% of the entire Montana population is infected with Covid-19 every 14 days.
“It has been an exceptionally challenging week for us here, with record numbers of hospitalizations and very, very sick and very, very acutely ill patients hospitalized due to COVID,” said Katie Gallagher, Covid-19 public information officer for St. Peter’s Hospital.
St. Peter’s reports that, in October, 26 patients died due to complications from COVID – including five on a single day, the highest one-day total they’ve recorded. Gallagher said that was compared to nine COVID-related deaths in September.
More patients are also being hospitalized with COVID-related illnesses according to a report by KTVH. Gallagher says they have been averaging more than 30 over recent weeks, with the highest number being 44 – almost half of the available inpatient beds.
On Friday the Montana Nurses Association filed a motion to join a lawsuit by a coalition of medical providers and patients that seeks to invalidate Montana law that bars medical organizations from requiring employees to be vaccinated, saying it violates federal law and the U.S. and Montana constitution.
According to KTVQ, the original suit was filed in September in U.S. District Court in Missoula with the Montana Medical Association as the lead plaintiff. It challenges parts of HB 702 – passed by Republican majorities at the 2021 Legislature – saying it illegally prevents physicians, their offices, and hospitals from providing a safe environment for patients.
The nurses’ suit comes as Montana faces the worst rates for hospitalizations and death from COVID-19 in the United States, according to data from the Mayo Clinic.
New York
Six FDNY members of Ladder 113 have been suspended for allegedly driving their truck to a state senator’s New York City office and threatening his staff over the vaccine mandate for city workers according to a report by New York NBC 4.
The on-duty firefighters drove an in-service ladder truck to state Senator Zellnor Myrie’s office in Brooklyn on Friday and questioned staff as to where the politician lives, a department spokesperson confirmed. The crew is accused of telling his staffers they would have “blood on their hands” Monday when unvaccinated workers must go on unpaid leave.
The group of firefighters also allegedly told the staff that if a fire was reported at Myrie’s home they would not respond.
Commissioner Daniel Nigro says, “this is a highly inappropriate act by on duty members of this Department who should only be concerned with responding to emergencies and helping New Yorkers and not harassing an elected official and his staff."
New York City’s vaccine mandate deadline for municipal workers which includes fire, police, is November 1. Compared to other cities such as Seattle and San Francisco as well as the state of Hawaii, vaccination rates are alarming low.
As of 8 p.m. Thursday, 33,400 city workers remained unvaccinated. The city said it would provide updated vaccine rates on Saturday.
The fire department said it was prepared to close up to 20% of its fire companies and have 20% fewer ambulances in service while changing schedules, canceling vacations, and turning to outside EMS providers to make up for expected staffing shortages.
Wyoming
Data from Wyoming is more encouraging as new cases continue to drop while hospitalizations remain very high. Officials reported 193 hospitalized statewide while the number of new cases is averaging 557 per day. Wyoming has lost 178 residents to Covid-19 in October and crossed the 1,000 death threshold this month. Over 15% of COVID-related deaths occurred in the last 28 days. On October 21, Wyoming set a new hospitalization record peaking at 249 patients.
Elective surgeries have been delayed for weeks, creating additional health problems, according to a story by Wyoming Public Media. Jeffrey Chapman is the chief medical officer at Cheyenne Regional Medical Center – one of the many Wyoming hospitals that have had to limit what procedures they can perform.
“For almost five weeks we’ve only been doing urgent and emergent cases,” he said.
From Sheridan to Casper to Rock Springs, hospitals are monitoring their capacity on a day-to-day basis. In Campbell County, the hospital system canceled all elective surgeries earlier this week. And at Cheyenne Regional, Chapman said they have to make decisions about which surgeries can wait and which cannot.
The anti-vaccination community has seized upon the Harvard study as proof that vaccines are ineffective, and the momentum has been further fueled by Daniel Horowitz of The Blaze. So who is right?
First, we should look to the main author of the paper S.V. Subramanian, a Harvard professor of population health and geography who is saying the anti-vaccination community has it all wrong.
“That conclusion is misleading and inaccurate,” Subramanian wrote in an email to Ali Breland, a journalist. “This paper supports vaccination as an important strategy for reducing infection and transmission, along with hand-washing, mask-wearing, and physical distancing.”
Second and more important, there are serious data issues, inaccuracies, assumptions, and questions about the co-author of the paper.
The data analysis starts at January 1, before anyone was fully vaccinated. Additionally vaccination programs targeted the elderly and those most likely to get severe Covid-19, and the analysis did not take into account the base rate. The data only considered hospitalization data through May 2021, just weeks after multiple states permitted vaccination to all age groups over 16.
The second author of the study is a high school student in Canada
Errors within the paper aside, Subramanian has stated the paper is supportive of vaccination as part of a holistic approach to defeating the pandemic.
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) It should come as no surprise with the Washington vaccine mandate impacting state employees, teachers, and health care workers on Monday, there is an incredible amount of local news.
New Covid-19 cases in Washington continued to decline while Eastern Washington continues to hold back progress for the rest of the state. In Spokane, officials requested a 20 person Department of Defense strike team to support overwhelmed hospitals. In an ironic twist, 11 Republican State Senators signed a letter urging Governor Jay Inslee to deploy National Guard troops to rural Washington hospitals battered by Covid-19 patients. Several of the signatories have actively worked against mask and vaccination mandates.
The Seattle Police Department will be operating at blackwatch plaid modified phase 4 rules on Monday, with 130 officers still not sharing their vaccination status with the department. In related news, a federal judge tossed a lawsuit against Governor Jay Inslee and the vaccine mandate on Friday.
University Washington Medicine (UMC) announced that hospitals will be open to visitors again starting October 19, but you’ll need to prove you are vaccinated or have a negative COVID test to go into Harborview Medical Center.
Locally up to 20 Redmond firefighters are facing termination and 12 learned their previously accepted religious exemptions were rejected. On Friday up to 200 Boeing employees and their supporters protested in Everett after the defense contractor announced they were implementing a vaccine mandate.
If you have Covid-19 and you’re seeking monoclonal antibody treatment you’re in luck with two facilities in Kirkland offering the therapeutic.
There was a single COVID case reported at Bennett Elementary School in the Bellevue School District on Friday.
The State Trooper that died of Covid-19 wasn’t vaccinated according to his family, and they are appealing to everyone to stop politicizing his death.
Out in Pullman, Cougar fans are wondering if Nick Rolovich has coached his last game.
On the Kitsap Peninsula, Vice Admiral Bill Galanis told more than 15,000 civilian naval workers to get vaccinated or they’ll no longer work for the U.S. Navy. A Clark County physician assistant had his license revoked after spreading Covid-19 misinformation for more than a year. Another nurse in Washington is under investigation after she appeared on the Stew Peters show and made wild accusations on air.
Yakima and Spokane are getting new mass Covid-19 testing sites starting Monday and Yakima Valley Memorial Hospital is now offering monoclonal antibody treatments.
A Food and Drug Administration (FDA) panel unanimously recommended booster shots for all recipients of the Johson & Johnson vaccine, and further recommend that the viral-vector vaccine require two-doses. The FDA also announced that a panel won’t review the antiviral molnupiravir until November 30, indicating the drug likely won’t be approved in 2021.
A worker at CVS accidentally gave a 17-year old six-times the recommended dose of the Pfizer vaccine while another worker at Walgreens accidentally gave an adult dose of the Pfizer vaccine to a 4 and 5-year-old.
The CDC released travel guidelines for the 2021 holiday season and visiting grandma is a go, as long as everyone is vaccinated or wears a mask. On the topic of masks, if you’re still using a cloth one, it’s time to throw it away and use disposable surgical or N95 masks instead.
Cam Newton’s agent let everyone know that he is now vaccinated and call me crazy, but I’m just not a big Geno Smith fan.
The number of people vaccinated in Clallam County was adjusted downward, pushing the county just under 60%. This change is reflected in our daily chart, and we expect Clallam County to be back over 60% on Tuesday when the vaccination data is updated.
The lowest vaccinated counties have 387% more new cases of Covid-19 than the most vaccinated. Only one of the least vaccinated counties is in the western half of the state.
Percent of Total Population Fully Vaccinated
Average 14-Day New Case Rate (unadjusted)
60.00% or above (4)
194.4 (down)
50.00% to 59.99% (13 counties)
431.4
40.00% to 49.99% (12 counties)
478.0 (down)
29.90% to 39.99% (8 counties)
753.1
14-Day New Covid-19 Cases per 100K average by Vaccination Rate, Not Adjusted for Population
Through October 14, Washington’s statewide 14-day rolling average dropped slightly to 349.4 Covid-19 cases per 100K – statistically unchanged from Thursday.
Ferry County (1,393.3) and Garfield County (1,390.6) still have new case rates above 1,000. They are now significant outliers compared to the rest of the state.
For the first time since August 17, not a single county is reporting new case rates between 800 and 999.9. In Eastern Washington, a combination of rising vaccination rates in many counties and the Delta variant running out of new hosts is driving case numbers downward.
Counties in the 600.0 to 799.9 per 100K range include Chelan, Columbia, Klickitat, Lincoln, Pend Oreille, and Stevens.
New cases were statistically unchanged, while hospitalizations were up for ages 35 to 49.
Age Group
7-Day Case Rate
7-Day Hospitalization Rate
Ages 0-11
150.7
1.2
Ages 12-19
169.2
1.3
Ages 20-34
153.7
4.0
Ages 35-49
157.2
8.5 (up)
Ages 50-64
118.7
12.1
Ages 65-79
86.7
19.3
Ages 80+
85.5
35.9
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
Seattle Police Department will operate on modified phase 4 rules starting Monday
Seattle officials announced that SPD officers would be operating on 12-hour shifts six days a week starting Monday as they try to determine how many officers are vaccinated. On Thursday, officials reported 84% of SPD employees had provided proof of vaccination status. The number dropped to 82% on Friday with no explanation.
An “unofficial” website claiming not to be associated with the Seattle Police Officer Guild, while using common language from union president Mike Solan, advised officers not to provide their vaccination status information before October 18. In early September, it was implied approximately 200 officers would not provide their vaccination status until the deadline.
“For some reason, this mayor is refusing that, which I think is unreasonable and is void of common sense,” said Solan.
The mayor’s office responded to Solan’s request in a statement to KING 5, saying, “COVID-19 is currently the number one cause of death for our first responders. Throughout the pandemic, we have seen dozens of firefighters and officers exposed, with some hospitalized even with testing and PPE. This deadly disease puts our families, children, co-workers, and the community at risk, so Mayor Durkan sincerely hopes that anyone at risk of leaving the City or at departments statewide will make the decision to stay by getting vaccinated.”
The department has 1,043 commissioned officers. If the current number holds, 187 will be suspended after Monday. Earlier this week, on the Dori Monson Show, Solan hinted the number of officers refusing to get vaccinated was around 50. Officers were informed they will not be automatically fired but will need to appear at a “Loudermill hearing.”
The Seattle Times and Forbes reported during the summer of 2020, the average SPD officer made $153,000 a year in salary. The figure did not include benefits, pension, or government employee discount benefits. The pay in Seattle is more than double what the average officer makes nationwide.
Solan is not alone in defying vaccination orders among the police officers represented by a union. Chicago Police Union president John Catanzara took a similar position in a video earlier this week and communicated the same early numbers, claiming 50% of the force will walk off the job. According to the best available data provided by Chicago officials, over 70% of the CPD is already fully vaccinated.
Federal judge tosses lawsuit attempting to block Washington state vaccine mandate
In a widely expected decision by federal court watchers, Judge Barbara J. Rothstein, a Carter Administration nominee, rejected a lawsuit by more than 100 municipal, county, and state employees attempting to block the Washington state employee vaccine mandate.
#BREAKING We successfully defended Governor Inslee’s vaccine policy that ensures a safe and health work environment for all state employees. Federal Judge Barbara J. Rothstein denied an attempt to halt Gov. Inslee’s vaccine mandate.
Nationally, federal lawsuits have been filed in 39 different states, with two resulting in temporary stays. The first was specific to New York employees seeking religious exemptions, and the second was among a handful of United Airlines employees who were suspended without pay. The legality of vaccine mandates at a state level has been litigated for 119 years in federal court. The United States Supreme Court ruled in 1905 in the case Jacobson vs. Massachusetts that municipalities, counties, and states had the right to make and mandate public health decisions.
Up to 20 City of Redmond firefighters face termination
Anywhere from 12 to 20 Redmond firefighters face termination on Monday as they continue to battle the looming vaccination mandate. Several employees who previously received religious exemptions had them rejected by the city upon further review.
Many people seeking a religious exemption have cited their anti-abortion beliefs as their foundation of “deeply held religious beliefs.” The mRNA vaccines from Pfizer and Moderna were tested using clonal human fetal kidney cells (HEK293), and the Johnson & Johnson vaccine is produced using the same cells.
While committees accepted many exemption requests initially, the position has become problematic among medical providers. In Washington state, firefighters, some police officers, and all patient-facing healthcare workers are required to have the MMR, Hepatitis B, Varicella, and if over 50 years old, Zoster vaccines. All of these vaccines use HEK293 in their development, testing, or production. Workers who had no previous religious belief against these vaccines are having their exemption requests rejected.
Waking Up Washington plans an anti-vaccine mandate protest (again) in Seattle for Monday
Palmer Davis of Waking Up Washington is calling for another Seattle area protest against the vaccination mandate on Monday at noon in front of Seattle City Hall. The organization previously called for a protest at Swedish Hospital and Harborview Medical Center, where Ms. Davis advocated online for trying to enter Harborview. That protest never materialized and the organization never made a statement or released photos of the event.
Given the vaccine mandate starts on the 18th and a number of state workers have already accepted they are losing their jobs, it is more likely someone will show up.
In ironic twist, state GOP urges Governor Jay Inslee to deploy National Guard to fight Covid-19
On October 8, 11 Washington state Senators signed a letter requesting Governor Jay Inslee deploy the National Guard to aid overwhelmed rural county hospitals. The letter was signed by Senate Minority Leader John Braun (R-Centralia), Senator Jeff Wilson (R-Longview), and retiring Senator Ann Rivers (R-La Center).
For several months, the state seemed content to focus on providing access to the vaccine. But in mid-May, we saw a change in the federal guidance on wearing masks and distancing, and the state followed suit. Suddenly, Washington employers had more control over their own safety standards than they’d had in over a year. It didn’t last long. Barely a week later, on May 21, the Department of Labor and Industries (L&I) issued new guidance that puts employers in the position of becoming the “vaccine police.”
During the 2021 legislative session, Republicans introduced legislation to prevent discrimination based on vaccination status in places of public accommodation. Although leaders of the Democrat majority didn’t support our proposal, they at least recognized it would be a mistake to go the other direction and pursue a vaccine-passport policy.
When Braun penned the op-ed in June, the Alpha variant of Covid-19 was in statewide decline, and almost all Covid-19 related restrictions ended on June 30. By early September, hospitals in Yakima, Walla Walla, and Richland were on the edge of moving to crisis standards of care due to an overwhelming number of Covid-19 cases.
In May of this year, he joined Senator Braun against Washington L&I mask requirements. The Reflector reported Braun and Wilson reminded constituents that private businesses have the right to make their own rules for customers. It mirrors State Health Secretary Umair Shah’s plea for Washingtonians to “respect the rules of the room.”
The statewide mask mandate was lifted in late June 2021.
The question about deploying the National Guard came up repeatedly since August when the Delta surge started in Washington. Other states that deployed the National Guard found it had a devastating impact, removing medical personnel already working at hospitals and causing worse staffing issues. Additionally, the Washington State National Guard is already deployed to other states assisting in their failed Covid-19 response and dealing with hurricane and disaster response.
Washington state opening mass Covid-19 testing sites in Yakima and Spokane
Weeks after being announced, two new mass Covid-19 testing sites will be opening in Yakima and Spokane.
The site will be open five days a week, Sunday through Thursday. Officials report it will take two to three days to receive test results. People are encouraged to preregister for testing. A drive-up option is available.
According to local officials, a second Spokane location will be opening soon, but no details were provided.
Yakima Valley Memorial Hospital offering monoclonal antibody treatments
Yakima Valley Memorial now has access to monoclonal antibody treatments for eligible Covid-19 patients, according to NBC KNDO and KNDU. Monoclonal antibodies are an experimental treatment with emergency approval from the FDA.
Chief Medical Officer at YVM, Dr. Marty Brueggemann, said while the treatment is new, it shows a lot of promise.
“Its not the end all, be all, but it is an important tool and it does show promise and certainly once you get covid if we can save a few admissions and people having to go through that then hey that’s the goal here,” Dr. Brueggemann said.
Monoclonal antibodies are meant for people with mild to moderate covid-19 symptoms and are most effective when used before the seventh day of symptoms. Individuals can contact the hospital for more information, and the therapy is free for qualified patients.
Approximately 200 Boeing workers and supporters protest looming vaccine mandate
Waving signs like “coercion is not consent” and “stop the mandate,” some 200 Boeing employees and others protested on Friday over the defense contractor and planemaker vaccine requirement for employees.
“It’s an experimental drug given under a pseudo-emergency,” he added.
Another worker, an assembly mechanic, said: “This is America. We don’t just do what we’re told because one person says to.”
In March of 2020, workers protested against the company demanding the Everett plant be closed after an employee died of Covid-19 and citing unsafe work conditions. Boeing suspended operations for 14 days after union pressure.
The Pfizer vaccine is fully approved by the FDA for individuals 16 years and older in the United States and other nations. The Moderna vaccine is under review for full FDA approval, and the Johnson & Johnson vaccine is expected to be submitted by the end of the year.
Shipyards’ commander to workers – get vaccinated or you’ll no longer work for the U.S. Navy
Vice Admiral Bill Galanis sent an “all-hands” email, including more than 15,000 naval shipyard workers in Washington state to get vaccinated or face termination. Workers have until November 8 to submit an exemption request on religious or medical grounds.
The Kitsap Sun reported Vice Admiral Galanis wrote, “We are moving quickly toward a workforce where vaccinations are a condition of employment,” said Vice Adm. Bill Galinis. “Frankly, if you are not vaccinated, you will not work for the U.S. Navy.”
The all-hands email, shared by employees of Naval Sea Systems Command to the Kitsap Sun, marks the Navy’s position, in following the executive order issued by President Joe Biden, for the 15,000-member workforce at the Puget Sound Naval Shipyard, as well as those at shipyards in Hawaii, Maine, and Virginia. Galinis cast Covid-19 as not just a health risk but one that “directly impacts the readiness of our Fleet and our workforce.”
Union officials were disappointed in the email, hoping to bargain with the U.S. Navy for additional accommodations. Shipyard leaders indicated up to 35% of the staff could resign, but so far, nationally, none of these dire predictions have come true.
The U.S. Navy is the largest employer in Kitsap County, including 20,000 civilians and 11,000 U.S. navy personnel.
Clark County anti-vaccination and anti-mask physician assistant license suspended
On August 19, the state of Washington announced they would be cracking down on medical professionals who promote Covid-19 disinformation, and a Clark County physician assistant is the first to be censured.
An investigation into the practice of Scott Miller began in August 2021 and ended with his license revoked by the Washington Medical Commission (WMC). The commission found accusations against Miller had merit and suspended his license to practice medicine due to treatment for patients falling below the standard of care. Accusations against Miller included:
Starting a public camaign promoting ivermectin as a Covid-19 cure
Prescribing ivermectin to at least one patient without providing an adequate examination
Interfering with the care of hospitalized patients
Engaging in a hostile and threatening campaign against both hospitals and individual physicians regarding Covid-19 treatment
Lying on his licensing application and denying he was already under investigation by the state of California
Miller is aligned with the group Waking Up Washington, led and organized by Palmer Davis, one of the principal creators of Covid-19 misinformation in the Pacific Northwest. In 2020, he was promoting hydroxychloroquine as a cure. He was one of the leaders claiming Covid-19 was circulating in the United States in 2019 and promoting Vitamin D and C along with melatonin as capable of stopping viral replication in human cells.
Miller, who runs Miller Family Pediatrics in Washougal, Washington, spoke at a Camas School Board Meeting in May of 2021 against mask mandates and promoted ivermectin as a “cure.”
“I don’t know anybody that’s died (from COVID-19),” Miller said. “I’ve treated 350 COVID patients. Do you know there’s treatment? … I treat people every day. I had 90 COVID patients come into my clinic last month.” Miller then went on to call the school board “pure evil.”
The Camas-Washougal Post Record reported Miller falsely claimed ivermectin, a drug used to treat parasites in animals, as well as vitamin D and vitamin C were cures for the novel coronavirus that has killed nearly 720,000 Americans since March 2020. The European Medicines Agency and the United States Food and Drug Administration have both said the available data “does not support the drug’s use for Covid-19 outside of well-designed clinical trials.” Likewise, the World Health Organization has warned against using ivermectin for COVID-19. In February, the drug’s manufacturer, Merck & Co., Inc., stated it has found ivermectin has “no scientific basis for a potential therapeutic effect against Covid-19” as well as “a concerning lack of safety data in the majority of studies.”
Washington state nurse under ethics investigation after her appearance on the Stew Peters Show
State officials are investigating nurse Corrine Lund after her appearance on the Stew Peters Show, part of Mojo 5.0, a “Libertarian Talk Radio” network, claiming she is a hospital supervisor who has witnessed misconduct where she worked.
State trooper who died of Covid-19 was unvaccinated according to family
The family of fallen Washington state Trooper Eric Gunderson released a statement that Gunderson was not anti-vaccination but didn’t believe he needed to get vaccinated.
“Eric was a young man. At 38, he was in the peak physical condition necessary to perform his duties as a member of the Washington State Patrol S.W.A.T. team,” the statement said, in part. “He thought — we all thought — that Covid was something that happened to someone else. He was not in a high risk group.”
According to the family and the Washington State Patrol, Gunderson contracted Covid-19 during a business trip to Orlando, Florida, during the height of the Delta variant surge in the Sunshine state.
“He contracted the virus while traveling for work this summer, a trip planned before the dangers of the Delta variant were fully understood, when many travel restrictions had been reduced, and there was a sense that Covid was in decline,” the statement said. “After he returned from his trip, he became very sick, very quickly. He was hospitalized and died some six weeks later.
To say that the comments on social media attached to this story are awful would be an understatement. Regardless of your views on vaccination, a husband and father of two died unnecessarily.
His family wrote, “His death is a tragedy. It is not a symbol.”
The most up-to-date numbers available indicated 91.5% of all commissioned Washington State Patrol officers and 93% of WSP employees are fully vaccinated.
Speculation about Nick Rolovich future employment status is rampant
The highest-paid state employee in Washington, Nick Rolovich, has been playing peek-a-boo with state officials and the press over his vaccination status. Last week Rolovich, who has a record of 4-6 leading the Cougars at press time (each win has cost Washington taxpayers $1.65 million), stated to USA Today he was seeking a religious exemption.
Over 95% of staff and 98% of students at WSU Pullman are fully vaccinated or have an approved exemption.
Harborview Medical Center will require all visitors to show proof of vaccination or negative Covid-19 test for entry
Harborview Medical Center will allow visitors into the hospital beginning October 19, with new protocols in place. Starting Tuesday, all inpatient visitors over the age of 12 and individuals over the age of 18 accompanying an adult outpatient must show proof of being fully vaccinated against COVID-19 or provide evidence of a negative COVID-19 test collected within the past three days.
Visitors will be allowed at all four UW Medicine facilities starting Tuesday but will be limited to one or two people depending on the hospital, patient, and what department is treating the patient.
UW Medicine indicated the proof of vaccination or negative test policy would be rolled out at the remaining facilities in the coming weeks.
Travel Advisories
Due to increased acute care hospitalizations, we’re maintaining our recreational travel advisory to the East Hospital Region, including Adams, Asotin, Ferry, Garfield, Lincoln, Pend Oreille, Spokane, Stevens, Wahkiakum, and Whitman counties. Acute care and ICU capacity remain limited, and the ratio of Covid-19 patients to other hospital patients is exceptionally high. Please reconsider nonessential travel plans to these counties.
With the announcement that Spokane officials have requested additional federal resources to support local hospitals, the travel advisory will likely continue through the 2021 holiday season.
We strongly advise against all nonessential travel to Alaska, Idaho, Montana, and Wyoming. Hospital resources in these regions are constrained, and you may receive inadequate care in Alaska, Idaho, and Montana if you experience a serious medical emergency.
We are not adding a travel advisory for the Northwest Hospital Region, which includes Clallam, Jefferson, Kitsap, and Mason counties but don’t recommend engaging in risky recreational behavior on the Olympic Peninsula. Although hospitals are very constrained, the region is adjacent to the Puget Sound and West Hospital Regions, which have adequate resources.
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Vaccination
FDA panel recommended booster for all Johnson & Johnson vaccine recipients and changing to a two-dose regime
On Friday, an influential Food and Drug Administration advisory committee said the agency should authorize boosters of Johnson & Johnson’s single-shot Covid-19 vaccine to the more than 15 million Americans who have already received the initial dose.
CNBC reported a unanimous vote – by the agency’s Vaccines and Related Biological Products Advisory Committee – is a critical step before the U.S. can begin giving second shots to J&J recipients. Some of them have said they are anxious to get the additional protection. Studies have shown one dose of J&J’s vaccine to be comparatively less effective than the two-dose messenger RNA vaccines made by Pfizer–BioNTech and Moderna.
The panel recommended the boosters to everyone 18 and over who’s already received J&J’s first shot at least two months after the initial dose. Many committee members said it should be considered a two-dose vaccine, much like Moderna and Pfizer’s.
King County, Washington is reporting over 87.3% 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 are free for anyone over 12 years old, and no appointment is necessary at most locations. 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 16.3% of patients have Covid-19. Statewide, hospitals have the staff to support approximately 616 additional acute care patients. ICUs are at 86.7% of capacity statewide, with 26.0% of ICU patients fighting Covid-19 – an estimated 311 patients with 51% on ventilators. The state has the staff to support approximately 157 additional ICU patients.
On Friday, the 7-day rolling average hospital admission rate for new COVID patients increased slightly to 94. The Department of Health reported 1,115 Covid-19 patients statewide on October 14, with 159 requiring ventilators.
Every hospital region showed improvement this week. The East and Northwest Hospital Regions remain highly stressed. Earlier this week, 19% of all hospitalized Covid-19 patients in Washington were in Spokane County medical facilities.
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%
Sacred Heart Medical Center received a Department of Defense “strike team” of 20 healthcare workers to provide additional support. For months, the hospital has been overwhelmed with Covid-19 patients and recently started seeing more patients from Idaho seeking medical treatment.
– Bell Elementary (4*) – Blackwell Elementary (1*) – Carson Elementary (2*) – Dickinson/Explorer Elementary (1*) – Eastlake High (3*) – Finn Hill Middle School (4*) – Franklin Elementary (1*) – Frost Elementary (2*) – ICS (1*) – Inglewood Middle School (2*) – Juanita Elementary (3*) – Juanita High School (4*) – Kamiakin Middle School (2*) – Keller Elementary (1*) – Kirkland Middle School (1*) – Lakeview Elementary (4*) – Lake Washington High School (2*) – Mead Elementary (2*) – Muir Elementary (1*) – Northstar Middle (1*) – Redmond Elementary (2*) – Redmond Middle School (1*) – Redmond High School (2*) – Rosa Parks Elementary (3*) – Rose Hill Middle School (1*) – Timberline Middle School (2*) – Twain Elementary (1* – see notes)
None
Northshore
YELLOW
– Arrowhead Elementary (3) – Bothell High School (29**) – Canyon Creek Elementary (10) – Canyon Park Middle School (14) – Cottage Lake Elementary (1) – Crystal Springs Elementary (29) – East Ridge Elementary (2) – Frank Love Elementary (16) – Hollywood Hills Elementary (69) – Inglemoor High School (2) – Innovation Lab High School (2) – Kenmore Elementary (8) – Kenmore Middle School (31) – Kokanee Elementary (13) – Leota Middle School (4) – Lockwood Elementary (27**) – Maywood Hills Elementary (6) – Moorlands Elementary (3) – North Creek High School (8) – Northshore Middle School (7) – Ruby Bridge Elementary (4) – Secondary Academy for Success (6) – Shelton View Elementary (7) – Skyview Middle School (11) – Sunrise Elementary (7) – Timbercrest Middle School (9) – Wellington Elementary (30) – Westhill Elementary (12) – Woodin Elementary (24) – Woodinville High School (13) – Woodmoor Elementary (15)
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 10 active COVID cases reported into the red, and we’ve adjusted the third column to reflect this change.
Bennett Elementary School in the Bellevue School District reported a single confirmed Covid-19 case on Friday.
We have a parent confirmed report of a single Covid-19 case at Mark Twain Elementary School in the Lake Washington School District.
We continued to encourage parents to request improved daily data reporting from the Lake Washington School District.
Kirkland-Bellevue-Woodinville
Monoclonal antibody treatment available in Kirkland
EvergreenHealth in Kirkland offers monoclonal antibody treatment to qualified people who have tested positive for Covid-19 and are experiencing mild or moderate symptoms that don’t require hospitalization or oxygen therapy.
Covid-19 vaccination clinic at Microsoft campus in Redmond to close October 29
Although not exactly in the local coverage area, the Covid-19 vaccination clinic run by EvergreenHealth at the Microsoft Campus will close on October 29.
EvergreenHealth sees increase in Covid-19 patients at Kirkland hospital
EvergreenHealth reported on October 11, 39 Covid-19 patients were being treated at the Kirkland hospital, up significantly from last week and a jump of 4 patients overnight.
On October 10, the hospital reported caring for 35 COVID patients, and 75% were unvaccinated. Seven patients were in the ICU, with one requiring a ventilator.
EvergreenHealth was the epicenter for the first Covid-19 superspreader event in the United States when dozens of patients at Life Care Center in Kirkland were sickened with the virus in February and March 2020. The facility was fined $611,000 in April 2020 due to management inaction and a failed attempt to cover up the outbreak.
National Round-Up
Johns Hopkins University Cumulative Case Tracker reports 116,962 new cases and 2,191 deaths nationwide on Saturday, October 16. The CDC reported that new cases and hospitalizations were down last weeks while the number of people getting vaccinated increased. The number of people testing positive for Covid-19 dropped to 5.7%. Although still elevated, test positivity below 5% indicates adequate community testing and a lack of community spread.
CDC issues new Covid-19 guidelines for 2021 American holiday season
The guidelines recommend wearing a well-fitting mask over your mouth and nose if you’re not fully vaccinated or when indoors in a public setting. The organization also recommends avoiding crowded indoor spaces with poor ventilation and if you start to feel sick before or during your travels, stay home.
It is also recommended to reconsider visiting people who have a weakened immune system regardless of vaccination status and getting tested for Covid-19 before going to large gatherings to assure you’re not an asymptomatic carrier.
On the subject of masks and Covid-19
If you’re using a cloth mask to protect others from Covid-19, experts recommend you stop using them, according to a report in CNBC and backed by a study out of Yale and Stanford University.
In an August study currently under peer review, a group of researchers from universities including Yale and Stanford found that surgical masks are 95% effective at filtering out virus particles — compared to just 37% for cloth masks.
That held true even after the surgical masks were washed with soap and water ten times, though the CDC and the FDA both say you shouldn’t reuse disposable surgical masks under any circumstances.
Public health officials in European countries like France, Germany, and Austria are currently urging people to wear medical or surgical masks instead of homemade cloth masks — but it’s not quite as simple as tossing out your cloth masks and buying a replacement stockpile of disposables.
Cloth masks were recommended during the beginning of the pandemic as “better than nothing” because surgical and N-95 masks were scarce. Now that the supply chain has stabilized for the medical community and residents alike, the available masks offer a better solution when properly used.
Emergency Use Authorization approval of molnupiravir in 2021 is unlikely
The Food and Drug Administration said Thursday it would ask its outside experts to meet on November 30 to scrutinize Merck’s antiviral pill that showed strong promise in its ability to treat Covid-19.
The meeting means U.S. regulators almost certainly won’t issue a decision on the drug until December, signaling that the agency will conduct a detailed review of the experimental treatment’s safety and effectiveness. The panelists are likely to vote on whether Merck’s drug should be approved, though the FDA is not required to follow their advice.
“We believe that, in this instance, a public discussion of these data with the agency’s advisory committee will help ensure a clear understanding of the scientific data and information that the FDA is evaluating,” said Dr. Patrizia Cavazzoni, director of FDA’s drug center.
The oral therapeutic was under development by Emory University before the Covid-19 outbreak as an antiviral treatment for Influenza and Ebola. Researchers from Emory University reached out to the Trump Administration in 2019 seeking additional funding to move the drug into human testing and received no response. They approached the administration again in February 2020 as a potential treatment for Covid-19, but officials declined to fund additional research. Emory university sold the drug to Merck and Ridgeback Biotherapeutics in the summer of 2020.
In Phase 3 testing, the drug reduced hospitalizations and deaths among Covid-19 patients by 48%. The drug companies did not report the observed side effects in applying for the Emergency Use Authorization (EUA). However, they did indicate that more patients in the placebo group reported side effects. Phase 3 testing of molnupiravir is still ongoing.
The drug has already come under withering fire from conspiracy theorists and at least one U.S. senator claiming the antiviral is just rebranded ivermectin.
The chemical composition of ivermectin and molnupiravir and how they work in the human body is documented and publicly available. The molecular structure and how the drugs work within the human body are entirely different. Organizations like America’s Frontline Doctors and the FLCCC have enriched themselves by pushing ivermectin and overcharging for telemedicine appointments.
On Covid-19 disinformation promoter Tucker Carlson’s show run on Fox News, Senator Ron Johnson (R-WI) said, “Now they are all hopping on board this Merck molnupiravir peer review,” Johnson said of the establishment experts. “The doctor groups I’m dealing with, they call it money-piravir. [Merck] patented ivermectin. They’ve been trash–talking ivermectin in favor now of this drug that will be like $700 a dose versus ivermectin cost about $0.06 or $0.07 a pill,” he said.
The lowest price Malcontent News could find for ivermectin was at QFC through GoodRx, at $1.50 per pill. The list price is $7.10 per pill, with a 20 pill dose costing $142.
A four-pill regime of molnupiravir is estimated to cost around $710, significantly cheaper than a four-injection course of monoclonal antibodies, which costs $2,100. All of this math ignores the average hospital stay for Covid-19 costs $17,064 in the United States, and the cost of the Johnson & Johnson vaccine is $10 a dose, and the mRNA Pfizer and Moderna vaccines are $15 a dose.
In contrast, monoclonal antibodies are credited with reducing hospitalizations in Florida by 10% to 25%. This isn’t to diminish the impact of the therapy. However, medical professionals can only administer monoclonal antibodies requiring either intravenous therapy or four injections over 30 minutes.
CVS worker accidentally injects woman with 6X the proper dose of the Pfizer vaccine
Walgreens worker accidentally vaccinates 4 and 5 year old for Covid-19 instead of Influenza
CNN reported a Walgreens in Evansville, Indiana, accidentally vaccinated Alexandra and Joshua Price’s 4 and 5-year-old children with the COVID-19 vaccine instead of a vaccine for Influenza on October 5. The Pfizer vaccine isn’t approved by the Food and Drug Administration for children under 12.
“Walgreens called me to say there was a mix-up, we did not receive the flu shot,” Alexandra Price told the local news outlet. “And I’m like well what did we get? And he was like we got the Covid-19 shot … And instantly I was like, ‘Well what does this mean for my kids?’”
Mr. and Ms. Price reported they are fully vaccinated. After the initial accident, they requested Walgreens provide vaccination cards for their children to indicate they had already received their first dose, but Walgreens balked.
Walgreens officials confirmed the children received a full adult dose of the Pfizer Covid-19 vaccine, three times the amount that the Food and Drug Administration is currently considering approving.
“The children have experienced a number of adverse effects since receiving the Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine. Fever, body aches, cough, headaches, and nausea are among the symptoms the children are experiencing,” according to a statement released by the Prices’ attorney, Dan Tuley. “The 4- and 5-year-old are also under treatment of a pediatric cardiologist for tachycardia and elevated blood pressure, respectively.”
After a follow-up appointment Tuesday, Alexandra said that Lucas has improved, but Sophia has worsened. “Her blood pressure is in the 98th percentile, and she continues to have no energy.”
Cam Newton reportedly gets vaccinated for 14 million reasons
According to the team, former New England Patriots quarterback Cam Newton was released before the start of the 2021 regular season due to not adapting to the Patriots’ system or refusing to get vaccinated, according to his supporters. the NFL Network reported today that Newton has had a change of heart and is now vaccinated and looking to play again.
Whether Newton’s vaccination status was an issue in August is moot, but it likely would be a point of concern for any NFL team that is considering adding him to the roster. The three-time Pro Bowler, Super Bowl Champion, and one-time MVP had a significant shoulder injury in 2016 that reduced his on-field capabilities.
Maybe the Seahawks would consider him instead of Geno Smith?
State Updates
Due to the overwhelming amount of local news, we will not do a state update today. The situation in Alaska, Idaho, Montana, and Wyoming can best be described as lousy, terrible, dire, and getting worse, in that order.
Misinformation
Can President Joe Biden, or any President for that matter, order the dishonorable discharge of U.S. servicemembers?
No.
That fact hasn’t stopped the spread of a meme claiming President Biden has ordered the dishonorable discharge of 46% of the U.S. armed forces. First, as far back as August 2021, almost 90% of the 1.4 million active duty troops in the U.S. military were fully vaccinated, had the first dose of vaccine, or were scheduled to get vaccinated, according to the Pentagon. That shoots down the 46% number out of the gate.
Reservists and National Guard troops have until June 2022 to get vaccinated, further shredding the claim.
The disinformation was started by blogger Sandra Rose, who told USA TODAY she is “not a trained journalist” and that readers view her blog for “entertainment and gossip,” not news. She declined to comment further.
A review of her blog indicates she has dipped her toe into Covid-19 misinformation, but it does not appear that she actively spreads disinformation.
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) Hospitals in Eastern Washington are starting to feel the crush of transfer patients and Idahoans seeking medical treatment in Washington state. As new cases decline statewide, hospitalizations have plateaued, with Eastern Washington taking on the brunt of new cases.
More Seattle Police Officers provided proof of vaccination while city officials forged a plan for October 18. In contrast, over 93% of Washington State Patrol employees are vaccinated, including more than 90% of commissioned officers. A King County Sheriff Office Sergeant did a reply-all e-mail about the vaccine mandate that was full of conspiracy theories – it’s a sad story.
In Eastern Washington, 19 municipal and state employees filed a federal civil rights lawsuit against the looming vaccine mandate.
There were new Covid-19 cases reported in all three school districts we track.
Nationally, a Maryland man killed his pharmacist brother and two other people due to his alleged belief in Covid-19 vaccine conspiracies.
Scientists learn the secrets of Covid Toe and how to treat it. In another study, researchers find increasing proof that Covid-19 can damage the pancreas, leading to a sudden onset of diabetes.
Alaska, Idaho, Montana, and Wyoming continue to have hospitals operating under crisis standards of care protocols. In Coeur d’Alene, Kootenai Health has been using those protocols for almost a month.
A 51-year-old man whose wife sued to treat him with ivermectin in an Ohio hospital died in late September.
A common objection to receiving the Covid-19 vaccine is the belief that the government assumes no liability. Is it true? We tackle that issue in misinformation.
New cases in Washington state continue to decline slowly. We’re adding some new metrics. A combination of increasing vaccination rates, mask wear, and the Delta variant running out of new hosts contributes to the slowdown.
Percent of Total Population Fully Vaccinated
Average 14-Day New Case Rate (unadjusted)
60.00% or above (4)
212.0 (down)
50.00% to 59.99% (13 counties)
515.1 (down)
40.00% to 49.99% (14 counties)
624.1 (down)
29.30% to 39.99% (8 counties)
713.3 (up)
14-Day New Covid-19 Cases per 100K average by Vaccination Rate, Not Adjusted for Population
Through October 5, Washington’s statewide 14-day rolling average is 403.8 Covid-19 cases per 100K.
Ferry County reported 1,011.4 new cases per 100K residents.
Counties in the 800.0 to 999.9 per 100K range include Grant, Klickitat, Lincoln Pend Oreille, and Stevens.
Counties in the 600.0 to 799.9 per 100K range include Asotin, Benton, Chelan, Columbia, Cowlitz, Franklin, Garfield, Grays Harbor, Mason, Okanogan, and Walla Walla. Franklin County remained just under 800 while Adams, Douglas, Lewis, and Spokane counties were just under 600.0.
New cases were down from birth to 34 years old and statistically unchanged for 35 and above. Pediatric and adolescent hospitalizations were up, along with ages 50 to 64 and over 80.
Age Group
7-Day Case Rate
7-Day Hospitalization Rate
Ages 0-11
170.3 (down)
1.1 (up)
Ages 12-19
202.1 (down)
0.8 (up)
Ages 20-34
166.1 (down)
5.0
Ages 35-49
173.9
8.4
Ages 50-64
120.1
15.1 (up)
Ages 65-79
97.6
17.4
Ages 80+
109.8
35.2 (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
The USA Today COVID Tracker reported 53 deaths yesterday. The state of Washington is not reporting the percentage of positive cases.
Idahoans seeking medical care pushing Eastern Washington hospitals to the brink
Dr. Dan Getz, the chief medical officer of Providence Medical Center in Spokane, Washington, said patients from Idaho are pushing Providence Medical toward capacity limits, leaving hospitals scrambling for options. KATC reported hospitals have had to pause some surgeries to create space.
“Idaho is currently in crisis standards of care where they basically said, ‘We can’t deliver normal care for people in our state,’ and they’re looking at rationalizing things,” Getz said. “We are not in that crisis in Washington state — however if we continue to see increasing cases and we are not able to care for our community, that’s always a potential.”
At Multicare Deaconess Hospital in Spokane, the staff says they are spread thin.
Luke Eckoff, a Covid-19 ICU nurse at Multicare Deaconess Hospital, said, “Flight teams are bringing patients from outlying hospitals — and that’s putting more strain on us. These rural hospitals don’t have the capacity we do to take care of these patients. What that’s doing is putting further pressure on our hospital and resources. It’s hard at the end of the day when you have to put that patient in the body bag. And that’s happening more and more.”
More SPD officers present proof of vaccination
The number of Seattle Police Department officers who haven’t confirmed being fully vaccinated dropped to 292 today. Brandi Kruse of KCPQ tweeted that an additional 101 SPD officers have requested vaccination exemptions.
“The problem is they’re using bully tactics to force their employees to get this, and that’s what’s led to this disconnect,” Solan said. “Right now, more than ever, our community’s begging for police officers to stop the rise in crime. And we need politicians who are willing to understand the public safety staffing crisis that they created. They’re in charge, they can change this.”
Over 93% of Washington State Patrol workers provided proof of vaccination
The Washington State Patrol reported Wednesday that more of its workers are providing proof they are vaccinated, according to a report by KXLY.
Only seven percent of its employees hadn’t been vaccinated or turned in proof they got the shot. That means 152 of its 2,184 employees could face getting fired if they do not meet the vaccine mandate deadline of October 18. Of those, only 91 are commissioned troopers.
King County Sheriff Deputy sends department-wide reply all e-mail against vaccine mandate
The original e-mail sent on Monday reminded KCSO employees they needed to submit their vaccination status so the department could make a staffing plan.
“Our planning process is hampered by lack of complete information because some have not yet provided evidence of vaccination,” the chiefs’ e-mail reads. “Again, we are hopeful that you have the required information but have not yet shared it with HR. One of our goals is to plan for possible separation in a way that is least likely to disrupt your city or precinct, and it is hard to do that without all the information.”
In his reply, Lefler indicated he had requested an exemption but had not gotten a response from King County, adding, “What [is[ King County is going to do about the thousands of us who have requested medical and/or religious exemptions.”
He then stated that being a sheriff deputy was equal to being under constant siege in war, called out King County Executive Dow Constantine, and called for the entire department to quit. Lefler then suggested that the vaccine mandate would lead to gun control and remove “CPO” (conceal carry permits).
“Anything goes once the precedent is set. I will fight for what is right, and you reading this know in your gut that I am right,” Lefler continues. “It’s not just about a jab in the arm. It’s about our very freedoms. This is about our right to self-determination and choice. God gave us these rights, but only if we are willing to fight for them.”
According to the website Together We Served, Lafer was in Marine Corps from 2001 to 2005 and served in Iraq. The unit he was with deployed to Fallujah and Ramadi during his tour at the height of the Iraqi insurrection. It is worth noting that Lefler would have been required to take the Emergency Use Authorized Anthrax vaccine as part of his military service and could have used Nerve Agent antidotes as part of his military tour.
All US service members are required to be vaccinated against Covid-19 by December.
Sgt. Tim Meyer e-mailed the South Seattle Emerald after the original story was published.
“KCSO appreciates Sgt. Lefler’s years of service and the difficult decision he is trying to make for himself and his family,” Meyer’s e-mail to the Emerald reads. “We do not have ‘thousands’ of deputies, rather we employ roughly 750. We hope we don’t lose any of them. As our members struggle with the decision to comply with the Executive’s mandate, we know some would like to believe that the Sheriff and her command staff have the power to get the mandate rescinded. That is not possible.”
Approximately 100 KCSO employees have applied for Covid-19 vaccine exemptions.
19 state and municipal workers file lawsuit over vaccine mandate
The suit lists as defendants Governor Inslee, Spokane Fire Chief Brian Schaeffer, Washington State Patrol Chief John Batiste, and other leaders of state agencies.
The suit claims “the plaintiffs are on the brink of having adverse employment action against them. It claims that in each case, “a form of disability or sincere religious belief requires them to decline vaccination.”
The group of workers comprises Washington State Patrol troopers, Spokane firefighters, and employees of other state agencies, including the Department of Social and Health Services.
Virtually none of the lawsuits filed at a federal level have been successful at blocking a vaccine mandate. The 1905 United States Supreme Court ruling of Jacobson versus Massachusetts cemented the rights of municipalities, counties, and states to mandate vaccines and other public health measures.
Federal medical team of 8 nurses and 10 certified nursing assistants deployed in Spokane
The team of eight nurses and 10 certified nursing assistants (CNA), and eight nurses will be deployed to the Avalon Care Center in North Spokane. The medical staff is from ACI Federal, according to the Washington Department of Health (DOH). According to the DOH, these are not federal resources but are available through a federal contract. Avalon Care Center will pay for the nurses.
Travel Advisories
Today, we are lifting our travel advisory to Yakima, Klickitat, Benton, Franklin, and Walla Walla Counties. We continue to recommend when visiting those counties, you use reasonable caution and don’t engage in dangerous activities.
We continue to recommend avoiding recreational travel to Spokane County. We strongly advise against all nonessential travel to Alaska, Idaho, and Montana. Hospital resources in these regions are constrained, and you may receive inadequate care if you experience a medical emergency.
We continue to monitor the situation in the East Hospital Region and may expand our travel advisory beyond Spokane County.
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 vaccine booster shots are now available
Booster shots for eligible individuals are now available statewide. Individuals who received both doses of the Pfizer vaccine more than six months ago, are 65 or older, or are immunocompromised can receive their third dose immediately.
In the Kirland-Bellevue-Woodinville area, Walgreens, Rite-Aid, Bartell’s, and QFC are offering booster shots. Additionally, the third dose is available at the CVS located within the Target store at 17,700 NE 76th Street in Redmond.
Most locations require an appointment, which can be scheduled online.
King County, Washington is reporting over 86.7% 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 are free for anyone over 12 years old, and no appointment is necessary at most locations. 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 17.4% of patients have Covid-19. Statewide, hospitals have the staff to support approximately 665 additional acute care patients. ICUs are at 88.1% of capacity statewide, with 30.0% of ICU patients fighting Covid-19 – an estimated 353 patients with 57% on ventilators. The state has the staff to support approximately 142 additional ICU patients.
The 7-day rolling average hospital admission rate for new COVID patients was 123. The Department of Health reported 1,199 Covid-19 patients statewide on October 5, with 200 on 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%
There was very little change in the status of Hospital Regions overnight, with the East and Northwest Hospital Regions below the threshold of issuing a travel advisory.
– Bell Elementary (1*) – Barton Elementary (1*) – Dickinson/Explorer Elementary (1*) – Ella Baker Elementary (1*) – Eastlake High (2*) – Finn Hill Middle School (3*) – Franklin Elementary (2*) – Frost Elementary (2*) – ICS (1*) – Inglewood Middle School (1*) – Juanita Elementary (1*) – Kamiakin Middle School (4*) – Keller Elementary (2*) – Kirkland Middle School (1* see notes) – Lakeview Elementary (4*) – McAuliffe Elementary (1*) – Muir Elementary (1*) – Northstar Middle (1*) – Redmond Elementary (2*) – Redmond Middle School (1*) – Redmond High School (2*) – Renaissance Middle School (1*) – Rosa Parks Elementary (1*) – Rush Elementary (1*)
see notes below
None
Northshore
YELLOW
– Arrowhead Elementary (4) – Bothell High School (42**) – Canyon Creek Elementary (23) – Canyon Park Middle School (6) – Cottage Lake Elementary (3) – Crystal Springs Elementary (26) – East Ridge Elementary (12) – Fernwood Elementary (1) – Frank Love Elementary (17) – Hollywood Hills Elementary (27) – Inglemoor High School (1) – Innovation Lab High School (1) – Kenmore Elementary (3) – Kenmore Middle School (25) – Leota Middle School (4) – Lockwood Elementary (40**) – Maywood Hills Elementary (29) – Moorlands Elementary (1) – North Creek High School (5) – Northshore Family Partnership (30) – Northshore Middle School (2) – Secondary Academy for Success (5) – Shelton View Elementary (5) – Skyview Middle School (12) – Sunrise Elementary (9) – Timbercrest Middle School (5) – Wellington Elementary (26) – Westhill Elementary (50) – Woodin Elementary (16**) – Woodinville High School (11) – Woodmoor Elementary (12)
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 10 active COVID cases reported into the red, and we’ve adjusted the third column to reflect this change.
Bellevue School District added two more confirmed Covid-19 cases at Highland Middle School, for a total of eight. Additionally, a confirmed case was reported at Ardmore Elementary School.
The Northshore School District added multiple schools to their report. Lockwood Elementary reported three more confirmed cases this morning, bringing the count to nine. Bothell High School and Woodin Elementary each have six confirmed cases.
We have a parent confirmed report of a single Covid-19 case at Kirkland Middle School, with an additional 17 students quarantined.
We multiple parents e-mailed us about two confirmed Covid-19 cases at Juanita High School. However, because the district sent the e-mail on Monday, we cannot confirm if these are new or included in the last dashboard update.
We continued to encourage parents to request improved daily data reporting from the Lake Washington School District.
Kirkland-Bellevue-Woodinville
The City of Kirkland has rolled out additional phases of its COVID-19 relief program to provide immediate financial assistance for small businesses, thanks to funding available through the American Rescue Plan Act. A limited number of $1,000 to $10,000 grants are now available for small Kirkland-based businesses behind on rent for the commercial properties they lease. To start the application process, businesses should go to www.kirklandwa.gov/business-help to complete and submit the intake form between October 5 – October 19, 2021. Program funds may only be used as a payment against a small business tenant’s past-due rent due to COVID-19 economic hardship experienced between March 1, 2020, to September 30, 2021. Note that the application process requires the cooperation of tenants and landlords, and payments will be made to the landlord.
“The pandemic has had a profound impact on many of our businesses, making it difficult for some to keep up with rent and stay in their current locations,” said Deputy Mayor Jay Arnold. “Our hope is that by passing federal relief funding directly to businesses and landlords that these businesses can get the foothold they need to thrive in our Kirkland community.”
For questions about the small business rent relief grant program, contact businesssupport@kirklandwa.gov (425) 587-3266 or the City’s Business Response Team at (206) 686-3424.
National Round-Up
Johns Hopkins University Cumulative Case Tracker is reporting 95,756 new cases and 1,916 deaths nationwide on Wednesday. As of October 4, the CDC reported 65,162 hospitalized Covid-19 patients in the United States, down 13.6% from the week before. The number of Covid-19 related deaths decreased 3.3%, indicating that the Delta variant surge is ending.
Maryland man accused of killing 3 due to alleged belief of Covid-19 vaccine conspiracies
According to arrest documents, Burnham’s mother told investigators that he wanted to confront his brother – a pharmacist – because he purportedly helped administer vaccines.
Burnham had told their mother he believed the government was poisoning people with vaccines, and he “repeatedly stated, “Brian knows something!” – police say.
Investigators say a tipster alerted Maryland State Police that Burnham had arrived at his home in a red Corvette, and said that “his brother had been ‘killing people with the COVID shot.'”
Burnham has been charged with two counts of first-degree murder and two counts of second-degree murder and the use of a handgun in the commission of a crime.
“Clearly there’s a link, there’s some sort of mechanism that makes the diseases fuel one another,” Francesco Rubino chair of metabolic surgery at King’s College London, told Insider. “The question is whether new-onset diabetes could be caused by this virus.”
One theory was that the body could be confusing pancreas cells for the coronavirus, and trying to destroy them. This would disrupt insulin supply and cause diabetes, the scientists thought.
Remember “Covid Toe?” Doctors may have figured out what causes it
A small study published in the British Journal of Dermatology reported that researchers had identified the cause of Covid Toe and how to treat it.
Based on blood and skin tests, these latest study findings suggest two parts of the immune system may be at play.
One is an antiviral protein called type 1 interferon, and the other is an antibody that mistakenly attacks the person’s own cells and tissues, not just the invading virus.
Cells lining small blood vessels supplying the affected areas are also involved, say the investigators from the University of Paris, France.
The researchers studied 50 people with suspected Covid toe in the spring of 2020 and 13 others with similar lesions not linked to Covid infections because they occurred long before the pandemic began.
Alaska
New cases in Alaska still lead the nation but have declined significantly from last week. The state is still operating under “crisis standards of care” with 184 Covid-19 patients statewide. Alaska has 126 staffed ICU beds statewide, with 28 available. There were 867 new cases reported today, about equal to Tuesday. Over 10% of Covid-19 tests are coming back positive, indicating under testing is accelerating.
Before the current surge hit Alaska, it had the third-lowest death per capita in the United States. Six weeks later, the state is ranked 25th. More than 25% of all Covid-19 deaths reported in Alaska happened after August 1, 2021, despite the widespread availability of vaccines.
Hospitals in Anchorage, Bethel, and Valdez continue to be the most impacted by the ongoing surge.
Officials are also concerned by a rising test positivity rate, which is just below 10%.
California
Los Angeles leaders on Wednesday approved one of the nation’s strictest vaccine mandates — a sweeping measure that would require the shots for everyone entering bars, restaurants, nail salons, gyms, or even a Lakers game.
According to a report by NBC News, the City Council voted 11-2 in favor of the ordinance that will require proof of full vaccination by Nov. 4.
The move came after the council postponed a vote last week to deal with concerns ranging from who could be fined for violations to whether employees could end up in fist-fights when they have to serve as vaccine door monitors.
Florida
According to The Palm Beach Post, six weeks after Tamara Drock was admitted to Palm Beach Gardens Medical Center, the 47-year-old Loxahatchee woman is in a medically induced coma and tethered to a ventilator.
It was an outcome that her husband, Ryan, tried to prevent.
“No ventilators,” he said of his orders to the hospital staff.
With his hope and his wife’s options running out, Drock on Friday filed suit in Palm Beach County Circuit Court to force the hospital to give his wife the drug that he believes helped him and others recover from the highly contagious respiratory disease.
“I think it’s worth a shot,” Drock said. “I don’t have anything to lose.”
The second-largest study to date for the effectiveness of ivermectin against COVID, which has received multiple peer reviews, indicated that ivermectin had no meaningful impact and for sicker patients created worse outcomes. The study done in Argentina was randomized, double-blind, and placebo-controlled – the gold standard. The report concluded the only statistical difference was subjects taking ivermectin who became moderately to severely ill required mechanical ventilation much sooner than the placebo group.
Only one court case in Ohio successfully forced a hospital to administer ivermectin, and two weeks later, the judge reversed his decision.
Idaho
Governor Brad Little reversed Lt. Governor Janice McGeachin’s executive orders banning vaccine passports or mandatory Covid-19 testing at K-12 schools and universities in Idaho, eight minutes after he landed in Boise.
McGeachin also tried to activate the National Guard to deploy Idaho troops, already assisting with the Covid-19 surge, to the Mexico border. According to The Independent, the commanding general of the Idaho National Guard told McGeachin she can’t activate troops to send to the U.S.-Mexico border.
Idaho has reported more than 1,000 new Covid-19 cases per day for the last 27 days. The 7 day moving average has reached 1,320.6 cases per day and is likely higher due to a backlog of more than 8,200 tests.
Idaho now has 715 Covid-19 patients, down from a peak of almost 800 at the end of September. The state has 170 staffed ICU beds and reported 184 ICU patients. At St. Luke’s, the mortality rate for people in the ICU has reached 40%, and 98% of ICU patients are unvaccinated.
Almost a month after Kootenai Health declared it was moving to crisis standards of care, the number of Covid-19 patients they are treating has increased, according to a report by KTVB.
“150 COVID patients is about 75 percent of our normal pre-COVID bed capacity for med surge admissions,” said Jeremy Evans, Kootenai Health’s Chief Regional Operations Officer. “Today, we have got 44 critical care patients and 17 on ventilators. It continues to amaze me how our medical staff, our clinical staff, and our leaders, are able to accommodate this surge.”
Evans added that around 10 to 20 patients are admitted to the hospital for COVID-19 treatments each day.
“We have seen a lot of deaths, we are averaging about one a day in the COVID population, I spent the last week in the ICU and it’s a very hard place to work right now it’s just a constant struggle to take care of these patients on a daily basis,” said Robert Scoggins, the Medical Director of the ICU.
According to Boise Public Radio, unvaccinated Idahoans continue to be hospitalized at five and a half times the rate of vaccinated people, straining the hospital systems and overwhelming health care workers. Yet, misinformation and anger continue to spread throughout the state — with hateful acts targeted at the doctors and nurses working to treat those infected.
Boise Public Radio’s program Idaho Matters was joined by Dr. David Pate, former CEO of St. Luke’s Health System and a current member of the Idaho Coronavirus Task Force, and Dr. Frank Johnson, Chief Medical Officer for St. Luke’s Boise, Elmore and McCall.
While Alaska appears to have peaked and Idaho is on a plateau, Montana continues to deteriorate. According to KPAX, the state has 11,550 active cases and added 30 more hospitalized patients overnight, raising the number to 444 – a new record. Over 5% of Montanans who have tested positive for Covid-19 have ended up hospitalized.
National Guard troops have been deployed to Great Falls and Livingston to aid with expanding surge of cases.
Ohio
Jeffrey Smith, 51, who was at the center of a lawsuit forcing a Cinncinati hospital to treat him with ivermectin, died on September 25 of Covid-19, according to KXAN.
Jeffrey Smith’s wife, Julie Smith, claimed she offered to sign documents releasing all other parties, doctors, and the hospital from all liability related to the Ivermectin treatment and dosage. But the hospital declined. Smith said her husband, who was on a ventilator, had a very slim chance of survival, and she was willing to try anything to keep him alive.
Judge Gregory Howard ordered West Chester Hospital to give Smith 30 milligrams of ivermectin every day for three weeks, even though there is no supporting evidence that it treats Covid-19.
Another Butler County judge reversed Howard’s decision in September, saying ivermectin didn’t show “convincing evidence” in treating COVID-19. Butler County Judge Michael Oster said in his ruling, “judges are not doctors or nurses… public policy should not and does not support allowing a physician to try ‘any’ type of treatment on human beings.”
Like Alaska, Montana, and Idaho, hospitals are tipping over into “crisis standards of care.” Cody Regional Health and Memorial Hospital of Sweetwater County reported they continue to move from “contingency care” to “crisis standards of care” as the situation changes.
Misinformation
A common reason for refusing to get vaccinated is the belief that the government is mandating vaccination but does not accept any liability for vaccine injuries. Is that true?
The short answer, no.
The Health Resources and Services Administration is a federal program that provides compensation to people who have suffered a serious vaccine injury or surviving family members. The program has existed for years and is known as the Countermeasures Injury Compensation Program (CICP).
Federal declarations issued by the Secretary of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services specify the countermeasures covered by the Program. Declarations have been issued for medical countermeasures against the following vaccinations.
COVID-19
Marburg
Ebola
Nerve Agents and Certain Insecticides (Organophophorus and/or Carbamate)
Claims filed under CICP for lost income are capped at $50,000 per year and won’t provide compensation for pain, suffering, emotional distress, or similar damages. According to the Washington Post, there have been 686 claims filed in CICP.
Our live webcast from the Seattle Anarchist Jurisdiction
The show from December 31, 2020, featured guest host, Jennifer Smith. This special edition of Malcontentment Happy Hour was a countdown of the top five stories we covered in 2020.
COVID-19 predictions from March 2020
May 30, 2020, George Floyd protests in Seattle
Seattle CHOP – May 30 to July 4
Seattle Labor Day March and our CCO gets doxxed
Political fallout in Seattle from 2020
We also had four runner-ups.
Life is stranger than fiction – Yakkity Yak and the Portland Police Department
Matthew, the religious protester who was everywhere in 2020
The city of Seattle was found to be in contempt of court for multiple uses of force violations by a federal judge. The violations represent four distinct incidents, two on September 7, one on September 22, and one on September 23. The city of Seattle has until December 11 to respond and the federal court will issue a remedy on or by December 18.
Journalists, activists, and researchers defending the First Amendment
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