Photo Credit: Quentin Melson – Own work, CC BY-SA 4.0
[NEWSROOM] – (MTN) The rural town of Elberton, Georgia was rocked by a large explosion at 4 AM, which caused significant damage to the Georgia Guidestones, sometimes referred to as America’s Stonehenge. The Guidestones was commissioned in 1979 by an unknown eccentric. After its installation in 1980, the site has been an oddity, a tourist trap, and an increasing focal point of QAnon and New World Order conspiracy theorists.
The Georgia Bureau of Investigation released a statement indicating agents had found evidence that explosives were used to damage the site.
“The preliminary information indicates that unknown individuals detonated an explosive device at around 4:00 a.m. on Wednesday, July 6th. Elbert County Sheriff’s Office personnel responded to discover the explosion destroyed a large portion of the structure.”
July 6, 2022 – Georgia bureau of investigation
The Georgia Guidestones were commissioned by a man using the alias of R. C. Christian. He worked with an area banker to buy up farmland in rural northeastern Georgia and commissioned Elberton Granite to produce the monument. As the Cold War with the Soviet Union simmered, Christian wanted to create a “guide” for the survivors of a post-nuclear apocalypse world.
Inscribed on four massive granite slabs, were ten recommendations for the post-nuclear survivors, written in English, Spanish, Swahili, Hindi, Hebrew, Arabic, Traditional Chinese, and Russian. The instructions carved into the stones were simplistic.
Maintain humanity under 500,000,000 in perpetual balance with nature.
Guide reproduction wisely — improving fitness and diversity.
Unite humanity with a living new language.
Rule passion — faith — tradition — and all things with tempered reason.
Protect people and nations with fair laws and just courts.
Let all nations rule internally resolving external disputes in a world court.
Avoid petty laws and useless officials.
Balance personal rights with social duties.
Prize truth — beauty — love — seeking harmony with the infinite.
Be not a cancer on the Earth — Leave room for nature — Leave room for nature.
Elberton Granite wasn’t interested in the project, and allegedly provided a quote four times higher than the normal cost. To the company’s surprise, Christian agreed. The property where the Guidestones were placed was owned by Wayne Mullenix. Mullenix and his children were given lifetime grazing rights to the five-acre site as part of the purchase agreement.
The site was considered an oddity by most, and as the threat of the Cold War faded away, so did the understanding of why the stones were commissioned in the first place.
The idea of leaving messages behind for a post-nuclear war society wasn’t unique to a cow pasture in Georgia. In 1981 the Human Interference Task Force recommended that nuclear waste sites have warnings at their perimeter that could survive 10,000 years. The proposed stone pillars would be carved with glyphs that a more primitive society could understand. They would contain a message that the area they surround has no value, is dangerous, and should not be disturbed for any reason.
Conspiracy theories about the stones started multiplying on the Internet in 2008. Theories included they were created by a shadowy cabal who want to build a “new world order,” a manifesto to create a tribal global government, to a Satanic monument calling for the death of billions of people. the site was vandalized in 2008 with the message “Death to the New World Order,” written in red paint. The stones were defaced again in 2014. In 2015 a documentary claimed the stones were created by white supremacists connected to the Ku Klux Klan.
The rise of QAnon and the COVID-19 pandemic caused conspiracy theories to spread faster. In darker corners of the Internet, the sharing of theories morphed into calls for action.
During the 2022 Georgia gubernatorial primaries, Republican candidate Kandiss Taylor made the destruction of the Guidestones a pillar of her platform. On her campaign website, she posted a video on Rumble explaining Executive Order #10, “Demolish the Satanic Georgia Guidestones.”
Campaign page of failed Georgia governor candidate Kandiss Taylor, published on May 1, 2022, called for the destruction of the Georgia Guidestones
I am the ONLY candidate bold enough to stand up to the Luciferian Cabal.
Elect me Governor of Georgia, and I will bring the Satanic Regime to its knees— and DEMOLISH the Georgia Guidestones.
Taylor celebrated the bombing, tweeting, “God is God all by Himself. He can do ANYTHING He wants to do. That includes striking down Satanic Guidestones.”
God is God all by Himself. He can do ANYTHING He wants to do. That includes striking down Satanic Guidestones.
The site is owned and cared for by Elbert County. Government officials have repeatedly expressed no desire to remove the stones as public pressure has increased. Elberton is called the Granite Capital of the World and business leaders consider the post-nuclear war instructions free advertising. Almost 25% of Elberton residents live below the federal poverty line with a median household income of $23,250 a year and the town’s population has been declining since 1960. Whether people travel two hours from Atlanta to visit the site because they love it or hate it, tourism has become a critical source of income for Elberton’s 4,600 residents.
“It’s sad,” Kubas said. “Not just for Elberton and Elbert County, but I’m sad for the United States and the world. These were tourist attractions, and it was not uncommon for people from around the world to be up here at any given time.”
Kubas said the site has security cameras and expressed hope that they would help identify the suspect or suspects.
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) On November 24 the fifth wave came to an end with Washington state falling below high transmission for COVID. Despite the good news and 26 counties with moderate to low transmission rates, the number of new Covid-19 cases mostly among the unvaccinated is well above spring 2021 levels. Across the United States, epidemiologists are open about their worry of normal travel, family gatherings, and surging cases where the weather has turned cold.
In Washington, new case rates among every age group fell below high transmission for the first time since Malcontent News started tracking the data. Rates among the most vaccinated population, those 65 and older are the lowest while infection rates for children birth to 19 are the highest.
Six GOP state senators, five that are unvaccinated, are suing over announced COVID protocols in Olympia for the upcoming legislative session.
Officials in two counties are reporting significant Covid-19 outbreaks in their jails, and the Department of Corrections has had 94 cases at Cedar Creek Correction Center in the last 30 days. Staff at county jails outside of King County are not required to be vaccinated.
Almost 1 in 6 children 5 to 11 in Washington state have received their first dose of the Pfizer COVID vaccine in under two weeks.
A Washington paper mill has been fined almost $140,000 after an investigation into a Covid-19 outbreak at the facility that left one worker dead.
KING 5 did an investigation into a medical clinic in Ellensburg which revealed Dr. Anna Elperin allegedly running a COVID vaccine medical exemption mill. Dr. Elperin was charging patients $150 to $200 cash for exemptions.
No promotional consideration has been given, or requested from the n95 project or any manufacturer of masks
Washington State Update for November 24, 2021
Washington state Covid-19 update
Over 11.75 million people have traveled by air since Friday with Thanksgiving kicking off the holiday season tomorrow. AAA predicts another 48.3 million will travel by car, only slightly below the 49.9 million who took to the road in 2019 before COVID. All eyes will be on new case rate numbers late next week.
New cases in Washington are at the lowest level since late July, but higher than where experts had hoped they would be at this point. The data continues to support that 70% or more of the total population has a significant impact on reducing the transmission of COVID.
Percent of Total Population Fully Vaccinated
Total Population in Group
Average 14-Day New Case Rate
70.00% or above (3 counties)
2,343,250
143.8
60.00% to 69.99% (5 counties)
1,374,000
302.7
50.00% to 59.99% (16 counties)
3,532,200
252.9
40.00% to 49.99% (9 counties)
375,575
259.8
32.00% to 39.99% (6 counties)
151,850
224.5
14-Day New Covid-19 Cases per 100K average by Vaccination Rate for Total Population, Adjusted for Population by County
Through November 23, Washington’s statewide 14-day rolling average is 228.7 Covid-19 cases per 100K, and the 7 day rolling average is 83.7. You can mark November 23, 2021 on you calendar as the day the fifth wave ended in Washington state.
Only Chelan (452.6) and Douglas (446.9) Counties have new case rates over 400.0.
Twenty-six counties representing 5.35 million Washingtonians have a 7 day moving average case rate under 100. Also in good news, every age group is now below “high transmission” rates. New case rates remain higher among people under 50 years old.
Age Group
7-Day Case Rate
7-Day Hospitalization Rate
Ages 0-11
97.8
0.5
Ages 12-19
92.3
0.5
Ages 20-34
94.7
2.2
Ages 35-49
96.2
4.6
Ages 50-64
72.7
7.4
Ages 65-79
48.8
10.2
Ages 80+
57.3
21.0
7-day case rate and 7-day hospitalization rate is per 100K within the age group – the target for 7-day case rate is <25.0, but there are other factors such as vaccination rates within the age groups, how many total tests within the 7-day period, and the positivity rate within each age group
Six GOP state senators suing over Washington House’s Covid-19 protocols
Six GOP state representatives including anti-vaccination event favorite Bob Walsh are suing Democratic leaders over COVID protocols outlined for the upcoming legislative session. Five of the six plaintiffs are unvaccinated according to their lawsuit.
The plan allows a limited number of vaccinated members to be on the floor, but the exact number will be “maximized based on needs for social distancing.” Unvaccinated members who wish to be in their on-campus offices during the session must receive a negative test three days a week. Members will not need access to the floor to vote on bills.
The measure was approved last Thursday by the Executive Rules Committee. House Speaker Laurie Jinkins has said the lawsuit is “without merit” and her focus will be on 2022.
Multiple COVID outbreaks among Washington State prisons and county jails
Outbreaks of Covid-19 among inmates have been reported at three different correctional institutions in Washington state.
Clark County Jail in Vancouver, Washington reported there are approximately 30 inmates who are COVID positive.
In Yakima, the Yakima County Jail reported 47 inmates and 4 staffers had Covid-19.
In Littlerock, the Cedar Creek Corrections Center has reported 94 confirmed COVID cases over the last 30 days.
Almost 1 in 6 Washington kids age 5 to 11 have received their first dose of the COVID vax
Two weeks after vaccinations for 5 to 11-year-olds were authorized by the FDA, the DOH is reporting 101,103 eligible children have received their first dose, about 15% of all eligible kids in Washington.
The Pfizer vaccine Emergency Use Authorization (EUA) was amended to include 5 to 11-year-olds. They receive two smaller doses and reach fully vaccinated after five weeks. Initial data indicates that due to the stronger immune response of children and adolescents, a booster or third dose is not needed. That could change with time or if another variant emerges that is vaccine-resistant.
Washington paper mill fined $140,000 after L&I investigation into COVID deaths
An inspection by the Department of Labor & Industries reportedly revealed that during March and April, 15 workers who worked at the same machine at WestRock Services LLC tested positive for COVID-19. Of the 15, one worker reportedly died and two others were hospitalized from complications of the virus. Neither the death nor the hospitalizations were allegedly reported to L&I as required.
The inspection also reportedly revealed that in one instance, a machine operator recovering from coronavirus told WestRock’s onsite nurse he was having difficulty walking, was in pain, and was having shortness of breath, while another worker at the same machine had already been sent home after testing positive for COVID-19 the same morning.
L&I fined WestRock $139,832.00 for not following COVID-19 protocols and failing to report a death and hospitalizations to L&I. A formal complaint was filed with the Nursing Care Quality Assurance Commission under the Washington State Department of Health due to concerns about the nurse’s actions.
Investigation into Ellensburg clinic reveals alleged medical exemption mill
A months-long investigation by KING 5 of Dr. Anna Elperin, owner of Awake Health in Ellensburg, revealed a disturbing pattern of charging patients $150 to $200 cash only for medical exemptions without examination.
Over the fall, four different undercover investigators visited the clinic seeking medical exemptions. They had to pay $150 cash upfront, and found the staff not wearing masks, few questions asked, and in one case, the exemption is just written with no exam.
Dr. Elperin has attended numerous protests about masks, vaccines, and mandates, and told employees and patients that she believes it is a hoax
KING 5 reported that 20% of all medical exemption requests at Central Washington University were signed off by Dr. Elperin. The investigation also revealed that most wasted their money, having their exemption requests rejected.
Labor and Industries have had 12 complaints about Awake Health and took no action on ten. On Wednesday KING 5 reported that L&I had opened up an investigation and did a surprise inspection.
Second mass COVID testing site opens up in Spokane
A second mass COVID-19 testing will open in Spokane Valley on Friday at the Spokane County Fair and Expo Center on Havana Street according to a report by KXLY.
The site will be operated by Discovery Health MD and will offer lab-based PCR tests for anyone who has symptoms or has been exposed to COVID-19. Test results are usually available within 48-72 hours and are provided through a secure online portal.
Travel Advisories
Due to the impact of severe flooding, a forecast indicating more flooding, and strained hospital resources, we are maintaining the travel advisory for the Northwest Hospital Region. The region includes Clallam, Jefferson, Kitsap, and Mason counties.
We continue to advise to avoid all nonessential travel to Alaska, Colorado, Idaho, and Montana. Hospital resources in these states remain constrained, and you may receive inadequate care if you experience a serious medical emergency.
Finally, we continue to recommend avoiding recreational travel to Wyoming. The situation continues to improve but hospital resources remain constrained.
Thank you
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!
King County, Washington is reporting over 85.0% of age eligible residents are vaccinated with at least one dose. The highest rates of positivity are in areas with low vaccination rates statewide. The FDA has provided full approval of the Pfizer vaccine for anyone 16 and over and EUA approval for the Moderna and Johnson & Johnson vaccines. The Pfizer vaccine has EUA approval for children 5 to 15 years old.
COVID vaccines and boosters are free for anyone 5 and older. Lyft and Hopelink provide free transportation, and KinderCare, the Learning Care Group, and the YMCA offer free childcare during vaccination appointments or recuperation.
Overall hospital status continues to improve with the Olympic Peninsula remaining highly stressed. The DOH reported 90.8% of staffed acute care beds were occupied with 11.6% of patients infected with Covid-19. There are 740 COVID patients statewide with an estimated 238 in the ICU – 123 requiring ventilators.
Statewide, there are an estimated 627 acute care and 134 ICU beds available.
On Wednesday, the 7 day rolling average hospital admission rate for new COVID patients had dropped to 63.
Hospital status by region – ICU Occupancy should be below 80%, ICU COVID Patients should be below 20%, Acute Care Occupancy should be below 80%, and Acute Care COVID Patients should be below 10%
– Alcott (3*/11) – Audubon (1*/7) – Blackwell (2*/3) – Carson (1*/3) – Clara Barton (4*/24) – Eastlake High (1*/17) – Ella Baker (2*/4) – Evergreen Middle School (1*/0) – Finn Hill Middle School (5) – Inglewood Middle School (5**/34) – Juanita High (1*/12) – Kamiakin Middle School (2*/27) – Kirk Elementary (3*/13) – Kirkland Middle School (1*/10) – Lakeview Elementary (1*/1) – Lake Washington High School (3*/7) – McAuliffe (2*/6) – Northstar Middle School (12) – Redmond High School (1*/12) – Renaissance Middle School (1*/6) – Rose Hill Middle (1*/7) – Rush Elementary (3*/0) – Sandburg/Discovery (1*/4) – Smith Elementary (1*/9)
None
Northshore
YELLOW
– Bothell High School (4*/11) – Canyon Creek Elementary (4*/14) – Canyon Park Middle School (1*/4) – Crystal Springs Elementary (4*/8) – Eastridge Elementary (1*/2) – Fernwood Elementary (1*/3) – Frank Love Elementary (2*/18) – Inglemoor High School (1*/0) – Kenmore Middle School (0/2) – Kokanee Elementary (1*/2) – Leota Middle School (0/3) – Maywood Hills Elementary (8**/7) – Moorlands Elementary (0/3) – North Creek High School (1*/1) – Northshore Middle School (1*/8) – Ruby Bridges Elementary (2*/2) – Skyview Middle School (0/2) – Sunrise Elementary (1*/2) – Timbercrest Middle School (2*/5) – Wellington Elementary (3*/5) – Westhill Elementary (3*/0) – Woodin Elementary (1*/1) – Woodinville High School (2*/1) – Woodmoor Elementary (1*/6)
Local Districts Scorecard – * indicates positive cases only ** indicates 5 or more confirmed positive cases – (x*/y) x is positive cases and 7 quarantined, quarantined does not include positive cases
We redefined the school district statuses. Information for classroom and building closures has been a challenge to obtain, both for closures and reopening. We are adopting moving any school with more than ten active COVID cases reported into the red, and we’ve adjusted the third column to reflect this change.
Based on reader feedback, and improvement in the data we are receiving, we have adjusted how we are reporting data. The Lake Washington and Northshore School Districts are now reported as (X*/Y) or (X**/Y). X represents the number of positive cases while Y represents how many are in quarantine. The number in quarantine does not include positive cases. If there are two asterisks, that indicates five or more confirmed cases within the last 14 days at that school.
The Northshore School District moved back to status yellow, with the outbreak at Maywood Hills Elementary under control. The Bellevue School District finishes out the week status green with eight confirmed cases districtwide.
The Lake Washington School District updates data once a week, and we’ve had no parent confirmed reports on new COVID cases this week.
We continued to encourage parents to request daily updates from the Lake Washington School District. This change would bring the three school districts we track into alignment.
Bellevue-Bothell-Kirkland-Woodinville local COVID news
No update
National Round-Up
Johns Hopkins University Cumulative Case Tracker reports 111,112 new cases and 1,633 deaths nationwide on Wednesday. The Delta variant continues to target the unvaccinated and a very small, but growing number of people vaccinated more than six months ago. New cases are up 14% since last week.
Knowledge is the best tool to fight against fear. A wise person chooses to be informed so they can make sound decisions. To join the fight against COVID misinformation, you can share this update through your social media platform of choice.
[KING COUNTY, Wash.] – (MTN) New cases declined slightly while hospitalizations now rest on a seven-day-old plateau as Washington approaches the end of the 21st month fighting Covid-19. Sixteen counties no longer have “high transmission” rates.
In state news, British Columbia and Washington have eased border crossing rules, waiving COVID test requirements at some crossings. Drivers who need to bypass road closures due to flooding and mudslides can cross the border without the required PCR test, but only if they agree they are transiting between border crossing.
Governor Inslee backed down from plans to use stricter measures for Washington employers with 100 or more workers, as the nation waits to see what happens to the Biden Administration’s OSHA Covid-19 vaccination requirements.
The Washington State Department of Health announced that free in-home COVID test kits will be made available in nine counties.
Locally, the Bellevue School District is down to five confirmed COVID cases districtwide between students and staff. In the Northshore School District, Maywood Elementary is dealing with a surge of new Covid-19 cases, with 11 cases, eight confirmed this week.
Nationally the number of new cases is up 14% and more governors provided guidance or directives to make booster shots available to all adults. The vaccination deadline is ten days away from the U.S. Navy and Marine Corps. The Pentagon reported 99% of sailors are vaccinated versus 93% of marines.
The NFL is dealing with another potential COVID scandal, with Tampa Bay Buccaneers wide receiver Antonio Brown accused of buying a fake vaccination card.
New Covid-19 case rates are showing a pattern of county hotspots instead of widespread transmission. As an example, Chelan County just rolled over 60% of all residents vaccinated this week but is dealing with a bump in new cases.
There remains a significant difference between lower-vaccinated counties and counties where at least 70% of the total population is fully inoculated.
If Washington state wants to ever get to a place of endemic spread, the data indicates the bare minimum vaccination rate would be 70% of the entire population.
Percent of Total Population Fully Vaccinated
Total Population in Group
Average 14-Day New Case Rate
70.00% or above (3 counties)
2,343,250
167.4
60.00% to 69.99% (4 counties)
1,242,200
328.5
50.00% to 59.99% (17 counties)
3,664,000
306.1
40.00% to 49.99% (9 counties)
375,575
285.1
31.80% to 39.99% (6 counties)
151,850
241.3
14-Day New Covid-19 Cases per 100K average by Vaccination Rate for Total Population, Adjusted for Population by County
Through November 17, Washington’s statewide 14-day rolling average is 264.5 Covid-19 cases per 100K. There are signs that a new plateau is forming with transmission rates too high coming into the start of the holiday travel season.
Chelan, Douglas, Klickitat, Lewis, Lincoln, Skagit, and Spokane counties have new case rates between 400.0 and 599.9. Okanogan and Grays Harbor Counties were just under 400.
Sixteen counties representing 3.52 million Washingtonians have a 7 day moving average case rate under 100.
The 7 day new case rate was unchanged and the hospitalization rate increased for elderly patients 80 and older..
Age Group
7-Day Case Rate
7-Day Hospitalization Rate
Ages 0-11
119.8
0.7
Ages 12-19
111.1
0.9
Ages 20-34
116.7
2.8
Ages 35-49
125.3
5.9
Ages 50-64
94.9
9.6
Ages 65-79
64.0
16.0
Ages 80+
66.0
25.7 (up)
7-day case rate and 7-day hospitalization rate is per 100K within the age group – the target for 7-day case rate is <25.0, but there are other factors such as vaccination rates within the age groups, how many total tests within the 7-day period, and the positivity rate within each age group
“Given the current situation in B.C., travelers who must transit through the United States to get to their residence in Canada are exempt from the COVID-19 pre-arrival test, the test in Canada, and quarantine requirements,” stated a Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA) spokesperson by email.
CBSA expects to be using pre-existing exemptions within federal government orders to apply to travelers who are simply transiting Washington State highways, such as between the Osoyoos border crossing and checkpoints entering Surrey.
Individuals will still need to present a valid passport to cross the international border.
Governor Inslee backs down on expansion of OSHA vaccine and test requirements
During media availability today, Governor Jay Inslee indicated the state was backing down on expanding pending Biden Administration rules that would require companies with more than 100 employees to have vaccinated staff or rest weekly. Earlier the governor had said the state was considering removing the testing requirement and applying the same standard to medium and large private employers that are required for state employees.
The new OSHA rules that were supposed to go into effect on January 5, 2022 are in limbo. The 5th Circuit Court of Appeals upheld a stay of the mandate, calling it “staggeringly overbroad,” saying it failed to account for the different levels of risk faced by workers in different workplace settings. The court ruled OSHA may not implement the mandate unless another court overturns the ruling.
The 6th Circuit Court was selected using a ping pong ball to hear the broader case, which will likely head to the Supreme Court.
Nine Washington counties offering free at-home Covid-19 test kits
Nine counties in the northeastern, south central, and southwestern parts of Washington will offer free at-home COVID tests to residents.
Kira Lewis, a public health nurse at the Spokane Regional Health District, says at-home tests take about 10 minutes, and could be taken Thanksgiving or Christmas morning before going over to a family member’s house.
“More testing in the community that’s accessible to all members of the public helps people make good decisions about their social lives and interacting with others,” she said. “That is important for the individual and it’s important for our community as a whole moving forward, continuing to have high rates of transmission in our area. We need to meet that with high rates of available testing.”
The nine counties are Adams, Benton, Cowlitz, Ferry, Franklin, Okanogan, Pend Oreille, Spokane, and Stevens.
Travel Advisories
Due to severe flooding and strained hospital resources, we are maintaining the travel advisory for the Northwest Hospital Region. The region includes Clallam, Jefferson, Kitsap, and Mason counties.
We continue to advise to avoid all nonessential travel to Alaska, Colorado, Idaho, and Montana. Hospital resources in these states remain constrained, and you may receive inadequate care if you experience a serious medical emergency.
Finally, we continue to recommend avoiding recreational travel to Wyoming. The situation continues to improve but hospital resources remain constrained.
Thank you
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
More states open up booster shots to all adults
Kentucky, Louisiana, Maine, Massachusetts, Vermont, and Utah joined eight other states already opening up booster shots to all adults, as more governors try to get ahead of the start of a sixth wave.
New York and Rhode Island haven’t made boosters available to all adults statewide, but are asking healthcare providers not to turn anyone away in counties with high transmission rates.
If you are eligible for a Covid-19 booster shot Malcontent News strongly encourages you to not delay getting your second or third dose. It is fast, free, and easy. There is growing evidence that the half-life of Covid-19 vaccines is six to ten months, and the half-life for so-called natural immunity is 5 to 7 months.
According to the Washington State Department of Health, through November 7, 675,000 residents have received their Covid-19 booster. Over 1.8 million adults in Washington have a BMI of 25 or higher or are older than 65.
King County, Washington is reporting over 83.5% of age eligible residents are vaccinated with at least one dose. The highest rates of positivity are in areas with low vaccination rates statewide. The FDA has provided full approval of the Pfizer vaccine for anyone 16 and over and EUA approval for the Moderna and Johnson & Johnson vaccines. The Pfizer vaccine has EUA approval for children 5 to 15 years old.
COVID vaccines and boosters are free for anyone 5 and older. Lyft and Hopelink provide free transportation, and KinderCare, the Learning Care Group, and the YMCA offer free childcare during vaccination appointments or recuperation.
Hospital readiness continues to slowly improve except on the Olympic Peninsula. Although the number of COVID patients under care is in decline, the total number of hospitalized patients is unchanged due to deferred elective surgeries, increased movement among the population creating more injuries, and other wintertime diseases.
According to the DoH COVID Dashboard, 91.2% of all staffed acute care beds are occupied, and 12.3% of patients have Covid-19. Statewide, hospitals have the staff to support approximately 633 additional acute care patients.
ICUs are at 87.6% of capacity statewide, with 20.2% of ICU patients fighting Covid-19 – an estimated 238 patients with 49.1% on ventilators. The state has the staff to support approximately 147 additional ICU patients.
On Wednesday, the 7 day rolling average hospital admission rate for new COVID patients was 89. The Department of Health reported 882 Covid-19 patients statewide with 117 requiring ventilators. The number of hospitalized Covid-19 patients has been in the mid-800s to low-900s for seven days in a row.
Hospital status by region – ICU Occupancy should be below 80%, ICU COVID Patients should be below 20%, Acute Care Occupancy should be below 80%, and Acute Care COVID Patients should be below 10%
School Readiness
School District
Status
Less than 10 Active Cases
10 or More Active Cases
Bellevue
GREEN
– Bennett (1*) – Bellevue (1*) – International (1*) – Puesta del Sol (1*) – Somerset (1*)
None
Lake Washington
YELLOW
– Alcott (3*/11) – Audubon (1*/7) – Blackwell (2*/3) – Carson (1*/3) – Clara Barton (4*/24) – Eastlake High (1*/17) – Ella Baker (2*/4) – Evergreen Middle School (1*/0) – Finn Hill Middle School (5) – Inglewood Middle School (5**/34) – Juanita High (1*/12) – Kamiakin Middle School (2*/27) – Kirk Elementary (3*/13) – Kirkland Middle School (1*/10) – Lakeview Elementary (1*/1) – Lake Washington High School (3*/7) – McAuliffe (2*/6) – Northstar Middle School (12) – Redmond High School (1*/12) – Renaissance Middle School (1*/6) – Rose Hill Middle (1*/7) – Rush Elementary (3*/0) – Sandburg/Discovery (1*/4) – Smith Elementary (1*/9)
None
Northshore
RED
– Arrowhead Elementary (0/1) – Bothell High School (5**/9) – Canyon Creek Elementary (4*/24) – Canyon Park Middle School (1*/12) – Crystal Springs Elementary (3*/34) – Eastridge Elementary (1*/3) – Fernwood Elementary (1*/2) – Frank Love Elementary (0/6) – Hollywood Hills Elementary (2*/0) – Inglemoor High School (4*/1) – Kenmore Middle School (1*/2) – Kokanee Elementary (1*/1) – Leota Middle School (2*/1) – Moorlands Elementary (0/5) – North Creek High School (2*/8) – Northshore Middle School (1*/9) – Ruby Bridges Elementary (1*/4) – Shelton View Elementary (0/1) – Skyview Middle School (0/1) – Sunrise Elementary (1*/4) – Timbercrest Middle School (2*/8) – Wellington Elementary (1*/5) – Westhill Elementary (2*/3) – Woodin Elementary (3*/5) – Woodinville High School (2*/2) – Woodmoor Elementary (2*/3)
– Maywood Hills Elementary (11**/5)
Local Districts Scorecard – * indicates positive cases only ** indicates 5 or more confirmed positive cases – (x*/y) x is positive cases and 7 quarantined, quarantined does not include positive cases
We redefined the school district statuses. Information for classroom and building closures has been a challenge to obtain, both for closures and reopening. We are adopting moving any school with more than ten active COVID cases reported into the red, and we’ve adjusted the third column to reflect this change.
Based on reader feedback, and improvement in the data we are receiving, we have adjusted how we are reporting data. The Lake Washington and Northshore School Districts are now reported as (X*/Y) or (X**/Y). X represents the number of positive cases while Y represents how many are in quarantine. The number in quarantine does not include positive cases. If there are two asterisks, that indicates five or more confirmed cases within the last 14 days at that school.
The Northshore School District moves to status red with Maywood Hills Elementary reporting 11 confirmed COVID cases and eight this week. It is the largest Covid-19 outbreak in terms of new cases reported at the same time in the three school districts Malcontent News tracks since school started.
The Bellevue School District stays status green with five confirmed cases in the last 14 days districtwide. Additionally, we can process quarantine data by the day, and we will start tracking those numbers next week.
The Lake Washington School District updates data once a week, and we’ve had no parent confirmed reports on new COVID cases this week.
We continued to encourage parents to request daily updates from the Lake Washington School District. This change would bring the three school districts we track into alignment.
Kirkland-Bellevue-Woodinville
No update
National Round-Up
Johns Hopkins University Cumulative Case Tracker reports 111,106 new cases and 1,622 deaths nationwide on Wednesday. The Delta variant continues to target the unvaccinated and a very small, but growing number of people vaccinated more than six months ago. New cases are up 14% since last week.
Vaccination deadline looms for active duty U.S. Navy and Marine Corps personnel
The Pentagon reported that 99% of sailors and 93% of Marines were either fully or partially vaccinated, with the November 28 deadline ten days away. Among the five branches, the Navy has the highest vaccination rate while the Marines have the lowest.
Marines and sailors who choose not to get the Covid-19 vaccine by the end of November will be released from the service, in a general but honorable discharge, officials with those services have said, making them ineligible for some benefits from the GI Bill.
The Orange County Register reported a message sent to the troops said “Marines refusing to take the vaccine absent medical exemptions, religious accommodations or pending appeal,” will be processed for discharge and additional disciplinary action or even a court martial is not out of the question. The Navy has issued a similar message.
Army will push out soliders who refuse to get Covid-19 vaccine
Soldiers who refuse to get the COVID-19 vaccine and have not requested an exemption will no longer be allowed to re-enlist or be promoted, effectively ending their military careers, according to a report by Defense One. The new directive applies to active-duty troops as well as reservists and National Guardsmen, including those serving in states whose governors do not require the vaccine.
The Nov. 16 memo, signed by Army Secretary Christine Wormuth, says troops’ service records will be flagged the day they make their final vaccine refusal, which follows a meeting with a medical professional and a second order to get vaccinated. This flag will bar them from being promoted, reenlisting, continuing to receive enlistment bonuses, attending service-related schools, or receiving tuition assistance.
“I authorize commanders to impose bars to continued service…for all soldiers who refuse the mandatory vaccine order without an approved exemption or pending exemption request,” Wormuth wrote in the memo. “The Soldier will remain flagged until they are fully vaccinated, receive an approved medical or administrative exemption, or are separated from the Army.”
Tampa Bay Buccaneers wide receiver Antonio Brown accused of buying fake vaccine card
Days after brushing aside Green Bay Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers less than truthful vaccination status, wide receiver Antonio Brown is accused by his former chef of buying a fake vaccination card, plunging the NFL into another public relations mess.
The Tampa Bay Times broke the story earlier today, with the chef claiming Brown bought the card to avoid NFL protocols. If true, Brown in theory could face massive fines from the NFL for repeated protocol violations. Aaron Rodgers broke as many as 16 Coivid-19 protocols but was ultimately fined $14,650 for attending an unsanctioned Halloween party.
EXCLUSIVE: Bucs receiver Antonio Brown obtained a fake COVID-19 vaccination card to avoid NFL protocols, according to his former live-in chef.
Brown could be in additional trouble with the FBI. Buying a fake vaccination card is a federal crime. The Tampa Bay Buccaneers issued a brief statement via Twitter, indicating they had collected all vaccination records during the preseason and “no irregularities were observed.”
Phoenix will require all city employees to be vaccinated by January 22, 2022, or face termination. Phoenix joins other cities such as New York City, Los Angeles, San Francisco, and Seattle that already require government employees to be vaccinated against COVID.
A news release from UCHealth issued on Thursday states a team of about 20 nurses, providers, respiratory therapists, and administrators will be deployed to UCHealth Poudre Valley Hospital (PVH) for about a month. The team is expected to ease capacity and staffing challenges. The request came from Gov. Jared Polis.
“We are so grateful that this team will assist us in providing exceptional care in northern Colorado,” said Kevin Unger, the president, and chief executive officer at PVH and UCHealth Medical Center of the Rockies in Loveland. “We anticipate this additional support and other plans we already have in the works will help make a significant difference.”
District of Columbia
Mayor Muriel Bowser of Washington said on Tuesday that an indoor mask mandate in the nation’s capital would be eased on November 22, reflecting a shift away from mask requirements as coronavirus vaccination rates continue to rise and infections fueled by the Delta variant subside in the city.
The New York Times reported about 88 percent of the District of Columbia’s adult residents have received at least one vaccine dose, according to city health officials.
Masks will still be required in certain circumstances, including on public transportation, inside school buildings, and in congregate living facilities like nursing homes, college dormitories, and jails.
Idaho
In what could be read as a victory for Governor Brad Little and a blow to Lt. Governor Janice McGeachin, the Idaho legislature ended its special session making almost no changes to state COVID policies.
The Senate did adopt a memorial piece of legislation that sends a message to the president and Congress “to make a very forceful statement about our position on the presidential mandates related to Covid-19,” said Senate Majority Leader Chuck Winder.
The lawsuit alleges that the woman’s 15-year-old girl was vaccinated by a Walmart employee at the store’s pharmacy without parental consent. The 15-year-old girl wanted the COVID-19 vaccine so she could hang out with her friends.
“The biggest problem I have with this situation is that Walmart vaccinated my daughter without my consent and knowledge,” said the girl’s mom Michelle Tonkinson.
In a statement, Walmart said, “Walmart is committed to offering quality and compliant health care. We take allegations like this seriously. We will review the claims and respond with the court as appropriate once we are served.”
Massachusetts
Massachusetts health officials reported another 3,196 confirmed COVID-19 cases — the most in one day since February — and eight new deaths Thursday, according to a report by NBC 10.
The report pushed the state’s number of confirmed COVID-19 cases to 826,996 since the start of the pandemic and its death toll to 18,834.
The number of new confirmed cases in Wednesday’s report from the Department of Public Health had been the most in one day since September, according to archival data. But that report included “a backlog of testing results” from several prior days. The prior single-day high had been in February — and February 6 was the last time more than 3,196 cases were confirmed in one day.
Massachusetts Governor Charlie Baker announced the state was opening up booster shots to anyone over 18 years old, joining a growing list of states breaking with current FDA guidelines.
Minnesota
Hospitals across the state are delaying surgeries to free up bed space in the face of growing concerns over hospital capacity constraints, according to a report by KSTP.
“Things have been getting worse in the last couple of weeks,” said Rahul Koranne, president and CEO of the Minnesota Hospital Association. “We have emergency departments that are full of patients. We have patients in beds in hallways. Our units are full.”
Only 1.1% of ICU beds and 0.5% of non-ICU beds were available in the metro Thursday, according to response capacity data from the Minnesota Department of Health.
“Everybody’s delaying surgeries. We’re pulling this lever across the board. Our care teams, our leaders, our surgical teams are making this decision minute by minute,” Koranne said. “Shoulder surgeries, knee surgeries, but even the last couple of weeks, what we are having to do unfortunately is push back some heart surgeries. At the end of the day, we only have a limited amount of care capacity available.”
Missouri
On Thursday, the Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services once again reconfigured the state’s COVID data dashboard, adding thousands of previously unreported deaths and infections, according to a report by the St. Louis Dispatch.
Some date back to the spring of 2020, and many are instances of illness or death now attributed to Covid-19 but that weren’t publicly tallied by the state at the time.
As part of the update, the state also began reporting COVID cases that occurred after vaccination or prior infection. The numbers show that such cases have been remarkably rare, and are most common among those with underlying health conditions.
The department added 2,792 “probable” Covid-19 deaths, increasing the state total 22%
New Mexico
According to state health officials, around 25% of all COVID-19 cases in the last week were among children in a report by KOB.
School-age children are included in that group, so could this impact in-person learning? School districts around the state have new “enhanced” COVID procedures in place, in case the surge gets worse.
If a school has a certain percentage of COVID-positive cases, that facility would be required to start implementing those additional measures. The good news, so far, is that both Rio Rancho Public Schools and Albuquerque Public Schools said they have not reached that point, they hope to keep it that way.
Utah
For the third day in a row, 13 Utahns have been added to the death toll from COVID-19 — a number that now stands at 3,411 people, according to the Utah Department of Health in a story published by the Salt Lake Tribune.
The health department on Thursday also reported 1,789 new coronavirus cases in the past day. The rolling seven-day average for positive tests stands at 1,633 per day.
Intensive care units in the state remain near capacity, and over capacity in the state’s largest hospitals. According to the health department, 96.7% of all ICU beds and 101.8% of ICU beds in larger medical centers are occupied. (Hospitals consider anything over 85% to be functionally full.) Of all ICU patients, 44.2% are being treated for COVID-19.
Virginia
On Thursday, Sentara Healthcare faced off in court with one of their own doctors, Paul Marik, according to WTKR.
Marik, who is the director of the Critical Care Unit at Sentara Norfolk General Hospital, is suing the healthcare system because they won’t allow him to treat COVID-19 patients with the drug ivermectin, along with a host of other drugs that make up his developed MATH+ Protocol.
“Almost all of the treatments we use have been demonstrated to be safe and effective in randomized controlled trials,” Marik said.
Marik claims that Sentara’s policy may have led to the deaths of four of his patients who were never given the opportunity to learn of or be treated with potentially life-saving medicines. He said these actions are criminal.
There is not a single peer reviewed study that used accurate placebo controlled double blind study data that indicates Ivermectin is effective as a preventative or treatment. The largest validated study to date indicated that for the sickest patients, the antiparisitic drug was counterindicated.
Knowledge is the best tool to fight against fear. A wise person chooses to be informed so they can make sound decisions. To join the fight against COVID misinformation, you can share this update through your social media platform of choice.
[KING COUNTY, Wash.] – (MTN) New cases and hospitalizations are down and vaccination rates are up across the Evergreen state but for 9,028 Washingtonians progress came too late as the state crossed another grim milestone.
New cases continue to drop statewide and the Washington State Department of Health (DOH) reported 80% of all residents 12 or older have received at least one dose of the Covid-19 vaccine. Despite the success, Washington ranks about 14th nationally for the most vaccinated population. The DOH also reported that hospitalizations are down significantly from last week.
A report from the DOH indicated that children and adolescents in Eastern Washington have the highest incidents of Covid-19 infections in the state during the last two weeks of October.
Kaiser Peramente reported 828 Washington residents received an expired dose of the Moderna vaccine between October 25 and 27 and they are reaching out to impacted patients. If you have concerns you can call (206) 630-2080.
State Senator Doug Ericksen (Ferndale-R) reported he had COVID and was stuck in the Latin American nation of El Salvador. Ericksen, who has tried to block vaccination programs is reported to have flown out of the country by air ambulance tonight.
Locally, King County has updated how they report vaccination rates to include children 5 to 11 and the initial data is very encouraging. In the Bellevue-Kirkland-Woodinville region along with the supporting school districts, first dose vaccination rates ranged from 81.7% to 95.0% for all residents. In little more than a week, 18.5% to 35.5% of children 5 to 11 got their first dose of the COVID vaccine, depending on the zip code they live in.
Covid-19 cases in the Bellevue, Lake Washington, and Northshore School Districts remain under control.
Nationally, Dr. Anthony Fauci has called for boosters for all and the states of Arkansas, California, Colorado, New Mexico, West Virginia, along with New York City decided not to wait for FDA authorization. The DOH reported they will continue to follow existing federal guidelines.
When it comes to boosters, Mr. T. (yes, that Mr. T.) pity the fool who doesn’t get their booster shot. The 69-year old actor and former wrestler got his booster shot on November 13.
Pfizer has formally requested for Emergency Use Authorization from the FDA for the antiviral drug Paxlovid. In Phase 2 and 3 testing and when combined with another HIV drug, Paxlovid reduced hospitalizations by 89% for people infected with COVID, if taken within the first five days of early symptoms.
The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services announced new guidelines for residents of nursing homes. The sweeping changes essentially eliminates all visitation restrictions at any facility that receives federal funding.
In other national news, a Connecticut nursing home is reporting an outbreak of Covid-19 sickened 89 and killed eight. A grieving Georgia husband is accusing a school district of working his COVID positive wife to death because she didn’t have any sick time left. Brad Little, governor of Idaho got his Covid-19 booster and shared it on Twitter as the Gem State enters the third month under crisis standards of care. COVID cases are exploding in Maine, Minnesota, and Pennsylvania while hospitals in Alaska, Colorado, and Montana continue to struggle with resources.
A Texas doctor has had their privledges suspended for sharing COVID disinformation, while a doctor turned legislature in Maryland is facing disciplinary action for prescribing invemectin. In Michigan, a third lawmaker is facing criminal charges for groping a nurse practioner while seeking a prescription for his COVID infection.
The Washington State Department of Health has updated the vaccination rate data, shifting the brackets again. With 31.8% of the total population vaccinated, Stevens County remains the least vaccinated county in Washington while San Juan County at 74.5% is at the top of the pile.
Several counties with higher case rates moved into new brackets on Monday. We start to see a decline in these numbers at 55% vaccinated so some of the anomalies in the data will shift in the next 7 to 10 days. The least vaccinated counties are rural and largely agricultural. With the end of farming and harvest season and poor weather, people are congregating less often.
There remains a significant difference between lower-vaccinated counties and counties where at least 70% of the total population is fully inoculated.
Percent of Total Population Fully Vaccinated
Total Population in Group
Average 14-Day New Case Rate
70.00% or above (3 counties)
2,343,250
166.6
60.00% to 69.99% (4 counties)
1,242,200
323.2
50.00% to 59.99% (17 counties)
3,664,000
302.3
40.00% to 49.99% (9 counties)
375,575
362.5
31.80% to 39.99% (6 counties)
151,850
300.3 (down)
14-Day New Covid-19 Cases per 100K average by Vaccination Rate for Total Population, Adjusted for Population by County
Through November 15, Washington’s statewide 14-day rolling average is 267.0 Covid-19 cases per 100K.
Chelan, Douglas, Grant, Klickitat, Lewis, Lincoln, Skagit, and Spokane counties have new case rates between 400.0 and 599.9. Cowlitz, Mason, Pend Oreille, and Stevens counties were just under 400.
Fourteen counties representing 3.14 million Washingtonians have a 7 day moving average case rate under 100.
The 7 day new case rate and hospitalization rate has decreased from last week.
Age Group
7-Day Case Rate
7-Day Hospitalization Rate
Ages 0-11
118.9
0.9
Ages 12-19
113.8
0.7
Ages 20-34
120.1
2.7
Ages 35-49
126.6
5.4
Ages 50-64
90.8
9.4
Ages 65-79
62.6
14.1
Ages 80+
70.3
22.5
7-day case rate and 7-day hospitalization rate is per 100K within the age group – the target for 7-day case rate is <25.0, but there are other factors such as vaccination rates within the age groups, how many total tests within the 7-day period, and the positivity rate within each age group
The USA Today COVID Tracker reported 56 deaths on Monday. As of Monday, 9,028 Washingtonians have died from Covid-19 related illness.
IHME forecast points to a sixth wave and 13,530 Washingtonians dead by March 1
The updated IHME forecast points to a sixth wave for Washington with hospitalizations peaking on February 3, 2022. Although the forecast model shows a significant increase in confirmed cases, hospitalizations would not exceed the fifth wave that is currently winding down, and mortality is projected to be much lower due to the high vaccination rate.
If everyone in Washington were to wear a mask, the IHME model predicts we could save 1,500 lives.
Many hospitalists have reported they would not be capable of handling the stress and trauma of another wave, and feel unsupported by the community.
80% of Washingtonians 12 and above have received at least one dose of Covid-19 vaccine
The Washington State Department of Health reported 80.0% of Washingtonians 12 and older have received at least one dose of the Covid-19 vaccine, and 73.9% of the state is fully vaccinated.
According to the Mayo Clinic and through November 7, Washington state ranks eleventh in the United States for children ages 12 to 17 fully vaccinated, ninth for adults 18 to 64, and eight for seniors 65 and older.
When you consider at least a single dose, Washington drops to 14th place for children ages 12 to 17, 14th for adults 18 to 65, and in a 32-way first-place tie for seniors 65 and older.
The red-blue political divide is also strong in the data. Among children 12 to 17 and adults 18 to 64 the first red state is Utah in 19th place. For seniors over 65, Washington is tied with 31 other states that have achieved >99% vaccinated.
Vermont leads for the most vaccinated adolescents while Massachusetts leads with the most vaccinated adults and seniors.
Over 800 Kaiser Peramente patients received expired Moderna vaccine doses
Kaiser Permanente is contacting 828 patients across Washington state that were inadvertently given expired doses of the Moderna vaccine between October 25 and October 27. Both Kaiser Permanente and Moderna have stated that there is no impact on patient safety or efficacy.
“After consultation with Kaiser Permanente clinical experts, there is no evidence that the vaccine administered is ineffective or unsafe,” according to a statement from Kaiser Permanente. “Our clinical experts do not recommend a repeat vaccine dose for patients who were administered these doses.”
Patients with questions about their vaccines can call (206) 630-2080.
Eastern Washington children have the highest case rate in Washington
Education Service District (ESD) 101 encompasses Adams, Ferry, Lincoln, Pend Oreille, Spokane, Stevens, and Whitman Counties and had a 14 day new case rate of 569.5 per 100,000 children and adolescents.
King and Pierce Counties comprise ESD 121 and had a new case rate of 303.1 per 100,000. The lowest rate in the state was on the Olympic Peninsula, known as ESD 114 with a new case rate of 290.0.
Although severe COVID is uncommon in children and adolescents, Mary Bridge Hospital in Tacoma reported that 40% of their hospitalized Covid-19 patients in September developed MIS-C, which can be fatal.
There is little Information about long COVID among children and adolescents and most studies available currently are highly flawed. Among the limited studies that are credible, there isn’t significant evidence that long COVID symptoms last more than 12 weeks among pediatric patients.
State senator Doug Ericksen who fought against vaccine mandates infected with Covid-19 in El Salvador
Washington State Ultra-Conservative Freedom Caucus creator state senator Doug Ericksen (Ferndale-R) reached out to his Washington legislature allies requesting assistance after becoming Covid-19 positive in El Salvador. Ericksen was in the Latin American country as an election observer when he tested positive for COVID.
“I took a trip to El Salvador and tested positive for COVID shortly after I arrived. I cannot get back home, and it’s to the point that I feel it would be beneficial for me to receive iv monoclonal antibodies (Regeneron).”
Over 60% of the residents of El Salvador are fully vaccinated, however, hospitalized treatment for Covid-19 is mostly limited to comfort care and oxygen therapy. Ericksen has not shared if he is vaccinated, nor did he share if he was attempting unproven therapies such as Ivermectin, zinc, Vitamin C or Vitamin D, which would be available.
On October 19, Ericksen called for the resignation of Governor Jay Inslee (WA-D) due to the statewide vaccine mandate.
“Inslee has done significant damage to the credibility of state government and has eroded the public’s trust. Now he is firing thousands of public employees without regard to the harm it will cause. This effort to punish can only be seen as the willful act of a failed governor. Inslee has failed miserably. We don’t take this lightly. But the only thing that can allow our state to heal and move forward is for Jay Inslee to resign.”
On November 1, Ericksen indicated he would try to reintroduce Senate Bill 5144, which would “prohibit discrimination against those who are not vaccinated.”
“Washington state is number one in government coercion, but I don’t think that is an honor the people of Washington want,” Ericksen stated. “This is a natural result of a system that allows the governor to declare an emergency and then keep his sweeping emergency powers as long as he wants.”
There is an unconfirmed report that Ericksen was flown out of El Salvador on an air ambulance today.
Travel Advisories
We are lifting the travel advisory to Eastern Washington. Hospital resources and new case rates have dropped to a level where there are adequate medical resources to support a health emergency.
Due to severe flooding and strained hospital resources, we are maintaining the travel advisory for the Northwest Hospital Region. The region includes Clallam, Jefferson, Kitsap, and Mason counties.
We continue to advise to avoid all nonessential travel to Alaska, Colorado, Idaho, and Montana. Hospital resources in these states remain constrained, and you may receive inadequate care if you experience a serious medical emergency.
Finally, we continue to recommend to avoid recreational travel to Wyoming. The situation continues to improve but hospital resources remain constrained. Wyoming transfers critical patients to Colorado and Utah, and both states have limited to no capacity to take transfer patients.
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!
“To me, if you want to get to endemic, you have got to get the level of infection so low that it does not have an impact on society, on your life, on your economy,” Fauci said. “People will still get infected. People might still get hospitalized, but the level would be so low that we don’t think about it all the time and it doesn’t influence what we do.”
To get there, he said, would take a lot more people rolling up their sleeves for initial COVID-19 shots and boosters.
If the United States makes boosters available for everyone, it is possible the country can get control of the virus by spring of 2022, Fauci added.
Editor’s Note: Although we agree with Dr. Fauci, we believe it will be near impossible to convince the remaining 62 million American adults who are unvaccinated, to get vaccinated.
Get Your Booster
If you are eligible for a Covid-19 booster shot Malcontent News strongly encourages you to not delay getting your second or third dose. It is fast, free, and easy. There is growing evidence that the half-life of Covid-19 vaccines is six to ten months, and the half-life for so-called natural immunity is 5 to 7 months.
According to the Washington State Department of Health, through November 7, 675,000 residents have received their Covid-19 booster. Over 1.8 million adults in Washington have a BMI of 25 or higher or are older than 65.
King County, Washington is reporting over 83.5% of age eligible residents are vaccinated with at least one dose. The highest rates of positivity are in areas with low vaccination rates statewide. The FDA has provided full approval of the Pfizer vaccine for anyone 16 and over and EUA approval for the Moderna and Johnson & Johnson vaccines. The Pfizer vaccine has EUA approval for children 5 to 15 years old.
COVID vaccines and boosters are free for anyone 5 and older. Lyft and Hopelink provide free transportation, and KinderCare, the Learning Care Group, and the YMCA offer free childcare during vaccination appointments or recuperation.
There has been significant improvement for Hospital Readiness across Washington state except on the Olympic Peninsula. Many hospitals have restarted elective procedures and seasonal illness has returned to Washington state, adding to the overall patient load.
According to the DoH COVID Dashboard, 91% of all staffed acute care beds are occupied, and 12.8% of patients have Covid-19. Statewide, hospitals have the staff to support approximately 621 additional acute care patients.
ICUs are at 88.4% of capacity statewide, with 20.0% of ICU patients fighting Covid-19 – an estimated 236 patients with 44.9% on ventilators. The state has the staff to support approximately 153 additional ICU patients.
On Tuesday, the 7-day rolling average hospital admission rate for new COVID patients was 84. The Department of Health reported 830 Covid-19 patients statewide with 106 requiring ventilators.
Hospital status by region – ICU Occupancy should be below 80%, ICU COVID Patients should be below 20%, Acute Care Occupancy should be below 80%, and Acute Care COVID Patients should be below 10%
School Readiness
School District
Status
Less than 10 Active Cases
10 or More Active Cases
Bellevue
GREEN
– Bennett (1*) – Bellevue (1*) – Clyde Hill (1*) – International (1*) – Lake Hills (2*) – Newport Heights (1*) – Puesta del Sol (1*)
None
Lake Washington
YELLOW
– Alcott (3*/11) – Audubon (1*/7) – Blackwell (2*/3) – Carson (1*/3) – Clara Barton (4*/24) – Eastlake High (1*/17) – Ella Baker (2*/4) – Evergreen Middle School (1*/0) – Finn Hill Middle School (5) – Inglewood Middle School (5**/34) – Juanita High (1*/12) – Kamiakin Middle School (2*/27) – Kirk Elementary (3*/13) – Kirkland Middle School (1*/10) – Lakeview Elementary (1*/1) – Lake Washington High School (3*/7) – McAuliffe (2*/6) – Northstar Middle School (12) – Redmond High School (1*/12) – Renaissance Middle School (1*/6) – Rose Hill Middle (1*/7) – Rush Elementary (3*/0) – Sandburg/Discovery (1*/4) – Smith Elementary (1*/9)
None
Northshore
YELLOW
– Arrowhead Elementary (1*1) – Bothell High School (3*/13) – Canyon Creek Elementary (5**/18) – Canyon Park Middle School (1*/1) – Crystal Springs Elementary (3*/13) – Eastridge Elementary (0/3) – Fernwood Elementary (2*/3) – Frank Love Elementary (0/10) – Hollywood Hills Elementary (3*/0) – Inglemoor High School (5**/2) – Kenmore Middle School (2*/3) – Kokanee Elementary (1*/1) – Leota Middle School (2*/1) – Maywood Hills Elementary (3*/5) – Moorlands Elementary (0/5) – North Creek High School (2*/10) – Northshore Middle School (1*/22) – Ruby Bridges Elementary (2*/6) – Shelton View Elementary (0/2) – Skyview Middle School (0/1) – Sunrise Elementary (1*/4) – Timbercrest Middle School (0/5) – Wellington Elementary (0/3) – Westhill Elementary (3*/3) – Woodin Elementary (3*/7) – Woodinville High School (4*/2) – Woodmoor Elementary (3*/3)
None
Local Districts Scorecard – * indicates positive cases only ** indicates 5 or more confirmed positive cases – (x*/y) x is positive cases and 7 quarantined, quarantined does not include positive cases
We redefined the school district statuses. Information for classroom and building closures has been a challenge to obtain, both for closures and reopening. We are adopting moving any school with more than ten active COVID cases reported into the red, and we’ve adjusted the third column to reflect this change.
Based on reader feedback, and improvement in the data we are receiving, we have adjusted how we are reporting data. The Lake Washington and Northshore School Districts are now reported as (X*/Y) or (X**/Y). X represents the number of positive cases while Y represents how many are in quarantine. The number in quarantine does not include positive cases. If there are two asterisks, that indicates five ore more confirmed cases within the last 14 days at that school.
The Bellevue School District moves back to status green with eight confirmed cases in the last 14 days districtwide. In the Lake Washington School District, Inglewood Middle School reported five confirmed cases on Monday, moving the school to status yellow.
We continued to encourage parents to request daily updates from the Lake Washington School District. We would also encourage parents to request the Bellevue School District include data on close contacts and quarantines. These two changes would bring the three school districts we track into alignment.
Kirkland-Bellevue-Woodinville
King County Public Health updated the vaccination rates by zip code and now reports the data from ages 5 and up. This resets vaccination status through the region. Based on reader feedback, we have added zip codes 98008, 98053, 98074, 98075, and 98077 to fully ecompass the Lake Washington School District and the King County portions of the Northshore School District.
Vaccination rates for children between 5 to 11 are in a word, remarkable.
Percentage of King County Residents 5 and older who have received at least one dose of COVID vaccine, November 16, 2021
Zip Code
Percent vaccinated, at least one dose, 5 to 11 years old
Percent vaccinated, at least one dose, 5 and older
98155
20.5%
89.5%
98028
22.5%
85.9%
98011
18.0%
82.7%
98034
22.6%
81.7%
98033
35.5%
90.0%
98072
19.9%
85.2%
98077
18.5%
76.7%
98052
30.5%
91.7%
98004
25.0%
95.0%
98039
26.5%
87.5%
98005
26.7%
91.7%
98007
14.0%
86.0%
98008
19.1%
88.0%
98053
31.9%
90.2%
98074
28.1%
93.5%
98075
22.5%
91.4%
Vaccination rates with at least one dose
National Round-Up
Johns Hopkins University Cumulative Case Tracker reports 143,685 new cases and 1,241 deaths nationwide on Tuesday.
Pfizer formally requests Emergency Use Authorization for the antiviral Paxlovid and agrees to license the drug to 95 countries
“With more than 5 million deaths and countless lives impacted by this devastating disease globally, there is an urgent need for life-saving treatment options. The overwhelming efficacy achieved in our recent clinical study of Paxlovid, and its potential to help save lives and keep people out of the hospital if authorized, underscores the critical role that oral antiviral therapies could play in the battle against COVID-19,” said Albert Bourla, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, Pfizer. “We are moving as quickly as possible in our effort to get this potential treatment into the hands of patients, and we look forward to working with the U.S. FDA on its review of our application, along with other regulatory agencies around the world.”
In Phase 2 and Phase 3 testing, Paxlovid provided an 89% reduction in risk of COVID-19-related hospitalization or death from any cause in patients treated with PAXLOVID compared to placebo within three days of symptom onset, with no deaths in the treatment group. Similar results were seen within five days of symptom onset.
Additionally, Pfizer announced it has signed a voluntary licensing agreement to expand production of Paxlovid, to 95 low- and middle-income countries, covering 53% of the world’s population.
Dr. Soumya Swaminathan, Chief Scientist for the World Health Organization welcomed the news in a tweet.
Good to see the license for new #COVID19 antiviral from @pfizer will be available through @MedsPatentPool for LMICs. This drug can prevent severe illness in high risk individuals if given in 1st 5 days. @WHO guidelines group will review data when available & make recommendations https://t.co/SZgQ2bS8Z0
The 69-year old actor and retired professional wrestler Mr. T tweeted over the weekend that he received his Covid-19 booster shot, declaring, “I pity pain!”
He thanked his doctor and nurses and told TMZ he wanted to play it safe.
I am Blessed and I am Thankful. I just got my Booster Vaccination shot. My arm is a little sore but no pain. I Pity Pain! Thanks again to all the Doctors and Nurses…
More states break with the FDA/CDC and approve boosters for all
The list of states that are recommended for anyone 18 or older to get a booster continues to grow. Last week Colorado and California broke ranks with the FDA and recommended all residents over 18 who got their first dose of the Johnson & Johnson vaccine more than 60 days ago, or the mRNA Pfizer or Moderna second dose more than 180 days ago to get their COVID booster.
For some states, “the reason they’ve gone ahead and done this is they are really concerned about experiencing another wave in their state of transmissions and we have seen in some states an uptick in Covid-19 cases. Unfortunately, a lot of those are driven by those who are not vaccinated, but there are some breakthrough infections among those who are vaccinated,” Hemi Tewarson, executive director of the National Academy for State Health Policy, told CNN on Tuesday.
Washington, Oregon, California, Nevada, and Colorado created the Western States Pact to align their Covid-19 response, share research, and public education. The Washington State Department of Health stated last week that Washington has no plans to deviate from current federal guidelines.
Editor’s Note: It is our opinion that DOH’s stance is a mistake given the strong evidence that a sixth wave is coming. It is our recommendation to get a booster if you’re eligible, and a lot of people are eligible.
Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services eases rules for nursing home visits
“Early in the pandemic, visitation restrictions were implemented to mitigate the risk of visitors introducing COVID-19 to the nursing home. Today’s guidance update reflects that, while visitors, residents, or their representatives should be made aware of the risks associated with visiting loved ones, visitation should now be allowed for all residents at all times.”
Visits must also be allowed to take place indoors for all residents, whether they’re vaccinated or not, even when a facility is experiencing a COVID-19 outbreak investigation or when a resident is on transmission-based precautions or quarantine. While visits under such conditions are “not recommended” by the CMS, they must be allowed if that’s what a resident chooses.
State Updates
Connecticut
A Connecticut nursing home has moved into recovery mode after suffering an outbreak of COVID-19. Geer Village said that the outbreak, which started in September, left eight residents dead and 89 residents and staff members infected according to a report by CBS News.
The North Canaan-based facility, which includes independent and assisted living among other services, said it conducts bi-weekly testing on residents and staff. In a statement, Director of Nursing Cady Bloodgood and Chief Executive Officer Kevin O’Connell said they are continuing to “monitor the situation closely.”
“Sadly, we have lost 8 residents with serious underlying health issues to COVID,” the facility said on Friday. “We are encouraged to see 69 staff and residents already recovered and coming off isolation. While we must continue with COVID-19 prevention protocols, we want to assure everyone we are doing our best to keep residents and staff safe.”
Georgia
A husband is accusing school officials of making his wife continue to work at a Georgia school despite being COVID positive, ultimately causing her to die according to a report by WSB.
Sara Anderson, was a cafeteria worker at Conyers Middle School who died from COVID on October 5.
“She was a hard worker, and if a manager asked her to do anything, she did it,” Robert Anderson said. He said Sara started feeling sick on September 15 and felt worse the next day. He says her manager told her she was out of sick days and that she had to go into work.
“She was pressured into going to work again, and that was on the 17th. On the 18th, she passed out,” Robert Anderson said.
Doctors diagnosed Sara Anderson with COVID, and then COVID pneumonia. A few days later, she was in the ICU and passed on October 5.
Idaho
Idaho governor Brad Little received his Covid-19 booster shot publicly in an attempt to urge others in his state to get vaccinated. Idaho entered its third month operating at crisis standards of care on November 16, with COVID cases still raging through the Panhandle region.
State health officials Tuesday reported 1,627 COVID-19 patients were being treated in hospitals throughout Illinois, according to the Daily Herald. Of those hospitalized, 325 were in intensive care, according to the Illinois Department of Public Health.
Hospitalizations have increased by 16.8% from a week ago, IDPH figures show. Current the state test positivity rate is 2.8%, which points to over-testing, but increased from 2.2% a week ago.
Maine
More and more signs are emerging that COVID-19 is spreading rapidly through Maine, especially among unvaccinated populations, contributing to troubling spikes in hospitalizations and deaths as a holiday week approaches.
The state set yet another pandemic high with 275 hospitalizations on Tuesday and also set a record for the rate of tests that are coming back positive, 8.5 percent on average over the last seven days. Thirteen additional deaths were reported Tuesday as well.
Representative Andy Harris (R-Md.) said a complaint was filed against him with a medical board for prescribing ivermectin to COVID-19 patients.
Harris alluded to the complaint during the House Freedom Caucus meeting about vaccine mandates on Monday, The Baltimore Sun reported.
“An action is currently being attempted against my medical license for prescribing ivermectin, which I find fascinating, because as an anesthesiologist, I know I use a lot of drugs off-label that are much more dangerous,” Harris said at the meeting.
Michigan
Michigan state Senator John Bizon faces misdemeanor assault charges after a nurse practitioner with Oaklawn Medical Group accused him of inappropriately touching her while seeking medication to treat his Covid-19 infection.
The incident in question occurred on August 14, at Oaklawn After Hours Express in Marshall, according to a report filed with the Marshall Police Department on August 17. Two health practictioners filed complaints about Bizon groping them and making inappropriate comments.
Minnesota
Minnesota is preparing to expand COVID-19 vaccine booster access to all adults this week, with or without federal backing, and encouraged renewed protections in communities and schools against a worsening pandemic wave.
The positivity rate of COVID-19 diagnostic testing rose above a 10% high-risk threshold in Minnesota, which is reporting high viral transmission levels in 86 of 87 counties but particularly severe levels in central and northern counties with lower vaccination rates.
“I don’t think we can say that any place in Minnesota is in particularly great shape right now,” state Health Commissioner Jan Malcolm said.
Republican Rep. Scott Perry of Pennsylvania has tested positive for Covid-19, his office announced Tuesday, a day after he was elected chair of the conservative House Freedom Caucus.
Perry’s office said in a statement announcing his diagnosis that the congressman, who has not publicly indicated whether he has been vaccinated against the virus, is experiencing “quite mild” symptoms and he “will continue working while quarantining at home.”
Houston Methodist Hospital in Texas has suspended privileges for an ear, nose, and throat doctor after she tweeted several opinions on COVID-19 vaccines, including advising patients from getting it according to a report by XKAN.
A hospital representative confirmed the suspension of Dr. Mary Talley Bowden to The Washington Post. Houston Methodist said Bowden, who only recently joined staff and says she is vaccinated, is “spreading dangerous misinformation which is not based in science.”
Bowden tweeted earlier this month that she was “shifting focus to treating the unvaccinated” due to the “current climate and writing on the wall,” in addition to the promotion of experimental treatments over the FDA-approved coronavirus vaccines.
Knowledge is the best tool to fight against fear. A wise person chooses to be informed so they can make sound decisions. To join the fight against COVID misinformation, you can share this update through your social media platform of choice.
[KING COUNTY, Wash.] – (MTN) After a relatively quiet week for COVID news, things exploded over the last 24 hours, creating a super-sized update for today.
New COVID cases in Washington state were declining but now appear to be on a new unsustainable plateau. The gap between the highest and lowest vaccinated Hospital Region grows to the broadest level to date. One county’s new case rate has increased so high a new category had to be created.
Washington hospitalizations also plateaued, and ventilator use remains at near-record levels. In Olympia, St Peter’s Hospital reported 10 COVID-related deaths in 24 hours. We spent a lot of time examining reports that Eastern Washington hospitals are overrun with Idaho residents seeking treatment. We did not find any credible reports to support these rumors. We share our opinion on what Washington state should do to prevent our hospital system from joining our Pacific Northwest neighbors.
New cases and hospitalizations are up for children and adolescents statewide, and new COVID cases were reported in all three school districts we track. Snohomish County reported a 433% increase in active COVID cases at childcare centers and schools. In Yakima County, officials report 25% to 35% of new COVID cases among children. Parents in West Seattle and Olympia think COVID quarantine rules for unvaccinated adolescents are unfair.
Hundreds gathered in Olympia, and smaller pockets of protesters were across Washington, defying outdoor masking guidelines to protest against vaccine mandates. Some have adopted a view that harkens back to a dark time in world history.
Officials reported more than 20 people who have attended the Washington State Fair were COVID positive when they were there.
Most applications for religious exemption by Washington State Patrol employees have been rejected. In contrast, unions leaders representing 71,000 healthcare workers in Washington state say that the state is in an “unprecedented crisis.”
The University of Washington is seeking volunteers for a study of a new COVID vaccine booster. Phase 2 testing will include individuals vaccinated with the Pfizer, Moderna, or Johnson and Johnson vaccine.
We expanded our travel advisory again to include the state of Montana and Lincoln County in Washington.
In vaccination news, the FDA votes on booster shots for people who received the Pfizer vaccine. An editorial in the British Medical Journal about the potential connection between COVID vaccinations and menstruation was misrepresented as a study in numerous headlines. The update is very late tonight, in part because we pored through reports and data to give you a lot more insight.
In regional news, the stories coming out of hospitals in Alaska, Idaho, and Montana are gut-wrenching. It is not hyperbole to state the ability to deliver medical care in all three states is collapsing.
Finally, in the misinformation section, we address an oldie but a goodie – do masks cause carbon dioxide poisoning? (no)
The last week of data indicates Washington has stepped down to a slightly lower plateau versus seeing a continued decline. In the South Central Hospital Region, which includes Benton, Franklin, Klickitat, Walla Walla, and Yakima counties, new cases are 888.5 per 100K, a significant increase. In the Central Hospital Region, which represents King County, the rate is 290.0. This is the widest gap in new cases between the two hospital districts.
Percent of Total Population Fully Vaccinated
Average 14-Day New Case Rate (unadjusted)
50.00% or above (12 counties)
488.8
40.00% to 49.99% (18 counties)
750.8 (up)
27.30% to 39.99% (9 counties)
768.0
14-Day New COVID Cases per 100K average by Vaccination Rate, Not Adjusted for Population
Through September 17, Washington’s statewide 14-day rolling average was 489.2 COVID cases per 100K, which is statistically unchanged. Lincoln County reported 1,438.9 new cases per 100K, one of the highest rates recorded in any Washington county since new COVID cases have been tracked. Counties in the 1,000.0 to 1,399.9 range include Franklin (1,254.7) and Stevens (1,138.9). Counties in the 800.0 to 999.9 per 100K range include Adams, Asotin, Benton, Chelan, Clallam, Douglas, Grant, Grays Harbor, Lewis, Okanogan, Pend Oreille, and Walla Walla. It is worth noting that Benton County is at 989.8, just under the 1,000 threshold, and Yakima County moved up to 791.2, just under the 800 threshold. We are concerned when we get to the middle of next week, and the test data from the Labor Day weekend is out of the 14-day rolling average, we will see another jump in the numbers.
The USA Today COVID Tracker also indicates a flattening over the previous week (when you adjust for the dip in weekend reporting and the bump when the data from over the weekend is reported). If you think we’re alarmists, we’re not the only journalists seeing this trend.
One other piece of discouraging news comes out of the United Kingdom. Healthcare experts highlighted how Delta peaked in the U.K. (and Israel) after 45 to 60 days before rapidly declining as a predictive model for the United States. The U.K. reported a record 26,911 new cases and a record-high number of hospitalizations – 8,339 patients. Even more worrying, 81.6% of all U.K. residents are fully vaccinated compared to 51.4% of the United States.
The Johns Hopkins Washington State Overview is reporting alarming positivity rates. Positivity for the last 30-day rolling average is reported at 15.23% and the 7-day rolling average 24.16%. We do not believe these numbers accurately represent the test positivity rate and are a statistical anomaly.
Today is the third day of updated data from the WSDOH, and we are feeling more confident about tracking trends now. Pediatric and adolescent cases increased. This isn’t surprising now that in-person school is back across all of Washington state. Hospitalizations for ages birth to 11 increased about 30%. However, the total number of children hospitalized is small, so don’t read too much into that bump.
New cases among all other age groups were flat or down slightly. With total new cases appearing to be settling on a plateau, this may be an early warning sign that new pediatric cases are increasing the overall number. This could have significant implications for states outside of Washington, particularly Alaska, Idaho, Montana, and Wyoming (read our national round up).
Hospitalizations also increased for ages 35 to 49 and people 80-years old and above. Both jumps were large enough to be notable but not alarming.
Age Group
7-Day Case Rate
7-Day Hospitalization Rate
Ages 0-11
208.4 (up)
1.0 (up)
Ages 12-19
248.6 (up)
2.4
Ages 20-34
232.2
6.5 (down)
Ages 35-49
220.0
13.2 (up)
Ages 50-64
160.3
19.8
Ages 65-79
114.2 (down)
24.8
Ages 80+
126.8
39.1 (up)
7-day case rate and 7-day hospitalization rate is per 100K within the age group – the target for 7-day case rate is <25.0, but there are other factors such as vaccination rates within the age groups, how many total tests within the 7-day period, and the positivity rate within each age group
The USA Today COVID Tracker reported 56 deaths on Thursday and an additional 56 deaths on Friday.
Snohomish County reports active COVID cases among childcare centers and schools increased 433%
A new Snohomish Health District report shows the rapid increase in cases associated with childcare facilities, K-12 schools, higher education, and youth sports and camps over the last month. For the two weeks ending September 16, there were nearly five times as many investigations in K-12 settings (202) than the previous period ending September 2 (42 investigations). There were 367 confirmed and probable cases and more than 2,100 close contacts involving childcare, schools, and youth sports during that timeframe.
The number of investigated cases in Snohomish County among child care centers, public and private K-12 schools, higher education, and athletic and youth camps increased from 950 to 2,160 – a 433% increase in two weeks.
“When cases occur among students or staff, and they will, we work with the schools to optimize the number of individuals being quarantined and try to prevent transmission in the school,” said Dr. Chris Spitters, Health Officer for the Snohomish Health District. “From time to time, there may be a classroom or two in a school that may need to be temporarily closed depending on the number of cases, but those episodes won’t necessarily call for any change in school-wide, district-wide, or county-wide operations. We need students, families, and teachers to work with us to get cases down and keep the impacts small.”
Hundreds gather to protest vaccine mandates in Olympia while others do flag waves across the state
Only a handful of people there were wearing masks while standing on the side of the road, waving signs and hearing from the cars which support their cause. At least one protester held a sign with the hashtag, “pureblood.” Anti-vaccination adherents claim the reference is from the Harry Potter books. The term originated in Nazi Germany, where people were required to have a “Blood Certificate” to get married and have children. The idea was to have purebloods to ensure the survival of the Aryan race.
Olympia officials had begged people to stay away from the city due to a planned Proud Boys rally on the same day. On the Internet, several anti-vaccination groups along with counter-protesters advised their followers to stay away.
Today, the group Waking UP Washington organized several flag waves across Washington state with small groups dotted along I-5.
More than 20 people who worked at or attended the Washington State Fair were COVID positive
So far, 435,000 people have attended the fair, scheduled to end on September 26. At a vaccination clinic within the fairgrounds, 235 people have received vaccinations. On Friday, 50% of all residents in Pierce County were vaccinated.
Because Washington state is highly vaccinated, the current R0 is R1.1 (forecasted range R0.7 to R1.5) for all residents. If this is accurate, the impact shouldn’t be significant unless an infected person has an unusually high viral load, a super spreader, or moves around through highly unvaccinated groups.
25% to 35% of new COVID cases in Yakima County are children and adolescents
“Certainly, the schools have seen a lot of activity that they’re navigating. You probably saw that the Tribal School in Toppenish basically canceled school for the next two weeks after going quarantine, essentially hit the reset button,” Brueggemann said.
Washington state job growth slowed in August
State-level unemployment data was released yesterday by the Bureau of Labor Statistics and individual states. In Washington, job growth slowed, with just under 17,000 new jobs created. The job market through Washington could best be described as white-hot overall, with tens of thousands of unfilled positions at every skill level.
Most applications for a relegious exemption by Washington State Patrol have been rejected
The Washington State Patrol (WSP) reported that of 364 religious exemptions applications received, 284 had been reviewed, and all were rejected. Initially, 373 applications were submitted, but nine employees rescinded their requests.
“As to your inquiry regarding relative exposure probabilities, I would suggest you direct it to qualified epidemiologists, but from my laymen’s perspective, it presupposes that lower or varied risks is [sic] somehow unworthy of attention. As we have all seen, the pandemic, it’s [sic] impacts, and response strategies have evolved over time as more has become known.”
When pressed on why the bar was so high for a religious exemption and all requests rejected to date, Loftis wrote, “…the search for accommodation can be difficult as by its very nature, working for WSP often has a significant public engagement component.”
Moving to our opinion, if we read between the lines, it appears state officials are concerned about long-term liability. Suppose an asymptomatic unvaccinated trooper were to pass COVID to a member of the public while on duty, and that person became hospitalized or died. In that case, it seems this would be a significant legal exposure.
Additionally, an asymptomatic or symptomatic officer with COVID couldn’t work for 14 days and could force others to quarantine.
West Seattle and Olympia families claim school guidelines for quarantining students are unfair
Jeremy Gollyhorn is upset with decisions about his child who had a COVID exposure at Denny International Middle School in Seattle. The 12-year old student is unvaccinated, and following state and national guidelines, is required to quarantine for 14 days. If they were vaccinated, they would have been permitted to return to class with a strong recommendation to get tested 3 to 5 days after the exposure.
Gollyhorn said it makes no sense.
“Vaccinated people can still spread COVID too, so what’s the difference there?” he said.
“It’s not fair,” said Willis, who reported her daughter chose not to get the vaccine because she did not think she needed it.
On September 8, we analyzed the new case, hospitalization, and death statistics in King County for the vaccinated versus the unvaccinated. It is correct that vaccinated people can still become infected with COVID. Still, the number is extremely low, and most breakthrough cases are among the immunocompromised and people over 70 years old.
University of Washington seeking volunteers for COVID booster shot study
Researchers at the University of Washington School of Medicine are enrolling volunteers for a COVID-19 booster vaccine trial. Volunteers will participate in the second stage of a phase 1 vaccine trial. Phase 1 vaccine trials are designed to test the safety and tolerability of and immune response to a new vaccine.
In the first stage of the trial, the experimental vaccines were given to unvaccinated volunteers. In this second stage, the vaccines will be given as a booster shot to volunteers who have already been vaccinated against SARS-CoV-2.
Unlike current vaccines, the trial vaccines seek to elicit an immune response to multiple SARS-CoV-2 proteins in addition to the spike protein that is targeted by currently available vaccines made by Moderna, Pfizer, and Johnson & Johnson.
The hope is that by targeting a number of coronavirus proteins, the vaccine will provide protection against a wide variety of SARS-CoV-2 strains and variants. The vaccine candidates were developed by Gritstone bio, headquartered in Emeryville, CA.
“With the emergence of the Delta and other COVID-19 variants, we need to stay ahead of the virus by developing effective vaccines that will aid in the prevention of all strains of COVID,” said Dr. Anna Wald, director of the UW Medicine Virology Research Clinic and head the UW School of Medicine’s allergies and infectious diseases division. She is the trial site principal investigator.
“We hope that these investigational vaccines enhance and broaden the immune response elicited by vaccines currently available in the U.S.,” said Dr. Tia Babu, acting assistant professor at the University of Washington School of Medicine and a trial investigator.
To enroll, participants must be age 18 or older, healthy, without significant allergies, without a history of prior SARS-CoV-2 infection, and have been vaccinated against COVID-19 at least four months prior to enrollment. Persons over age 60 are encouraged to participate.
Participants will be asked to:
Make nine to 14 or more in-person clinic visits and also will receive one to two telephone check-ins with study staff over 12 to 14 months.
Receive one or two injections of investigational vaccine.
Have blood drawn several times to monitor safety and to see whether the vaccine results in an immune response.
Keep track of how they’re feeling after the injection.
Interested participants should contact the UW Medicine Virology Research Clinic: gritstone@uw.edu or 206-520-4340
Washington state nurse unions urge immediate action to prop up hospitals
Washington unions that represent 71,000 healthcare workers are appealing for immediate action, saying that the state is on the brink of an “unprecedented crisis.” The Washington State Nurses Association, SEIU Healthcare 1199NW, and the UFCW 21 made a joint statement warning that the combination of work conditions, pay, chronic staffing shortages, and the ongoing “fifth wave” of COVID cases is decimating healthcare workers.
“Amid the fifth wave of COVID, spurred on by the Delta variant, and hospitals overflowing with patients who need critical care, our state health care workers continue to heroically perform their jobs a year-and-a-half into this pandemic,” said Julia Barcott, chair of the WSNA Cabinet and an ICU nurse at Astria Toppenish Hospital. “But nurses and other frontline workers are people, too. We’re losing overworked nurses to overwhelming burnout, the distress of working short-staffed, better-paying traveler nurse jobs, and even for signing bonuses of up to $20,000 to move to a different hospital. We’re worried for our patients and the impact of the staffing crisis on the care they receive.”
This isn’t just a crisis for frontline workers, it’s also a public health crisis. Because hospitals were already understaffed well before the coronavirus pandemic hit, we are now seeing a new story every day about a regional hospital at maximum capacity. Without immediately addressing the shortage of staff and untenable workloads for frontline workers, there could be dire consequences to Washington’s health care infrastructure.
“Chronic understaffing is a disaster for patient care. Health care workers don’t want to see patients stuck in overflowing ICUs or being treated in ER hallways, or be forced to turn away ambulances at the door, but that’s the reality of health care right now,” said Faye Guenther, UFCW 21 president. “Hospitals need to immediately respond to this patient care crisis. That means focusing on meaningful, sustainable solutions that will recruit and retain qualified caregivers in every department.”
As many anti-vaccination activists falsely conflate the staffing crisis with looming vaccine deadlines for health care workers, it’s important to understand that health care staffing shortages predate the coronavirus pandemic. As a result of years of staffing and management decisions, many hospitals already didn’t meet adequate staffing for average patient levels. COVID exacerbated this already strained infrastructure, and hospitals’ response to the pandemic has only worsened this preexisting crisis.
“What’s really driving this crisis is that hospitals have spent the last two decades balancing their budgets on the backs of health care workers and patients,” said Jane Hopkins, RN, executive vice president of SEIU Healthcare 1199NW. “COVID has been a stress test on our health care system, and we are seeing the system fail that test due to management’s choice to understaff. Retention bonuses for frontline workers who have stayed on the job, adequate pay for extra hours worked, and aggressive hiring to staff at full capacity would go a long way right now.”
Opinion: To save Washington hospitals it’s time to close the borders
Military leaders, analysts, and planners evaluate the capabilities of a force using combat effectiveness. Combat effectiveness takes more into account than the number of well-trained soldiers and the quality and quantity of available equipment. It considers leadership, psychological stress, the level of support on the battlefield and the home front, and the clarity of mission. If enough of these factors deteriorate, a military unit or even an entire army can become “combat ineffective.” Our medical community has been combat ineffective for months, and no one is doing anything about it. It is time for a strategic retreat and for officials in Washington state to close the doors to out-of-state COVID patients.
We are expanding our travel advisories today. We recommend avoiding all travel to Spokane, Lincoln, Yakima, Klickitat, Benton, Franklin, and Walla Walla counties, along with Alaska, Idaho, and Montana. Hospital resources in these regions, except Lincoln County, are so constrained that you may receive inadequate care if you experience a medical emergency.
We recommend avoiding travel to Lincoln County because the number of new cases per 100K residents exceeds 1,400.
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Vaccination
FDA panel votes against COVID booster shots for all, but recommends expanding the existing booster shot guidelines
The booster shot program the Biden Administration wanted to start on Monday for people who received the Pfizer vaccine will, at the minimum, be delayed. On Friday, an FDA panel voted 16-2 against booster shots for all. The vote was widely reported in news sources as breaking news.
FDA officials took a break and had a second vote to recommend booster shots for those over 65, at high risk for severe COVID-19, or who work in jobs with significant exposure to COVID patients. The panel voted 18-0 in support of the guidelines.
If the recommendation is authorized, this will expand the current booster shoot guidelines released in August. A third dose was approved for immunocompromised individuals who received the mRNA vaccines from Pfizer and Moderna.
Medical conditions that warrant a second dose include receiving active treatment for cancer, organ transplant recipients, recipients of a stem cell transplant in the last 24 months, moderate to severe primary immunodeficiency, advanced or untreated HIV infection, people under treatment with high-dose corticosteroids such as prednisone, and those being treated with immunosuppressive drugs.
Vaccination impact on menstruation is being researched
When COVID first erupted across the globe, many infected women of childbearing age reported changes in their periods. Anecdotally, there are reports from women that periods became heavier after receiving the COVID vaccine, and others reported a change in their cycle.
The BMJ, the journal of the British Medical Association, published an editorial recommending an investigation into the possible link between the COVID vaccine and changes in menstruation. This story was widely run and in some publications misrepresented as the results of a study in the headlines. The editorial included this quote.
“Most people who report a change to their period after vaccination find that it returns to normal the following cycle and, importantly, there is no evidence that covid-19 vaccination adversely affects fertility. In clinical trials, unintended pregnancies occurred at similar rates in vaccinated and unvaccinated groups.”
“Anecdotally, some women seem to be reporting heavier periods after receiving the COVID-19 vaccine, and we would support more data collection in this area to understand why this might be the case.”
“If you do notice any bleeding that is unusual for you, then we would recommend you contact your doctor. You can also report any concerns or possible side effects of the COVID-19.”
The Medicines and Healthcare Regulatory Agency in the United Kingdom has a website similar to VAERS in the United States called Yellow Card. People can report suspected side effects of “medicines, vaccines, medical devices, and test kits.” Weekly reports are available at the Medicines and Healthcare Products Regulatory Agency website. Just like VAERS, anyone can submit a Yellow Card report. Unreviewed data should not be considered indicative of any trend.
A study on the Potential Effects of COVID-19 Vaccination on Menstruation received $1.67 million in funding from the United States National Institute of Health on August 30. The study is a joint project conducted by Boston University, Harvard Medical School, Johns Hopkins University, Michigan State University – East Lansing, and Oregon Health and Sciences University – Portland.
Information on how to participate in the study is not available yet.
An article by Randy S. Morris, M.D., Board Certified in Infertility and Reproductive Endocrinology, and the Medical Director of IVF1 found neither COVID nor the COVID vaccine impacted fertility. The report, SARS-CoV-2 Spike Protein Seropositvity from Vaccination or Infection does not Cause Infertility, studied 143 women who underwent Frozen Embryo Transfer (FET) from January 1to May 7, 2021.
All the participants gave serum samples and were tested for the presence of anti-SARS-CoV-2 spike IgG. Testing revealed 55 women who had COVID antibodies in their bloodstream. Participants were notified of the presence of antibodies, 35 were vaccinated, and 20 had experienced a COVID infection. None of the women who had COVID were hospitalized.
Dr. Morris wrote in the discussion section of his article, “In vitro fertilization with FET is an excellent method to study the impact of various factors on implantation since it bypasses many of the variables that normally impact a woman’s ability to conceive, such as ovulation, fertilization, and preimplantation embryo development. The current study failed to identify the difference in the implantation or pregnancy rates between women with documented seropositivity to the spike protein and women without seropositivity.”
They found no significant difference in a successful transplant rate among women who had no COVID antibodies (73.9%), those who were vaccinated (80.0%), and those who had natural immunity (73.7%).
Dr. Morris is a respected subject matter expert in this field. Before being part of the research group, women seeking IVF treatment to become pregnant received an extensive and detailed baseline study of their physiology and reproductive potential.
A connection to seeking fertility treatment in the first place due to the COVID vaccine cannot be made. The study was conducted from January 1 to May 7, 2021, and the first public COVID vaccine was received on December 14, 2020. It takes months of testing and preparation to perform a FET. The Mayo Clinic has an excellent article written in laypersons terms explaining the process of InVitro Fertilization.
The report does have limitations. The sample group of 143 participants is small and limited to women with a history of reproductive issues. The sample size of women who have antibodies due to a COVID exposure was limited to 20 people, which is very small. Reports typically aren’t peer-reviewed but do receive scrutiny from reputable journals before publication.
King County, Washington is reporting over 85% 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.
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, 22.4% of all acute care patients hospitalized in Washington have COVID. A hospital system caring for this many COVID-positive patients in acute care is considered to be under “severe stress.” ICUs are at 91.5% of capacity statewide, with 36.2% of ICU patients fighting COVID. All of these numbers are unchanged.
While ICU utilization has remained close to 90%, the number of patients in the ICU with COVID continues to increase. This is due to three factors. Hospitals are operating under “contingency care” protocols statewide and have canceled most elective surgeries that would require post-surgical ICU resources. Additionally, the surge of new cases that started in August is running its course. The timeline from infection to symptoms, hospitalization, ICU, and death can be 4 to 6 weeks, particularly among otherwise healthy individuals. Finally, Washington state hospitals are caring for dozens of out-of-state COVID patients, many of them critically ill.
The 7-day rolling average hospital admission rate for new COVID patients is 183 a day. This is down from a peak of 193 and above the winter surge, where daily admissions peaked at 115 a day. The Department of Health reported there were 1,649 COVID patients statewide on September 16 and 274 on ventilators. Hospitalizations declining 9% from September 9 to September 14 but appear to have plateaued.
Yakima Valley Memorial Hospital, which said they were approaching the need to move to crisis standards of care last week, reported the situation has improved, but the facility remains exceptionally stressed. The hospital is at 103% capacity, with 45 patients treated for COVID, 95% unvaccinated. On Thursday, 75 employees of the hospital had to stay home.
– Alcott Elementary (1*) – Carson Elementary (2*) – Dickinson Elementary (1*) – Eastlake High (1*) – Einstein Elementary (1*) – Ella Baker Elementary (1*) – Robert Frost Elementary (9) – Juanita Elementary (2*) – Juanita High School (37) – Kirkland Middle School (37) – Peter Kirk Elementary (1*) – Redmond Elementary (2*) – Redmond Middle School (1*) – Rose Hill Elementary (1*) – Rose Hill/Stella Schola Middle School (1*) – Thoreau Elementary (4)
– Kamiakin Middle School (140) – Mark Twain Elementary (3*)
Northshore
YELLOW
– Arrowhead Elementary (12) – Bothell High School (48**) – Canyon Creek Elementary (19) – Canyon Park Middle School (5) – Cottage Lake Elementary (12) – Crystal Springs Elementary (28) – East Ridge Elementary (17) – Fernwood Elementary (10**) – Frank Love Elementary (14) – Hollywood Hills Elementary (10) – Inglemoor High School (5) – Innovation Lab High School (4) – Kenmore Elementary (15) – Kenmore Middle School (38**) – Kokanee Elementary (24) – Leota Middle School (2) – Maywood Hills Elementary (11) – North Creek High School (16**) – Northshore Middle School (9**) – Ruby Bridges Elementary (6) – Secondary Academy for Success (7) – Shelton View Elementary (18**) – Skyview Middle School (78) – Sunrise Elementary (21) – Timbercrest Middle School (23) – Westhill Elementary (6) – Wellington Elementary (48) – Westhill Elementary (6) – Woodin Elementary (5) – Woodinville High School (21) – Woodmoor Elementary (19**)
Under Investigation
Local Districts Scorecard – * indicates positive cases only ** indicates 5 or more confirmed positive cases
The Lake Washington School District data hasn’t been updated since Friday of last week. We have a confirmed report from the Lake Washington School District of one COVID case at Kirkland Middle School and 36 exposures.
Three more schools in the Bellevue School District have reported cases and quarantines.
Northshore School District now has 7 schools reporting 5 or more confirmed COVID cases. The district has 313 students and faculty in quarantine and 23 new positive cases in the last week – 22 students and one staff member.
We will continue to recommend that parents in the Bellevue and Lake Washington School Districts request better transparency on their publicly facing COVID dashboards.
Kirkland-Bellevue-Woodinville
No update
National Round-Up
Johns Hopkins University Cumulative Case Tracker is reporting 207,886 new cases and 2,635 deaths nationwide. Most states do not provide daily updates, so the number released on Friday tends to be inflated and represents multiple days of data. Tracking the moving average is a better way to understand national trends.
The COVID crisis in Alaska is deepening, with Providence Alaska Medical Center still operating under “crisis standards of care.” The inability to transfer patients to the largest and best-equipped hospital in the state is having a ripple effect on other hospitals.
Alaska has no state standard for “crisis standards of care,” forcing hospitals to make independent decisions. Government officials started forming a committee this week. Meanwhile, the state legislature considered more pressing matters.
Some anti-vaccination advocates believe that the distribution of COVID vaccines is a violation of the code, established after the full measure of Nazi atrocities in human medical experimentation was discovered. State Rep. Sara Hannan (Juneau-D) was in a race to the bottom, declaring Nazi experimentation on prisoners “produced results.”
“I did not mean to imply any support for NAZIs nor their experimentation in any way. My remarks were incorrect, insensitive, and hurtful. I am sorry and will strive to do better,” said Hannan.
Dr. Gina Wilson-Ramirez, an ER physician in Anchorage, described the situation at Providence. ER wait times for people with severe chest pain, and people are dying waiting to be treated. The waiting room for the emergency department is so full, portapotties were placed in the parking lot, and people were asked to stay in their cars. In the waiting room itself, doctors are now treating patients. Two COVID patients waited more than 8 hours before being seen and required oxygen.
Dr. Ben Westley, who also works at Providence, discussed a situation with two patients who needed dialysis to stay alive, but there was only one machine. Both were critically ill, one in their 30’s and the other older. Doctors decided to ration care between patients, putting one on dialysis during the day and the other at night.
The next day, the older patient was still declining, and there was still only one machine. The younger patient became prioritized for treatment.
Another patient who had COVID needed ECMO, which isn’t available in Alaska. After searching within the Providence network and five other facilities, no location could be found, and the man died.
“The way we’re getting equipment freed up is mainly when we’re discontinuing care on people. And it’s not always because they’re living,” said Dr. Wilson-Ramirez.
At Mat-Su Regional Medical Center near Wasilla, emergency department director Dr. Tom Quimby said he’s seen emergency patients wait as long as five hours. The 125-bed hospital has 42 COVID patients, and the ICU is at 100% capacity – every patient with COVID and on ventilators. Over 50% of the patients arriving in the emergency department have COVID.
“We’ve all seen COVID-19 cases continue to spread rapidly across our nation, the state of Alaska, and in our local community,” U.S. Air Force Col. Kirsten Aguilar, 673d Air Base Wing and JBER commander, said in a statement Friday. “After close consultation with JBER mission commanders, I have decided to declare a Public Health Emergency.”
Commanders advised personnel to avoid places that do not require masks or social distancing, and the base has moved to Health Protection Condition Bravo.
There were 64,714 deaths and 57,641 births in 2020. Harris, holding his weekly update on the state’s efforts against the COVID-19 pandemic, said data going back more than a century showed it was the first year in which the births and deaths data was flipped. He added it could happen again in 2021 if the state continues with its current trend.
“The numbers of deaths have, unfortunately, not declined at this point,” Harris stated of Alabama’s death rate, which includes at least seven pregnant women.
Popular YouTube vintage resellers Dusty and Tristan Graham, who espoused anti-vaccination views and conspiracy theories on their channel, both died of COVID. Tristan Graham, who had previously survived bone cancer, died at home on August 25. Dusty Graham died on Thursday.
Little did she know, she would become a rare statistic.
“I started to go into anaphylaxis shock – my mom was there with me – I had my EpiPen ready. We were prepared if something happened, hoping it wouldn’t because it wasn’t supposed to compare to statistics and ingredients – everything we thought,” said Case.
Per the CDC, two to five people per million vaccinated in the U.S. experience anaphylaxis after a COVID-19 vaccine.
Eva Baisey, known as one of the longest living heart transplant recipients in medical history, has died from COVID-19 at age 55. She passed away on September 12, 2021 — more than 34 years after receiving a heart.
While she was vaccinated, her husband had refused to take it. “There was so much information floating around. He didn’t have all the facts,” she said about why her husband wasn’t vaccinated.
“My purpose is to make sure no one goes through what he went through. There wasn’t one day, one hour, one moment that he didn’t suffer,” she said. “This did not have to happen.”
Florida has had 63 law enforcement officers die of COVID.
GOP leaders in Hillsborough County are scrambling after Gregg Prentice died of COVID and took how to access the financial information of the Hillsborough County Republican Executive Committee to the grave with him. Prentice, who was 61, died one day after being diagnosed with COVID and was staunchly against wearing masks.
Friend Jason Kimball blames Tampa General Hospital for the 61-year-old’s death, alleging staff “illegally intubated” Prentice the day before he died. During a Sept. 13 Tampa City Council meeting, Kimball requested an investigation be launched. However, members of the City Council denied any wrongdoing or mistreatment from the hospital.
“My public comments are really going to be about Tampa General Hospital,” Kimball said at the council meeting. “There’s a dire situation going on right now…that I don’t think anyone is aware of, and I have firsthand knowledge of it. They’re intubating everyone entering Tampa General Hospital as a first line of action. They’re using fatality-treatment protocol, and I think that the city council really needs to do an investigation…They’re intubating people illegally. …When you call 911, and you go to that hospital, you’re going into a bad situation.”
Councilman John Dingfelder quickly shut down Kimball’s comment, blasting it as “dangerous.”
Hawaii
Approximately two weeks ago, Honolulu started requiring so-called vaccine passports to enter certain businesses. Yesterday state officials reported hospitalizations had dropped 25%.
Idaho
The crisis in the Gem State is deepening, with doctors and nurses now working in impossible conditions and forced to make unthinkable choices. In Idaho’s St. Luke’s Health System, patients are being ventilated by hand — with a nurse or doctor squeezing a bag — for up to hours at a time while hospital officials work to find a bed with a mechanical ventilator, said chief medical officer Dr. Jim Souza.
Over the past seven days, 1/2 of 1% of every person in Idaho tested positive for COVID.
Chris Roth, president, and CEO at St. Luke’s Health System in Boise said the overwhelming patient volumes result from COVID-19 patients and historic levels of traditional patient care, with the latter primarily brought on by pent-up demand from patients delaying care last year because of COVID-19.
“I’ve never seen any volumes even close to what we’re seeing in my history at St. Luke’s of 14 years,” Roth said.
St. Luke’s had a record 173 COVID-positive admissions to its hospital at the end of August, breaking the 172-admissions record back in the December surge. It recently broke the record again with 281 COVID-19 admissions.
“If we continue on this course over the next several weeks, St. Luke’s Health System will become a COVID health system,” said Roth, noting it will consume every resource and bed it has with coronavirus patients. The vast majority of St. Luke’s ICU patients are COVID positive, with 98% of them unvaccinated.
Although state officials reported a steady number of 170 ICU patients across the state, the number isn’t increasing because there is no more ICU capacity.
To free up space, hospitals are discharging patients that still require critical care, such as high flow oxygen delivery. Norco Medical President Elias Margonis said the company had seen an increase in customers seeking specialty oxygen equipment that flows at a rate of 8, 12, or 20 liters per minute rather than the standard 4 or 5 liters per minute, he said.
Primary Health Medical Group, Idaho’s largest independent primary care and urgent care system, is so swamped with patients they have been forced to close early, with wait times stretching for hours.
There is rampant misinformation that Idaho is operating under a universal do not resuscitate order. This is not true. The false claims are coming from a section within the state’s crisis standards of care plan. In situations where a hospital can no longer support mechanical ventilation of ICU patients, the guidance recommends that no attempt at resuscitation be made if the patient goes into cardiac arrest.
“Adult patients hospitalized during a public health emergency, when crisis standards of care have been declared (and a hospital is using the mechanical ventilation allocation framework due to demand for ventilators exceeding supply), should receive aggressive interventions; however, they should receive NO attempts at resuscitation (compressions, shocks or intubation if not yet intubated) in the event of cardiac arrest. The likelihood of survival after a cardiac arrest is extremely low for adult patients. As well, resuscitation poses significant risk to healthcare workers due to aerosolization of body fluids and uses large quantities of scarce resources such as staff time, personal protective equipment, and lifesaving medications, with minimal opportunity for benefit. This universal DNR order does not apply to pediatric patients; however, pediatric patients requiring a ventilator after resuscitation would enter the ventilator triage protocol after resuscitation, just like other patients needing ventilator access.”
In Ammon, protesters gathered against vaccine mandates. “There is a huge pushback against vaccine mandates,” protest organizer and association spokeswoman Halli Stone said. “You can see there is a great deal of sentiment. People care. If they have a point to rally, they come out. They hate being told they have to take an experimental vaccine that has been proven to be dangerous.”
Many protestors at the event were adamant they were not anti-vaccine. Still, multiple people shared they are not getting vaccinated and have concerns about its safety, despite the FDA saying vaccines are safe.
IU Health said that employees who didn’t comply with the September 1 deadline were placed on a two-week unpaid suspension period ending September 14, with the 125 employees resigning afterward, according to the spokesperson.
“A total of 125 employees, the equivalent of 61 full-time employees, chose not to receive the COVID-19 vaccine and have left the organization,” a spokesperson said.
“Most of the employees who chose not to be vaccinated worked part-time, less than part-time or have not worked for a number of months.”
Mississippi’s death rate from COVID-19 is 308 per 100,000 people, as of Sept. 17. New Jersey’s is 306. Louisiana and New York, respectively, have the next-highest rates, with 288 and 281 per 100,000 people.
Mississippi’s top health official said Thursday that the numbers of new virus cases are still “far more than we’d like to see” and warned that more deaths would follow.
“We’re recording well over 2,500 (cases) a day, in recent days, far more than we’d like to see,” said State Health Officer Dr. Thomas Dobbs. “A lot of that’s going to translate into the tragedy.”
“It is really dire,” said Dr. James McKay, chief physician executive for Providence Montana, who oversees St. Patrick Hospital in Missoula and St. Joseph Medical Center in Polson. “It has never been this bad.”
Officials at Billings Clinic said the transition into crisis care could occur “rapidly” and that it would also impact patients with conditions unrelated to COVID-19. The number of COVID patients at the hospital in Missoula has increased dramatically in recent weeks, and that many are younger, some in their 20s and 30s. The hospital has turned an ambulance garage into a makeshift triage area for COVID patients to handle the increase.
The temporary emergency rule waives regulations to make it easier for hospitals to transfer certain patients to other healthcare facilities, freeing up needed hospital beds.
Gianforte said in a news release: “As our hospitals and health care workers continue to work around-the-clock to deliver life-saving care to Montanans, this new tool will help reduce the burdens our providers face. We will continue to work with hospitals and providers to support their ongoing response.”
Additionally, the Montana Department of Labor and Industry has started reaching out to nurses, nurse practitioners, and other medical workers whose licenses may have expired or retired to ask for help.
“The Department hears regularly from employers, including health care providers, who have been impacted by the ongoing workforce shortage. With COVID-related hospitalizations increasing statewide, at the Governor’s direction, the Department is looking at ways to mitigate the health care worker shortage and ensure there are no unnecessary delays in the licensure process for individuals qualified to provide medical services,” wrote Jessica Nelson, public information officer for the department.
Total COVID cases have jump 55% in the last two weeks, outstripping COVID ravaged Idaho.
The three women repeatedly punched the host at Carmine’s on the Upper West Side and broke her necklace Thursday afternoon after she asked for proof of vaccination, which is required to dine inside at a restaurant in New York City, police said in a news release.
All three women are from the Houston area and have been ordered to appear in a New York court on October 5 after receiving citations for misdemeanor assault and criminal mischief. The 24-year old victim was treated at a New York hospital and released. She is expected to recover fully.
Jeffrey Bank, the CEO of Carmine’s, said the restaurant was forced to hire security. “It’s ridiculous that she’s sitting here saying, ‘Please don’t assault me.’ It’s just surreal,” Bank said, adding the restaurant was hiring security. “We want everyone to feel safe. Is it necessary? I don’t know, but after last night for sure, we’re going to have it.”
“We will push back against widespread propaganda by producing our own media, and advancing our own narrative, instead of succumbing to the one being pushed on us. We will not accept the rampant politicization of science and medicine, and we will return these institutions to being neutral sources of information for the benefit of society, over government and corporate interests,” a press release about Saturday’s event reed on the organizers’ website.
State officials reported that five people had been hospitalized for ivermectin poisoning, including two that required critical care.
Between August 1 and September 14, the Oregon Poison Center at OHSU saw a total of 25 cases of “Oregonians intentionally misusing ivermectin to treat or prevent COVID-19.” Of those cases, five had to be hospitalized–two people became so severely ill that they had to be admitted into the ICU.
The poison center reported that recent cases displayed various symptoms, including mental confusion, balance issues, low blood pressure, and seizure. Patients sickened by the drug ranged in ages from the 20s to 80s. OHSU said there was an even split between men and women who took the drug and between people who were attempting to treat COVID-19 and trying to prevent getting the virus.
In Salem, Oregon, 500 people gathered to protest vaccine mandates. Luke Yamaguchi, an Albany nutritionist who serves on the board of the protest sponsor, Oregonians for Medical Freedom, slammed Gov. Kate Brown’s mask mandate for school children and in outdoor public spaces — drawing jeers and laughs from the unmasked assembly.
“Mandated medicine has no place in a free country,” said Yamaguchi. “Who is to say that you will necessarily agree with the next vaccine that is mandated?”
Officials reported 1,002 people with coronavirus in hospitals across the state, which is 25 fewer than Thursday. There are 287 people with coronavirus in intensive care unit (ICU) beds, one more than Thursday.
The OHA said 58 available adult ICU beds out of 658 total (9% availability) and 369 adult non-ICU beds out of 4,246 (9% availability).
“We’re in September, and our cases, our hospitalizations, our deaths are actually higher than they were last year. So I don’t think we should lower our guard. We should actually apply the tools that we have that we know work,” he said.
Peter Graven, analytics director of OSHU, said all cases are tipping downwards in Oregon, and breakthrough cases are just a small fraction of the total number for the state.
Texas
Parents in a conservative corner of Texas are turning one of Governor Greg Abbott’s “pro-life” mantras on its head, arguing in a federal lawsuit that his school mask policy is threatening the lives of their children.
The school district said in a statement that it couldn’t address specific claims while the case proceeds but that it “strongly disagrees that the students’ constitutional rights have been violated by leaving masks as an option for students and staff.”
The district “continues to work proactively and professionally with parents who have questions or concerns about Covid-related issues,” it said. “The vast majority of these concerns have been resolved without the need for litigation.”
On Wednesday, there were 45 COVID-19 patients at the Wyoming Medical Center and 43 at the Cheyenne Regional Medical Center. Four hospitals had no available intensive care unit beds on Wednesday. Three had only one ICU bed open. While ICU beds are not exclusively used to treat COVID-19 patients, when hospitals deal with surges in these patients, that can put a strain on their ability to care for other types of critical-needs patients.
More alarming is the growing number of pediatric patients. Wyoming has 37 hospitals and no dedicated children’s hospitals. Pediatric resources are already stretched to the limit in the state. Officials are concerned that the state will run out of resources and have limited options to transfer patients to other regions.
LaTulippe was recorded dismissing the importance of masks in a speech at a “Stop the Steal” rally in Salem on November 7, 2020.
“I hate to tell you this, I might scare you, but I and my staff, none of us, once wore a mask in my clinic,” he told the crowd, reported The Huffington Post. “And how many problems did we have in our clinic from that? Zero.”
The Oregon Medical Board issued an emergency revocation of his medical license in December 2020. On September 2, the board made a final order permanently revoking his license for “dishonorable or unprofessional conduct; repeated negligence in the practice of medicine; and gross negligence in the practice of medicine.” He was also fined $10,000.
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) Hospitalizations have dropped 9% in Washington state from the record high set on September 9, but resources remained stretched to the limit with hospitals struggling with a crush of patients.
The number of schools in the Lake Washington and Northshore School Districts with COVID cases continues to grown.
The Washington State Department of Health has requested 1,200 medical professionals to reinforce hospitals. Health officials in Spokane express outrage that the Spokane County Fair is ongoing, with reports of only 25% of people wearing masks indoors.
Skagit County is restricting COVID testing, and Washingtonians are complaining about a lack of access to get tested for COVID in Eastern and Southwest Washington.
The planned protest at Skyview High School in Vancouver was a bust today.
There remains confusion and disagreement between the FDA, CDC, and the Biden Administration about the start of general booster shots for people who received the Pfizer vaccine.
In the misinformation section, we explain HEK-293 and the use of fetal stem cells in the development, testing, and production of medications and vaccines. If you’re trying to get a religious exemption because of HEK-293, you should read up on the other medications that have used the cells.
Today’s data shows a continued downward trend in new cases. However, there are concerns that new cases are being under-reported in Eastern and Southwest Washington. In the South Central Hospital Region, which includes Benton, Franklin, Klickitat, Walla Walla, and Yakima counties, new cases are 854.8 per 100K people while the Central Hospital Region, which represents King County, had a rate of 295.5.
Percent of Total Population Fully Vaccinated
Average 14-Day New Case Rate (unadjusted)
50.00% or above (12 counties)
496.3
40.00% to 49.99% (18 counties)
736.8 (down)
27.30% to 39.99% (9 counties)
764.6 (down)
14-Day New COVID Cases per 100K average by Vaccination Rate, Not Adjusted for Population
Through September 14, Washington’s statewide 14-day rolling average was 493.1 COVID cases per 100K, which is the first time since August 24 the state average has been below 500. Lincoln (1,303.2 per 100K), Franklin (1,192.6 per 100K), and Stevens (1,145.5 per 100K) reported an extreme number of new cases. Counties in the 800.0 to 999.9 per 100K range include Asotin, Benton, Chelan, Clallam, Cowlitz, Douglas, Grant, Grays Harbor, Lewis, Okanagan, and Pend Oreille.
Last week Yakima County reported the closures of outdoor testing centers due to severe wildfire smoke creating low air quality. Additionally, there was the Labor Day holiday week in the last 14 days, and most testing centers were closed on Sunday and Monday. Questions were raised about the limited availability of testing centers in Eastern and Southwest Washington today by several reporters during the Washington State Department of Health press conference held today.
Washington State Secretary of Health Dr. Umair Shah said there were “no imminent plans” to reopen mass testing sites, but indicated they were working with local and federal partners.
“We have added community-based testing sites but not huge testing sites,” Dr. Shah said.
The Washington State Department of Health reports a data backlog for test positivity, with the published number 14 days old. According to Johns Hopkins University Medicine, the positivity rate for the last 30 days is 13.33%, and over the previous 7 days, 14.36%. These numbers indicate the state is under testing, and the jump of the previous 7 days rolling average to over 14% is a sign there is an increase in under testing.
The Department of Health changed how they are reporting Cases, Hospitalizations, and Testing by Age, so we can’t provide an indication on if these numbers are an increase or decrease from previous days. If you are comparing it to previous days you should not interpret this data as indicating a massive jump in numbers.
Age Group
7-Day Case Rate
7-Day Hospitalization Rate
Ages 0-11
212.0
0.7
Ages 12-19
249.6
2.1
Ages 20-34
257.6
7.9
Ages 35-49
233.7
13.1
Ages 50-64
173.3
19.6
Ages 65-79
127.5
26.9
Ages 80+
129.7
44.6
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
Skagit County announces restrictions on COVID testing
Citing an increasing number of people who live outside of Skagit county, and people seeking testing for work or school, officials announced new restrictions on who can access the Skagit County Public Health test site.
Officials reported they were performing 400 tests a day, and half of the people being tested didn’t live in Skagit County. On Monday, several people were turned away because they weren’t a resident of the county or did not have any COVID symptoms.
Spokane hospital Chief Medical Officer slams officials for having Spokane County Fair
Providence Health Care, which announced yesterday they were stopping all non-emergency surgeries held a press conference to discuss the current state of Spokane hospitals. Chief Medical Officer Dr. Dan Getz expressed outrage about the Spokane County Fair being held.
Spokane County Commissioner Josh Kerns released a statement about the decision to keep the fair going.
“Our community has had so many events taken from them over the last eighteen months. The fair staff has worked closely with the Washington State Department of Health and the Spokane Regional Health District to make the Spokane County Interstate Fair as safe as possible. Large events have been happening across the State of Washington including the Washington State Fair, College Football games, and professional sporting events.”
Providence and Sacred Heart have a combined 150 COVID patients under their care – including 29 from Idaho. Of the 18 COVID patients on ventilators, none of them are vaccinated.
Anti-vaccine protest planned at Skyview High School in Vancouver is a bust
The Seattle Truth Network, in coordination with Wake Up Washington, is planning an anti-vaccination event on September 25 at Rooster’s Bakery and Cafe in Woodinville.
Washington state requests 1,200 additional medically trained people to come to the state
“Washington state has requested 1,200 personnel to help our system,” Dr. Scott Lindquist, State Epidemiologist for Communicable Disease for the Washington Department of Health said. Nineteen months of relentless demand drove many skilled medical workers to walk away from being hospitalists through early retirement, moving to private practice, or taking more lucrative jobs as a traveling healthcare provider.
“Our healthcare workers are truly stressed now.”
The question of looming vaccination mandates for healthcare workers at both a state and federal level was raised. “Last year before we even had vaccines in our state, all of us said if we just had a tool to fight this pandemic. As a country, we did everything we can to develop a vaccine,” Washington state Secretary of Health Dr. Umair Shah said.
“Vaccines are free they are safe they are effective.”
“When we go through all these efforts – when you hear certain people saying I’m OK with losing my job, we hope you will reconsider this.”
Travel Advisories
We recommend avoiding all travel to Spokane, Yakima, Klickitat, Benton, Franklin, and Walla Walla counties, along with the states of Alaska and Idaho. Hospital resources in these regions are so constrained that you may receive inadequate care if you experience a medical emergency.
Thank you
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Vaccination
September 20 is just 5 days away, and there is still no final decision or guidance on what a vaccine booster shot program for the general public would look like. Today the staff of the Food and Drug Administration deferred on providing their recommendation until September 17. The agency released a 23-page document, Vaccines and Related Biological Products Advisory Committee Meeting, September 17, 2021.
“Factors supporting licensure of a booster dose should consider the effectiveness of primary vaccination with COMIRNATY over time and against circulating variants, the effectiveness (and its duration) of booster vaccination in preventing important COVID-19-related outcomes in individuals who have already received a primary vaccination series, the dynamics of the pandemic in the United States, and the risks of booster vaccination in the general population or in certain subpopulations.”
“Some observational studies have suggested declining efficacy of COMIRNATY over time against symptomatic infection or against the Delta variant, while others have not. However, overall, data indicate that currently US-licensed or authorized COVID-19 vaccines still afford protection against severe COVID-19 disease and death in the United States. There are many potentially relevant studies, but FDA has not independently reviewed or verified the underlying data or their conclusions. Some of these studies, including data from the vaccination program in Israel, will be summarized during the September 17, 2021 VRBPAC meeting.”
Booster shot approval would only apply to recipients of the Pfizer vaccine if the program moves forward on September 20.
“This is only one estimate, but we do believe this means as you look toward the fall and winter, at minimum we expect the estimated impact of waning immunity would be 600,000 additional cases of COVID-19,” Moderna President Stephen Hoge told investors.
The research showed that people who received the vaccination in 2020, had a statistically higher infection rate than those who received their shots in 2021. Data from multiple studies and the CDC indicates that Moderna is highly effective against the Delta variant.
“The first six months are great, but you can’t count on that being stable out to a year and beyond,” Mr Hoge said.
Finally, the Nicki Minaj kerfuffle over the cousin’s friend with the swollen testicles allegedly from the COVID vaccine (no, it doesn’t do that) reached such a fevered pitch, an exasperated Dr. Terrence Deyalsingh, the Health Minister of Trinidad & Tobago made a statement during the nation’s COVID update.
#BREAKING – Trinidad & Tobago Health Minister Dr. Terrence Deyalsingh responds to swollen testicle claim made by Trinidad-born entertainer @NICKIMINAJ; says there is no such reported case in Trinidad & Tobago (TTT) pic.twitter.com/NNsc9EUTKP
King County, Washington is reporting over 85% 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.
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, 23.0% of all acute care patients hospitalized in Washington have COVID. A hospital system caring for this many COVID-positive patients in acute care is considered to be under “severe stress.” ICUs are at 91.9% of capacity statewide, with 35.9% of ICU patients fighting COVID. This is a new record for patients in ICU and the percentage of patients with COVID.
The hospital admission rate Epidemiologic Curve dashboard is not working for the second day in a row. The Department of Health reported there were 1,636 COVID patients statewide on September 14 and 266 on ventilators. This is the third day of decline, and total hospitalized patients are down 9% from the September 9 peak.
Dr. Scott Lindquist, State Epidemiologist for Communicable Disease for the Washington Department of Health talked about the trend in the state numbers. “We are starting to see a downward trend, but I would be cautious about this,” he said, adding “It is encouraging to see this stalling out.”
Despite the improvement, the hospital system in Washington state remains on a razor’s edge. “All of our resource hospitals are over capacity, every one of them,” said Dr. Steve Mitchell, Medical Director, WMCC, and Emergency Department at Harborview Medical Center.
“All of them are going through incredible lengths to care for patients. They are also taking staff that don’t normally work in ICUs and extending the staff into critical care units.”
“When our ICUs and our alternative ICUs are full…they back up into our emergency departments. The trickle-down from that is patients wait for a long period time waiting for a bed and ambulances keep coming. Those same ambulances can’t unload into our emergency department so they then become unavailable for other emergency calls.”
“I want you to hear this, this is not just my hospital, it is every resource hospital throughout our state.”
Dr. Mitchell also discussed patient transfers and the growing challenges to balance resources across Washington. “Over 1,000 requests since July 1 from hospitals who have been unable to place their patients from small rural critical access hospitals to a location where they can intervene and fix those patients.”
“Just yesterday there were 2 patients that both had severe COVID in far North Central Washington. After many hours of searching…we found that they could accept them in King County.”
“So sad to see the younger age of the people in our critical care unit,” Dr. Michell said as he talked about 4 critical patients in their 20’s under treatment for COVID at Harborview Medical Center.
Of the four, one had very recently died, another was on ECMO, and the last two were being proned to help them breathe. Three of the four were unvaccinated. The vaccinated patient is severely immunocompromised.
– Alcott Elementary (1*) – Carson Elementary (2*) – Dickinson Elementary (1*) – Eastlake High (1*) – Einstein Elementary (1*) – Ella Baker Elementary (1*) – Robert Frost Elementary (9) – Juanita Elementary (2*) – Juanita High School (37) – Peter Kirk Elementary (1*) – Redmond Elementary (2*) – Redmond Middle School (1*) – Rose Hill Elementary (1*) – Rose Hill/Stella Schola Middle School (1*) – Thoreau Elementary (4)
– Robert Frost (?) – Kamiakin Middle School (140) – Mark Twain Elementary (3*)
Northshore
YELLOW
– Arrowhead Elementary (10) – Bothell High School (35**) – Canyon Creek Elementary (16) – Canyon Park Middle School (5) – Cottage Lake Elementary (12) – Crystal Springs Elementary (14) – East Ridge Elementary (12) – Fernwood Elementary (7) – Frank Love Elementary (20) – Hollywood Hills Elementary (3) – Inglemoor High School (5) – Innovation Lab High School (3) – Kenmore Elementary (5) – Kenmore Middle School (37**) – Kokanee Elementary (20) – Maywood Hills Elementary (10) – North Creek High School (13**) – Northshore Middle School (7) – Ruby Bridges Elementary (4) – Secondary Academy for Success (1) – Shelton View Elementary (18**) – Skyview Middle School (71) – Sunrise Elementary (19) – Timbercrest Middle School (23) – Westhill Elementary (6) – Woodin Elementary (4) – Woodinville High School (18) – Woodmore Elementary (18**)
Under Investigation
Local Districts Scorecard – * indicates positive cases only ** indicates 5 or more confirmed positive cases
The Lake Washington School District data hasn’t been updated since Friday, but we do have a parent report that a classroom has been quarantined at Robert Frost Elementary.
Northshore School District now has 5 schools reporting 5 or more confirmed COVID cases with an expanding number of students in quarantine across the district.
Kirkland-Bellevue-Woodinville
No update
National Round-Up
Johns Hopkins University Cumulitaive Case Tracker is reporting 143,895 new cases and 1,823 deaths nationwide.
To put that into perspective consider this. Lumen Field where the Seahawks and Sounders FC play can seat 72,000 people. If the stadium was full for a game, 144 random fans would not leave the stadium alive.
Although the national rate is 1 in 500, for King County, it is 1 in 1,221. The significant improvement over the national average is due to several factors including early action at the start of the outbreak, lockdowns, social distancing, mask wear, a gradual return to normalcy in the spring of 2021, and a high vaccination rate.
Alaska
Alaska shattered every previous COVID record today reporting 1,095 new cases along with a record number of hospitalizations, ICU patients, and patients on ventilators. Yesterday the largest hospital in the state had to move to crisis standards of care. The impact of the decision is starting to ripple across the vast and remote state.
Nearly all hospitals are struggling, and each is grappling with how best to respond to unsustainable patient levels, Dr. Anne Zink, Alaska’s chief medical officer, said Wednesday.
“They’re almost all at a crisis level right now,” she said. For smaller facilities, enacting crisis standards of care may not always make the most sense based on the types of resources and protocols already in place.
“We’ve had increasing challenges accessing particularly things like (kidney) dialysis” and other similarly specialized care that is only available at a few hospitals in Anchorage, Zink said.
Alabama
The good news is the number of patients hospitalized with COVID continues to decline, but within those numbers, there is a dark reality. Dr. Don Williamson, president of the Alabama Hospital Association, said Monday that he’s “hopeful but not confident yet that things are beginning to improve,” and noted that “one of the reasons our hospitalization numbers appear to be stable to declining is because we’ve had a pretty substantial daily death count. We’re reporting more than 40 deaths a day now for almost three weeks.”
As of today, 84% of the 2,355 hospitalized COVID patients are unvaccinated, including 761 in the ICU. The state has 558 patients on ventilators, with a national survival rate of just 20% to 30%.
Arkansas
COVID hospitalizations have declined for more than a week, but the state is seeing a similar trend to Alabama. ICU cases have increased by 18 within the last 24 hours, bringing the total to 450. According to the ADH data, this is the first time ICU cases have increased in five days.
Arizona
Attorney General Mark Brnovich filed a 14-page complaint in federal court that seeks to invalidate President Biden’s vaccine requirements for federal workers and large companies. In the complaint, Brnovich makes a false claim on the process of undocumented immigrants as part of his legal argument.
“In a nutshell: unauthorized aliens will not be subject to any vaccination requirements even when released directly into the United States (where most will remain), while roughly a hundred million U.S. citizens will be subject to unprecedented vaccination requirements,” the state told the court. “This reflects an unmistakable — and unconstitutional — brand of favoritism in favor of unauthorized aliens.”
Immigrations and Customs Enforcement have contracted agencies to FEMA to provide health inspection to undocumented immigrants who will be held or released into the United States, this includes COVID testing and vaccinations. So far in 2021, almost 1.3 million people have been processed along the U.S. border.
After months of complaints from local, county, and federal officials, Florida is providing COVID death data at a county level again. People on both sides of the mask and vaccination argument have lamented not having access to the data to serve as proof points for the need, or lack of need for masks in schools, as one example.
Florida new cases continue to decline and are now 45% of peak levels, hovering between 11,000 and 12,000 reported a day. Hospitalizations are down from a peak of over 17,000 to 10,979 reported today. 2,673 are in the ICU. The state of Florida does not report how many patients are on ventilators.
Lisa Wilson of Belle Glade, Florida is a tireless advocate of vaccination who even went door to door to fight misinformation and talk to people about getting vaccinated. She persuaded pastors in church to advocate getting vaccinated, along with friends, neighbors, and family. Despite all her efforts, COVID took a terrible toll.
In the last three weeks, Wilson lost 6 relatives, all of them unvaccinated. Wilson remains baffled about why her family members so steadfastly refused to get vaccinated.
“In my grandmother’s case, I think some of her children advised her not to do it,” Wilson said. “They said she was too old, that it wasn’t safe, that she never left the house, anyway.”
The last time she talked to her uncle during a Facetime chat from his hospital bed, he told her he wished he’d followed her advice.
“Tell all of our family to get vaccinated. It’s horrible. It hurts,” she said he cried, as he gasped for air.
She said she couldn’t bring herself to talk to her grandmother on Facetime. When she took her grandmother to the hospital, doctors said her prognosis was grim.
“I didn’t want to see her with tubes running everywhere and watch her struggling to breathe,” Wilson said. “Other grandkids did it and they regretted it.”
“Which is about a seven-fold increase than it had been even in previous waves in this pandemic,” state epidemiologist Cherie Drenzek said during a Board of Public Health meeting.
With a 240% increase of COVID-19 cases among children since July, Georgia’s students are at the center of the current surge.
“The magnitude of this, of the number of cases here in this age group among school children, is very significant,” Drenzek said.
Drenzek said the current surge has caused more than 100 recent outbreaks in schools statewide since July 4.
Hawaii
After standing at the edge of an angry COVID volcano, Hawaii appears to have reached a peak.
Lt. Gov. Josh Green said there were 448 people hospitalized with COVID on Sept. 3. The state is now down to 346.
But he added Hawaii health officials won’t know for sure until at least Friday. That’s when they’ll get a complete picture of how much the virus spread over Labor Day weekend.
“I suspect our cases have plateaued. And our hospitalizations should drop in the next two weeks. Unless we get a surprise,” Green said.
And while cases are going down, some facilities are still struggling to meet patient needs.
Idaho
The northern half of Idaho continues to operate in crisis standards of care and officials seem pessimistic that the southern half of the state can avoid reaching the same situation.
“Our cases continue to increase,” said Elke Shaw-Tulloch, public health administrator for the Idaho Department of Health and Welfare. “The flow of sick people into hospitals continues to increase. It’s incredibly high and the stress on the hospitals is very real.”
The IDHW says a record number of people are being hospitalized with Covid right now. If that doesn’t change soon, hospitals in southern Idaho could have to implement crisis standards of care.
“The number of children 12 to 18 that are positive, is greater this week than last week it is growing at an accelerated rate and our internal data shows a positivity rate of 20%, which is incredibly high,” said pediatrician and CEO of Primary Health Medical Group, Doctor David Peterman.
“I’m incredibly disappointed and to a certain degree disheartened because we know that something as simple as having our children wear masks in school, and teachers and staff, we can slow the spread of covid,” he said.
That’s unlikely as Dr. Ryan Cole, who called the COVID vaccination “needle rape,” works with the American Frontline Doctors, and considers masks useless, is one off the leading health officials in the Gem State.
The CDH is Idaho’s biggest health authority, covering Ada, Boise, Elmore, and Valley counties. Its board is elected by 12 commissioners, three from each county.
Cole made it onto the board thanks to a backlash against CDH restrictions which propelled coronavirus skeptics into positions of power.
In Louisana, the number of COVID patients has plummeted in the last four weeks, while morgues and funeral homes struggle to keep up with the recently deceased. Just like in Alabama, the good news of declining hospitalizations is masking a grim reality.
He said morgues have become so crowded, hospitals will sometimes call his home even before a patient dies to make sure someone can come pick up the body quickly and make space for the next.
On any given day, Cobb and Lawson host up to 10 funerals, back-to-back, with practically no time in between. Often they’re so busy attending to grieving families, they forget to eat.
“Given Labor Day activities, I think that all health care providers probably have their fingers crossed and are hoping for the best but not assuming that will hold once we get at the requisite days past Labor Day,” Patti Davis, President of the Oklahoma State Hospital Association said.
Dr. Woody Jenkins, in Stillwater, said their hospital capacity is maxed out. “Overall, our patients are younger and sicker than the last surge,” Jenkins said. “The length of stays are longer, to past 20 days, and some have been on the ventilators for over 10 days.”
Another major concern, according to Jenkins, is losing nursing staff to mental health strain and fatigue.
“We must find a way out of this darkness and navigate toward brighter skies,” he said.
“Our battle really isn’t with the district and the teachers or even our superintendent. We really want our school district to come in compliance with the law and keep healthy kids in school,” said Brian Shellem, who filed the lawsuit with five other parents.
Kaiser Permanente is offering a 1% raise across the board, and a 1% lump sum raise for each year of the contract. That rate of pay increase doesn’t even keep up with inflation going as far back as 2010.
Kaiser says to address future costs and affordability, it is, “proposing a market-based compensation structure for those hired in 2023 and beyond.”
The union sees that as unacceptable.
“The current proposal on the table is that they want to put in a two-tier wage system where new hires will be paid less than what we are paid, meaning that our work that we perform–it’s not worth what we’re currently being paid to do,” said Holt.
Misinformation
A growing strategy among those seeking an exemption from receiving the COVID vaccine on religious grounds is a firmly held religious belief against abortion and a belief that life starts at conception. The argument then becomes because fetal stem cells were used in the testing or development of the COVID vaccines, it is against one’s belief to accept the vaccine.
Of eight COVID vaccines evaluated, two used fetal stem cells in the development, with one of those distributed in the United States. The Pfizer and Moderna mRNA vaccines were tested on fetal stem cells, and the Johnson & Johnson vaccine was used during the production of the vaccine.
Ha! I got you! Not so fast.
The cells used come from a genome known as HEK-293. The original 293 cells were derived in 1973 from the kidney of an aborted human embryo of unknown parenthood by transformation with sheared Adenovirus 5 DNA. After many attempts, cell growth took off only several months after the isolation of a single transformed clone. The cells used today are thousands of generations old and are clones of the original cells gathered in 1973.
They’re still aborted cells! Test tube or not!
This is where the argument falls apart. HEK-293 cells have been used in either the development, testing, or production of a long list of medications.
If you’ve “done your research” and have been using “alternative treatments” as preventatives or treatment for COVID, you better sit down. Zithromax, Hydroxychloroquine, and Ivermectin have all been tested as part of their production and development using HEK-293 cells. Other common vaccinations include Rubella, part of the MMR, and the chickenpox and shingles vaccines. If you used the monoclonal antibody treatment Regeneron, you’ve also used a drug developed with HEK-293 cells.
Additionally, as far back as 2003, the Catholic Church released a statement specifically addressing the use of HEK-293 cells for the development of medications. The Jewish and Islamic faiths have made similar statements and years before the development of the COVID vaccine.
If you’ve ever taken any of these drugs or vaccines, especially the prescription drugs, or your social media is covered with claims praising the use of Hydroxychloroquine or Ivermectin, your religious exemption is probably in jeopardy.
Tylenol / Acetaminophen
Advil / Motrin / Ibuprofen
Aleve / Naproxen
Pseudoephedrine / Sudafed / SudoGest / Suphedrine (and we can add Meth to that list)
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) Although Washington reached a grim milestone of 7,000 COVID-related deaths today, data on new cases indicated that the Evergreen State is reaching a peak. The divide between the most and least vaccinated counties continues to widen, and the number of patients in the ICU reached a critical level statewide.
The Lake Washington School District expands how much COVID data they are sharing and in the Northshore School District, a concerning trend has emerged at three schools.
Hospitals in Spokane are suspending all non-emergency surgeries as they struggle to support the lower vaccinated counties in Eastern Washington and the surge in Idaho. In Bellingham, officials report they are inching closer to crisis standards.
Edmonds canceled Oktoberfest for the second year in a row.
Almost 4,800 state employees have requested a vaccination exemption, about 8% of the 60,000 person workforce. Protesters are coming to Vancouver, Washington’s Skyview High School on Wednesday despite a court order, and they are bringing infamous Seattle street preacher Matthew with them.
The mayor of Puyallup is started a fundraiser to show appreciation to hospital workers.
We have expanded our travel advisory to include Spokane County and the state of Alaska, with the latter having the largest hospital move to “crisis standards of care.”
In the misinformation section, we discuss swollen testicles and Betadine.
Today’s data provided a strong indication that Washington state has hit a peak while demonstrating the effectiveness of vaccines. In the South Central Hospital Region, which includes Benton, Franklin, Klickitat, Walla Walla, and Yakima counties, new cases are 883.3 per 100K people, essentially unchanged from yesterday. In comparison, the Central Hospital Region, which represents King County, had a rate of 295.4. In addition, for counties that are 50% fully vaccinated or higher, the 14-day rolling average of new cases dropped below 500 for the first time since we started tracking.
Percent of Total Population Fully Vaccinated
Average 14-Day New Case Rate (unadjusted)
50.00% or above (12 counties)
494.0 (down)
40.00% to 49.99% (18 counties)
747.0 (down)
27.30% to 39.99% (9 counties)
781.4 (down)
14-Day New COVID Cases per 100K average by Vaccination Rate, Not Adjusted for Population
Through September 13, Washington’s statewide 14-day rolling average was 500.8 COVID cases per 100K, which is within the 500 to 535 range the state has bounced between. Lincoln (1,294.1 per 100K), Franklin (1,170.9 per 100K), and Stevens (1,121.5 per 100K) reported an extreme number of new cases. Counties in the 800.0 to 999.9 per 100K range include Adams, Asotin, Benton, Chelan, Clallam, Cowlitz, Douglas, Grant, Grays Harbor, Lewis, Okanagan, and Pend Oreille. Although Yakima County fell off of the report, its case rate is 799.4 per 100K.
The Washington State Department of Health reports a data backlog for test positivity, with the published number 14 days old. According to Johns Hopkins University Medicine, the positivity rate for the last 30 days is 13.40%, and over the previous 7 days, 13.67%. These numbers indicate the state is under testing. Further, there has been little change in the positivity rate for almost a month.
The 7-day case rate was up for birth to 34 years old, and down for 80 and over. Hospitalizations were mostly flat, with a slight increase for adolescents from 12 to 19 years old.
Age Group
7-Day Case Rate
7-Day Hospitalization Rate
Ages 0-11
34.0 (up)
0.1
Ages 12-19
26.3 (up)
0.2 (up)
Ages 20-34
59.1 (up)
1.5
Ages 35-49
50.2
2.5
Ages 50-64
37.4
3.9
Ages 65-79
18.7
3.7
Ages 80+
5.0 (down)
1.8
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 63 deaths on Tuesday and Washington state crossed a grim milestone of 7,000 COVID-related deaths since February 29, 2020.
Edmonds Oktoberfest canceled due to concerns about COVID
This change was made as a safety precaution given the current COVID-19 environment. The rate of new COVID cases reached an all-time high last week at 464 per 100,000 people, according to data released Tuesday, Sept. 7, by the Snohomish Health District.
“This decision was not made lightly,” said Maggie Peterson, Edmonds Rotary President. “We very much want Edmonds Oktoberfest to be a family-friendly traditional event but the current rise in COVID-19 cases, combined with the start of the school year, creates a situation where there would be many vaccinated and unvaccinated individuals co-mingling. We are looking forward to bringing back Oktoberfest (or similar event) including the Kids Korner and all corresponding fun activities in 2022!”
Edmonds Oktoberfest Founder and Committee Co-Chair David Kaufer added, “We are dependent on volunteers to run this event, with more than 170 volunteer slots identified. We do not feel comfortable placing them, as well as attendees and other participants, in a situation where they may be at a higher risk of catching or transmitting this highly contagious variant.”
Those who have purchased tickets for Edmonds Oktoberfest may request a refund by emailing david@edmondsrotary.com.
Almost 4,800 state employees ask to be exempt from vaccine mandate
State employees not represented by the WFSE have until October 4 to receive the single dose Johnson & Johnson vaccine to be in compliance with the October 18 deadline if they have not received their first dose of the Moderna or Pfizer vaccines. Certain employees with the WFSE could go past that date if they meet certain requirements set in the compromise ratified last week.
Anti-vaccine protest planned at Skyview High School in Vancouver – again
The group Waking Up Washington is planning a protest at Skyview High School in Vancouver, Washington on Wednesday, and they are bringing infamous Seattle street preacher Matthew with them. If you have ever been to a protest, rally, concert, march, parade, or large sporting event in Seattle, you have likely heard Matthew.
This action is being driven by 14-year old Melanie Gabriel, a student at the school who was attempting to get a 504 exemption to not have to wear a mask. The anti-vaccination activity in Oregon and Washington is largely run by a handful of people. Michelle Morales-Walker is the most prominent voice and face of the movement. She is supported by Joey Gibson of Patriot Prayer, Ammon Bundy, Washougal Women, and Palmer Davis of La Center.
The group was withdrawn from a planned protest in Olympia on Saturday, due to a Proud Boys rally planned for the same day.
The Seattle Truth Network, in coordination with Wake Up Washington, is planning an anti-vaccination event on September 25 at Rooster’s Bakery and Cafe in Woodinville.
Puyallup Mayor organizing fund raiser for employees at MultiCare Good Samaritan Hospital
Door created the GoFundMe page on Sept. 2 and had $6,050 as of Sept. 10. She thought she could show support for the employees by raising funds to give each of them a $5 Starbucks gift card.
Editor’s Opinion: Not directed at Mayor Door, however, most medical workers would prefer for everyone to wear a mask and get vaccinated so they don’t show up in the emergency department sick due to COVID. It isn’t a lack of gratitude. They’re exhausted and see this current wave as preventable.
Travel Advisories
We recommend avoiding all travel to Spokane, Yakima, Klickitat, Benton, Franklin, and Walla Walla counties, along with the states of Alaska and Idaho. Hospital resources in these regions are so constrained that you may receive inadequate care if you experience a medical emergency.
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
No update beyond please get vaccinated.
King County, Washington is reporting over 85% 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.
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, 23.1% of all acute care patients hospitalized in Washington have COVID. A hospital system caring for this many COVID-positive patients in acute care is considered to be under “severe stress.” ICUs are at 91.4% of capacity statewide, with 35.6% of ICU patients fighting COVID. This is the highest level of occupancy within Washington state ICUs and the highest percentage of COVID patients under care.
The hospital admission rate Epidemiologic Curve dashboard wasn’t working today. It appears the daily hospitalization rate is in the 160s, which would be close to yesterday. This is another encouraging sign that the state may be hitting a peak. The Department of Health reported there were 1,683 COVID patients statewide on September 13 and 269 on ventilators. Both numbers indicate a decline although we have no way of knowing if the decline was due to fatalities or releases.
We got a response from the Washington State Department of Health on getting data on NICU, PICU, and pediatric COVID cases. The state is working on tracking that data and providing it as either a report or a dashboard. The date of availability was not provided.
News that Washington was still taking transfer patients from out state has created outrage on social media. The Washington State Hospital Association indicated they were taking patients but emphasized it was far fewer than in the past. Additionally, there are some hospital networks that have facilities between Washington and Oregon or Washington and Idaho, and patient transfers within those systems would be normal. In the same press conference, the WHSA indicated that a patient from Spokane was transferred to Idaho.
Everett Providence reported today that they are accepting “two to three” transfer patients a day, mostly from the North Puget Sound region. However, they currently have patients from Alaska, Idaho, and Montana. Officials also pointed out that Snohomish County is sending patients to King County.
– Alcott Elementary (1*) – Carson Elementary (2*) – Dickinson Elementary (1*) – Eastlake High (1*) – Einstein Elementary (1*) – Ella Baker Elementary (1*) – Robert Frost Elementary (9) – Juanita Elementary (2*) – Juanita High School (37) – Peter Kirk Elementary (1*) – Redmond Elementary (2*) – Redmond Middle School (1*) – Rose Hill Elementary (1*) – Rose Hill/Stella Schola Middle School (1*) – Thoreau Elementary (4*)
– Kamiakin Middle School (140) – Mark Twain Elementary (3*)
Northshore
YELLOW
– Arrowhead Elementary (7) – Bothell High School (28**) – Canyon Creek Elementary (12) – Canyon Park Middle School (4) – Cottage Lake Elementary (13) – Crystal Springs Elementary (13) – East Ridge Elementary (3) – Fernwood Elementary (7) – Frank Love Elementary (12) – Hollywood Hills Elementary (3) – Inglemoor High School (3) – Innovation Lab High School (2) – Kenmore Elementary (3) – Kenmore Middle School (31) – Maywood Hills Elementary (6) – North Creek High School (15**) – Ruby Bridges Elementary (4) – Shelton View Elementary (14**) – Skyview Middle School (67) – Sunrise Elementary (18) – Timbercrest Middle School (21) – Westhill Elementary (6) – Woodin Elementary (4) – Woodinville High School (18)
Under Investigation
Local Districts Scorecard – * indicates positive cases only ** indicates 5 or more confirmed positive cases
The Lake Washington School District updated its tracking dashboard providing a better degree of insight on the number of confirmed COVID cases among students and faculty, mirroring the information provided by the Bellevue School District.
Although there are a significant number of impacted schools in the LWSD, there have not been any community transmission outbreaks within the district. The number of impacted schools in BSD declined overnight, and we were able to get more data on quarantines.
The more concerning trend is in the Northshore School District where 3 schools now have 5 or more reported confirmed COVID cases. Bothell High School has 7 confirmed cases between students and faculty, and another 21 in quarantine. Shelton View Elementary has 5 confirmed cases among students and another 9 in quarantine. North Creek High School has 7 confirmed cases among students, and 8 more in quarantine.
Three states have exited the CDC ‘high’ COVID transmission category – Vermont, the most vaccinated state, Connect, the second most vaccinated state, and California, the 16th most vaccinated state.
The Pentagon announced guidance on the vaccination mandate that was established in August for active-duty military. Service members have three months to become fully vaccinated for face discharge from the force. The Marines released a soldier last week for refusing to wear a mask, issuing a general discharge under honorable conditions.
In what could be called ironic, Russian President Vladamir Putin is self-isolating after he was exposed to COVID. Putin who is vaccinated has faced accusations from European and North American nations of backing the spread of COVID misinformation to undermine trust in democratic governments.
Alaska
Providence Alaska Medical Center in Anchorage Alaska, the largest hospital in the state, was forced to move to crisis standards of care on Tuesday. The hospital published a two-page letter explaining why they had to restrict care and start making black tag triage decisions.
“At this time, we feel we have an ethical obligation to be transparent with our community and share with the public the distressing reality of what is happening inside the walls of our hospital. The state’s COVID-19 Dashboard isn’t equipped or designed to demonstrate the intricacies of providing medical care during this unprecedented time. More than 30% of the adult patients hospitalized at Providence have tested positive for COVID-19.
Our caregivers are doing their best, just as they have been for the past 18 months of this pandemic. We believe that the Providence administration has acted in good faith throughout the pandemic, following the guidance of local and national experts to create policies and procedures that protect patients and caregivers.
While we are doing our utmost, we are no longer able to provide the standard of care to each and every patient who needs our help. The acuity and number of patients now exceeds our resources and our ability to staff beds with skilled caregivers, like nurses and respiratory therapists. We have been forced within our hospital to implement crisis standards of care.
What does this mean? In short, we are faced with a situation in which we must prioritize scarce resources and treatments to those patients who have the potential to benefit most. We have been required to develop and enact policies and procedures to ration medical care and treatments, including dialysis and specialized ventilatory support.”
Doctor Kristen Solana Walkinshaw, Chief of Staff indicated that this decision could have a dramatic impact on healthcare across Alaska.
“Nurses here are not leaving because of the vaccine mandates. They’re leaving because they’re overwhelmed by the emotional toll it’s taking,” Gonsette, the Providence hospitalist, said in an interview Tuesday. “Part of it, we all feel it, is because we are not heard. The public either wants to bury their head in the sand or maybe some of them really don’t know what’s going on. Those are the ones we’re trying to reach.”
Colorado
We have avoided reporting on right-wing radio or TV personalities who have become infected or have died from COVID, but Bob Enyart was a special kind of awful. Enyart, a provocateur who gleefully mocked the deaths of AIDS victims, had encouraged his listeners not to get any of the three available COVID-19 vaccines because he claimed they had been tested on “cells of aborted babies.” (Though coronavirus vaccines do not contain fetal cells, Johnson & Johnson used a historic fetal cell line to produce and manufacture its vaccine; Pfizer and Moderna used a fetal cell line in a very early phase to confirm efficacy prior to production.) He also successfully sued the state of Colorado over COVID-related restrictions on church attendance.
Enyart’s wife is still hospitalized with COVID.
Editor’s Note: It is ironic that Mr. Enyart would die after exaggerating the danger AIDS presented to the general population while minimizing the impact of the second pandemic in his lifetime.
Idaho
The situation in Idaho is going from worse to catastrophic. In a media briefing today Idaho Health and Welfare Director Dave Jeppesen reported “Hospitalizations in Southwest, Central and South Central health districts, which includes the Treasure Valley and the Magic Valley, are reaching a critical point,” Jeppesen said. “Without a change in direction, crisis standards of care are imminent for all three of those health districts.”
Any permitted event or activity held in a city-owned building must require masks indoors, require masks outdoors if six feet of physical distance can not be maintained, and submit a plan to the city for approval, and requiring “COVID-19 Protocol Ambassadors” on-site. In addition, the mayor said, all events over 250 people must require proof of vaccination or a recent negative COVID test.
Event organizers will be tasked with supplying masks to those who do not have them.
“We do believe that here in Fargo, we’re probably about two to three weeks away from peaking in terms of COVID cases. But we’re already at capacity and have been for a few weeks now due to our overall non-COVID census being very high,” said Dr. Doug Griffin, vice president and chief medical officer at Sanford Health in Fargo.
Griffin said most of their COVID patients are local or coming from western North Dakota, where vaccination rates remain low. Griffin said the hospital is turning away patients who need critical care, some from as far away as southern Minnesota.
“If I could put on a statewide mandate, if the health department could do it, we’d do it,” he said during a Tuesday press conference. “The legislature has made it very clear that if we put a mandate on for kids in schools to wear a mask, they would take it off.”
DeWine’s comments were a shift from the Republican governor’s previous position, which had been that there isn’t an “appetite” for such mandates. DeWine has instead emphasized personal responsibility and sharing information with Ohioans.
“The good news is that we did peak,” said Peter Graven with Oregon Health and Science University. “The bad news is, the model is showing that it could take until the end of October or even November until we really get down to the levels that we had prior to the surge.”
With recent testing difficulties and delays in contact tracing, parents around Utah are saying they aren’t getting notified of their kids’ classroom exposures until it’s almost too late to do anything about it. Quarantine periods generally are backdated to begin 10 days after the exposure or a student began having symptoms, but families may not know to start quarantine until days later.
Misinformation
We have a two for one tonight for misinformation. Part one – Nicki Minaj.
My cousin in Trinidad won’t get the vaccine cuz his friend got it & became impotent. His testicles became swollen. His friend was weeks away from getting married, now the girl called off the wedding. So just pray on it & make sure you’re comfortable with ur decision, not bullied
There is no scientific evidence, nor one single VAERS entry prior to September 13, 2021, stating that the COVID vaccine causes swelling in a man’s testicles. There is no scientific evidence to back up the claim that the COVID vaccine causes infertility in men or women (there is evidence that COVID infections cause stillbirths and premature births).
However, there is a condition that can cause swelling of the testicles, infertility, and a mate wanting to call off a wedding. That’s called gonorrhea. This type of misinformation is called a false causality fallacy where the “link between premises and conclusion depends on some imagined causal connection that probably does not exist.”
That would be correct.
First, it was hydroxychloroquine, and more than a year after former President Donald Trump stopped advocating it as a possible treatment, people are still taking it.
Then it was Chlorine dioxide, a chemical bleach that has been previously advertised as a junk science cure for autism.
Next came ivermectin – and we’ve beat that dead horse into the ground.
Then it was glyphosate, a herbicide.
Now it’s Betadine, the iodine-based antibacterial antiseptic. Yes, Betadine, and apparently people are drinking it and gargling with it, despite it being toxic when ingested. Additionally, long-term consumption of excess iodine can damage the thyroid.
“Betadine® Antiseptic First Aid products have not been approved to treat coronavirus. Betadine® Antiseptic First Aid products should only be used to help prevent infection in minor cuts, scrapes and burns.”
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) The number of hospitalized COVID patients dropped slightly over the weekend, while the number of critically ill patients on ventilators increased. New King County and statewide vaccination data show the gap between the most vaccinated and least vaccinated counties grew wider. A new IHME forecast indicates Washington may have hit the peak but forecasts a long fall ahead.
Two more schools in the Lake Washington School District reported COVID cases, while the number of quarantined students at Kamiakin Middle School rose to 140.
The Washington State Hospital Association stated hospitals were operating in “contingency care” as staffing, transportation, and some critical equipment remain in tight supply. 911 dispatchers in Seattle were diverting ambulance calls for part of the day on Saturday, as local emergency departments were flooded with a surge of patients.
A ferry was delayed by a man who refused to wear a mask, and on Friday, ferries heading to the San Juan Islands were canceled due to a sick out.
Complaints have emerged at the Spokane County Fair and the Washington State Fair due to people not wearing masks indoors and lax enforcement.
Almost 90 Washington state employees have filed a lawsuit in Walla Walla trying to block the governor’s vaccination mandate. A woman was cited for trespass in Vancouver for refusing to wear a mask and refusing to leave a private business.
The gap between the highest vaccinated counties versus the least widened more over the weekend. In the South Central Hospital Region, which includes Benton, Franklin, Klickitat, Walla Walla, and Yakima counties, new cases are 886.1 per 100K people. In comparison, the Central Hospital Region, which represents King County, had a rate of 318.6.
Percent of Total Population Fully Vaccinated
Average 14-Day New Case Rate (unadjusted)
50.00% or above (12 counties)
530.8 (up)
40.00% to 49.99% (18 counties)
764.5 (up)
27.30% to 39.99% (19 counties)
848.6 (up)
14-Day New COVID Cases per 100K average by Vaccination Rate, Not Adjusted for Population
Through September 12, Washington’s statewide 14-day rolling average was 526.1 COVID cases per 100K, which is slightly up from Friday but still within the 500 to 535 range the state has bounced between for weeks. Asotin (1,007.1 per 100K), Clallam (1,057.7 per 100K), Douglas (1,024.0 per 100K), Franklin (1,182.0 per 100K), Grant (1,036.7 per 100K) Lincoln (1194.6 per 100K), Okanogan (1,013.2 per 100K), and Stevens (1,191.2 per 100K) reported an extreme number of new cases. Counties in the 800.0 to 999.9 per 100K range include Adams, Benton, Chelan, Columbia, Cowlitz, Grays Harbor, Lewis, Pend Oreille, and Yakima. Garfield County dropped to 764.0
The Washington State Department of Health reports a data backlog for test positivity, with the published number 14 days old. According to Johns Hopkins University Medicine, the positivity rate for the last 30 days is 13.40%, and over the previous 7 days, 13.81%. These numbers indicate the state is under testing. Further, there has been little change in the positivity rate for almost a month.
The 7-day case rate by age was up in every age group except 35 to 49-year-olds. Hospitalizations were flat or slightly down over the weekend, and that decrease is mirrored in the patient reports from the Washington State Hospital Association.
Age Group
7-Day Case Rate
7-Day Hospitalization Rate
Ages 0-11
31.8 (up)
0.1
Ages 12-19
25.0 (up)
0.1 (down)
Ages 20-34
57.4 (up)
1.3
Ages 35-49
49.5 (down)
2.6
Ages 50-64
37.0 (up)
3.7
Ages 65-79
18.1 (up)
3.5 (down)
Ages 80+
5.4 (up)
1.7
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 68 deaths on Friday. Numbers from over the weekend typically include multiple days of data and should not be used to read a trend.
Seattle Fire Department diverted 911 calls for ambulances on Saturday
For part of the day on Saturday, calls to Seattle 911 for ambulances were being diverted, with only the most serious calls being responded to. Critical calls were still covered, while others, which would normally get an EMS response, were told they would need to transport themselves.
Hospitals may decide to divert ambulances from going to their emergency room when they get overwhelmed with patients or are expecting a surge from incidents such as a mass casualty event. On Saturday, multiple emergency departments were beyond capacity in Seattle, which created a ripple effect impacting emergency departments both east and north of the city. On Saturday evening, one area hospital had over 80 patients in the emergency department and another 22 waiting for hospital beds.
The number of people coming into emergency departments wasn’t just due to COVID. There was an influx of medical emergencies such as cardiac arrests and several significant auto accidents. Additionally, the Washington State Hospital Association reported this morning there is a shortage of ambulances for ground transit.
Calls to 911 for EMS and fire services were above average on Saturday but nowhere near the record set on June 28, when the department responded to 555 calls for aid.
Latest IHME forecast projects Washington state has hit the peak
On Friday, the IHME updated its forecast models, which projected that Washington state has hit the peak for the current wave. The projected number of fatalities through December 1 declined slightly also, to 8,784. Part of the decline is due to the Washington vaccination mandate for state employees and the statewide order for mask wear. The model projects that if mask wear compliance was 100%, we could save 600 lives.
The model also projects that the state will only see a gradual decline in cases and will settle to half of the current volume of new cases, patients, and fatalities. The Washington State Hospital Association expressed today that slashing the number of hospitalized COVID patients from 22% to 11% as a new normal would be unsustainable for the healthcare system.
Vancouver police cite woman for trespass over refusal to wear mask
The incident apparently happened on September 8 but blew up on social media over the weekend after a story was run in the Post Millenial. A woman with her children at Chuck’s Produce and Street Market on Southeast Mill Plain Blvd. refused to wear or mask or leave the store when directed by staff. She continued to shop and was told police would be called.
When Vancouver police arrived, she continued to refuse the leave the store and went to checkout. While she continued to defy store management and the police, she was cited for trespassing.
Not 2 miles from my home in Vancouver, WA you find: Police writing tickets to citizens for grocery shopping at Chuck's on Millplain without a face mask. Someone tell me what's brought us to this (Hat tip to retired cop who sent it to me) pic.twitter.com/sS14i5Otts
Woman issued a trespass citation for refusing to leave a store in Vancouver, Washington, on September 8
Kitsap ferry delayed by man who refused to wear a mask
On Saturday, the 7:40 PM sailing of the Kitsap ferry from Fauntleroy was delayed for over an hour by a man who refused to wear a mask. According to Washington State Ferry employees, the man was asked to put a mask on during the crossing and refused. He then became “aggressive” toward the crew and appeared to be inebriated. He was issued a 60-day no-trespass order from the Washington State Ferries property. We also hope he didn’t drive off in a vehicle.
Weekend sick-out impacts ferry service to the San Juan Islands
After weeks of threats, a sickout impacted ferry service to the San Juan Islands on Friday evening. Two ferry runs out of Anacortes to Friday Harbor, the 4:45 PM and the 8:20 PM, along with the additional stops at Lopez, Shaw, and Orcas, were canceled due to a lack of Coast Guard certified personnel. Additionally, the #3 Samish was running behind schedule for the afternoon and early evening.
The Washington Federation of State Employees, which includes Washington State Ferries employees, ratified their agreement over mandated COVID vaccination with the state of Washington on Thursday. Over 80% of members voting in favor of the compromise agreement.
Spokane County Fair organizers respond after photos emerge of maskless guests and vendors
Photos emerged over the weekend of non-existent mask wear at the Spokane County Fair. According to KREM, Kevin Humphrey, a regular guest at the fair, talked to officials about the lack of masks and was told that masks were only checked at the entrance but were not being enforced.
In response to the photos, Spokane Interstate Fair Director Erin Gurtel wrote, “The Spokane Fair and Expo Center staff is communicating with all vendors in writing daily, along with verbal announcements over the Fairgrounds sound system multiple times a day. All of the vendors have been made aware of the requirement to wear masks indoors and starting tomorrow, September 13th, we will require this indoors and outdoors.”
The fair has also created numerous signs to post all over the grounds to communicate the new requirement of outdoor masks, Gurtel said. The fair’s team is also doing its best to communicate the requirement and make sure it is “being adhered to,” she added.
People complaining about lack of masks at the Washington State Fair
In Puyallup, where up to one million people are expected to visit the Washington State Fair through September 26, complaints are growing about maskless vendors and guests. Numerous pictures and videos emerged of groups of people both indoors and out.
89 state employees sue over Washington state employee vaccine mandate
A group of state employees from the Washington State Patrol, Washington State Ferries, and Washington State Department of Corrections filed a lawsuit in Walla Walla against the looming vaccine requirement.
According to a report in Northwest News, Nathan Arnold, the lawyer who filed the lawsuit, wrote, “The penalties for not taking affirmative action to comply with the Governor’s Mandate are overly severe, punitive, and unconscionable.” He also called the penalty of termination “arbitrary and capricious,” especially for employees who can work from home or have natural immunity from having previously contracted COVID-19.
The lead plaintiffs are William and Sherra Cleary. Mr. Cleary was listed as a King County firefighter and Ms. Cleary as a healthcare worker who is also pregnant. The plaintiffs are looking for the court to declare the vaccine mandate unconstitutional.
The Tri-Cities Herald reported Troopers Travis Brawdy and Brittany Crosby with the Washington State Patrol and Michele Vasquez, an employee of the Washington state Department of Revenue, were also listed as plaintiffs.
The Biden Administrator’s order for federal employees and contractors to get vaccinated also impacts 11,000 workers at Hanford.
Travel Advisories
We recommend avoiding all travel to Yakima, Klickitat, Benton, Franklin, and Walla Walla counties, along with the state of Idaho. Hospital resources in these regions are so constrained that you may receive inadequate care if you experience a medical emergency.
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 report, in which two senior Food and Drug Administration officials were contributors along with the World Health Organization, came as another study indicated the FDA approved Pfizer vaccine and the emergency authorized Moderna and Johnson & Johnson vaccines remain highly effective against hospitalization and death.
“The ability of vaccines that present the antigens of earlier phases of the pandemic (rather than variant-specific antigens) to elicit humoral immune responses against currently circulating variants6,7 indicates that these variants have not yet evolved to the point at which they are likely to escape the memory immune responses induced by those vaccines.”
King County, Washington is reporting over 85% 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.
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, 23.2% of all acute care patients hospitalized in Washington have COVID. A hospital system caring for this many COVID-positive patients in acute care is considered to be under “severe stress.” ICUs are at 90.9% of capacity statewide, with 35.0% of ICU patients fighting COVID. All of these numbers are up from over the weekend.
The new hospital admission rate for COVID patients was 162 per day on September 11. This is a decrease from last week and is an indicator that the state may be at its peak. The Department of Health reported there were 1,742 COVID patients statewide on September 12 and 275 on ventilators. That is down from the 283 reported on Saturday. Weekend numbers typically get adjusted upward on Tuesday as additional data is processed.
EvergreenHealth reported there are 39 COVID patients in Kirkland and none in Monroe.
The Washington State Hospital Association held its weekly press conference, telling reporters that hospitals are operating under “contingency care” statewide. From walk-in clinics to trauma centers, medical facilities continue to struggle with the crush of regular and COVID patients.
We are in a crisis, but we are not in crisis standards of care,” said Washington State Hospital Association (WSHA) Executive Vice President Taya Briley.
Briley also reported that 95% of hospitalized COVID patients statewide are unvaccinated, saying, “We are far, far above our peak from last year.”
Dr. Christopher Baliga with Virginia Mason Franciscan Health in Seattle added, “The hospitals are struggling.”
“Everyone who works in healthcare, it does feel like everybody has gone back to normal. It is scary, frustrating, and disheartening for people not to understand what is going on. We have stretched almost as far as we can go.”
“With the last surge in the fall, our hospitals were empty. That’s not true anymore. All of those patients are there…and they are sicker. This is non-COVID. YOu now have a hospital that is essentially full having to manage an influx of COVID patients.”
When asked about what additional resources would be available to improve the situation, Briley reported there were few options left. The state was already enlisting the help of unpaid volunteers. The WSHA had already reached out for National Guard resources, but the critical staff and equipment have already been deployed to other states to support their COVID surges, along with aiding in hurricane, flooding, and climate disasters. Federal resources are also stretched thin.
The press conference closed with an appeal to get vaccinated, wear a mask, and avoid risky behavior that could cause a general injury.
– Benjamin Franklin Elementary (?) – Juanita Elementary (1) – Juanita High School (37) – Peter Kirk Elementary (2) – Robert Frost Elementary (9) – Thoreau Elementary (4)
– Kamiakin Middle School (140) – Mark Twain Elementary
Northshore
YELLOW
– Arrowhead Elementary (1) – Bothell High School (19) – Canyon Creek Elementary (9) – Canyon Park Middle School (4) – Cottage Lake Elementary (4) – Crystal Springs Elementary (4) – East Ridge Elementary (2) – Fernwood Elementary (2) – Frank Love Elementary (11) – Hollywood Hills Elementary (1) – Inglemoor High School (2) – Kenmore Elementary (1) – Kenmore Middle School (7) – Maywood Hills Elementary (2) – North Creek High School (6) – Ruby Bridges Elementary (1) – Secondary Academy for Success (1) – Shelton View Elementary (7) – Skyview Middle School (10) – Sunrise Elementary (4) – Timbercrest Middle School (9) – Westhill Elementary (5) – Woodin Elementary (1) – Woodinville High School (7) – Woodmore Elementary (9)
None
Local Districts Scorecard
In the Lake Washington School District, new quarantines were announced at Ben Franklin and Robert Frost, while the number of quarantined students at Kamiakin Middle School grew to 140, 24% of the student body. Several classrooms are now fully virtual, moving the school over into the closure column.
It is important to note that quarantined does not indicate widespread infection. To date, none of the area schools we are following have reported a significant outbreak of COVID cases that has been transmitted in school or at school activities.
Kirkland-Bellevue-Woodinville
King County Public Health updated the vaccination rates by zip code, with the numbers improving throughout the region. The northern half of Kirkland continues to lag behind the rest of the local area.
King County COVID vaccination rates – at least one dose – by zip code as of September 13, 2021
Zip Code
Percent vaccinated, at least one dose, 12 and older
98155
92.7%
98028
89.2%
98011
88.7%
98034
86.0%
98033
92.6%
98072
91.6%
98052
>95.0%
98004
>95.0%
98039
94.3%
98005
>95.0%
98007
89.9%
Vaccination rates for those 12 and older by zip code – at least one dose
National Round-Up
Johns Hopkins University Cumulitaive Case Tracker does not reflect nationwide data on Monday due to the way states report their information.
Irresponsible headline of the day – 57% of hospitalized COVID patients are asymptomatic or have mild symptoms
The Atlantic is grabbing headlines with a story out this afternoon, Our Most Reliable Pandemic Number is Losing Meaning. There is a lot that is problematic with this story and the interpretation of a study released today. The study, The COVID-19 Hospitalization Metric in the Pre- and Post-vaccination Eras as a Measure of Pandemic Severity: A Retrospective, Nationwide Cohort Study, is a pre-print non-reviewed study. The study includes a list of prestigious and respected doctors from the Veteran’s Administration and Tufts University.
For those who only read headlines (and the coming misinformation memes), there are many things to consider that the story in The Atlantic did not.
COVID patients, even when asymptomatic or mildly sick, require additional safety protocols for hospital staff. This takes up time, equipment, and personal protection equipment. This would be the same protocols for patients with other infectious diseases such as a measles outbreak. The critical difference is the scale of the number of COVID positive patients coming into hospitals.
The report only analyzed patients in the Veteran’s Administration, which is heavily male, and does not include pediatric patients. The VA demographics are not representative of the United States population.
The report study period ended in June, before the surge in Delta cases.
The study did not control for patients who required oxygen therapy before being admitted to a VA hospital, a condtion that is more common among veterans than the general population.
The VA has a policy of testing all patients for COVID regardless of what they come into the hospital for. That is not reflective of all hospitals in the United States.
Not all severe cases of COVID are admitted to a VA hospital, and those cases aren’t included in the data.
The report concludes, “Consideration should be given to updating the definition of COVID-19 hospitalizations to improve differentiation between hospitalization caused by COVID-19 and those associated with detection of SARS-CoV-2 through the addition of straightforward and objective measures of disease severity.”
After reaching a peak of 2,890 COVID-19 inpatients on Sept. 1, the state’s hospitals are starting to see a steady fall in the number of coronavirus patients.
As of Monday, hospitals were down to 2,474 patients being treated for the virus, according to the latest data from the Alabama Department of Public Health. It’s not clear to what extent the drop in hospitalizations is due to deaths or discharges.
By Monday, the state health department reported 210 COVID-19 patients in Alaska hospitals — the most ever. Thirty-three of them were on ventilators.
Health care officials have also cautioned that the true number of hospitalizations is likely even higher because the state’s data doesn’t include some long-term coronavirus patients, reported the Anchorage Daily News.
Hospitals in Anchorage had no remaining ICU beds on Monday.
Police have confirmed they are investigating a report of a hate crime and battery that occurred in the city last week, but they declined to disclose further details.
The Wells Fargo employee asked the man to wear a mask, and he responded aggressively. When he offered a mask to the customer, he started rummaging through the file cabinets and drawers of the bank, forcing employees to threaten to call the police.
The man then threatened the employee, calling him a racial slur and finishing with, “I better not catch you outside.”
When the bank closed at 5:30, the man was waiting for the banker and assaulted him in the parking lot. The employee fought back, and as a coworker called the police, the attacker fled. He was chased for a block, and as police arrived, scrambled over a fence.
“It’s crazy,” he added. “The guy went home, he plotted, he laid in wait, he ambushed me. And he called me a ‘sp–.’ I’m thinking, ‘Gosh, you know, he completely escalated on his own. He didn’t like the idea of having to wear a mask.’”
Speaking in Alachua County, DeSantis said government agencies in violation could potentially face millions of dollars in penalties.
“We are gonna stand for the men and women who are serving us. We are gonna protect Florida jobs,” DeSantis said. “We are not gonna let people be fired because of a vaccine mandate.”
Cases started climbing in late June and finally topped out toward the end of August. At that point, the state averaged more than 9,200 new cases a day. The average dropped by almost a thousand a week later.
Georgia never surpassed January’s surge that topped out at an average of nearly 11,000 new cases a day, but the state did almost double the peak from July 2020 of less than 4,700.
Health experts questioned whether traveling and get-togethers over the Labor Day weekend would keep cases climbing. The holiday still falls well within the two-week preliminary data window, so the state is still counting tests from that time.
Idaho’s 2,713 new cases, which included the weekend, brought the state’s seven-day moving average for new daily cases to 1,400. Hospitalizations hit a record high on Friday, with 626 patients hospitalized with COVID-19 statewide.
The Panhandle and North Central Health Districts in Idaho continue to operate using “crisis standards of care.” We strongly recommend not to travel to Idaho during this time of medical crisis. Any health emergency requiring hospitalization could result in you receiving inadequate care.
Illinois
We reported last week about Veronica Wolski. A well-known figure in the Chicago area for her sign waves over an expressway, last week it was widely reported that she was in the hospital with COVID.
Veronica Wolski in a Chicago area Staples refusing to wear a face mask, and on BIPAP therapy at a Chicago area hospital
Wolski died on Sunday night to the outrage of the QAnon community, disgraced lawyer Lin Wood, and former national security advisory Michael Flynn. According to her supporters, she had requested to be treated with ivermectin, and the hospital has refused.
A harassment campaign led by Wood and Flynn flooded the hospital with phone calls and e-mails.
Disgraced lawyer Lin Wood’s statement on the death of Veronica Wolski
Wolski was a passionate supporter of Bernie Sanders starting in 2014, campaigning vigorously for the Vermont Senator. When Sanders failed to get the nomination from the Democratic Party, she became despondent and starting following the QAnon conspiracy.
North Carolina
The Union County Public School Board voted Monday morning to end COVID-19 contact tracing and quarantining for non-positive students and staff.
That means students can go to school even if they have come in close contact with someone who is COVID-positive. The only people who have to stay home are those who have tested positive or have symptoms.
The School Board released a statement after the decision was made.
“At the Sept. 13 Special Called meeting, the Union County Board of Education voted effective immediately, to halt all staff responsibilities regarding contact tracing and quarantining for students and staff, except as required by law. The statutory authority of managing contact tracing and quarantining is that of Union County Public Health.
“As required by law, school nurses, administrators and school staff will continue to address positive, presumptive or confirmed cases of COVID-19. All students and staff who do not have a positive COVID-19 test or symptoms, should return to school or work immediately.
“If students or employees have the following symptoms: fever or chills, sore throat, cough, shortness of breath or difficulty breathing, fatigue, muscle or body aches, new loss of taste or smell, sore throat, congestion or runny nose, nausea, diarrhea and vomiting, headache, they should stay home, stay away from others and call their health care provider.
“Students and employees who have been isolated due to a positive case or COVID-19 symptoms, should not report to school or work until they have completed 10 days of isolation, symptoms have improved and fever free for 24 hours without fever-reducing medication.
“Face coverings are still optional for students and staff in Union County Public Schools.”
“The hospital is full,” said Rex Director of Emergency Services Kim Boyder. “We are like 90% or greater capacity in the hospital. So that means we also get backed up in the ER. So that means we need additional space for not only the volume but some of the boarding.”
Although COVID-19 related hospitalizations have declined since Friday, 93% of Oregon’s hospital beds for adults are full, and there are just 62 adult intensive care unit beds available in the state.
Between Friday and Sunday, health officials say there were 32 deaths due to COVID-19. To date, the state’s death toll since the start of the pandemic is 3,446.
Oregon is in the midst of its worst COVID-19 surge since the start of the pandemic — which health officials say is fueled by unvaccinated people and the highly transmissible delta variant.
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 continue to struggle with more officials warning they are running out of staff and resources. Counties with higher vaccination rates have fewer new COVID cases, while counties with low vaccination rates run out of options.
There were more COVID cases in all three school districts we are monitoring, including Peter Kirk Elementary and an expansion of quarantined students at Juanita High School and Kamiakin Middle School.
The Washington Federation of State Employees overwhelmingly approved a compromise agreement with Washington in support of the Governor’s vaccine mandate.
The Proud Boys and Patriot Prayer ignored a court order barring protests within one mile of Vancouver, Washington schools. The same organizers of the ongoing Vancouver protests have an event scheduled in Woodinville on September 25.
New data from the CDC shows that Moderna is the vaccine winner against the Delta variant and provides a hint on why the Johnson and Johnson vaccine has all but disappeared.
Reactions to announcements made by the Biden Administration yesterday are following partisan lines to the surprise of no one.
Finally, you probably heard about a study that indicated that 85% of men who take ivermectin become infertile. A study that we haven’t mentioned until right now. We cover that one in our misinformation section.
Although COVID cases remain on a plateau statewide, counties with lower vaccination rates have more new cases per capita.
Percent of Total Population Fully Vaccinated
Average 14-Day New Case Rate (unadjusted)
50.00% or above (12 counties)
517.8
40.00% to 49.99% (17 counties)
697.2
27.30% to 39.99% (10 counties)
828.5
14-Day New COVID Cases per 100K average by Vaccination Rate, Not Adjusted for Population
In the South Central Hospital Region, which includes Benton, Franklin, Klickitat, Walla Walla, and Yakima counties, new cases are 844.9 per 100K people.
Through September 9, Washington’s statewide 14-day rolling average was 508.0 COVID cases per 100K. Clallam (1,008.2 per 100K), Columbia (1,075.3 per 100K), Franklin (1297.0.0 per 100K), Lincoln (1049.5 per 100K, Okanogan (1,001.6 per 100K), and Stevens (1,060.5 per 100K) reported an extreme number of new cases. Counties in the 800.0 to 999.9 per 100K range include Asotin, Benton, Chelan, Cowlitz, Douglas, Grant, Lewis, Pend Oreille, and Yakima. Garfield County dropped to 764.0
King County is at 301.1 cases per 100K, statistically unchanged from yesterday.
The Washington State Department of Health reports a data backlog for test positivity, with the published number 14 days old. According to Johns Hopkins University Medicine, the positivity rate for the last 30 days is 13.73%, and over the previous 7 days, 13.84%. These numbers indicate the state is under testing, and testing locations are becoming overwhelmed in the hardest-hit counties. The rate of hospitalization was flat to down across all age groups.
Age Group
7-Day Case Rate
7-Day Hospitalization Rate
Ages 0-11
28.3 (up)
0.1
Ages 12-19
22.0
0.2
Ages 20-34
50.4 (down)
1.2 (down)
Ages 35-49
45.2
2.8
Ages 50-64
33.2
3.8 (down)
Ages 65-79
16.6
3.8 (down)
Ages 80+
5.1 (down)
1.6
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 agreement provides an additional leave day, a retirement option, vaccine access and education on work time, and a fair, equitable, and consistent process for employees seeking a medical or religious exemption.
“Our union was able to achieve what we set out for—a victory for public health and due process,” said WFSE President and Psychiatric Social Worker Mike Yestramski.
State employees have until this Sunday to get their first dose and comply with the October 18 deadline to be totally vaccinated. Although the Johnson & Johnson vaccine could be received as late as October 4 to meet the deadline, the supply of the single-dose vaccine is low.
Patriot Prayer, Proud Boys, and activists ignore protest injuction in Vancouver
Multiple groups protested at Skyview High School in Vancouver in defiance of a court order restricting protests within one mile of any school in the city. Skyview High School parents received an e-mail informing them of the multiple protests planned. The school district added security and was “coordinating with the Clark County Sheriff’s Office.”
E-mail message sent to Skyview High School parents warning of new protests by anti-vaccination and anti-government groups
Members of Patriot Front, the Proud Boys – including Tusitala “Tiny” Toese, and the Washougal Moms protested on school grounds and across the street. Police did not intervene to enforce the court order. The group then left to protest at the home of Clark County district judge Suzan Clark’s home. Social media posts and a website listed the judge’s address publicly, and on Telegram, there were calls to come armed to her home. Protesters arrived at the published address this afternoon to find that it wasn’t the residence of Judge Clark.
The Group Wake Up Washington calling for a protest at a District Judge’s home to protest a court order
The group that organized the planned protest at the judge’s home also organizes anti-vaccination protests across Washington state, including upcoming area protests in Seattle, Marysville, and Woodinville. The Seattle Truth Network, in coordination with Wake Up Washington, is planning an anti-vaccination event on September 25 at Rooster’s Bakery and Cafe in Woodinville.
Palmer Davis of La Center is behind the announcement to protest at the judge’s house yesterday. Davis ran for a city council seat in La Center last month, receiving 4.68% of the vote in a 4 candidate field.
The anti-vaccination and the anti-government movements are intersectional, with Open Schools USA, Wake Up Washington, and Washougal Mom’s have embraced support from right-wing organizations. In a study released on August 27, the Proud Boys were among the top three factions in the country that brandished firearms at protests, and Patriot Prayer was among the top ten. The same study found that 25% of the events that the Proud Boys showed up at descended into violence.
Travel Advisories
We recommend avoiding all travel to Yakima, Klickitat, Benton, Franklin, and Walla Walla counties, along with the state of Idaho. Hospital resources in these regions are so constrained that you may receive inadequate care if you experience a medical emergency.
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 research data was collected from 187 hospitals and 221 emergency departments and urgent care clinics. The nine states utilized were selected because the Delta variant accounted for at least 50% of the laboratory-confirmed COVID cases at the start of the study period. Researchers examined confirmed COVID cases among 32,867 adults 18 and over, and vaccination status was confirmed using electronic records and immunization registries. For the study, a person was considered fully vaccinated 14 days after they received their final dose.
The median age of an infected person was 43 years old, and the median age for an individual hospitalized was 65. The study did not take into account factors such as weight, race, community COVID restrictions or mandates, or comorbidities.
The study found that the Moderna vaccine was the most effective against the Delta variant, followed by Pfizer and Johnson & Johnson. For the Johnson & Johnson vaccine, some of the data is concerning.
Vaccine
Effectiveness Against Delta Variant
Effectiveness Against Hospitalization
Johnson & Johnson
65%
60%
Moderna
92%
95%
Pfizer
77%
80%
All Vaccinated Individuals
82%
86%
CDC Study on vaccination effectiveness against the Delta variant – September 10, 2021
The study does have several limitations. Overall vaccine effectiveness and how much immunity declines over time have not been fully evaluated, and the time between being completely vaccinated before testing positive was not considered. The study did not account for partial vaccinations, with data included in the unvaccinated group. Lastly, although the study uses a significant population sample, the findings are likely too narrow to apply to the entire United States.
The federal government stopped the distribution of the Johnson & Johnson vaccine in June of this year, and doses are very hard to find. This report provides some insight into why the one-dose vaccine has fallen out of favor.
King County, Washington is reporting over 84% 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.
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, 22.4% of all acute care patients hospitalized in Washington have COVID. A hospital system caring for this many COVID-positive patients in acute care is considered to be under “severe stress.” ICUs are at 89.6% of capacity statewide, with 34.1% of ICU patients fighting COVID, a small increase compared to yesterday.
The new hospital admission rate for COVID patients is 176 per day on September 7. The Department of Health reported there were 1,755 COVID patients statewide and 261 on ventilators.
Yesterday, we reported that at least one hospital in Yakima was having to ration care and warned they were close to crisis standards of care. In Colville, Mount Carmel Hospital is full, and more than half of the patients have COVID.
“Stevens County today has 14. When you think about only having 25 beds or less in critical access,” Peg Currie, the chief operating officer at Providence Healthcare, explained. “Imagine what the emergency rooms are like, the waiting lists are like, to try to get into a higher level of acute care.”
Officials in Spokane County held a press conference today, reporting a record number of COVID and total patients in the hospital.
As of Friday morning, 150 patients with COVID-19 are hospitalized at Sacred Heart and Holy Family Hospital in Spokane, and 95% are unvaccinated, Providence COO Peg Currie said during the press conference.
“It’s not a record that we wanted to break, but we have broken that,” Currie said. “Many of these [patients] are in our ICUs, and everybody that is in the Sacred Heart and Holy Family ICU now on a ventilator is not vaccinated.”
The age group that Providence is seeing the most in its hospitals is 40 to 50 years old, Currie said, which is much younger than previously hospitalized patients.
– Kamiakin Middle School (94) – Juanita Elementary (1) – Juanita High School (37) – Peter Kirk Elementary (2) – Thoreau Elementary (4)
– Mark Twain Elementary – 2nd-grade class (multiple confirmed cases)
Northshore
YELLOW
– Arrowhead Elementary (1) – Bothell High School (18) – Canyon Creek Elementary (10) – Canyon Park Middle School (4) – Crystal Springs Elementary (5) – East Ridge Elementary (2) – Fernwood Elementary (2) – Frank Love Elementary (9) – Hollywood Hills Elementary (1) – Inglemoor High School (1) – Kenmore Elementary (1) – Kenmore Middle School (10) – Maywood Hills Elementary (2) – North Creek High School (11) – Ruby Bridges Elementary (2) – Shelton View Elementary (6) – Skyview Middle School (11) – Sunrise Elementary (1) – Timbercrest Middle School (6) – Westhill Elementary (5) – Woodin Elementary (1) – Woodinville High School (6) – Woodmore Elementary (9)
None
Local Districts Scorecard
The number of students moving to quarantine expanded at Juanita High School and Kamiakin Middle School in the Lake Washington School District. Parents were notified that 29 at Juanita High and 13 at Kamiakin had close contact with a positive COVID case. Additionally, parents at Peter Kirk Elementary were notified that 2 students had been put into quarantine due to a COVID exposure.
Multiple school districts throughout Western Washington are reporting COVID cases, including Shoreline and Edmonds.
Yesterday’s announcement by the Biden Administration’s mandating the COVID vaccine for most federal employees and contractors, and requesting OSHA to implement a program that mandates vaccination or weekly COVID screening at companies with 100 or more employees, is being met with fierce resistance along partisan lines.
The governors of Arizona, Indiana, Georgia, Montana, South Carolina, Tennessee, and Texas vowed to fight the looming OSHA rules in court. During a visit with first lady Jill Biden to a middle school in Washington D.C., the president was asked his message to Republicans who decry the vaccine mandates as federal overreach and plan to challenge them in court.
“Have at it,” Biden said. “We’re playing for real here. This isn’t a game.”
Nome’s hospital doesn’t even have any COVID-19 patients, but it still faces “a COVID problem,” as Dr. Tim Lemaire, a family practitioner and member of the Norton Sound Health Corp. incident command team, put it. “We don’t have COVID here, but we can’t get our regular patients … care because of COVID everywhere else.”
Trying to move patients with heart attacks, strokes, or injuries from four-wheeler accidents, Norton Sound Regional Hospital sometimes has to call three or four facilities to find an open bed, at least once moving a patient all the way to Seattle to get them into an ICU.
State officials say rural hospitals throughout the state are suddenly facing unheard-of medical situations because they’re holding patients they’ve never had to before.
Brian Ritchie, the state’s health emergency response operations manager, helped a rural hospital find oxygen supplies after COVID-positive patients on high-flow therapy ran through existing cylinders faster than expected.
The district hasn’t experienced a single outbreak during the first month of instruction. Officials define an outbreak as “three or more cases in non-related households in which the source of infection occurred at the school, and not another setting.”
The San Francisco health department also emphasized that vaccinations “are our best defense to protect children,” noting most pediatric cases of COVID-19 in the city came from unvaccinated adults in a household getting the virus and spreading it to unvaccinated children.
“The difference between this wave and all past waves is that Coloradans have returned to their normal lives,” Bookman said. “Those who have been vaccinated have been given the opportunity to go out and live their lives. What comes with that is additional cases of trauma, additional heart attacks, additional strokes – we have seen people who have delayed receiving care over the course of the pandemic because they were afraid to go to their doctor. And this is all coming together with the increase in COVID hospitalizations at this point to really stress our health care system.”
Colorado’s hospitals report that 81% of those hospitalized in the state are unvaccinated, and 85% of recent COVID deaths were unvaccinated, said Herlihy.
DeSantis’ press secretary Christina Pushaw tweeted: “(First) District Court of Appeals just granted the State of Florida’s request to reinstate the stay — meaning, the rule requiring ALL Florida school districts to protect parents’ rights to make choices about masking kids is BACK in effect!”
Yesterday, a Brevard County School Board meeting was far more subdued than the August 30 meeting that made national headlines. While things were quieter outside, a crowd of over 20 people gathered to burn masks. A counter-protestor with a megaphone, a Firehouse Subs helmet, and a fire extinguisher lectured them about fire safety and threatened to put out any fire they lit.
Megan Alexandra Blankebhiller of Jacksonville, Florida, arrived in a hospital emergency room on August 13. As she waited to be seen, she shot a short Tik Tok video, where the screams of another person could be heard in the background. The screams were coming from a person who had lost a loved one in another area of the emergency department.
Blankenbiller, who was 31 and unvaccinated, was admitted to the hospital with COVID. She made a series of videos appealing for her followers to get vaccinated from her bed as her condition declined.
“I shouldn’t have waited,” she said in the video, which has been viewed nearly 900,000 times. “If you are even 70% sure that you want the vaccine, go get it. Don’t wait. Go get it because hopefully, if you get it, you won’t end up in the hospital like me.”
By August 20, Blankenbiller was in critical condition and on a ventilator, and she died shortly thereafter. Blankenbiller’s sister, Cristina Blankenbiller, told WebMD in an interview that their family had agreed to get vaccinated, including Alexandra, shortly before she became ill.
Idaho
The Panhandle and North Central Health Districts in Idaho continue to operate using “crisis standards of care.” We strongly recommend not to travel to Idaho during this time of medical crisis. Any health emergency requiring hospitalization could result in you receiving inadequate care.
Illinois
Veronica Wolski was well known in the Chicago area for producing videos and harassing retail employees and people wearing masks. In one video, she walked through a Staples, wearing a “Lone Ranger” style mask, telling the manager who asked her to wear a mask that she has one on and has a medical condition that exempts her.
Veronica Wolski in a Chicago area Staples refusing to wear a face mask, and on BIPAP therapy at a Chicago area hospital
Wolski is hospitalized with COVID at Ressurection Medical Center in Norwood Park, Illinois. According to her supporters, she has requested to be treated with ivermectin, and the hospital has refused. Wolski was known in QAnon circles. Her situation has drawn the attention of disgraced attorney Lin Wood and former National Security Advisor Michael Flynn (have we mentioned lately how the anti-vaccination and the anti-government movements are intersectional).
“At AMITA Health, our first priority is the health and safety of our patients. Our physicians and clinicians follow the full guidance of the FDA and the CDC in the treatment of COVID-19. And while AMITA Health Resurrection Medical Center has received hundreds of phone calls and emails associated with one patient’s care, we have simply and respectfully noted the concerns shared.”
The largest peer-reviewed study on the effectiveness of ivermectin in treating COVID so far indicated that the anti-parasitic provided no benefit compared to a placebo. For hospitalized patients, it made them sicker.
Hospitalizations peaked at 1,178 COVID-19 cases on Sept. 1, and critical care resources remain under extreme strain, with roughly half of all intensive care units in the state filled with COVID-19 patients who are largely unvaccinated.
“It looks like we are seeing the flattening of cases that we had hoped for,” said Peter Graven, Ph.D., lead data scientist in OHSU’s Business Intelligence unit. “However, we are still projecting it will be a very long time before hospitalization levels return to more manageable levels.
Tennessee
Tennessee High schooler Grady Knox’s passionate plea for the health of himself and others was mocked earlier this week at a Rutherford County Board of Education meeting, a scene that has drawn national attention.
Knox was ridiculed, even laughed at, Tuesday evening by some in the school board meeting audience when he said his grandmother died of COVID-19 after being exposed to a person without a mask.
Knox’s grandmother lived at Adams Place retirement community in Murfreesboro before she died of COVID-19.
One of the persons who heckled Knox was quickly identified as Erika Casher, a nurse who had spoken at other school board meetings. It was reported today that Casher was terminated from her position with Cigna.
Texas
Karra Harwood of Baycliff, Texas, is mourning the death of her 4-year old daughter, Kali Cook, who died of COVID. Harwood, who is unvaccinated, had become sick and was confirmed to have on Monday. After her diagnosis, she isolated herself from her family.
Later that evening, Kali’s grandmother noticed she was sick, and at 2 a.m. found that she had a fever. At 7 a.m., she was found dead in her bed. An autopsy confirmed that Kali also had COVID.
“She was so funny and sassy,” said Karra Harwood, Kali’s mother. “She wasn’t your average little girl. She’d rather play with worms and frogs than wear bows. She was just so pretty and full of life.”
Harwood said she didn’t want people to think of her daughter as an anonymous statistic through sobs Thursday. She wanted people to know who her daughter was.
“I would rather her be a name than just a little girl,” she said. “She was beautiful.”
“I was one of the people that was anti. I was against it,” she said. “Now, I wish I never was.”
Misinformation
A lot of schadenfreude has been spilled in the news on social media after a 2011 study on the Effects of Ivermectin therapy on the sperm functions of Nigerian onchocerciasis patients reemerged. The study found that 85% of men who took ivermectin to treat onchocerciasis (river blindness) suffered from low sperm count and poor sperm quality, rendering them infertile.
The story was widely published, and tonight, many media outlets are retracting the story. We never highlighted this piece of news, and we’re labeling the claim as misinformation.
The problems with the study are numerous. First, it only involved 37 men, which is a very small sample size. Researchers wanted to include more people in the study, but many were disqualified because they already had low sperm count and/or low sperm quality.
The men took ivermectin for 11 months to treat active river blindness, which is longer than almost anyone taking human or animal formulations of ivermectin as a preventative or treatment for COVID (no, it doesn’t do either).
The study found that 85% of the men they observed over the 11 months had poor sperm quality and/or count, rendering them infertile. The study didn’t account for other potential factors, which may have been very likely given so many test subjects were rejected before the study was done because they were already functionally infertile.
Misinformation cuts both ways, and you should always consider your own personal biases when consuming information and deciding what is fact and fiction.
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 in a state of collapse with oxygen running low and open discussion of having to move to crisis standards of care. Our Pacific Northwest neighbors in Idaho and Alaska continue to see cases and hospitalizations rise, while Oregon is seeing numbers decline. The updated IHME forecast also paints a bleaker picture for the Evergreen State.
Northshore School District was stable for new cases, while Bellevue moved into status yellow and Thoreau Elementary in Lake Washington reported a new case, and 4 quarantined. Microsoft decides to pause the reopening of U.S. offices indefinitely as Delta continues to surge.
Governor Inslee announced a statewide mask mandate for outdoor large events and fielded questions on why the state isn’t moving to restrict capacity at restaurants, bars, and other venues.
The Clallam County health officer is receiving threats after requiring vaccination verification in restaurants in bars. School officials in Vancouver, Washington had to get an emergency court order against the Proud Boys, Patriot Front, and Open Schools USA. This wasn’t the only COVID-related violence in the United States in the last couple of days.
The Biden Administration announced a long list of measures that will require as many as 100 million to get vaccinated and enable additional safety protocols.
We explain religious exemptions and dive into misinformation about the COVID vaccine and convicted felon Robert O. Young who pretends to be a doctor.
We have good news in Mississippi in Texas tonight – so it isn’t all gloom and doom.
Through September 8, Washington’s statewide 14-day rolling average was 511.6 COVID cases per 100K. Clallam (1,029.0 per 100K), Columbia (1,123.1 per 100K), Franklin (1,328.0 per 100K), and Okanogan (1,027.1 per 100K) reported an extreme number of new cases. Clallam and Okanogan counties broke 1,000 per 100K again, and Franklin County’s 1,328.0 per 100K is one of the highest infection rates we have ever seen. Counties in the 800.0 to 999.9 per 100K range include Asotin, Benton, Chelan, Cowlitz, Douglas, Garfield, Grant, Lewis, Lincoln, Pend Oreille, Stevens, and Yakima.
King County is at 302.2 cases per 100K, nearly unchanged from yesterday.
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 48 deaths yesterday. There may be delayed reporting in that number from the holiday weekend. Still, the dramatic increase of Washingtonians on ventilators that started last week is probably running its course.
Governor Inslee mandates masks at large outdoor events
In a press conference today, Governor Jay Inslee announced that Washington was expanding its existing mask mandate to include large outdoor events. The new rule, which will go into effect on September 13, requires anyone 5 or older to wear a mask, regardless of vaccination status, at outdoor events with more than 500 people.
The new mandate mirrors existing rules already implemented in King and Pierce counties. Additionally, everyone is encouraged to wear a mask outdoors if they are in an area where social distancing and free movement are challenging or impossible.
The governor stated, “We have no plans to do that. We are not considering doing that,” after being asked why the state was not implementing capacity restrictions for bars, restaurants, and other venues.
Dr. Umair Shah, the Washington State Secretary of Health, added, “we have that tool today. Vaccines and that is the tool we are using today.”
When asked if Washington was considering a statewide vaccine passport, Governor Inslee said, “It is not something that is going to happen in the next couple of days, but we are looking at it.”
Clallam County Health Officer receiving threats after restaurant and bar vaccination requirement
Dr. Allison Berry, the Clallam County Health Officer, expressed fear for her safety and refused to go into her office due to threats and harassment after implementing a so-called vaccine passport requirement at bars and restaurants last week.
“It’s been really scary,” said Berry. “It’s certainly affected my life, the way I take care of my child, the way I try to guarantee both of our safety, and the way I do my job,” Berry told KING5 news.
The Clallam County Sheriff’s Office is investigating a few of the comments made toward Berry but said, at this time, none are in criminal violation of the law.
While people are trying to instill fear, Berry said she stands by her decision.
“I think for me, it’s important not to let people who would threaten public officials win,” said Berry.
After the failure of the January 6 insurrection, right-wing and white nationalist groups have been aligning themselves with the anti-vaccination movement. Matt Braynard, who is leading the Justice for J6 rally in Washington D.C. on September 18, is aligned with Del Bigtree of ICAN. Bigtree produced the movie Vaxxed and was a speaker at the Stop the Steal rally on January 6.
Violent incidents were reported in Texas, Michigan, and Missouri in the last 24 hours.
Judge issues emergency order in Vancouver, Washington to protect students
Last Friday, the Proud Boys joined other protesters in Vancouver, Washington, forcing three schools into lockdown while harassing students and faculty and attempting to enter the school building. The protest was caused by misinformation spread by an anti-vaccination and antimask advocate, who claimed a student would be arrested at Skyview High School for refusing to wear a mask. Many of the same people who protested on Friday were in Olympia Saturday at an event that devolved into multiple people being attacked and a shooting.
The same person who organized the protest last week in Vancouver posted on social media on Tuesday, calling for another protest at Skyview High School. This morning, Clark County District Judge Suzan Clark granted an injunction prohibiting protests, rallies, or other gatherings.
The injunction requires that “protests, rallies, gatherings on or near school premises that disrupt educational services, immediately cease and desist and not be allowed to convene on or within a one-mile radius of any Vancouver School District building or grounds.” The injunction is effective as long as state-issued mask mandates are in effect.
“Our district understands and supports free speech and the right for people to be involved in peaceful protests,” said Superintendent Jeff Snell. “However, our first priority is to ensure student and staff safety and an educational environment free of disruption. This responsibility prompted us to present our concerns to the court.”
Former prosecutor and criminal defense attorney Angus Lee penned a warning letter to Clark County Sheriff Chuck Atkins and Chief James McElvain advising them not to make an”invalid arrest.” Lee’s letter is inflammatory and includes transphobic rhetoric while accusing the Clark County Sheriff of providing carte blanche to Black Live Matters protesters last year.
Gabriel made news last year as an 8th grader in Oregon, where she was involved in protests demanding the return of in-person instruction, and she is listed as a co-founder of Open Schools USA, along with Michelle Morales-Walker. The group attended an anti-vaccination mandate in McMinnville, Oregon, on September 6.
IHME forecast for Washington state gets bleaker
The IHME updated the forecast for Washington state through December 1, and the situation has gotten bleaker. The model now forecasts 8,864 COVID deaths total by December 1 if the state continues on its current trajectory. Fatalities are forecasted to peak on November 2.
Hospital resources are projected to peak next week but stay at that high state until October. More concerning, the model predicts the state may be at a peak for new cases now but shows cases increasing again in November to even higher levels than the current peak.
If everyone wore a mask, we could save 1,000 lives, according to the model.
Travel Advisories
We recommend avoiding all travel to Yakima, Klickitat, Benton, Franklin, and Walla Walla counties, along with the state of Idaho. Hospital resources in these regions are so constrained that you may receive inadequate care if you experience a medical emergency.
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Vaccination
With vaccination mandates growing nationwide, and the anti-vaccination movement shrinking in numbers, some people are applying for a religion-based vaccine exemption. This raises the question, Which religions shun vaccination as part of their tenets.
The short answer is none of the major religions, nor their branches have an anti-vaccination doctrine. There are a few sects, mostly aligned with Christianity, that have an established theological objection. That includes Dutch Reformed, Faith Tabernacle, Chuch of the First Born, Faith Assembly, and End Time Ministrie.
In Islam and Judaism, only the strictest adherents are against vaccines that specifically use porcine gelatine – an ingredient not found in any version of the COVID vaccine.
Additionally, the Church of Christ, Scientist, which strongly encourages members to rely on faith and prayer for healing, does not have an official doctrine against western medicine or vaccinations.
Anyone who has already applied for an exemption claiming to be a member of the Jehovah’s Witnesses should expect it to be denied. It is a common misconception the religious group is against vaccination, but that hasn’t been a tenet since 1952. In an article published in 2011, the group provided a list of health recommendations, including encouraging vaccination.
King County, Washington is reporting over 84% 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.
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, 22.3% of all acute care patients hospitalized in Washington have COVID. A hospital system caring for this many COVID-positive patients in acute care is considered to be under “severe stress.” ICUs are at 88.8% of capacity statewide, with 34.3% of ICU patients fighting COVID, unchanged from yesterday.
The new hospital admission rate for COVID patients is 188 per day, indicating that the state has caught up on reporting over the weekend. The Department of Health adjusted the number of total COVID patients reported on September 7 slightly down to 1,740 but increased the number of people on ventilators to 268. On September 8, there were 1,767 patients and 260 on ventilators.
In today’s press briefing, Dr. Shah said that balance loading at hospitals was “challenging,” and they were asking healthcare partners “to defer elective procedures.”
“We can’t do this alone. This isn’t about me. This is about the we,” he pleaded.
The University of Washington Medicine was only performing day surgeries unless they were trauma or critical care related. In some cases, patients were waiting in the operating room for an hour before being moved to the PACU or ICU at some hospitals.
“You see these lists of people who want care from your (hospital), and you have to make them wait – that’s heartbreaking,” Currie said.
Providence has formed patient placement committees to triage patients at most risk for a higher level of care and decide what smaller hospitals can handle.
In Yakima, the situation is worse with Yakima Memorial Valley Hospital rationing care, low on oxygen, and patients leaving the waiting room without being seen. Recently the internal demand for oxygen rose so high an entire unit was push beyond capacity. The lines that deliver oxygen can freeze if the flow exceeds design, cutting off the supply to all patients.
Dr. Marty Brueggman said the hospital was moving closer to “crisis standards of care” and gave a stern warning.
“They may decide that we don’t have the resources to care for you and your chance of survival is low, so we’re not gonna ask if you want to resuscitate or not. We’re just not gonna be able to do it.”
Yesterday we shared a statement from the Washington Department of Health and information from the Washington State Hospital Association. The official plan in Washington state is not to let an individual hospital go to crisis standards of care. If all resources are exhausted statewide, either the worst impacted region or the entire state would move to so-called black tag triage.
– Kamiakin Middle School (81)) – Juanita Elementary (1) – Juanita High School (8) – Thoreau Elementary (4)
– Mark Twain Elementary – 2nd-grade class (multiple confirmed cases)
Northshore
YELLOW
– Arrowhead Elementary (1) – Bothell High School (12) – Canyon Creek Elementary (4) – Canyon Park Middle School (4) – Crystal Springs Elementary (5) – East Ridge Elementary (2) – Fernwood Elementary (2) – Frank Love Elementary (2) – Hollywood Hills Elementary (1) – Kenmore Elementary (1) – Kenmore Middle School (19) – Maywood Hills Elementary (2) – North Creek High School (8) – Ruby Bridges Elementary (1) – Shelton View Elementary (6) – Skyview Middle School (12) – Sunrise Elementary (1) – Timbercrest Middle School (6) – Westhill Elementary (4) – Woodin Elementary (3) – Woodinville High School (4) – Woodmore Elementary (9)
None
Local Districts Scorecard
With Bellevue School District reporting 10 confirmed COVID cases, it moves to Yellow on the scorecard. Lake Washington reported a confirmed COVID case at Thoreau Elementary, while Northshore adds to the list of schools with quarantined students. The number of quarantined people at Skyview Middle School dropped by more than half today, in a positive sign.
Microsoft notified employees and vendors today it has indefinitely delayed their return to U.S. offices until the uncertainty around the trajectory of COVID is clearer.
“Given the uncertainty of COVID-19, we’ve decided against attempting to forecast a new date for a full reopening of our U.S. work sites, [sic]” Jared Spataro, a corporate vice president, wrote in a blog post.
Microsoft had planned to have workers return in October. Other area tech companies that have delayed a return to the office include Google and Amazon. Amazon and Microsoft have a large presence in Bellevue, and Google has a 54-acre campus in Kirkland.
National Round-Up
Johns Hopkins University Cumulitaive Case Tracker 176,710 new cases and 2,146 COVID-related deaths on Thursday.
“In light of the public health guidance regarding the most effective and necessary defenses against COVID-19, I have determined that to promote the health and safety of the Federal workforce and the efficiency of the civil service, it is necessary to require COVID-19 vaccination for all Federal employees, subject to such exceptions as required by law.”
The mandate would extend the existing order to the US military and healthcare workers who provide services at facilities that accept Medicare and Medicaid to include 300,000 Head Start early childhood education and other federal education program employees.
The second executive order calls for Ensuring Adequate COVID Safety Protocols for Federal Contractors. The order does not specifically mandate vaccination for government contractors or their subcontractors but instead calls for the development of guidelines to assure that government contractors can fulfill their obligations.
“This order promotes economy and efficiency in Federal procurement by ensuring that the parties that contract with the Federal Government provide adequate COVID-19 safeguards to their workers performing on or in connection with a Federal Government contract or contract-like instrument.”
“These safeguards will decrease the spread of COVID-19, which will decrease worker absence, reduce labor costs, and improve the efficiency of contractors and subcontractors at sites where they are performing work for the Federal Government. Accordingly, ensuring that Federal contractors and subcontractors are adequately protected from COVID-19 will bolster economy and efficiency in Federal procurement.”
“Once again, President Biden has missed the mark. His outrageous, overreaching mandates will no doubt be challenged in the courts. Placing more burdens on both employers and employees during a pandemic with the rising inflation rates and lingering labor shortages is totally unacceptable.
“Alabamians have stepped up by rolling up their sleeves to get the covid-19 vaccine, increasing our doses administered significantly in recent weeks. We have done so without mandates from Washington D.C. or Montgomery. I’ve made it abundantly clear: I support the science and encourage folks taking the vaccine. However, I am absolutely against a government mandate on the vaccine, which is why I signed the vaccine passport ban into law here in Alabama. This is not the role of the government.
“I continue encouraging any Alabamian who can to get the covid-19 vaccine. We have a safe and effective tool at our fingertips, so let’s roll up our sleeves and get this thing beat.”
By Thursday, hospitals and ICUs around the state continued to report being at or near capacity as a surge driven by the highly contagious delta variant continues in Alaska. Facilities have reported that staffing shortages and limited bed capacity are their top concern and say they’re not sure how much longer they can continue operating under such high levels of stress.
“Emergency departments remain open for emergency, life-sustaining treatments, but they are very tight,” said Dr. Anne Zink, Alaska’s chief medical officer, during a call with reporters.
Critical cardiac, orthopedic, burn, and infectious disease patients normally would be transferred to Seattle once they are stable enough to travel. Yesterday, the Washington State Hospital Association told reporters that transferring patients was a major challenge within Washington and were “under no obligation” to accept out-of-state patients.
The mandate requires “COVID-19 vaccinations for all students who access in-person instructional programs operated on district facilities, who are 12 years of age and older.”
The plan requires students age 12 and older who participate in in-person extracurricular programs to have a first vaccine dose by Oct. 3 and their second no later than Oct. 31.
All other students aged 12 and up would be required to receive their first dose by Nov. 21 and their second by Dec. 19. Other students would have to receive their first dose no later than 30 days after their 12th birthday and their second dose no later than eight weeks after turning 12.
The outbreaks represent a total of 886 cases, 86% of which have been students. The number of K-12 outbreaks nearly doubled from the previous week when 42 were reported.
Georgia
Atlanta’s public safety-net hospital is the latest to temporarily cancel elective surgeries, saying it’s overrun with COVID-19 patients.
More than 5,900 people sickened by the respiratory illness are in Georgia hospitals. COVID-19 patient numbers have been hovering around a record 6,000 for more than a week.
While hospitals in Georgia teeter on crisis standards of care, Governor Brian Kemp tweeted he would fight the Biden Administration’s executive order.
“Let’s keep our fingers crossed because it looks like we are on the backend of this doggone delta wave,” said Dr. Thomas Unnasch, an infectious disease researcher at the University of South Florida who has been forecasting COVID-19 trends in our region since the beginning of the pandemic.
The seven-day rolling average of new COVID-19 infections in Florida peaked in mid-August at just under 21,800 and has been slowly declining ever since, according to Dr. Unnasch’s forecast models.
Idaho
The Panhandle and North Central Health Districts in Idaho continue to operate using “crisis standards of care.” We strongly recommend not to travel to Idaho during this time of medical crisis. Any health emergency requiring hospitalization could result in you receiving inadequate care.
While the 193 total hospitalizations in Maine is still shy of last winter’s peak numbers, the 74 patients in intensive care unit beds is the most to date. Additionally, 38 of those individuals – or roughly 20 percent of all hospitalizations – required ventilators to assist breathing.
New cases in Maine are now equal to the January 2021 peak and are continuing to climb.
Michigan
On Tuesday, a crowd of unmasked high school students backed by parents forced their way into Manchester High School.
Students at a school in Manchester, MI, instigated by parents, refuse to comply with the mask mandate and enter school. This is the next phase – school boards can enact policies, but someone also has to enforce them. pic.twitter.com/KLhqgUP8or
When questioned about how the mask mandate would be enforced, a sheriff’s deputy who was overseeing the situation said: “I’m not going to force anybody. I’m not putting masks on anybody. That’s not my job. This is a county health department order.”
Similar incidents happened at other schools in the district. These incidents do have consequences.
Like other states, Michigan is facing a staffing crisis in hospitals. Vaccine mandates aren’t a large factor at this time. Burn out, poor working conditions, and better pay as traveling nurses or on contract have skilled staff abandoning hospitals. As noted in the Vaccination Section, 88% of nurses and 96% of doctors are already vaccinated nationally.
“I am fatigued, and I am heartsick, and I’m tired of watching people suffer needlessly and die of a disease that could have been prevented by a simple and safe and effective vaccine,” Dr. Nicole Linder said. “I don’t want to watch my patients’ families suffer with the grief of this, and also the guilt if they played some role in their family member’s decision not to be vaccinated.
“The issues that we’re dealing with in caring for these hospitalized COVID patients that weren’t present during the earlier waves, I think, do create a new dimension of stress and sadness and fatigue for those of us on the front lines. You’re taking care of people who are dying that didn’t need to die.”
Jim Craig, senior deputy for the Mississippi Department of Health and Director of Health Protection, said the state is seeing a small improvement in hospital bed availability, but ICU capacity continues to be “very scarce.”
“The bed capacity for ICU space is effectively zero still in the state of Mississippi,” Craig said. Craig said the Department of Health has applied to extend the support of federal partners working at the Jackson and Biloxi Veterans Affairs hospitals, the 23-person Department of Defense military team at the University of Mississippi Medical center, and a group working on monoclonal antibody administration at the university.
A total of 1,660 people were hospitalized with coronavirus in Mississippi on Aug. 18, compared with 1,285 on Tuesday. A Johns Hopkins COVID-19 tracker showed that, as of Tuesday, Mississippi had the ninth-highest COVID-19 rate in the U.S. The state had 79.5 new cases and 1.3 deaths per 100,000 residents.
One man was handcuffed by a sheriff’s deputy after confronting a woman who used her cell phone to video record a group of parents who had gathered outside the Pleasant Hill High School auditorium, said Maj. Kevin Tieman, a spokesman for the sheriff’s office.
“There was an altercation between a couple of people out front of the school with a lady saying that she’d been harassed or assaulted by somebody else,” Tieman said. “She said they took her cell phone away from her.”
In June, Missouri Delta Medical Center in Sikeston posted on Facebook that it had just six people hospitalized with COVID-19. That number rose to 21 in July and 79 in August. The first six days of September saw 20 patients already, including six in intensive care and two on ventilators. None of the 20 patients were vaccinated, the hospital says.
The town of 16,000 residents about 145 miles sits in Scott and New Madrid counties. State tracking on Thursday showed those counties had the worst rates of new COVID-19 cases over the past seven days. Eight of the nine hardest-hit counties over the past week are in the southeastern corner of the state.
“The Delta variant seems to be causing more symptoms in children than the initial COVID variant,” said Dr. Michael Bigham, a pediatric ICU physician, and chief quality officer with Akron Children’s Hospital.
COVID-19 is not the only virus resulting in filled beds in children’s hospitals. Doctors said RSV is nearing a peak about two to three months earlier than usual.
“As soon as the masks went away, boom, there was RSV, even being in the middle of summer where RSV has no business being,” UH Rainbow Pediatric Infectious Disease Specialist Dr. Amy Edwards said.
She said the reduction in masking and the return to school are clear factors in the increasing spread of respiratory viruses.
“For the past several days, OHA has reported sharp increases in the daily deaths associated with COVID-19,” OHA Director Patrick Allen said in a statement. “This grim trend follows several weeks of record, or near-record, daily cases and hospitalizations. Oregonians should be prepared to see this tragic toll escalate dramatically in coming days and weeks.”
More than 1,000 people have died of COVID-19 in South Carolina over the last month. The statewide death toll is now 11,051.
DHEC also reported Thursday that 3,466 new cases came in from testing completed two days ago. That brings the state’s COVID-19 case count to nearly 780,000 since the beginning of the pandemic, according to DHEC.
As she trails behind Wolff, a masked H-E-B employee comes up to speak with her. “You’re a traitor, too,” she tells him, before turning her attention back to the judge.
“You’re going to go to jail. They’re going to hang you. Treason, crimes against humanity, Nuremberg trial. You’re going down,” the woman said. “You better enjoy your freedom while it lasts, buddy, and you got to answer to God.”
In better news, Flavia Souza, the Houston’s Museum District Child Care Center director, worked diligently and patiently to fight misinformation and vaccine hesitancy to convince the entire staff to get vaccinated. Instead of using incentives or mandates, she applied logic, education, and open dialog among her staff as more and more got vaccinated.
Today, the Fort Worth Independent School District was handed a legal victory when a judge with the Second Appellate District of Texas in Fort Worth sided with the school district – opening the door for Fort Worth ISD to bring back a mask mandate.
“At this time, there are no court orders or executive orders that are prohibiting the District from implementing a mask requirement,” Fort Worth ISD officials said.
Four hospitals in the rural and sparsely populated state have no ICU capacity left, while Ivinson Memorial Hospital in Laramie had only one bed.
Misinformation
There appears to be a fresh take in the misinformation department about the COVID vaccine containing graphene oxide. This is a super sciency document about the characteristics of the compound. The Reader’s Digest version is as a powder, graphene oxide is brown, and when suspended in a fluid, it is yellow. The COVID vaccines are clear, so there is an immediate problem with this conspiracy theory.
The second issue is the viscosity of graphene oxide. The accusation is the vaccination is made up of 99% of the stuff, but if that were the case, the injection would be in a solid-state. Even at just an 8% solution, the fluid would have the same density of axle grease or peanut butter.
The biggest issue with this conspiracy theory is its origin. The disinformation campaign comes from Dr. Robert O. Young, who double-downed on his claims as recently as August 27. There is a major problem. Dr. Robert O. Young isn’t a doctor. He doesn’t hold a master’s degree, an undergraduate, an associate, or even a vocational certificate. He has never had any education beyond graduating high school.
In 2018, as part of a settlement in a $105 million lawsuit, he agreed never to use the title of doctor again or make any claims of having any medical expertise. As a matter of fact, Mr. Young has been charged 21 times for practicing medicine without a license in Arizona, Utah, and California from 1995 to 2014.
In 2014 when he pleaded guilty, he had to state that he has no post-high school educational degrees from any accredited schools as part of the deal. Additionally, He stated he was none of the following: a microbiologist, a medical doctor, a hematologist, a naturopathic doctor, or a trained scientist.
Mr. Young offered a “pH Miracle Retreat” before he was shut down, which cost attendees $1,295 to $2,495 per night.
Journalists, activists, and researchers defending the First Amendment
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