[Olympia, Wash.] – MTN – The City of Olympia Prosecutor’s Office has announced charges against two men in connection to the October 16, 2021, vandalization of the “Respect and Love Olympia” mural that fronted the former Griswold’s Building on 4th Avenue in downtown Olympia.
Colton Michael Brown, 23, of Ravensdale, and Spencer Simpson, 20, of Ellensburg, have been charged with a misdemeanor crime of Aiding and Abetting Graffiti. The pair are accused of defacing the rainbow mural and community statement against hate. Brown is the Pacific Northwest Network Director of Patriot Front, which has been recognized by the Southern Poverty Law Center as a white nationalist hate group. Simpson is also a member.
The Olympia Police Department has been investigating the crime and made use of community information and open-source social media and websites to help identify those involved in the vandalism. This led to the charges against the two men.
Patriot Front began in late 2017 as a splinter group of the violent fascist organization Vanguard America, which fractured after it was tied to Charlottesville car attack murderer James Alex Fields. Its 22-year-old leader, Thomas Rousseau, lives in the group’s current headquarters in Haslet, Texas, where he leads the Neo-Nazi organization.
The group Unicorn Riot released video, audio, and pictures in January 2022 after a data leak exposed 400GB of data about Patriot Front. The information suggests that Brown goes by the name “John WA” in his online presence and in communications to other Patriot Front members.
This isn’t the first brush with the law for the duo, who were among 31 members of the hate group arrested in Coeur d’Alene, Idaho on June 11, charged with conspiracy to riot, a misdemeanor. Prosecutors allege the group planned to force confrontations at a gay pride event in the lakeside Idaho panhandle community.
The plan was foiled when a person alerted police after they saw the group loading up into the back of a U-Haul truck like, “a little army,” according to local officials. Area police stopped the U-Haul truck within sight of the festival. During the search of the suspects and the box truck, police found smoke grenades, shields, batons, and other tactical gear.
Patriot Front members were active in Kirkland from 2018 to 2021. Social media users first started sharing images of flyers posted across the city in October 2018. In 2019, members tossed flyers in plastic baggies with a rock as added weight into residents’ driveways in the Highlands neighborhood. Stencils and stickers appeared sporadically through early 2021. No one was ever identified or charged in any of those incidents.
Photo Credit – Social Media User – Members of Patriot Front left flyers in Kirkland driveways in January 2019Photo Credit – Social Media User – October 2018 Patriot Front flyer attached to a light pole using the Nazi-era slogan, “blood and soil” on recruitment posters placed in Kirkland, Washington
“I appreciate the work of the investigators, and the community members who stepped forward to assist in the investigation,” said Olympia Police Chief Rich Allen. “Acts like these have no place in Olympia. We will always investigate these kinds of incidents, and we will always work to hold those responsible to account in a court of law.”
Brown and Simpson will be arraigned on their charges on July 13, 2022, at 8 a.m. in Olympia Municipal Court. The work of identifying others involved in the vandalism is ongoing. After Olympia, the pair are expected to be in court in Idaho on August 22, 2022, to face their conspiracy charges.
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[KING COUNTY, Wash.] – (MTN) New cases declined slightly while hospitalizations now rest on a seven-day-old plateau as Washington approaches the end of the 21st month fighting Covid-19. Sixteen counties no longer have “high transmission” rates.
In state news, British Columbia and Washington have eased border crossing rules, waiving COVID test requirements at some crossings. Drivers who need to bypass road closures due to flooding and mudslides can cross the border without the required PCR test, but only if they agree they are transiting between border crossing.
Governor Inslee backed down from plans to use stricter measures for Washington employers with 100 or more workers, as the nation waits to see what happens to the Biden Administration’s OSHA Covid-19 vaccination requirements.
The Washington State Department of Health announced that free in-home COVID test kits will be made available in nine counties.
Locally, the Bellevue School District is down to five confirmed COVID cases districtwide between students and staff. In the Northshore School District, Maywood Elementary is dealing with a surge of new Covid-19 cases, with 11 cases, eight confirmed this week.
Nationally the number of new cases is up 14% and more governors provided guidance or directives to make booster shots available to all adults. The vaccination deadline is ten days away from the U.S. Navy and Marine Corps. The Pentagon reported 99% of sailors are vaccinated versus 93% of marines.
The NFL is dealing with another potential COVID scandal, with Tampa Bay Buccaneers wide receiver Antonio Brown accused of buying a fake vaccination card.
New Covid-19 case rates are showing a pattern of county hotspots instead of widespread transmission. As an example, Chelan County just rolled over 60% of all residents vaccinated this week but is dealing with a bump in new cases.
There remains a significant difference between lower-vaccinated counties and counties where at least 70% of the total population is fully inoculated.
If Washington state wants to ever get to a place of endemic spread, the data indicates the bare minimum vaccination rate would be 70% of the entire population.
Percent of Total Population Fully Vaccinated
Total Population in Group
Average 14-Day New Case Rate
70.00% or above (3 counties)
2,343,250
167.4
60.00% to 69.99% (4 counties)
1,242,200
328.5
50.00% to 59.99% (17 counties)
3,664,000
306.1
40.00% to 49.99% (9 counties)
375,575
285.1
31.80% to 39.99% (6 counties)
151,850
241.3
14-Day New Covid-19 Cases per 100K average by Vaccination Rate for Total Population, Adjusted for Population by County
Through November 17, Washington’s statewide 14-day rolling average is 264.5 Covid-19 cases per 100K. There are signs that a new plateau is forming with transmission rates too high coming into the start of the holiday travel season.
Chelan, Douglas, Klickitat, Lewis, Lincoln, Skagit, and Spokane counties have new case rates between 400.0 and 599.9. Okanogan and Grays Harbor Counties were just under 400.
Sixteen counties representing 3.52 million Washingtonians have a 7 day moving average case rate under 100.
The 7 day new case rate was unchanged and the hospitalization rate increased for elderly patients 80 and older..
Age Group
7-Day Case Rate
7-Day Hospitalization Rate
Ages 0-11
119.8
0.7
Ages 12-19
111.1
0.9
Ages 20-34
116.7
2.8
Ages 35-49
125.3
5.9
Ages 50-64
94.9
9.6
Ages 65-79
64.0
16.0
Ages 80+
66.0
25.7 (up)
7-day case rate and 7-day hospitalization rate is per 100K within the age group – the target for 7-day case rate is <25.0, but there are other factors such as vaccination rates within the age groups, how many total tests within the 7-day period, and the positivity rate within each age group
“Given the current situation in B.C., travelers who must transit through the United States to get to their residence in Canada are exempt from the COVID-19 pre-arrival test, the test in Canada, and quarantine requirements,” stated a Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA) spokesperson by email.
CBSA expects to be using pre-existing exemptions within federal government orders to apply to travelers who are simply transiting Washington State highways, such as between the Osoyoos border crossing and checkpoints entering Surrey.
Individuals will still need to present a valid passport to cross the international border.
Governor Inslee backs down on expansion of OSHA vaccine and test requirements
During media availability today, Governor Jay Inslee indicated the state was backing down on expanding pending Biden Administration rules that would require companies with more than 100 employees to have vaccinated staff or rest weekly. Earlier the governor had said the state was considering removing the testing requirement and applying the same standard to medium and large private employers that are required for state employees.
The new OSHA rules that were supposed to go into effect on January 5, 2022 are in limbo. The 5th Circuit Court of Appeals upheld a stay of the mandate, calling it “staggeringly overbroad,” saying it failed to account for the different levels of risk faced by workers in different workplace settings. The court ruled OSHA may not implement the mandate unless another court overturns the ruling.
The 6th Circuit Court was selected using a ping pong ball to hear the broader case, which will likely head to the Supreme Court.
Nine Washington counties offering free at-home Covid-19 test kits
Nine counties in the northeastern, south central, and southwestern parts of Washington will offer free at-home COVID tests to residents.
Kira Lewis, a public health nurse at the Spokane Regional Health District, says at-home tests take about 10 minutes, and could be taken Thanksgiving or Christmas morning before going over to a family member’s house.
“More testing in the community that’s accessible to all members of the public helps people make good decisions about their social lives and interacting with others,” she said. “That is important for the individual and it’s important for our community as a whole moving forward, continuing to have high rates of transmission in our area. We need to meet that with high rates of available testing.”
The nine counties are Adams, Benton, Cowlitz, Ferry, Franklin, Okanogan, Pend Oreille, Spokane, and Stevens.
Travel Advisories
Due to severe flooding and strained hospital resources, we are maintaining the travel advisory for the Northwest Hospital Region. The region includes Clallam, Jefferson, Kitsap, and Mason counties.
We continue to advise to avoid all nonessential travel to Alaska, Colorado, Idaho, and Montana. Hospital resources in these states remain constrained, and you may receive inadequate care if you experience a serious medical emergency.
Finally, we continue to recommend avoiding recreational travel to Wyoming. The situation continues to improve but hospital resources remain constrained.
Thank you
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Vaccination
More states open up booster shots to all adults
Kentucky, Louisiana, Maine, Massachusetts, Vermont, and Utah joined eight other states already opening up booster shots to all adults, as more governors try to get ahead of the start of a sixth wave.
New York and Rhode Island haven’t made boosters available to all adults statewide, but are asking healthcare providers not to turn anyone away in counties with high transmission rates.
If you are eligible for a Covid-19 booster shot Malcontent News strongly encourages you to not delay getting your second or third dose. It is fast, free, and easy. There is growing evidence that the half-life of Covid-19 vaccines is six to ten months, and the half-life for so-called natural immunity is 5 to 7 months.
According to the Washington State Department of Health, through November 7, 675,000 residents have received their Covid-19 booster. Over 1.8 million adults in Washington have a BMI of 25 or higher or are older than 65.
King County, Washington is reporting over 83.5% of age eligible residents are vaccinated with at least one dose. The highest rates of positivity are in areas with low vaccination rates statewide. The FDA has provided full approval of the Pfizer vaccine for anyone 16 and over and EUA approval for the Moderna and Johnson & Johnson vaccines. The Pfizer vaccine has EUA approval for children 5 to 15 years old.
COVID vaccines and boosters are free for anyone 5 and older. Lyft and Hopelink provide free transportation, and KinderCare, the Learning Care Group, and the YMCA offer free childcare during vaccination appointments or recuperation.
Hospital readiness continues to slowly improve except on the Olympic Peninsula. Although the number of COVID patients under care is in decline, the total number of hospitalized patients is unchanged due to deferred elective surgeries, increased movement among the population creating more injuries, and other wintertime diseases.
According to the DoH COVID Dashboard, 91.2% of all staffed acute care beds are occupied, and 12.3% of patients have Covid-19. Statewide, hospitals have the staff to support approximately 633 additional acute care patients.
ICUs are at 87.6% of capacity statewide, with 20.2% of ICU patients fighting Covid-19 – an estimated 238 patients with 49.1% on ventilators. The state has the staff to support approximately 147 additional ICU patients.
On Wednesday, the 7 day rolling average hospital admission rate for new COVID patients was 89. The Department of Health reported 882 Covid-19 patients statewide with 117 requiring ventilators. The number of hospitalized Covid-19 patients has been in the mid-800s to low-900s for seven days in a row.
Hospital status by region – ICU Occupancy should be below 80%, ICU COVID Patients should be below 20%, Acute Care Occupancy should be below 80%, and Acute Care COVID Patients should be below 10%
School Readiness
School District
Status
Less than 10 Active Cases
10 or More Active Cases
Bellevue
GREEN
– Bennett (1*) – Bellevue (1*) – International (1*) – Puesta del Sol (1*) – Somerset (1*)
None
Lake Washington
YELLOW
– Alcott (3*/11) – Audubon (1*/7) – Blackwell (2*/3) – Carson (1*/3) – Clara Barton (4*/24) – Eastlake High (1*/17) – Ella Baker (2*/4) – Evergreen Middle School (1*/0) – Finn Hill Middle School (5) – Inglewood Middle School (5**/34) – Juanita High (1*/12) – Kamiakin Middle School (2*/27) – Kirk Elementary (3*/13) – Kirkland Middle School (1*/10) – Lakeview Elementary (1*/1) – Lake Washington High School (3*/7) – McAuliffe (2*/6) – Northstar Middle School (12) – Redmond High School (1*/12) – Renaissance Middle School (1*/6) – Rose Hill Middle (1*/7) – Rush Elementary (3*/0) – Sandburg/Discovery (1*/4) – Smith Elementary (1*/9)
None
Northshore
RED
– Arrowhead Elementary (0/1) – Bothell High School (5**/9) – Canyon Creek Elementary (4*/24) – Canyon Park Middle School (1*/12) – Crystal Springs Elementary (3*/34) – Eastridge Elementary (1*/3) – Fernwood Elementary (1*/2) – Frank Love Elementary (0/6) – Hollywood Hills Elementary (2*/0) – Inglemoor High School (4*/1) – Kenmore Middle School (1*/2) – Kokanee Elementary (1*/1) – Leota Middle School (2*/1) – Moorlands Elementary (0/5) – North Creek High School (2*/8) – Northshore Middle School (1*/9) – Ruby Bridges Elementary (1*/4) – Shelton View Elementary (0/1) – Skyview Middle School (0/1) – Sunrise Elementary (1*/4) – Timbercrest Middle School (2*/8) – Wellington Elementary (1*/5) – Westhill Elementary (2*/3) – Woodin Elementary (3*/5) – Woodinville High School (2*/2) – Woodmoor Elementary (2*/3)
– Maywood Hills Elementary (11**/5)
Local Districts Scorecard – * indicates positive cases only ** indicates 5 or more confirmed positive cases – (x*/y) x is positive cases and 7 quarantined, quarantined does not include positive cases
We redefined the school district statuses. Information for classroom and building closures has been a challenge to obtain, both for closures and reopening. We are adopting moving any school with more than ten active COVID cases reported into the red, and we’ve adjusted the third column to reflect this change.
Based on reader feedback, and improvement in the data we are receiving, we have adjusted how we are reporting data. The Lake Washington and Northshore School Districts are now reported as (X*/Y) or (X**/Y). X represents the number of positive cases while Y represents how many are in quarantine. The number in quarantine does not include positive cases. If there are two asterisks, that indicates five or more confirmed cases within the last 14 days at that school.
The Northshore School District moves to status red with Maywood Hills Elementary reporting 11 confirmed COVID cases and eight this week. It is the largest Covid-19 outbreak in terms of new cases reported at the same time in the three school districts Malcontent News tracks since school started.
The Bellevue School District stays status green with five confirmed cases in the last 14 days districtwide. Additionally, we can process quarantine data by the day, and we will start tracking those numbers next week.
The Lake Washington School District updates data once a week, and we’ve had no parent confirmed reports on new COVID cases this week.
We continued to encourage parents to request daily updates from the Lake Washington School District. This change would bring the three school districts we track into alignment.
Kirkland-Bellevue-Woodinville
No update
National Round-Up
Johns Hopkins University Cumulative Case Tracker reports 111,106 new cases and 1,622 deaths nationwide on Wednesday. The Delta variant continues to target the unvaccinated and a very small, but growing number of people vaccinated more than six months ago. New cases are up 14% since last week.
Vaccination deadline looms for active duty U.S. Navy and Marine Corps personnel
The Pentagon reported that 99% of sailors and 93% of Marines were either fully or partially vaccinated, with the November 28 deadline ten days away. Among the five branches, the Navy has the highest vaccination rate while the Marines have the lowest.
Marines and sailors who choose not to get the Covid-19 vaccine by the end of November will be released from the service, in a general but honorable discharge, officials with those services have said, making them ineligible for some benefits from the GI Bill.
The Orange County Register reported a message sent to the troops said “Marines refusing to take the vaccine absent medical exemptions, religious accommodations or pending appeal,” will be processed for discharge and additional disciplinary action or even a court martial is not out of the question. The Navy has issued a similar message.
Army will push out soliders who refuse to get Covid-19 vaccine
Soldiers who refuse to get the COVID-19 vaccine and have not requested an exemption will no longer be allowed to re-enlist or be promoted, effectively ending their military careers, according to a report by Defense One. The new directive applies to active-duty troops as well as reservists and National Guardsmen, including those serving in states whose governors do not require the vaccine.
The Nov. 16 memo, signed by Army Secretary Christine Wormuth, says troops’ service records will be flagged the day they make their final vaccine refusal, which follows a meeting with a medical professional and a second order to get vaccinated. This flag will bar them from being promoted, reenlisting, continuing to receive enlistment bonuses, attending service-related schools, or receiving tuition assistance.
“I authorize commanders to impose bars to continued service…for all soldiers who refuse the mandatory vaccine order without an approved exemption or pending exemption request,” Wormuth wrote in the memo. “The Soldier will remain flagged until they are fully vaccinated, receive an approved medical or administrative exemption, or are separated from the Army.”
Tampa Bay Buccaneers wide receiver Antonio Brown accused of buying fake vaccine card
Days after brushing aside Green Bay Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers less than truthful vaccination status, wide receiver Antonio Brown is accused by his former chef of buying a fake vaccination card, plunging the NFL into another public relations mess.
The Tampa Bay Times broke the story earlier today, with the chef claiming Brown bought the card to avoid NFL protocols. If true, Brown in theory could face massive fines from the NFL for repeated protocol violations. Aaron Rodgers broke as many as 16 Coivid-19 protocols but was ultimately fined $14,650 for attending an unsanctioned Halloween party.
EXCLUSIVE: Bucs receiver Antonio Brown obtained a fake COVID-19 vaccination card to avoid NFL protocols, according to his former live-in chef.
Brown could be in additional trouble with the FBI. Buying a fake vaccination card is a federal crime. The Tampa Bay Buccaneers issued a brief statement via Twitter, indicating they had collected all vaccination records during the preseason and “no irregularities were observed.”
Phoenix will require all city employees to be vaccinated by January 22, 2022, or face termination. Phoenix joins other cities such as New York City, Los Angeles, San Francisco, and Seattle that already require government employees to be vaccinated against COVID.
A news release from UCHealth issued on Thursday states a team of about 20 nurses, providers, respiratory therapists, and administrators will be deployed to UCHealth Poudre Valley Hospital (PVH) for about a month. The team is expected to ease capacity and staffing challenges. The request came from Gov. Jared Polis.
“We are so grateful that this team will assist us in providing exceptional care in northern Colorado,” said Kevin Unger, the president, and chief executive officer at PVH and UCHealth Medical Center of the Rockies in Loveland. “We anticipate this additional support and other plans we already have in the works will help make a significant difference.”
District of Columbia
Mayor Muriel Bowser of Washington said on Tuesday that an indoor mask mandate in the nation’s capital would be eased on November 22, reflecting a shift away from mask requirements as coronavirus vaccination rates continue to rise and infections fueled by the Delta variant subside in the city.
The New York Times reported about 88 percent of the District of Columbia’s adult residents have received at least one vaccine dose, according to city health officials.
Masks will still be required in certain circumstances, including on public transportation, inside school buildings, and in congregate living facilities like nursing homes, college dormitories, and jails.
Idaho
In what could be read as a victory for Governor Brad Little and a blow to Lt. Governor Janice McGeachin, the Idaho legislature ended its special session making almost no changes to state COVID policies.
The Senate did adopt a memorial piece of legislation that sends a message to the president and Congress “to make a very forceful statement about our position on the presidential mandates related to Covid-19,” said Senate Majority Leader Chuck Winder.
The lawsuit alleges that the woman’s 15-year-old girl was vaccinated by a Walmart employee at the store’s pharmacy without parental consent. The 15-year-old girl wanted the COVID-19 vaccine so she could hang out with her friends.
“The biggest problem I have with this situation is that Walmart vaccinated my daughter without my consent and knowledge,” said the girl’s mom Michelle Tonkinson.
In a statement, Walmart said, “Walmart is committed to offering quality and compliant health care. We take allegations like this seriously. We will review the claims and respond with the court as appropriate once we are served.”
Massachusetts
Massachusetts health officials reported another 3,196 confirmed COVID-19 cases — the most in one day since February — and eight new deaths Thursday, according to a report by NBC 10.
The report pushed the state’s number of confirmed COVID-19 cases to 826,996 since the start of the pandemic and its death toll to 18,834.
The number of new confirmed cases in Wednesday’s report from the Department of Public Health had been the most in one day since September, according to archival data. But that report included “a backlog of testing results” from several prior days. The prior single-day high had been in February — and February 6 was the last time more than 3,196 cases were confirmed in one day.
Massachusetts Governor Charlie Baker announced the state was opening up booster shots to anyone over 18 years old, joining a growing list of states breaking with current FDA guidelines.
Minnesota
Hospitals across the state are delaying surgeries to free up bed space in the face of growing concerns over hospital capacity constraints, according to a report by KSTP.
“Things have been getting worse in the last couple of weeks,” said Rahul Koranne, president and CEO of the Minnesota Hospital Association. “We have emergency departments that are full of patients. We have patients in beds in hallways. Our units are full.”
Only 1.1% of ICU beds and 0.5% of non-ICU beds were available in the metro Thursday, according to response capacity data from the Minnesota Department of Health.
“Everybody’s delaying surgeries. We’re pulling this lever across the board. Our care teams, our leaders, our surgical teams are making this decision minute by minute,” Koranne said. “Shoulder surgeries, knee surgeries, but even the last couple of weeks, what we are having to do unfortunately is push back some heart surgeries. At the end of the day, we only have a limited amount of care capacity available.”
Missouri
On Thursday, the Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services once again reconfigured the state’s COVID data dashboard, adding thousands of previously unreported deaths and infections, according to a report by the St. Louis Dispatch.
Some date back to the spring of 2020, and many are instances of illness or death now attributed to Covid-19 but that weren’t publicly tallied by the state at the time.
As part of the update, the state also began reporting COVID cases that occurred after vaccination or prior infection. The numbers show that such cases have been remarkably rare, and are most common among those with underlying health conditions.
The department added 2,792 “probable” Covid-19 deaths, increasing the state total 22%
New Mexico
According to state health officials, around 25% of all COVID-19 cases in the last week were among children in a report by KOB.
School-age children are included in that group, so could this impact in-person learning? School districts around the state have new “enhanced” COVID procedures in place, in case the surge gets worse.
If a school has a certain percentage of COVID-positive cases, that facility would be required to start implementing those additional measures. The good news, so far, is that both Rio Rancho Public Schools and Albuquerque Public Schools said they have not reached that point, they hope to keep it that way.
Utah
For the third day in a row, 13 Utahns have been added to the death toll from COVID-19 — a number that now stands at 3,411 people, according to the Utah Department of Health in a story published by the Salt Lake Tribune.
The health department on Thursday also reported 1,789 new coronavirus cases in the past day. The rolling seven-day average for positive tests stands at 1,633 per day.
Intensive care units in the state remain near capacity, and over capacity in the state’s largest hospitals. According to the health department, 96.7% of all ICU beds and 101.8% of ICU beds in larger medical centers are occupied. (Hospitals consider anything over 85% to be functionally full.) Of all ICU patients, 44.2% are being treated for COVID-19.
Virginia
On Thursday, Sentara Healthcare faced off in court with one of their own doctors, Paul Marik, according to WTKR.
Marik, who is the director of the Critical Care Unit at Sentara Norfolk General Hospital, is suing the healthcare system because they won’t allow him to treat COVID-19 patients with the drug ivermectin, along with a host of other drugs that make up his developed MATH+ Protocol.
“Almost all of the treatments we use have been demonstrated to be safe and effective in randomized controlled trials,” Marik said.
Marik claims that Sentara’s policy may have led to the deaths of four of his patients who were never given the opportunity to learn of or be treated with potentially life-saving medicines. He said these actions are criminal.
There is not a single peer reviewed study that used accurate placebo controlled double blind study data that indicates Ivermectin is effective as a preventative or treatment. The largest validated study to date indicated that for the sickest patients, the antiparisitic drug was counterindicated.
Knowledge is the best tool to fight against fear. A wise person chooses to be informed so they can make sound decisions. To join the fight against COVID misinformation, you can share this update through your social media platform of choice.
New cases dropped statewide except in the least vaccinated counties. The three most vaccinated counties have new case numbers below 100 (7 day moving average) while the least vaccinated county has the highest new case rate in the state.
There are an estimated 615 acute care and 132 ICU beds available statewide, and approximately 55% of COVID patients in the ICU are on a ventilator.
Organizers of an anti-mandate rally failed to gather a crowd for the planned march, and the day was uneventful on First Hill and at Harborview Medical Center. It’s possible the high vaccination rate among healthcare professionals was a factor.
We received information on new COVID cases in the Lake Washington School District from parents.
In regional news, there is a good news story out of Idaho tonight, although the Hunger Games continue. The surge in Alaska is relentless, while Montana remains on the edge of a knife.
In national news, in-home rapid COVID tests aren’t as accurate as you think, rural America is being decimated by COVID, Health and Human Services clarifies that your employer is not violating HIPAA when it asks to confirm your vaccination status, and another study out about long COVID indicates this will be a problem for years to come.
In misinformation, we examine a Zero Hedge blog that claims that a Pfizer therapeutic in testing for COVID symptoms is essentially the same drug as Ivermectin.
Jefferson and King County reported under 100 new COVID cases per 100K residents using the 7 day moving average, joining San Juan County in dropping to double digits. Simply put, the three most vaccinated counties in Washington have the lowest number of new cases.
New cases dropped statewide except in the least vaccinated counties. In the South Central Hospital Region, which includes Benton, Franklin, Klickitat, Walla Walla, and Yakima counties, the 14 day moving average for new cases plunged to 707.1 per 100K. The Puget Sound (Central) Hospital Region, which represents King County, held steady at 245.1.
Percent of Total Population Fully Vaccinated
Average 14-Day New Case Rate (unadjusted)
60.00% or above (3)
175.5
50.00% to 59.99% (12 counties)
505.4
40.00% to 49.99% (15 counties)
645.4 (down)
28.40% to 39.99% (9 counties)
735.4 (up)
14-Day New COVID Cases per 100K average by Vaccination Rate, Not Adjusted for Population
Through September 29, Washington’s statewide 14-day rolling average is 422.8 COVID cases per 100K, statistically unchanged from yesterday. New case rates were flat or down for all but the least vaccinated counties.
The only county in the 1,000.0 to 1,399.9 range is Stevens (1,014.8), which is also the least vaccinated. The county’s new case rate is more than 17 times higher than San Juan, the highest vaccinated county in the state.
Counties in the 800.0 to 999.9 per 100K range include Franklin, Garfield, Grant, Grays Harbor, Lincoln, and Okanogan. Adams and Pend Oreille are just under the 800 threshold.
New cases were statistically unchanged in every age group. Hospitalizations were down slightly for ages 20 to 49, and up slightly for ages 65 to 79.
Age Group
7-Day Case Rate
7-Day Hospitalization Rate
Ages 0-11
189.8
0.7
Ages 12-19
206.7
1.7
Ages 20-34
191.2
5.1 (down)
Ages 35-49
192.8
9.2 (down)
Ages 50-64
140.7
15.1
Ages 65-79
100.0
19.5 (up)
Ages 80+
106.9
31.2
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 Wednesday. The state of Washington is not reporting the percentage of positive cases.
Antivax protest at Swedish and Harborview Medical Center doesn’t materialize
Despite the promotion on multiple websites, coordination by several organizations, and plans shared on Facebook, Telegram, and some dark corners of the web, the anti-vaccination community took a loss today. After a large rally in Spokane and a “Town Hall” in Woodinville over the weekend, organizers could not rally groups to protest at the only Level 1 trauma center in the state.
Lewis County Commissioner Gary Stamper dies of COVID
Q13 Fox is reporting Lewis County Commissioner Gary Stamper died from COVID after a three-week battle at PeaceHealth hospital in Vancouver, he was 67 and vaccinated.
Travel Advisories
We recommend avoiding recreational travel to Spokane, Yakima, Klickitat, Benton, Franklin, and Walla Walla counties. If the number of new cases in the South Central Hospital Region continues to decline, we will likely lift our advisory for this region in the next 4 to 11 days. We strongly advise against all nonessential travel to Alaska, Idaho, and Montana. Hospital resources in these regions are constrained, and you may receive inadequate care if you experience a medical emergency.
We may implement a travel advisory for Eastern Washington, based upon renewed hospitalization data now available from the Department of Health.
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
Deadline for single dose Johnson & Johnson vaccine and second dose for Pfizer and Moderna vaccine looms for state workers
Thousands of state workers have until Sunday to receive their second Pfizer or Moderna dose or the single-dose Johnson & Johnson vaccine. Over 68% of state workers reported last week they were fully vaccinated. Data from companies, schools, and other states such as Hawaii and New York, indicates final acceptance would likely exceed 95%.
Multiple unions have reached agreements at a municipal, county, or state level, to extend the deadline past October 18 for individuals who received at least their first dose. Additionally, workers with denied exemptions requests will be given extra time.
Pfizer vaccine booster shots are now available
Booster shots for eligible individuals are now available statewide. Individuals who received both doses of the Pfizer vaccine more than 6 months ago, are 65 or older, or are immunocompromised can receive their third dose immediately.
In the Kirland-Bellevue-Woodinville area, Walgreens, Rite-Aid, Bartell’s, and QFC are offering booster shots. Additionally, the third dose is available at the CVS located within the Target store at 17,700 NE 76th Street in Redmond.
Most locations require an appointment, which can be scheduled online.
King County, Washington is reporting over 86.2% of age eligible residents are vaccinated with at least one dose. The highest rates of positivity are in areas with low vaccination rates statewide. The FDA has provided full approval of the Pfizer vaccine for anyone 16 and over and EUA approval for the Moderna and Johnson & Johnson vaccines.
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.
The Department of Health is reporting numbers on statewide hospital resources and providing information by Hospital Regions again. We have deep insight into the situation at a state and regional level.
According to the DoH COVID Dashboard, 19.0% of all acute care patients hospitalized in Washington have COVID. Currently, 91% of all staffed acute care beds are occupied with approximately 615 available.
ICUs are at 89.0% of capacity statewide, with 30.0% of ICU patients fighting COVID – an estimated 358 patients with 55% on ventilators. The state has an estimated 132 staffed ICU beds available. On a per-capita basis, staffed ICU bed availability in Washington is only slightly better than in Alaska, so the system remains very stressed.
The 7-day rolling average hospital admission rate for new COVID patients dropped slightly to 133. The Department of Health reported 1,288 COVID patients statewide on September 29 with 197 on ventilators. Both numbers increased slightly from yesterday.
Hospital Region
ICU Occupancy
ICU COVID Patients
Acute Care Occupancy
Acute Care COVID Patients
East
89.3%
45.5%
90.1%
27.3%
North
80.9%
27.0%
88.4%
13.1%
North Central
96.9%
59.0%
75.8%
27.2%
Northwest
92.5%
38.9%
95.4%
25.0%
Puget Sound
91.6%
23.4%
94.5%
14.7%
South Central
86.1%
36.5%
84.3%
26.4%
Southwest
73.1%
38.3%
88.1%
25.0%
West
88.8%
32.4%
87.7%
22.6%
Hospital status by region – September 30, 2021 – 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%
With the return of this critical information, we can better assess region by region status. We will hold our travel advisories and watch for trends in the East, North Central, and South Central Regions. It is very likely we will drop the travel advisory to South Central counties next week, but may add an advisory to the East Region counties.
– Alcott Elementary (1*) – Barton Elementary (1*) – Dickinson/Explorer Elementary (2*) – Ella Baker Elementary (3*) – Eastlake High (1*) – Evergreen Middle School (1*) – Franklin Elementary (2*) – Finn Hill Middle School (1* – see below) – ICS (1*) – Inglewood Middle School (2*) – Juanita Elementary (1*) – Kamiakin Middle School (3* – see notes below) – Keller Elementary (2*) – Kirkland Middle School (1*) – Lake Washington High (1*) – Lakeview Elementary (3*) – Muir Elementary (1*) – Redmond Middle School (1*) – Redmond High School (1*) – Renaissance Middle School (1*) – Rush Elementary (2*)
See notes below
Northshore
RED
– Arrowhead Elementary (16) – Canyon Creek Elementary (25**) – Canyon Park Middle School (11**) – Cottage Lake Elementary (15) – Crystal Springs Elementary (54**) – East Ridge Elementary (23) – Fernwood Elementary (13**) – Frank Love Elementary (29) – Hollywood Hills Elementary (27) – Inglemoor High School (8) – Innovation Lab High School (11) – Kenmore Elementary (12) – Kenmore Middle School (49**) – Kokanee Elementary (61) – Leota Middle School (5) – Lockwood Elementary (32) – Maywood Hills Elementary (21**) – Moorlands Elementary (49) – North Creek High School (26**) – Northshore Middle School (14**) – Ruby Bridges Elementary (9) – Secondary Academy for Success (15) – Shelton View Elementary (20**) – Skyview Middle School (68**) – Sunrise Elementary (23) – Timbercrest Middle School (46) – Wellington Elementary (74) – Westhill Elementary (33) – Woodin Elementary (18**) – Woodinville High School (20) – Woodmoor Elementary (22**)
– Bothell High School (13*/124)
Local Districts Scorecard – * indicates positive cases only ** indicates 5 or more confirmed positive cases
We redefined the school district statuses. Information for classroom and building closures has been a challenge to obtain, both for closures and reopening. We are adopting moving any school with more than 10 active COVID cases reported into the red, and we’ve adjusted the third column to reflect this change.
The Northshore School District numbers only wiggled across a number of schools while the Bellevue School District is unchanged from yesterday.
We received a confirmed parent report on Wednesday of one new COVID case at Finn Hill Middle School with 52 students moved to quarantine.
We received a confirmed parent report on Thursday of two new COVID cases at Kamiakin Middle School with 27 additional close contacts.
We received a parent report of one new COVID case at Old Redmond Schoolhouse (preschool) with an unknown number of close contacts.
Because Lake Washington doesn’t update its dashboard daily, we are adding these as footnotes. We have not added the Old Redmond Schoolhouse to the scorecard above because it is not officially listed on the Lake Washington School District dashboard.
We continued to encourage parents to request the Bellevue and Lake Washington School Districts to improve their COVID data reporting.
“As of (Wednesday) September 29 one classroom is closed,” according to the district’s COVID-19 dashboard and school status map. “Otherwise, the building is open and offering in-person instruction to students in the remaining classrooms. The school contacted all impacted families of the closed classroom on September 29.”
Kirkland-Bellevue-Woodinville
No update
National Round-Up
Johns Hopkins University Cumulative Case Tracker is reporting 123,269 new cases and 2,531 deaths nationwide. The United States will reach a tragic milestone of 700,000 confirmed COVID-related deaths since February 29, 2020, this weekend.
At-home rapid tests aren’t as accurate as PCR tests
Dr. Rachel Liesman, director of clinical microbiology, said there haven’t been a lot of false positives reported with the rapid tests.
“If you’re symptomatic it will give you a really quick result and that can be helpful,” she said. “But I think given … the potential ramifications of missing a case, I would recommend that if you get a negative (and you have COVID symptoms), you go and get a PCR test because those have much better sensitivity.
Center for Infectious Disease Research and Policy report indicates COVID is decimating rural America
Rural Americans are currently twice as likely to die from COVID-19 infections compared with their urban peers, according to Kaiser Health News and data from the Rural Policy Research Institute (RPRI) at the University of Iowa.
Since March 2020, 1 in 434 rural Americans has died from COVID-19, compared with roughly 1 in 513 urban Americans. And unlike deaths in urban areas, the vaccine rollout has not slowed COVID-19 fatalities in rural parts of the country due to low uptake. Short-staffed hospitals and limited access to healthcare are also contributing factors, the researchers say.
Virus incidence rates in September were roughly 54% higher in rural areas than elsewhere, and in 39 states, rural counties had higher rates of COVID than urban counties.
In related news, health officials in Idaho, a predominately rural state with some of the lowest vaccination rates in the country, said more kids and babies are being hospitalized with COVID-related complications. As of this week, 1,700 new COVID-19 cases were reported in children in Idaho, according to the Associated Press.
Health and Human Services Releases Guidance on employer verification of vaccination status and HIPAA
The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Office for Civil Rights (OCR) issued guidance to help the public understand when the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 (HIPAA) Privacy Rule applies to disclosures and requests for information about whether a person has received a COVID-19 vaccine.
The guidance reminds the public that the HIPAA Privacy Rule does not apply to employers or employment records. This is because the HIPAA Privacy Rule only applies to HIPAA-covered entities (health plans, health care clearinghouses, and health care providers that conduct standard electronic transactions), and, in some cases, to their business associates.
Today’s guidance addresses common workplace scenarios and answers questions about whether and how the HIPAA Privacy Rule applies. This information will be helpful to the public as we continue to navigate the COVID-19 pandemic.
China study on long COVID mirrors results of similar studies in the United States and U.K.
The study followed up with 2,433 adult patients who had been hospitalized in one of two hospitals in Wuhan early on in the pandemic. Most had nonsevere cases, but a small number had severe COVID-19 and required intensive care. All of the patients were discharged between February 12 and April 10, 2020, and the study follow-up took place in March of 2021.
Alaska
Alaska reported 1,270 new COVID cases today and a new case rate of 1,165 per 100,000 residents. The remote state continues to have the highest new case rate on the planet. Hospitals in Anchorage, Bethel, and Valdez are operating under crisis standards of care protocols.
“It’s been Hell,” said Heidi DeCaro, a respiratory therapist at Providence Alaska Medical Center, whose job includes assisting COVID-19 who are struggling to breathe.
In a Thursday interview, DeCaro and a few of her co-workers described generally untenable work conditions. The team has been caring for up to twice their normal patient loads, their shifts have stretched as long as 15 hours, and they’ve lost “about a third” of their co-workers due mainly to burnout, exhaustion, and a demoralizing work environment, they said.
The 203 hospitalized COVID patients are essentially unchanged from yesterday. The number of available ICU beds dropped to 16. Of the 113 ICU patients statewide, 87 are on ventilators, 36 with COVID. The majority of new cases are among people under 40 years old and unvaccinated.
Linda Gaines talked to KTOO about the situation in Haines, Alaska, after her husband was airlifted to Anchorage. Some models are now predicting hospitalizations won’t peak until November, and oxygen supplier Norco, Inc. is already struggling to keep up with demand.
“As I went up into the lobby area, there was probably 50 more people standing to get into the emergency room,” she said. “And then going outside, there was more people in the parking lot, waiting to get up to the main entry to go to the emergency room.”
Doug Williams of Guardian Flight described a similar situation ground ambulances face in urban hotspots. Aircraft that would normally arrive, load, and fly off are forced to wait on the tarmac while doctors try to find a bed for a sick patient. This takes the aircraft offline while it waits, slowing down the entire system.
California
The deadline for healthcare workers to get vaccinated has almost arrived, and in Sacramento, hospitals are preparing to discipline and terminate employees.
Dignity Health also reported about 90% of employees are vaccinated and employees suspensions will start tomorrow. Sutter Health said 98% of employees are vaccinated in a system with more than 55,000 employees. Sutter Health will terminate “out of compliance” employees on October 15.
UC Davis Health told KCRA that 94% of more than 15,000 employees are vaccinated. Between exemption requests and partially vaccinated employees, a spokesperson said about 50 employees have not gotten vaccinated in defiance of the requirement.
“While there is not an immediate shortage of oxygen, there is a tremendous amount of growing stress to the supply chain network,” Elias Margonis, President of Norco, Inc. wrote in a letter. “Many hospitals have already pushed their bulk storage systems to limits of requiring emergency upgrades.”
In an interview with the Idaho Statesman, Margonis said Norco’s storage systems are generally designed to require shipments of new oxygen every three weeks or, in some cases, every six weeks. These days, many hospitals that Norco supplies are needing new shipments every three or four days, and some have had to use their reserve tanks.
The gaps between the haves and have nots extend into the universe of COVID. People with means and resources cant get monoclonal antibody treatments through private clinics and send their children to private and charter schools, which ironically, support remotely learning, mask mandates, and vaccination requirements for staff.
Jenn Thompson, the Director of the Idaho Public Charter School Commission says population growth makes that seem like a big increase, but it’s only a roughly 1% increase from the previous academic year.
“About 60% of the growth we saw last year was very specifically parents enrolling in virtual schools and the data we can look at right now is about half of that is holding,” Thompson said.
Idaho state representative Greg Chaney is mourning the loss of his mother, who died of COVID less than a week after becoming symptomatic. Chaney said his mother, who was 74, was unvaccinated.
Rep. Chaney said he believes that his mom was misled by misinformation
“I think she was skeptical about whether it was really as bad as it was billed to be,” Rep. Chaney said. “I think she viewed it as ‘I’ve been through a lot of stuff in my time on this planet and this is just another thing in the stuffing box.'”
“I think there was enough out there that validated her skepticism.”
In an interview with KTVB, she discussed a change of heart after seeing the reality first hand and doing her own research. After Craig traveled out of town for surgery and returned, she saw firsthand how the pandemic was overwhelming Idaho’s hospitals.
“I didn’t believe them when they said it was 98% or 96% unvaccinated and through my own research, it truly is,” she said. “I looked in the ICU today and it’s 27-year-olds, it’s 33-year-olds, it’s 60-year-olds. I had another good friend and her brother-in-law died at 40.”
At this point, Craig decided she had seen enough and received the Johnson & Johnson COVID-19 vaccine.
“I have peace now. It’s funny, there are some like my parents. They never said anything to me but now that I am vaccinated they are like, ‘Phew’ you know? Because you worry about your kids.”
The emergency lawsuit asks a judge to intervene and order the Indianapolis hospital to respect a prescription for ivermectin issued to Eliot by a physician assistant named Maria Carson, according to the lawsuit.
Marion Superior Judge Kurt Eisgruber ordered Ascension St. Vincent to give Eliot the drug pending a response to the lawsuit by the hospital. After lawyers representing the hospital challenged the order in court Wednesday, Eisgruber backtracked with a new order saying Ascension St. Vincent did not have to give Eliot the drug.
The extension comes one day after state health officials offered cautious optimism with the state’s waning COVID-19 trends, including decreasing cases and hospitalizations. State Health Commissioner Dr. Kris Box emphasized, however, that they do not expect these declines to be “linear.”
“We may see cases bounce back up and bounce back down,” Box said. “If you look at other states, that’s what they see — kind of a ‘sawtooth’ pattern. That is the nature of this disease.”
Montana reported its 2,000 COVID death last night, with the official total at 2,009 this evening. Governor Greg Gianforte released a statement according to the Montana Free Press. High blood pressure and diabetes were each recorded as a factor in about 1 in 5 of the state’s 2020 COVID-19 deaths. Chronic lung disease was a factor in about 1 in 7. Dementia was a factor in about 1 in 9.
“The governor joins all Montanans whose hearts go out to the family, neighbors, and friends of those we have lost to the virus,” the statement read. “As the governor has said repeatedly, vaccination remains the best solution to protect ourselves and our loved ones from the virus, and we continue to make progress with the millionth dose of vaccine administered in the state yesterday.”
The emergency injunction request was filed Thursday, a day before Department of Education employees must receive at least their first COVID-19 shot to continue working.
“While a temporary interruption of work is not actionable, the mandate here would have a permanent effect: it is open-ended, where if a teacher never gets vaccinated, he or she will never be able to return to work,” the plaintiffs said in their petition.
The petitioners say an immediate injunction is necessary, arguing the “Court will lose the opportunity to provide meaningful relief” to public school employees if it does not issue an injunction before the Friday 5 p.m. deadline for DOE staff to get their first shot.
The Supreme Court has reviewed other emergency case requests from students and faculty and rebuked all challenges. The Supreme Court case of Jacobson vs. Massachusetts in 1905 found that municipalities, counties, and states can mandate vaccinations as a matter of public health, and the case law has been challenged multiple times.
Oregon also reported similar data to Washington state and national data from the CDC on breakthrough cases. Of all the breakthrough cases, only 4.6% of people were hospitalized and less than 1% died. The average age of vaccinated people who died was 80.5.
“Over the last 14 days, our positive tests are down about 20% in the state, and so there are good indicators that we have summited the peak of the delta variant,” Cox said during his monthly PBS news conference.
Meanwhile, on Thursday, the Utah Department of Health reported 1,704 new coronavirus cases and 12 deaths.
The rolling seven-day average for positive tests is now 1,355 per day, and the percent positivity rate of those tested is 14.2%.
“We support businesses in their decisions on whether or not to require vaccines, and I continue to do that,” the governor said during his monthly PBS Utah news conference.
“I know that position can be maddening to some, and that’s fine. But I’m a huge believer in free markets, and a mandate not to allow businesses to have mandates is a mandate in and of itself, and it’s government still telling businesses what they can and can’t do. And I’m opposed to that. I think that businesses should be able to have a mandate.”
Jacque, a Republican from De Pere who has been a vocal opponent of mask and vaccine mandates, tested positive for the virus last month.
“He and his family wish to thank everyone for the prayers and good wishes that are making his recovery possible,” a spokesperson for the senator said Tuesday. “Sen. Jacque is doing much better; he is in touch with his staff on legislative and district issues, and he is reaching out to his friends and colleagues.”
Jacque will continue respiratory and occupational therapy, but he’s feeling well mentally, the spokesperson said in a statement.
While he was hospitalized his wife, Renée Jacque, appealed for people to get vaccinated and to place “their trust in medical professionals.”
Wyoming
Wyoming hospitals are reporting 211 COVID patients hospitalized, 43 on ventilators, and only 33 ICU beds available statewide. Wyoming has 37 hospitals including Veteran’s Administration facilities. Only 13 have available ICU beds. More alarming, over 21% of COVID tests performed at hospitals are positive.
Misinformation
The latest one on social media is a drug that Pfizer is studying that is “suspiciously similar” to Ivermectin. The misinformation is coming from a blog on Zero Hedge that claims the Pfizer drug is essentially the same as Ivermectin.
The blog post is based on an article from the Reuters news agency about a Pfizer drug known as PF-07321332. The article said Pfizer has begun a study of the pill in up to 2,660 healthy adults who live in the same household as someone with a confirmed symptomatic COVID-19 infection.
Pfizer described the drug as a protease inhibitor, which is “designed to block the activity of the main protease enzyme that the coronavirus needs to replicate.” That would stop symptoms from worsening, a spokesperson said.
Zero Hedge seized on the protease inhibitor fact, claiming “that’s exactly what ivermectin” does.
Pfizer’s protease inhibitor is not similar to that of animal medicine and does not use the same mechanism, a Pfizer spokesperson told us.
Benjamin Neuman, the chief virologist at Texas A&M University’s Global Health Research Complex, said ivermectin’s main job is to block ion channels that parasites use to store up positively and negatively charged atoms. SARS-CoV-2 does not have any ion channels like the ones that ivermectin blocks, so there is not an obvious way for ivermectin to work in COVID-19, he said.
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 most vaccinated county in Washington, San Juan, became the first county to see the number of new COVID cases drop into an acceptable range today. Across Washington, the number of new COVID cases and hospitalizations continues to decline.
The percentage of acute care patients treated for COVID dropped below 20% for the first time in weeks, adding more evidence that the fifth wave peaked.
Protesters plan to try and enter Swedish and Harborview Medical Center tomorrow as part of a protest against vaccine mandates for healthcare workers. A large anti-mandate protest is scheduled for Sunday in Olympia and includes speakers from The Post Millenial, Turning Point USA, and failed gubernatorial candidate Loren Culp.
Washington state will start disciplining doctors and nurses who spread COVID misinformation.
The CDC urges pregnant women to get vaccinated, reporting 97% of pregnant people hospitalized are unvaxxed. The deadline to get vaccinated to meet the Washington state employee mandate arrives on Sunday.
A new study out of the U.K. indicates 36% of people who have symptomatic cases of COVID become long haulers, in the most extensive study to date.
Alaska has two more hospitals move to crisis standards of care, Idaho continues the Hunger Games while Montana takes a bold new approach to its COVID problem – stop reporting data.
If Alaska were a country, it would have the highest COVID infection rate on the planet, and if Idaho were a country, it would have the highest COVID death rate on the planet.
In misinformation, we do a rerun to the questions, “what about Israel?”
Editor’s Note: A security upgrade took our site offline for a few hours last night. We apologize for any inconvenience. This was not related to any malicious activity but was required to fix a critical security flaw.
The first wave has ended in San Juan County, where 73.2% of the eligible population was vaccinated. The 7 day moving average for new cases dropped to 23.1 today, showing the archipelago has COVID under control.
New cases continued to drop statewide. In the South Central Hospital Region, which includes Benton, Franklin, Klickitat, Walla Walla, and Yakima counties, the 14 day moving average for new cases decreased to 742.9 per 100K. The Central Hospital Region, which represents King County, declined to 245.1.
Percent of Total Population Fully Vaccinated
Average 14-Day New Case Rate (unadjusted)
60.00% or above (3)
172.2 (down)
50.00% to 59.99% (12 counties)
509.3 (down)
40.00% to 49.99% (15 counties)
660.3 (down)
28.40% to 39.99% (9 counties)
724.7 (down)
14-Day New COVID Cases per 100K average by Vaccination Rate, Not Adjusted for Population
Through September 28, Washington’s statewide 14-day rolling average is 429.8 COVID cases per 100K, the lowest number since August 18. Counties in the 1,000.0 to 1,399.9 range include Lincoln (1,049.8)and Stevens (1,069.3), the least vaccinated county in Washington. Counties in the 800.0 to 999.9 per 100K range include Franklin, Garfield, Grant, Grays Harbor, and Okanogan.
New cases were down for all ages except 50 to 64 years old, which was statistically unchanged. Pediatric patients increased while geriatric patients decreased.
Age Group
7-Day Case Rate
7-Day Hospitalization Rate
Ages 0-11
194,8 (down)
0.7 (up)
Ages 12-19
213.0 (down)
1.7
Ages 20-34
200.7 (down)
5.6
Ages 35-49
201.5 (down)
9.9
Ages 50-64
142.8
15.0
Ages 65-79
102.5 (down)
18.5 (down)
Ages 80+
106.5 (down)
31.5 (down)
7-day case rate and 7-day hospitalization rate is per 100K within the age group – the target for 7-day case rate is <25.0, but there are other factors such as vaccination rates within the age groups, how many total tests within the 7-day period, and the positivity rate within each age group
The USA Today COVID Tracker reported 63 deaths on Tuesday, with data from the weekend included in the number. The state of Washington is not reporting the percentage of positive cases.
“We’re seeing some hopeful signs, and disease is still very, very high. Hospitalizations are still very, very high. Hospital admissions are still significantly higher than they were at the peak of the 3rd wave. And those are new admissions every day, and so that means occupancy is still very high. It continues to be high. And so, hospitals continue to they’re having to delay care for non-urgent procedures,” said Lacy Fehrenbach, Deputy Secretary for COVID-19 Response at the Washington State Department of Health.
Antivax protesters plan to enter Swedish and Harborview Medical Center tomorrow
At least one promoter of the Waking up Washington “Seattle March for Healthcare Workers Against COVID Mandates” is calling for marchers to enter Swedish and Harborview Medical Center to force people to “hear inconvenient truths.”
The march will start at 11:30 a.m. tomorrow, with protesters against vaccine mandates told to gather at Swedish before marching through Seattle to Harborview Medical Center.
On September 21, organizer Palmer Davis shared with her followers, “If our goal is to demand action from those inside the building, standing outside [emphasis hers] of it is kind of a waste of time.”
“What works is to get inside.” [emphasis hers]
“Face-to-face discussion forces people to hear inconvenient truths and answer inconvenient questions.”
Ms. Davis provided no additional specifics on what action could happen when they enter the hospitals, but she didn’t indicate they plan to disrupt patient care.
Available data doesn’t support large-scale resistance among the medical community over receiving the COVID vaccination. New York was the first to reach the deadline for a statewide mandate for healthcare workers. Over 92% of the state’s 692,326 impacted healthcare workers had received at least a first dose by Monday. More than 15,000 additional workers have told officials they will start their vaccination series.
Vaccination rates among patient-facing staff are even higher. The vaccination rate for nurses is estimated to exceed 97% and for doctors was almost 100%,
Large anti-vaccination protest planned in Olympia on Sunday
Local activists are planning a large anti-vaccination mandate rally at the Washington State Capitol on Sunday. Listed speakers include Ari Hoffman, writer at the Post Millenial, Katie Daviscourt of Turning Point USA, serial lawsuit filer Glen Morgan, Loren Culp, the former police chief of Republic, Washington State Representative Jim Walsh, and Winlock mayor Brandon Svenson.
“October 4s the deadline to receive the 2nd dose of the MRNA injection in order to be considered “fully vaccinated” by October 18 [sic] OctoOctober [sic] 3 thousands of State Workers and others from 1–4 p.m. as we stand united against this unreasonable and un-American mandate. Only by standing together do we have any hope of pressuring this Governor to reverse course. If he will not, then we must demand that our Representatives in the Legislature hold a special session to end this lawless and harmful action.”
The United States Supreme Court ruled in 1905 vaccination mandates at the municipal, county, and state levels are Constitutional. The court’s finding has been litigated dozens of times in the 116 years since, including August of this year. Several students at the University of Indiana filed a case with the Supreme Court over the university’s vaccine mandate. Justice Amy Coney-Barrett issued a ruling in favor of the school after determining it didn’t warrant an emergency hearing with the entire court.
About 1,700 state employees have had exemptions approved but could still lose their jobs if a non-public facing position can’t be found for them.
Washington doctors face discipline for spreading COVID misinformation
The Washington Medical Commission says practitioners who misrepresent prevention measures, including vaccines and mask-wearing or prescribe non-approved medications such as Ivermectin, will be subject to disciplinary action.
Patients concerned about a provider’s conduct can file a complaint with the commission.
Washington nurses will face the same action.
Travel Advisories
We recommend avoiding recreational travel to Spokane, Yakima, Klickitat, Benton, Franklin, and Walla Walla counties. If the number of new cases in the South Central Hospital Region continues to decline, we will likely lift our advisory for this region in the next 5 to 12 days. We strongly advise against all nonessential travel to Alaska, Idaho, and Montana. Hospital resources in these regions are constrained, and you may receive inadequate care if you experience a medical emergency.
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Vaccination
CDC urges pregnant women to get vaccinated as deaths, premature births, and stillbirths rise among the unvaccinated
The CDC strongly recommends COVID-19 vaccination either before or during pregnancy. As of SeptemSeptember 27, more than 125,000 laboratory-confirmed COVID-19 cases have been reported in pregnant people, including more than 22,000 hospitalized cases and 161 deaths. The highest number of COVID-19-related deaths in pregnant people in a single month was reported in August 2021. Data from the COVID-19-Associated Hospitalization Surveillance Network (COVID-NET) indicate almost 97% of pregnant people hospitalized (either for illness or for labor and delivery) with confirmed SARS-CoV-2 infection were unvaccinated.
In addition to the risks of severe illness and death for pregnant and recently pregnant people, there is an increased risk for adverse pregnancy and neonatal outcomes, including preterm birth and admission of their babies to an ICU. Other negative consequences, such as stillbirth, have been reported. Despite the known risks of COVID-19, as of SeptemSeptember 18, 31.0% of pregnant people were fully vaccinated before or during their pregnancy.
Although the absolute risk is low, compared with non-pregnant symptomatic people, symptomatic pregnant people have more than a two-fold increased risk of requiring ICU admission, invasive ventilation, ECMO, and a 70% increased risk of death.
Deadline for single dose Johnson & Johnson vaccine and second dose for Pfizer and Moderna vaccine looms for state workers
Thousands of state workers have until Sunday to receive their second Pfizer or Moderna dose or the single-dose Johnson & Johnson vaccine. Over 68% of state workers have reported they are fully vaccinated, and data from companies, schools, and other states such as Hawaii and New York, indicated that final acceptance would exceed 95%.
Multiple unions have reached agreements at a municipal, county, or state level, to extend the deadline past October 18 for individuals who received at least their first dose. Additionally, workers with denied exemptions requests will be given extra time.
Pfizer vaccine booster shots are now available
Booster shots for eligible individuals are now available statewide. Individuals who received both doses of the Pfizer vaccine more than 6 months ago, are 65 or older, or are immunocompromised can receive their third dose immediately.
In the Kirland-Bellevue-Woodinville area, Walgreens, Rite-Aid, Bartell’s, and QFC are offering booster shots. Additionally, the third dose is available at the CVS located within the Target store at 17,700 NE 76th Street in Redmond.
Most locations require an appointment, which can be scheduled online.
King County, Washington is reporting over 86.2% of age eligible residents are vaccinated with at least one dose. The highest rates of positivity are in areas with low vaccination rates statewide. The FDA has provided full approval of the Pfizer vaccine for anyone 16 and over and EUA approval for the Moderna and Johnson & Johnson vaccines.
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, 19.5% of all acute care patients hospitalized in Washington have COVID. This is the first time the Washington state hospital system is not under “severe stress” in weeks. ICUs are at 89.3% of capacity statewide, with 30.5% of ICU patients fighting COVID. Although these numbers are very encouraging, thousands of vital surgeries and other medical procedures have been delayed for months. Some hospitals are starting to do elective procedures again, which will continue to keep ICU beds full.
The 7-day rolling average hospital admission rate for new COVID patients dropped to 137. The Department of Health reported 1,267 COVID patients statewide on SeptemSeptember 2897 on ventilators.
Hospitals in Eastern and Southwest Washington remain very strained due to low vaccination rates and, to a far lesser extent, out-of-state transfer patients.
– Alcott Elementary (1*) – Barton Elementary (1*) – Dickinson/Explorer Elementary (2*) – Ella Baker Elementary (3*) – Eastlake High (1*) – Evergreen Middle School (1*) – Franklin Elementary (2*) – Finn Hill Middle School (1* – see below) – ICS (1*) – Inglewood Middle School (2*) – Juanita Elementary (1*) – Kamiakin Middle School (3*) – Keller Elementary (2*) – Kirkland Middle School (1*) – Lake Washington High (1*) – Lakeview Elementary (3*) – Muir Elementary (1*) – Redmond Middle School (1*) – Redmond High School (1*) – Renaissance Middle School (1*) – Rush Elementary (2*)
See notes below
Northshore
RED
– Arrowhead Elementary (16) – Canyon Creek Elementary (25) – Canyon Park Middle School (11**) – Cottage Lake Elementary (13) – Crystal Springs Elementary (52**) – East Ridge Elementary (21) – Fernwood Elementary (13**) – Frank Love Elementary (25) – Hollywood Hills Elementary (26) – Inglemoor High School (8) – Innovation Lab High School (11) – Kenmore Elementary (12) – Kenmore Middle School (50**) – Kokanee Elementary (62) – Leota Middle School (5) – Lockwood Elementary (31) – Maywood Hills Elementary (21**) – Moorlands Elementary (51) – North Creek High School (26**) – Northshore Middle School (13**) – Ruby Bridges Elementary (9) – Secondary Academy for Success (12) – Shelton View Elementary (18**) – Skyview Middle School (75**) – Sunrise Elementary (21) – Timbercrest Middle School (46) – Wellington Elementary (77) – Westhill Elementary (30) – Woodin Elementary (17**) – Woodinville High School (19) – Woodmoor Elementary (21**)
– Bothell High School (13*/121)
Local Districts Scorecard – * indicates positive cases only ** indicates 5 or more confirmed positive cases
We redefined the school district statuses. Information for classroom and building closures has been a challenge to obtain, both for closures and reopening. We are adopting moving any school with more than 10 active COVID cases reported into the red, and we’ve adjusted the third column to reflect this change.
Bellevue School District went back to status yellow, with 10 confirmed COVID cases between students and staff in the district.
We received a confirmed parent report of one new COVID case at Finn Hill Middle School with 52 students moved to quarantine. Because Lake Washington doesn’t update its dashboard daily, we are adding this as a footnote.
Kirkland-Bellevue-Woodinville
No update
National Round-Up
Johns Hopkins University Cumulative Case Tracker is reporting 111,162 new cases and 2,543 deaths nationwide. COVID-related hospitalizations have declined to 79,000. The Pacific Northwest and Appalachia have become the new COVID hotspots, while Alabama leads the nation in per capita COVID deaths.
Dwindling COVID data is hampering efforts to track and report the real situation
“The fact that they created it, the infrastructure sits there, they put resources towards it, and then they decided not to make it sustainable is really concerning and just disheartening,” says Lauren Gardner, an associate professor of engineering at Johns Hopkins University. “It’s like they started going down the right path and then pulled back.”
By the first week of June, 24 U.S. states reported cases and deaths less than seven times a week, and four states reported only one to three times a week, according to JHU. More states followed suit, even as cases began to rise again due to the Delta variant. Currently, 36 states have pulled back from daily reporting, and seven of them are reporting only three times a week or less, including hard-hit Florida, which is reporting weekly.
New study finds 36% of people who had COVID are long haulers
The study, led by University of Oxford scientists in the United Kingdom, searched anonymized data from millions of electronic health records, primarily in the United States, to identify a study group of 273,618 patients with COVID-19 and 114,449 patients with influenza as a control.
Yukon-Kuskokwim Health Corp. made the crisis care decision as many of the hospitals that typically take patient transfers in Anchorage and elsewhere continue to operate at capacity, officials said Wednesday. Hospitals in outlying areas already say they have to treat more challenging patients in-house because they can’t move them out for higher levels of care.
Dr. John Cullen described the likelihood of a much higher mortality rate “similar to a battlefield scenario” until COVID-19 cases start to drop to the Valdez City Council.
Alaska has 207 COVID patients hospitalized and 22 ICU beds available statewide – both numbers are an improvement from yesterday. Of the 106 patients in the ICU, a staggering 84 are on ventilators.
More than 300 Alaska doctors and other medical professionals, who are frustrated about inaction and incivility around COVID-19, signed an open letter this week asking people to think of what’s best for their fellow Alaskans and consider getting vaccinated.
The letter signers also say they stand in solidarity with their colleagues who spoke at an Anchorage Assembly meeting earlier this month after their impassioned testimony was met with jeers and denials.
Robin Ninefeldt told Alaska Public Media, “I personally know a young gentleman who lost his life because the health aide clinic ran out of a supply of oxygen. That’s a reality. And when I talk with my colleagues who are in the ICU, you’re dealing with the people doing your very best to keep them alive through supportive therapies, watching them pass away, watching families literally erupt into screams in tears because it is tragic to have someone taken from you so quickly.”
Idaho
Boise State University has provided insight into how much impact “crisis standards of care” are having in Idaho. At the start of the surge tearing through the state, 4.04% of residents who became infected with COVID died. This is well above the region and national average and exacerbated by distrust in the medical community, uninsured residents, and significant comorbidities in the state. Today, the rate is over 9% – if Idaho were a country, it would rival Peru.
That backlog not only limits the accuracy of reported COVID-19 cases in real-time but also limits local public health districts in their ability to contact trace properly. According to local health districts, this backlog of cases has developed due to a lack of necessary staffing to process cases in real-time. However, hiring more staff hasn’t been easy.
“There is a stigma against public health across much of Idaho, including our district, which makes it so people don’t want to work for public health simply because they don’t want to face the harassment public health workers are facing right now,” said Brianna Bodily, public information officer for South Central Public Health District.
“I want to remind everybody the monoclonal antibody treatment is a second to people getting vaccinated. We’ve got to get our numbers down.”
“Compared to the vaccines we’ve had before, there’s been more follow up on this vaccine than anything in history,” Gov. Little said.
Hospital officials describe border communities, like Spokane and Coeur d’Alene, as the ‘stopgap’ for ineffective Covid practices in Idaho, which Gov. Inslee mentioned during his trip to Spokane.
As nurses and doctors fought to keep a critically ill woman alive at St. Luke’s McCall Medical Center, which has just 15 beds, someone was busy painting swastikas outside. The staff is now demoralized and fearful.
“It was heartbreaking,” said Paddy Kinney, a physician and the on-duty hospitalist that night. “The timing of it was tough. Anytime you leave the hospital after you’ve worked all night trying to save somebody and you go home to your family, it’s hard to leave the hospital. You’re wondering if you could have done more or if that person is going to ultimately survive the night.
“But then to leave and be faced with that on your way out the door was really heartbreaking for people.”
“It’s disheartening to hear that our healthcare workers went from feeling like heroes to feeling at risk,” Idaho Department of Health and Welfare (DHW) Director Dave Jeppesen told reporters Tuesday.
Kootenai Health, in northern Idaho, increased security after people got into disputes with staff over masking requirements and staged protests outside the hospital. “I mean, we had a protest outside the hospital against masks and vaccines a couple of weeks ago that the patients that were dying of COVID inside could see,” Kootenai Health chief of staff Dr. Robert Scoggins said. “I think that was awful.”
Dr. Ryan Cole, who heads the public health efforts in Ada County, was blasted for making false claims that the COVID vaccine caused a twentyfold increase in cancer rates.
Cole claimed that he saw an uptick in cancers in vaccinated people, such as a “20 times increase in endometrial cancer”. However, he offered nothing in the way of data to support his claim, meaning that viewers only have his word for it.
Public health authorities haven’t reported a sudden cancer surge since the COVID-19 vaccination campaign began in the U.S. in December 2020. Furthermore, the spike that Cole alleged to be occurring would also have been observed worldwide if it were true. Yet, no reports have been corroborating Cole’s claim that people are now developing cancer at record rates.
The number of children and teens in Idaho hospitals for COVID-19 at the end of this summer was five times higher than what hospitals were seeing in June, according to data presented Wednesday afternoon in a briefing with doctors representing Saint Alphonsus, St. Luke’s, and Primary Health.
The number of hospitalized infants and children younger than five years old was ten times higher during the last week of August compared to June.
“That’s a scary figure,” said Dr. David Peterman, CEO of Primary Health Medical Group, who’s also a pediatrician.
Bethann Kierczak, 37, faces charges of theft or embezzlement related to a healthcare benefit program and theft of government property.
The complaint alleges that starting as early as May, the registered nurse distributed and sold real COVID-19 cards that had either been stolen or embezzled from a Veterans Affairs hospital. For the cards to look even more authentic, Kierczak used stolen or embezzled vaccine lot numbers for the cards, prosecutors say. Kierczak is accused of using Facebook’s Messenger feature to connect with potential buyers and sell the cards for between $150 and $200 each.
Montana
It continues to be very challenging to get meaningful information out of the state of Montana, beyond multiple hospitals operating at crisis standards of care or right to the line. The state reported more than 1,300 new cases but provided no information on total hospitalizations, ICU capacity, or the number of people on ventilators.
New Hampshire
Governor Chris Sununu condemned the actions of protesters that caused the postponement of Wednesday’s Executive Council. The protesters, part of an escalating COVID protest movement, were opposed to a state contract to expand vaccination efforts. The protesters’ yelling and threats led several state health department employees to leave the meeting under police escort.
“We will not allow our state employees to be put in harm’s way for simply doing their jobs,” Sununu said, echoing a statement he released earlier in the day. “That is not what New Hampshire is about.”
In a tweet posted shortly before 7 p.m. E.T., the production stated, “Through our rigorous testing protocols, breakthrough COVID-19 cases have been detected with the company of Aladdin at The New Amsterdam Theatre. Because the wellness and safety of our guests, casts, and crew are our top priority, tonight’s performance, Wednesday, September 29 has been canceled.”
North Carolina
3 Doors Down have begun canceling concerts on their ongoing The Better Life 20th anniversary U.S. tour that will require all artists, crew, and attendees to show proof of vaccination against COVID-19 or a recent negative COVID test. Two shows have been canceled so far.
Those concerts were originally scheduled for October 7 at the Red Hat Amphitheater in Raleigh, N.C., and October 9 at Cadence Bank Amphitheatre in Atlanta.
Teresa Makenzie Sperry, a student at Hillpoint Elementary School, was admitted to Children’s Hospital of Kings Daughters in Norfolk and died after her heart failed, her mother, Nicole Sperry, wrote.
Misinformation
“Look at Israel.” This is a common refrain from people who claim that vaccinations don’t work. They cite Israel’s high vaccination rate and the hospitalization rate among the vaccinated population. We wrote about the data fallacy when looking at percentages for new cases, hospitalizations, and deaths when evaluating vaccination performance. Let’s pull these claims apart.
Israel is highly vaccinated. In April 2021, that statement is correct. Israel was the global leader in vaccination. By the time Delta surged in Israel, the nation had dropped to 32nd place. Today Israel is tied with Saudia Arabia and Germany in 21st place, with 67% of the population with at least one dose, narrowly ahead of the United States and behind Sweden. Globally, there are 17 nations with a vaccination rate of 70% or higher.
The United Arab Emirates, where 84% of the population is fully vaccinated, has a population similar to Michigan. The Middle East nation is reporting under 300 new COVID cases a day. The country never had a significant Delta surge.
For our analysis, we went straight to the source – The Israel Ministry of Health COVID website and its COVID Control Panel.
Israel vaccination rate from JuJune 30o September 232021
The first graphic shows the vaccination rate in Israel stalled out and barely changed over three months. The booster shot program started on JuJuly 302021, and about half of the previously vaccinated residents had received the first dose by the end of September.
Severely ill patients over 60 years old by immunization status previous 90 days
The next chart shows the impact of the Delta wave as it rolled through Israel. The number of severely ill patients, defined differently than the United States, rises quickly among the unvaccinated, representing only 33% to 36% of the population, depending on the time within the surge.
The number of severely ill patients also increases at just 25% of the peak level among the unvaccinated, despite representing 64% to 67% of the population. Finally, the number of severely ill patients over the last 3 months is negligible among residents who received a booster shot.
We know that most breakthrough cases are among people over 65 years old. Israeli doctors found the same situation.
The majority of these patients received two vaccine doses at least five months ago, are over the age of 60, and have chronic illnesses known to exacerbate a coronavirus infection. They range from diabetes to heart disease and lung ailments, as well as cancers and inflammatory diseases that are treated with immune-system suppressing drugs, according to Reuters interviews with 11 doctors, health specialists, and officials.
Deaths by immunization status in Israel, last 90 days, under 60 years old
What about those under 60 years old? The overall rate of death among those under 60 is almost negligible. Unvaccinated residents have a slightly higher occurrence versus those who receive two doses. Once again, the unvaccinated group represents a much smaller number of people, about 3.3 million, versus the vaccinated group of 6.5 million. There is one more thing in this graph, in the last 90 days, the total number of deaths among residents under 60 who received a booster shot is 3.
Current hospitalizations “seriously” ill patients in Israel by age and vaccination status
The last chart shows the current situation among “seriously ill” patients in Israel. The majority of the 660 hospitalized patients are under 70 years old, and a vast majority are unvaccinated. It isn’t until you get to 80 and above that, the number of breakthrough cases comes close to the number of unvaccinated patients.
Of the 660 seriously ill patients, 285 are in the ICU, and 227 are on respirators, and the chart above shows, a vast majority are unvaccinated.
The argument that the vaccine didn’t work in Israel is a data fallacy. The vaccine is highly effective at preventing severe COVID and death, even when facing the Delta variant and an aged population. In the last 90 days, based on data from Israel, only 3 people who received booster shots died from COVID.
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 data out today continues to show that Washington is on a plateau, but it appears it is cracking. Hospitalizations continue to surge, which was expected, but six counties hit new high-level marks for COVID cases, and the state positivity rate jumped to over 14%. New cases and hospitalizations grew in almost every age group.
King County adds an outdoor mask mandate for large events, while Jefferson and Clallam counties will require proof of vaccination to enter restaurants and bars. Google pushes out its return to office date, and Alaska Airlines inches closer to a vaccination mandate. We are still working on confirming information out of Kent.
Through August 21, the statewide 14 day rolling average for Washington increased to 513.1 COVID cases per 100K. The number has been bouncing between 500.00 and 535.0 for over a week, so continues at an alarmingly high rate, but still plateaued. Asotin (1,033.6 per 100K), Columbia (1,290.3 per 100K) Franklin (1,212.3 per 100K), and Okanogan (1,041.0 per 100K) reported an extreme number of new cases, with Asotin and Okanogan counties breaching 1,000 cases per 100K. Benton, Chelan, Clallam, Cowlitz, Douglas, Garfield, Grant, Lewis, and Lincoln, Stevens, and Yakima counties are not far behind. Garfield, Lewis, Stevens, and Yakima counties exceeded 800 cases per 100K in the most recent data.
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 14.11%, and over the previous 7 days, 13.20%. This increase in positivity is a bad sign that the plateau may be breaking and Washington is headed in the wrong direction. Case rates and hospitalizations by age groups went in the wrong direction almost across the board.
Age Group
7-Day Case Rate
7-Day Hospitalization Rate
Ages 0-11
27.0 (up)
0.1
Ages 12-19
21.9 (up)
0.2 (up)
Ages 20-34
66.4 (up)
1.1 (up)
Ages 35-49
51.9 (up)
2.1 (up)
Ages 50-64
35.6 (up)
3.0 (up significantly)
Ages 65-79
18.0 (up)
2.5 (up)
Ages 80+
4.9
1.1 (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 37 COVID-related deaths in Washington on Wednesday. Another concerning trend, the data from USA Today indicates that the plateau has broken, with Washington reporting over 4,000 new cases on Wednesday and according to the Department of Health data, Washington has set a new record high for daily new cases.
King County enacts outdoor mask mandate for large events
King County Health has implemented an outdoor mask mandate for large outdoor events with 500 or more people, regardless of vaccination status. As of September 6, King County requires that everyone ages 5 and older, regardless of vaccination status, wear masks in indoor public settings like grocery, retail, theaters, and entertainment establishments, and at outdoor events with 500 or more people. Masks are also recommended for everyone in crowded outdoor settings.
Masking in high-risk settings helps to protect everyone, including those that currently aren’t able to be protected by the vaccine such as children under twelve, and those who are immune suppressed. Some vaccinated people may choose to wear a mask if they are at increased risk for severe infection, have an underlying health condition, or are in close contact with someone at increased risk.
In addition, vaccinated individuals are recommended to wear a mask in crowded outdoor public places where 6 feet of distance can’t be maintained. The mandate is essentially a strong request, with no civil or criminal penalties attached to it for non-compliance.
Jefferson and Clallam counties to require proof of vaccination to enter restaurants and bars
“Indoor bars and restaurants are known to pose a high risk for COVID-19 transmission, as they encourage unmasking of large groups of people indoors,” reports Dr. Berry. “Our goal is to make these safer places to be and to reduce transmission in our communities, allowing our hospitals to keep functioning and our schools to open more safely this fall.”
Acceptable forms of proof of vaccination include a completed CDC vaccination card, a State Department of Health Certificate of COVID-19 Vaccination, a printed copy of a State Department of Health vaccine record, a photograph of any of those documents, or an app-based vaccine passport.
According to the order, a person is fully vaccinated when they have received all the required doses of a vaccine for COVID-19 and 14 days have passed since the final dose. For the Moderna and Pfizer vaccines, two doses are required. Johnson & Johnson’s vaccine requires only one.
Employees of bars and restaurants who mask continuously while in the building do not need to provide proof of vaccination. Additionally, children younger than 12, who are ineligible for vaccination, may enter without showing proof.
Jefferson and Clallam County encompass the northern half of the Olympic Peninsula including port Angeles, Sequim, and Port Townsend. They are the first two counties in Washington to require proof of vaccination to enter bars and restaurants.
Dick’s Drive-In fined $35K for health and safety violations, including problems with mask compliance
American Academy of Pediatrics tracking COVID cases, hospitalizations and deaths for children
The American Academy of Pediatrics started compiling state-level data on COVID cases, hospitalizations, and deaths from states that are sharing the data.
As of August 26, nearly 4.8 million children have tested positive for COVID-19 since the onset of the pandemic. About 204,000 cases were added the past week, marking the second week with child cases at the level of the winter surge of 2020-21. After declining in early summer, child cases have increased exponentially, with over a five-fold increase the past month, rising from about 38,000 cases the week ending July 22nd to nearly 204,000 the past week.
In the most recent report from August 26, 2021, data indicated there have been 11 pediatric deaths due to COVID since the first coronavirus case was detected on January 21, 2020.
Alaska Airlines to require vaccination for all new employees
In a statement to its employees, Alaska Airlines creating a vaccination policy for all new employees of Alaska and Horizon Airlines.
“We have not yet made a decision on a vaccine requirement for current employees but did implement two new policies to help us reach this goal,” the statement said. “All new hires at Alaska and Horizon must now be fully vaccinated against COVID-19 by their date of hire. In addition, current unvaccinated employees who become exposed to or infected with COVID-19, will no longer be paid for their quarantine time.”
Alaska Airlines is said to still be considering a vaccine mandate for all employees.
State Senator Phil Fortunato (31st District – R) creates a cringy COVID video
Phil Fortunato, a Republican state senator from Auburn representing the 31st District put out a cringeworthy video where he attempts to channel Buffalo Springfield while singing about Jay Inslee.
Spokane County is considering opening mass testing sites again as local hospitals and urgent care centers are buckling under patient load and test requests. CHAS Health announced they were suspending all COVID testing and reducing hours at least through September 12, because of the sheer volume of requests and patients.
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Giving people an additional dose, or perhaps a final dose, several months after they’ve received their initial vaccination helps the immune system mature, said Fauci, also the director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases.
“I must say from my own experience as an immunologist, I would not at all be surprised that the adequate full regimen for vaccination will likely be three doses,” Fauci told reporters during a White House Covid briefing.
The debate over natural immunity versus vaccination is raging again after a pre-print study came out from Israel and some sources such as the Gateway Pundit have run unfactual headlines about the findings. We’ll get into that a bit further down.
There have been multiple studies done on natural immunity from catching COVID, versus vaccination. Additionally, more data about breakthrough infections and those with “natural” immunity who have been reinfected a second, and now for some, a third time is becoming available.
The study found, “Kentucky residents with previous infections who were unvaccinated had 2.34 times the odds of reinfection compared with those who were fully vaccinated; partial vaccination was not significantly associated with reinfection.”
“The duration of immunity resulting from natural infection, although not well understood, is suspected to persist for ≥90 days in most persons. The emergence of new variants might affect the duration of infection-acquired immunity, and laboratory studies have shown that sera from previously infected persons might offer weak or inconsistent responses against several variants of concern.”
So in simple terms, the study found that persons who had COVID and then got vaccinated had a lower chance of reinfection versus persons who did not. It also “suspects” that the natural response lasts for at least 90 days, and likely more.
But what about the Israeli study, and the headline from the Gateway Pundit that states, “New Israeli study finds fully vaccinated people are at ‘greater risk of hospitalization’ and 13 times more likely to catch COVID-19 than those who have recovered and have natural immunity.”
We need to pump the brakes on this one because the headline misrepresents the study for starters, and there are some other issues. The study has generally been praised for being well done, however it is a pre-print and has not been peer-reviewed (the CDC study above went from pre-print to publication with edits, which is common). That doesn’t dismiss the study but should serve as a yellow light for now.
One of the biggest problems is the study was done via a records review, which creates a bias by only analyzing data from people who got medical treatment. It also doesn’t control for behaviors such as mask wear, social distancing, and risk-taking. Because Israel is highly vaccinated, and healthy people aren’t going to seek medical testing or treatment for COVID, the interpretation of the study can result in a statistical fallacy.
“This type of study design is not as robust as a prospective study that follows individuals forward in time, testing them at regular intervals and collecting data on symptoms systematically,” Dr. Matthew Laurens of the Center of Vaccine Development and Global Health at the University of Maryland said. “Prospective studies should be done to determine if these findings can be replicated.”
“The suggestion that you might be better off getting infected versus vaccinated does not take into account the inherent risks associated with COVID-19 infection, including death.”
We know this much. Immunity, whether natural or through vaccination wanes over time. The older you are, and the worse your overall health is the faster immunity wanes. We know that reinfection represents about 1% of all cases, but that may be a statistical fallacy because people with asymptomatic cases aren’t going to seek medical attention. We know that the Delta variant has lower vaccine effectiveness at preventing infection around 20%, but did not lower the vaccine’s ability to keep people out of the hospital.
There are a number of studies that indicate that the best possible immunity is secured by becoming naturally infected (with a 1:18 chance of being hospitalized and a 1:70 chance of dying, don’t forget those critical points) followed by vaccination. The next best layer of defense is vaccination.
King County, Washington is reporting over 83% 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, 21.1% of all acute care patients hospitalized in Washington have COVID, a significant jump from the 18.3% reported yesterday and a new record. 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 34.2% of ICU patients fighting COVID.
The new hospital admission rate for COVID patients is 178 per day, an increase from yesterday. On September 1, there were 1,565 patients hospitalized with COVID and 240 on ventilators. This should be viewed as a preliminary number. This is a new record, and the state has added 115 additional patients since Monday.
Data for pediatric patients receiving acute care or in a PICU due to COVID is not available.
Back to School
School District
Status
Quarantines
Closures
Bellevue
GREEN
None
None
Lake Washington
GREEN
None
None
Northshore
GREEN
None
None
Local School Districts Scorecard
Kindergarteners in the Bellevue School District have their first day tomorrow, representing the last group of students to start school in our local area.
We do not have additional information about the Kent School District at this time, beyond their online dashboard is not reporting any cases when we published.
Google has pushed back its return to in-person work date to January 10, 2022, in an e-mail sent to all employees on Tuesday. In an e-mail sent on Tuesday, Google CEO Sundar Pichai wrote, “The COVID-19 pandemic has been a humbling challenge for all of us and I continue to be impressed by the way our teams are navigating through it. In spite of these challenges, I’m happy to say that a large number of offices globally are already open for business, and we are welcoming back tens of thousands of Googlers on a voluntary basis. Given that conditions around the world are still highly variable, I wanted to share how we’re planning to approach the next few months.”
“First, as offices continue to reopen, we hope to see more teams coming together where possible, whether it be for regular team meetings, brainstorming sessions around a whiteboard, or outdoor socials. For some locations, conditions are starting to improve, yet in many parts of the world the pandemic continues to create uncertainty. Acknowledging that, we’ll extend our global voluntary return-to-office policy through January 10, 2022 to give more Googlers flexibility and choice as they ramp back.”
National Round-Up
Johns Hopkins University Cumulitaive Case Tracker 198,025 new cases and 1,973 COVID-related deaths on Wednesday. This is the first mid-week report to approach 200,000 and the highest number of deaths in a single day since the winter spike.
In the same briefing where Dr. Fauci indicated that three doses for Pfizer and Moderna will likely become the new normal, he indicated that the newly discovered Mu variant is not concerning for the United States for now.
Most semiconductors are produced in Taiwan and Korea, and a combination of supply chain issues, COVID delays, and factory shutdowns have crippled the supply globally.
We debated doing keystrokes on this story, but since it has blown up on social media, why not. A week ago Candace Owens bowed out of a meet and greet a the Right to LIfe Summit in Indiana, and instead had someone hand out autographed copies of her book. On Saturday, she was a no-show at a planned speaking engagement at the Texas Youth Conference due to a “sudden illness.” The serial social media influencer has also gone silent on Twitter, creating significant speculation on her health.
On August 29, she tweeted out attacking people speculating she was ill and stated she was in Aspen on a family vacation and had limited cell service. Yesterday, she attempted to schedule a COVID test at a private clinic in Aspen, and her request was denied. She was referred to a public clinic to receive her test, which would meet ethical guidelines for patient care.
To say that Owens did not take hearing, “no,” well, would be an understatement. She’s been engaged in a tweetstorm ever since. None of this addresses her current health situation, or if she is more than mildly symptomatic after a week. Symptoms that are beyond mild after a week are a leading sign of a more serious infection, and we hope that Ms. Owens will get tested. The firebrand has made it clear she is not vaccinated, is against masks and social distancing, and will not seek treatment for herself – for now.
As promised— here is the email from the rabid activist declining to give me a test, plus my response to her. She clearly isn’t stable enough to work in health and is a danger to the Aspen community. pic.twitter.com/nV7xMGqVN3
“She is a private business owner,” Owens said. “She does have a right to decline to give me service, and that’s not what the issue is here. I want that to be very clear. Assuming that she has not accepted any state or federal funding, assuming that she truly is a private-business owner, then she has every right to discriminate against who she serves. But it should be noted that she was seeking to prevent me from keeping the Aspen community safe.”
It is worth noting that Owens has stated many times that discrimination does not exist. She is now claiming on Twitter that the business has accepted federal funds, but so far there is no additional information to support that.
Alabama
There is mixed news coming out of Alabama as the state sets a grim and positive milestone. In the bad news column, Alabama set a new record for the number of people in the ICU of over 1000 patients and is now at negative 92 capacity. What was once a promising-looking plateau has been punched through. Officials are now saying they are at a “tipping point” and still several weeks away from their hospitalization peak.
In the good news column, Alabama no longer has the lowest vaccination rate in the country. Although a vaccination rate barely over 38% is nothing to cheer about, Alabama has moved into 49th place and is closing on 48th, getting ready to pass Wyoming and if the current rate of new vaccination holds, will pass Idaho and West Virginia in the next two weeks. It is worth noting that former President Donald Trump appealed to 50,000 people two weeks ago to get vaccinated, and while met with boos, it may have had an impact on motivating some people to get the jab.
Colorado
The Colorado Board of Health adopted an emergency rule mandating COVID vaccination for all employees, direct contractors, and support staff in licensed healthcare settings, and must receive their first dose by September 30, 2021, and be fully vaccinated no later than October 31. All covered employees are also required to obtain a subsequent, or booster, dose of the COVID-19 vaccination should one be recommended by the Advisory Committee on Immunizations Practices within the CDC.
The rule also requires healthcare facilities to hire only fully vaccinated workers after October 31.
The mandate does not apply to individual health care practitioners or staff, or settings where patients seek medical care including primary care offices and urgent care locations. The Board does not have jurisdiction over such facilities. Impacted people can apply for a religious or medical exemption.
Florida
Add Florida to another state that was seeing a plateau or declining cases, to have a significant increase in today’s data. We were planning to declare the COVID surge in Florida had reached its peak, but we’re not sure now. After four days with new cases dipping below 20,000 per day, the number surged to 21,392. Florida reported more than 5,700 COVID deaths in the month of August, and the number is expected to climb higher over the next month due to the way Florida counts COVID-related deaths.
“We are not even close to the worst, and that scares us,” said Dr. Richard Augustus, chief medical officer of Caldwell’s West Valley Medical Center, at a press conference with other hospitals on Thursday. Leaders at multiple Treasure Valley hospitals stressed that 95% of their patients hospitalized with COVID-19 are unvaccinated, indicating that most severe illness is preventable with vaccination.
“We continue to lose people who didn’t have to die,” Augustus said. “We continue to comfort families about a death that didn’t have to happen.”
“We know that as the virus evolves as we see states struggling with high case counts in the south and as we hit another milestone in our response, it’s time to shift. We owe it to you to share and ensure that you have access to your information, and I want you to do it for me, that every day, all along,” Garcia said.
In a press conference today, Iowa Governor Kim Reynolds blamed the unvaccinated for the ongoing surge and indicated that 79% of all patients were unvaccinated. Children now make up 25% of all new cases in Iowa, mirroring a national trend.
Kentucky
Governor Andy Beshear held his weekly “Team Kentucky” update on Thursday, and based on what he had to say, this team is losing badly right now.
Just last month, Kentucky recorded more than 93,000 positive cases, with a positivity rate of greater than 13%. That was the second-highest total since the pandemic’s onset in Kentucky in March of 2020.
In Kentucky, 24.5% of all cases are children. Thirty-one school districts have had to shut down due to COVID, and the state assembly can’t agree on what to do as the education system is starting to crumble just a month after in-person instruction started.
Data on COVID out of Louisiana is almost non-existent after Hurricane Ida, but the state reported two juvenile deaths today. One of the children was younger than 4 years old, and the other was between 12 and 17 years of age. So far, 13 children have died from COVID.
Missouri
Here is your good news, the latest wave of COVID cases in Missouri is on the decline. The Midwestern state was one of the first to see a massive surge, and there is enough data to confidently say, the worst is over.
The ads on a state jobs website prominently note the lack of vaccination requirements for state employees, right after mentioning a $5,000 hiring bonus. In a separate mail advertisement, the state lists “No mandated COVID-19 vaccination” as one of the “many great benefits” of its nursing jobs.
State Sen. Carol Blood, of Bellevue, said she inquired about the ad after constituents with loved ones in Nebraska’s state-run veterans homes brought it to her attention. Blood said she understands that the state faces a chronic nursing shortage but was concerned because many veterans’ home residents are elderly and sick.
“There’s a reason you have to have a doctor to get a prescription for this stuff because it can be dangerous,” said Dr. Jason McElyea.
“The ERs are so backed up that gunshot victims were having hard times getting to facilities where they can get definitive care and be treated,” he said.
Dr. McElyea said the patients are suffering from nausea, vomiting, muscle aches, and cramping, and that’s only in minor cases.
“The scariest one that I’ve heard of and seen is people coming in with vision loss,” he said.
Wait, how many gunshot wounds are happening in rural Oklahoma?
Oregon
After weeks of increasing cases, and having to take extraordinary steps to keep the hospital system from collapsing, Oregon appears to be reaching a plateau. Vaccination rates are up and a combination of mask-wearing and general caution is slowing down the progression of the outbreak. However, hospitals remain on the brink particularly in the southwest and eastern parts of the state.
The dip in hospitalizations isn’t happening because of fewer COVID cases, but due to a cancellation of elective surgery and clearing out of patients who under normal conditions, would require acute care.
South Carolina
Pediatric cases are exploding in South Carolina, which now has the highest infection rate in the United States for all ages. Dr. Jonathan Knoche, DHEC medical consultant, said that, since Aug. 21, the 11 to 20 age group has recorded the highest number of new cases in the state. The second highest group are those 0 to 10 age group.
Top doctors for the health systems, alongside Sioux Falls Public Health Director Dr. Charles Chima, held their first public briefing in months as the state sees a wave of coronavirus cases spurred by the contagious delta virus strain. The state Department of Health has not held public briefings dedicated to the virus since June. At the time, coronavirus cases had reached one of their lowest levels since the pandemic began.
But over the past two weeks, the rolling average number of daily new cases has increased by 65% and one out of every 310 people in the state has tested positive for COVID-19 in the last week, according to Johns Hopkins researchers.
Texas
As COVID-19 case numbers and hospitalizations among students climb, a group of Texas physicians is asking Gov. Greg Abbott to reverse his decision to ban COVID-19 vaccine and mask mandates in schools. They’re also asking state legislators to side with them as the issue is discussed in special session.
“The danger of these policies to people’s health and safety could not be clearer,” Dr. Erin Amjadi, an internal medicine physician practicing in Austin, said of Abbott’s mandates. Amjadi said more than 20,000 COVID-19 cases have been tied to Texas schools since August 2.
“Our kids are being put directly in harms way,” she said.
As of this week, the Texas Department of State Health Services (DSHS) is now providing hospital and capacity numbers broken down into adult and pediatric categories, which gives us a better idea of how many people in our hospitals are school-aged. As of Thursday’s update, there are 282 kids in Texas hospitals with COVID-19.
There are 81 available staffed pediatric ICU beds across the entire state of Texas, according to DSHS’ dashboard.
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 have plateaued in Washington while hospitalizations and the number of people requiring ICU care and ventilators increases. Throughout Western Washington, it was back to in-person school for the first time in almost two years for some as nervous parents wonder about the days and weeks ahead.
It’s one of the quietest days since we started the daily updates, so let’s dive into it.
Through August 20, the statewide 14 day rolling average for Washington declined to 502.7 COVID cases per 100K, virtually unchanged from yesterday. Columbia (1,147.0 per 100K) and Franklin (1,1125.5 per 100K) are still reporting an extreme number of new cases. Asotin, Benton, Clallam, Chelan, Cowlitz, Douglas, Grant, and Lincoln are not far behind. Clallam is added to the list today with 849.3 cases 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 13.62%, and over the previous 7 days, 13.19%. These numbers indicate continued widespread community transmission driven by the unvaccinated and under testing of the population.
Age Group
7-Day Case Rate
7-Day Hospitalization Rate
Ages 0-11
25.3
0.1
Ages 12-19
20.8
0.1
Ages 20-34
65.8
0.6
Ages 35-49
50.8
1.4
Ages 50-64
34.8
1.9
Ages 65-79
16.8
1.6
Ages 80+
4.9
0.6
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
Almost 196,000 vaccine doses go to waste in Washington state
A report came out today on how many doses of COVID vaccine have been wasted at a national and state level, and Washington did an admirable job. Through September 1, the Department of Health reported 184,621 doses wasted by vaccine providers and another 12,067 returned unused. The Center for Disease Control considers returned doses as “wasted.”
There were regional power outages caused by a windstorm on January 13, 2021, which cut off electricity to special refrigeration units needed to keep the Moderna and Pfizer vaccines supercooled in storage. There was another power outage on January 29, 2021, at the University of Washington, which impacted additional doses and the snowstorm event in early February. Vaccines can become wasted if they are mixed improperly, a vial is dropped or cracked, or if at the end of a clinical day not all doses within a vial were distributed.
Since the first doses arrived in our state, about 3% went to waste.
Sweetgreen CEO scrubs social media posts after uproar
The CEO of salad chain Sweetgreen has deleted a controversial post he made pointing to obesity as the “root cause” of COVID-19 and pushing for the U.S. to implement “more health mandates” regarding food.
Jonathan Neman, whose billion-dollar company has fast-casual restaurants in 12 states, began in his rant Tuesday that “78% of hospitalizations due to COVID are Obese and Overweight people,” asking, “Is there an underlying problem that perhaps we have not given enough attention to?” and “Is there another way to think about how we tackle ‘healthcare’ by addressing the root cause?”
The backlash on social media is about what you would expect.
Etectera
A new COVID testing center opened at Yakima Valley College yesterday, and people were lined up an hour before it opened. On the first day officials did 482 tests. The site is run through a partnership with the University of Washington, Yakima Valley Memorial Hospital, Signal Health, and the college.
KPTV interviewed a former PeaceHealth nurse for the story, Viktoriya Bogdanova, who resigned over the summer after the hospital required N95 masks for unvaccinated staff.
Thank you
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Vaccination
No update
King County, Washington is reporting over 83% 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, 18.3% of all acute care patients hospitalized in Washington have COVID. This beats the old record of 17.7% set yesterday. ICUs are at 88.6% of capacity statewide with 34.1% of ICU patients fighting COVID.
The new hospital admission rate for COVID patients is 173 per day, down slightly from yesterday. On August 31, there were 1,529 patients hospitalized with COVID and 214 on ventilators. The Department of Health adjusted the number of patients on ventilators yesterday from 241 to 236 in today’s report.
Bellevue School District – September 1, 1st through 12th, September 3, kindergarten
Northshore School District – September 1, 1st through 12th, September 1 or September 2 for kindergarten on a staggered start
A fair amount of apprehension was expressed as parents sent their children to school in districts across the Puget Sound lowlands.
We’ve created a scorecard to track the status in our area districts and you can help us crowdsource information. As you become aware of quarantines with students or facilities, you can send your information to malcontentnews@protonmail.com. This is a secure e-mail address and your reports will remain anonymous.
We will apply a “trust but verify” policy on reports so that parents can have a better understanding of what is going on with the school districts, and make informed decisions.
We have received several reports today from parents within the Kent School District, where classes started on August 26. We have received identical reports of “multiple confirmed COVID cases” at more than one school in the district. Parents are being told that CDC and DoH guidelines prevent the district from releasing more specific information. As we were preparing this story, we have another person come forward, but we were not able to speak to them before press time.
Johns Hopkins University Cumulitaive Case Tracker 140,704 new cases and 1,397 COVID-related deaths on Monday.
The World Health Organization is tracking a new variant of interest called Mu. The Mu variant, known as B.1.621. Mu appears to be vaccine resistant, but at the same level as the Beta variant (commonly known as the South African variant). Cases are increasing in Columbia in Ecuador, which would indicate that its R0, or “r naught,” is higher than Lambda.
The Lambda variant, which is prevalent in Latin and South America couldn’t establish a beachhead in the United States because Delta is more infectious.
A lot of digital ink has been spilled about C.1.2 in South Africa, and we’ve gotten some questions. Although the new variant has the most spike protein researchers had seen to date, and there has been some hype that it would break through current vaccinations, the variant is not establishing itself in South Africa or appearing in many cases. Because the R0 appears low, it is currently not a concern for health officials.
“It does not appear that its circulation is increasing”, said Dr. Margaret Harris, a spokesperson for the WHO.
Joe Rogan reported he has COVID on Instagram, and told his followers he was using Regen-COV, Zithromax, Prednisone, and Ivermectin to treat himself. Ya, all the headlines say ivermectin, go to his Instagram – journalism has a responsibility not to create sensational headlines.
There was allegedly going to be a trucker strike in the United States over mask and vaccine mandates today. It apparently didn’t happen.
Arkansas
Cases of COVID involving children continue to grow in Arkansas, as Governor Asa Hutchinson expressed concern over the growing numbers. Pediatric cases now represent 30% of all cases in Arkansas. Hospital admissions for children far exceeded records set late last year, with over 100 admissions in July and August.
Baptist Health CEO Troy Wells noted that his hospitals have been among the many working to increase COVID patient capacity across the state, especially for patients requiring intensive care. Wells said 33 new ICU beds were added as Phase 1 of the expansion but were filled within 12 to 24 hours.
He went on to say that his company’s facility in North Little Rock just added 12 more ICU beds and that the hospitals in Fort Smith and Conway were looking to each add eight more COVID-19 ICU beds.
California Department of Forest and Fire Protection incident commander Jeff Veik announced the loss of the crews and warned other firefighters to follow the agency’s COVID-19 protocols during a Tuesday operations briefing, SFGATE reported.
“We lost a whole strike team of crews yesterday, we lost a finance section chief due to (being) COVID positive, so understand, do not come to this briefing without a mask on,” he said.
A strike team includes five firetrucks, 3 crew each, and a commander. The team will have to quarantine for two weeks.
Bill County school district sent 21,000 students home to learn remotely at least through September 20. The county joined Richmond County which sent 29,000 students home to allow deep cleaning of all the district schools. After the first four weeks of school, 200,000 Georgia students have had instruction disrupted due to quarantines, loss of staff, or closures.
“Idahoans, we need your help. On behalf of nearly 30 health care groups representing thousands of providers at every level across the state, we want to express our alarm at what we are witnessing now.”
“As of Aug. 31, approximately 543 patients in Idaho were hospitalized with confirmed or suspected COVID-19 and 167 of those patients were in the ICU with confirmed COVID-19. Perhaps most discouraging is the fact that approximately 97 COVID-19 patients in Idaho were on a ventilator, the highest recorded number at any time during this pandemic.”
“Models indicate that by mid-October, Idaho could see 30,000 cases per week which is thousands more than any week in 2020. Discussions surrounding the activation of crisis standards of care are underway, which means hospitals may be forced to ration care. Or more simply put, your hospital may not be able to care for everyone in the community, whether you get COVID-19, get in a mountain biking accident, or have a heart attack.”
While Governor Little appeals to Idahodians to keep the medical systems from collapsing, Lt. Governor Janice McGechin is actively undermining those efforts.
“It was shameful for Brad to suggest today that Idahoans must make a specific medical choice in order to show love for their neighbors,” McGeachin said in a tweet. “I trust YOU to make your own health choices.”
McGeachin is running to unseat Little and win the Republican gubernatorial nomination.
Illinois
Chloe Mrozak, 24, of Oak Lawn, Illinois spent $600 on a plane ticket to Hawaii, only to discover the state has a vaccination requirement for incoming travelers. To solve this problem she bought a fake vaccination card and apparently filled it out herself. She misspelled Moderna on the card as “Maderna,” listed she got the vaccination in Delaware by the NRA listing Corporal Wolf and a Sergeant Monety as the administrators. In the case of Sergeant Monety, it appeared she first wrote “Money,” and then penned in a tiny t.
Officials at the airport suspected the card was fake and started an investigation. She listed a Holiday Inn Express as the place she was staying, but there was no record of her. When she attempted to fly home, officials were waiting for her and she was arrested on August 28 at the airport. She faces at least a misdemeanor charge of falsified vaccination documents in Hawaii but could be charged with a federal crime.
Oregon
One hundred members of the National Guard are being deployed to Salem Hospital, as the facility struggles to keep up with patients. As of Tuesday morning, the hospital had 90 Covid positive patients admitted, 20 of them in the intensive care unit, and 481 out of 494 licensed hospital beds full, according to data Salem Health publishes daily. Seventy-four of those in the hospital with Covid are unvaccinated against the disease, the hospital said.
Virginia
Liberty University, a private evangelical Christian university in Lynchburg, had to enact a campus-wide quarantine after school reopened this year due to widespread COVID cases. The closure, slated to last at least through September 10, was made after hundreds of COVID cases were discovered among students. By the end of last week, over 10% of the student body was in quarantine, forcing the closures.
In response to the outbreak, the school notified students today they will be holding a vaccine clinic on September 3.
Our live webcast from the former Seattle Anarchist Jurisdiction
Content Warning
Editor’s Note: This show contains multiple videos of events that some viewers may find disturbing including graphic violence. Viewer discretion is advised.
The show from April 28, 2021, featured David Obelcz and our co-host Jennifer Smith.
Exodus from the Seattle Police Department continues
All Fireworks Banned in King County Beginning in 2022
Auburn Police Treat Road Rage Victim Like a Criminal Suspect
King County Health Tells Business Leaders to Prepare for Phase 2 COVID Restrictions
Was the Stabbing In Bothell and the Shooting in Rainier Beach Asian-bias Crimes?
Malcontented Minuted – Police Edition
Video shows Police seconds before the raid of Andrew Brown, Junior’s Home in Elizabeth City, North Carolina
Video shows police officers fist-bumping and celebrating the injuries they caused to a 73-year old Alzheimer’s Patient
Stephanie Bottom, 66, in brutalized by North Carolina police on body cam and is starting a federal lawsuit
Virginia police officer misidentifies a cellphone as a gun and shoots Isaiah Brown 10 times
Bodycam video of Anthony Alvarez being shot by Chicago Police shows him running away
Two Hialeah, Florida Police officers have been arrested for writing fake traffic tickets
Bodycam video released on April 28 shows Lymond Moses being shot by police after a pretext welfare check because he was sleeping in his car
Tennessee police officer fired for high-fiving a suspect who used a racial slur during the arrest
Bodycam video of Mario Gonzalez being arrested in Almeda, California shows officers restaining him for over 5 minutes before he dies in custody
Prince Georges police officer arrested on multiple charges, including first-degree assault, after fellow officers turn him in for treatment of a Black teen suspect
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