[KIRKLAND, Wash.] – (MTN) The National Weather Service has issued a Heat Advisory from noon Wednesday to midnight Thursday for Western Washington, with temperatures expected to flirt with the 90-degree mark. Seattle set a record for the most days in a year over 90 degrees and tied the record for the most days at or over 95 degrees in a year earlier this month.
It isn’t all bad news if you’re not a warm weather fan. The region has crossed over the point where 100 degrees are highly unlikely and inching closer to where 90-degree heat will be in the rearview mirror. So far, 2022 has been almost smoke-free. Air quality flirted with moderately unhealthy last week, with one afternoon providing orange-tinged afternoon light due to a layer of high-altitude smoke. Keen noses might have noticed the smell of smoke in the air on Monday evening.
Rest of Today
The afternoon will be pleasant for most, while old-school eastsiders might find it too warm. High temperatures will be 82 to 86 degrees under clear skies with winds from 5 to 10 MPH.
Tuesday Night
Temperatures will be pleasant, providing perfect sleeping with a low of 58 to 61 degrees.
Wednesday
Clouds may roll in and help moderate temperatures, making it difficult to break the 90-degree barrier. In the Bellevue-Kirkland-Woodinville area, highs will be 87 to 91 degrees under clear skies, with a light onshore flow forming toward the end of the day. Clouds will start to move in near sunset.
Wednesday Night
Partly to mostly cloudy skies will act like a blanket, while a weak onshore flow will hold back temperatures from dropping after sunset. Area lows will be 63 to 67. The onshore flow will shift overnight, causing humidity to climb.
Thursday
Partly to mostly cloudy skies won’t stop the mercury from climbing. Thursday morning will have the “it is going to be a hot day” feel as you head out the door. High temperatures will be 88 to 93 degrees. The dew point will be 63 to 65, which isn’t terrible, but will make the air feel a touch sticky.
Thursday Night
Cloud cover will once again act like a blanket that holds in the day’s heat. Low temperatures will be 63 to 66.
Friday Outlook
Friday and the rest of the weekend look to be partly cloudy, with highs in the 70s and 80s and pleasant sleeping weather returning.
[KIRKLAND, Wash.] – (MTN) The National Weather Service has issued a Heat Advisory from noon Sunday to 9 PM Monday for Western Washington, with temperatures expected to flirt with the 90-degree mark. Smoke is expected to roll into the region and linger through Tuesday.
Saturday Night
Saturday evening will be pleasant with a northwest breeze from 5 to 10 MPH. Temperatures will be perfect for sleeping – 56 to 60 degrees.
Sunday
Sunny skies with light winds will heat things up with highs reaching 88 to 92 degrees. Temperatures will be cooler by the water and hotter in urban canyons and our area hot spots like Totem Lake and Kingsgate. An onshore flow will develop, pulling smoke over the Cascades. The AQI will be moderately unhealthy, 51 to 100 PM2.5. Very sensitive groups should limit their time outdoors and avoid strenuous activity. Photographers will want to have their cameras ready for a brilliant sunset.
Sunday Night
Temperatures will drop to 57 to 61 degrees, and smoke will remain moderately unhealthy, with the AQI between 51 and 100. Smoke tends to be worse at night as cooler air sinks and pulls it closer to the ground.
Monday
Monday’s forecast is complex, which makes it tricky. If the smoke becomes denser than current models, it will moderate high temperatures. Cloud cover is expected to move in from a weak disturbance, and that will also impact the high temperature and how much smoke settles in the area. High temperatures will reach 89 to 92 degrees in the Bellevue-Kirkland-Woodinville area, with an AQI of 51 to 100. Clouds aren’t expected to roll in until very late on Tuesday, but if that accelerates, it will moderate temperatures and convert our smoke into smog.
Monday Night
Low temperatures will be 59 to 65 degrees depending on when the clouds arrive and how much smoke is in the area. Expect cooler temperatures if the current weather models hold and warmer temperatures if the area gets blanketed. AQI will remain 51 to 100. By sunrise, winds will shift to an offshore flow, moderating our temperatures and blowing any smoke left out of our region.
Tuesday Outlook
Tuesday will be mostly cloudy, with smoke blowing out of the region. Expect the AQI to move back to normal by the afternoon. High temperatures will be 80 to 85 degrees with a southwest wind increasing to 7 to 10 MPH. On Tuesday night, there is a small chance of some rain showers moving through the area, cleaning the air out and moderating temperatures back into the 70s for Wednesday.
[KIRKLAND, Wash.] – MTN The average summer Western Washington has been enjoying is about to heat up, with a four-day streak of 90-plus degree weather ahead. A thermal trough, high pressure, and light winds will combine to create a classic Washington summer heat wave.
After 2021, the words “heat wave” may bring back bad memories of three days in a row over 100 degrees – it won’t be that hot. Daytime temperatures will cross 90 degrees Tuesday through Friday, while lows will likely stay in the high 60s. Temperatures won’t drop below 70 until close to sunrise, so there won’t be much overnight relief from the heat.
Sunday
A perfect late-July day awaits the Bellevue-Kirkland-Woodinville area. Skies will be mostly sunny with high temperatures between 80 to 84. Some clouds will start to roll in close to sunset.
Sunday Night
Partly cloudy skies with a light breeze from the northeast with a low of 58 to 61 degrees – perfect sleeping weather.
Monday
It warms up a little more, but the area isn’t roasting yet. Morning clouds will burn off, and the high temperatures will reach 84 to 88 degrees.
Monday Night
High pressure will slide down from British Columbia to our north, and a thermal trough will form overnight. Overnight temperatures will fall to 62 to 64 degrees. On Tuesday, things start to heat up.
Tuesday
Clear sunny skies with a light wind from the north and northeast will send temperatures soaring. The high will reach 90 to 93 degrees through the Bellevue-Kirkland-Woodinville area. Downtown Bellevue and Totem Lake will be the hot spots, while Finn Hill and right along the water might not quite get to 90.
Tuesday Night
Temperatures will stay well into the 70s past midnight before falling to 65 to 67 degrees close to sunrise. Thee won’t be much of a breeze to offer any relief.
Wednesday
The week’s hottest day will get even warmer thanks to a weak easterly flow off the Cascades. High temperatures will be 92 to 96 under clear skies.
Wednesday Night
Temperatures once again will stay well past 70 overnight, falling to 65 to 68 degrees close to sunrise. It will be almost windless, so make sure those fans are ready.
Rest of the Week
On Thursday and Friday, the high-pressure center starts to drift slowly, moderating temperatures a little bit. it is too far out to make an accurate forecast, but models support temperatures reaching 90 to 94 on both days, with lows at night falling to 64 to 67. Friday night might be a little cooler as the high-pressure area starts to move out of our region and the thermal trough breaks up.
Due to our unseasonably cold spring and deep snowpack, area rivers, streams, and lakes remain very cold. It is possible to get hypothermia, even on a 90-degree day. Stream flow is also high, so tubers and kayakers should use caution. Currents are faster than usual. Never swim, tube, or boat near downed trees or low head dams, it is very dangerous.
Do not leave pets or children in your car, even for “just a minute.” Temperatures can soar to over 110 degrees in less than 10 minutes, leading to heat stroke or worse.
If local and county officials believe that there is a heat emergency, cooling centers will be opened. King County, Woodinville, and Kirkland opened cooling centers last year, while Bellevue partnered with area businesses.
Regrettably, due to the current COVID BA.5 surge and community spread of monkeypox, people seeking cooler indoor spaces should consider wearing a tight fighting N-95 mask.
[KIRKLAND, Wash.] – MTN The Independence Day long week weather forecast for the Bellevue-Kirkland-Woodinville area isn’t a complete washout, but unseasonably cool, cloudy, and rain showers await from Saturday to Monday.
Friday night will be seasonable under mostly clear skies and a low of 52 to 56 degrees. If the pine pollen that showed up later than normal this year doesn’t bother your nose, it’s a perfect night to open the windows and enjoy the sleeping weather.
Saturday clouds will roll in and it will be the warmest day of the weekend. The high will be 71 to 74 degrees which is seasonable for this time of year. The chance for some stray rain showers moving into the area will increase but should hold off until after sunset.
Saturday night the chance of rain increases with numerous rain showers by sunrise. The clouds will act like a blanket and moderate evening temperatures with a low of 55 to 57 degrees.
Sunday will be the wettest day with showers and light rain tapering off in the afternoon. There may be some breaks in the clouds by sunset, with a lingering chance of rain showers. The high will be about 10 degrees below normal – 63 to 65 degrees.
Sunday night will be mostly cloudy with scattered rain showers. Low temperatures will be 55 to 57 degrees.
Monday will be mostly cloudy to cloudy, with the chance of rain showers tapering off by sunset. High temperatures will be 67 to 69 degrees. If the clouds break up some more in the afternoon, 70 degrees could be possible.
In true Western Washington fashion, Tuesday, July 5 will be sunny under partly cloudy skies. The high temperature will be 73 to 77 degrees.
[KIRKLAND, Wash.] – (MTN) Western Washington is under a series of weather warnings after a brief break from the rain, with winds up to 50 MPH and over an inch of rain on tap for Friday night and Saturday.
The National Weather Service has issued a Wind Advisory from 7 p.m. Friday to 10 a.m. Saturday the Bellevue area. Winds of 20 to 35 MPH with gusts to 50 MPH are expected overnight.
On Friday, scattered rain showers will transition to steady rain by nightfall. Winds will begin to increase through the evening as heavy rain develops. Temperatures will stay in the mid-40s.
Friday night rain will be heavy with winds peaking between 2 AM and 6 AM. Temperatures will remain in the mid-40s and up to an inch of rain is expected.
Winds will be from the south impacting Finn Hill, Juanita, Kenmore, and Kingsgate. Power outages in the usual eastside trouble spots are likely. Because the ground is saturated and can’t absorb much moisture, it won’t take much for the wind to knock down trees and create additional issues.
On Saturday the wind and rain with gradually taper off, but it will remain wet and breezy. Temperatures will hold steady in the mid-40s with winds from 10 to 15 MPH.
The weather models hint at some possible lowland snow next week, but we’re not very optimistic the region will see anything beyond a few wet flakes – for now.
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) Cases moved upward while hospitalizations declined in Washington state. The number of COVID positive students in the Bellevue School District dropped significantly, while cases and quarantines expanded in Northshore, particularly at Bothell High School.
The rollout of additional monoclonal antibody clinics in Washington remains hobbled due to a tight supply and ongoing negotiations with potential locations.
Over 4,000 people joined Turning Point USA and former Washington state representative Matt Shea for a “medical freedom” rally in Spokane. An anti-vaccination rally is planned for September 30 at Swedish Hospital and Harborview Medical Center. At Harborview, staff spoke out over the weekend about getting threats from family members of COVID patients.
A 38-year old Washington State Trooper died of COVID over the weekend, leaving behind a wife and two children.
Vaccination rates in Washington climbed again but appeared to be slowing in many counties. The number of vaccinated adolescents in the Kirkland-Bellevue-Woodinville area increased dramatically last week.
Alaska and Idaho continue to operate under crisis standards of care. Help came to Montana in the form of the Veteran’s Administration opening its doors to non-veteran patients. We’ve added Wyoming to a state we’re tracking and consider it at risk of expanding crisis standards of care.
Data points to another plateau, following the pattern of the last three weeks. In the South Central Hospital Region, which includes Benton, Franklin, Klickitat, Walla Walla, and Yakima counties, the 14 day moving average for new cases is 797.4 per 100K, statistically unchanged from Friday. The Central Hospital Region, which represents King County, is 275.3, a slight increase. We have broken out the counties that have 60% or more of their residents vaccinated. The new case rate is 416% higher in counties that are under 40% vaccinated.
Percent of Total Population Fully Vaccinated
Average 14-Day New Case Rate (unadjusted)
60.00% or above (3)
182.6
50.00% to 59.99% (12 counties)
560.7
40.00% to 49.99% (15 counties)
730.6 (up)
28.40% to 39.99% (9 counties)
760.5
14-Day New COVID Cases per 100K average by Vaccination Rate, Not Adjusted for Population
Through September 26, Washington’s statewide 14-day rolling average is 463.9 COVID cases per 100K, indicating newly detected cases jumped over the weekend. Counties in the 1,000.0 to 1,399.9 range include Lincoln (1,257.9), Franklin (1.056,5), Okanogan (1,066.5), and Stevens (1,104.1). Counties in the 800.0 to 999.9 per 100K range include Adams, Asotin, Garfield, Grant, and Pend Oreille. Adams reported 978.0, and Grant reported 976.7 per 100K, putting the two counties just under the 1,000 threshold.
New cases were up in every age group, while hospitalizations were down for pediatric and geriatric patients.
Age Group
7-Day Case Rate
7-Day Hospitalization Rate
Ages 0-11
231.9 (up)
0.7 (down)
Ages 12-19
245.8 (up)
1.7
Ages 20-34
234.3 (up)
5.4
Ages 35-49
231.7 (up)
10.1
Ages 50-64
160.8 (up)
14.4
Ages 65-79
115.6 (up)
19.5 (down)
Ages 80+
118.1 (up)
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 did not provide a number for reported deaths in Washington state. The state of Washington is not reporting the percentage of positive cases.
Expansion of monoclonal antibody treatment clinics in Washington remains stalled out
She said that the state was still working to identify partners that could provide the early stage COVID treatment outside of a hospital or urgent care setting.
Monoclonal antibodies are lab-engineered immune system proteins developed using similar processes as the FDA-approved mRNA Pfizer vaccine. For COVID-positive patients with mild symptoms and who don’t require supplemental oxygen, the therapy has shown to be highly effective in triggering a strong immune response. However, the treatment is not recommended for symptomatic cases that have lasted more than a week with worsening symptoms.
They are not an effective treatment for people who have been symptomatic for more than a week, have moderate or severe symptoms, or require oxygen therapy. Ms. Sauer said that some people were using the treatment as a “get out of jail free card” versus getting vaccinated.
Anti-vaccination protests planned at Swedish Hospital and Harborview Medical Center
Waking up Washington plans a “Seattle March for Healthcare Workers Against COVID Mandates” for September 30. The group announced they would march through Seattle from Swedish Hospital to Harborview Medical Center during the lunch hour.
Vaccination rates for doctors and nurses are high nationwide, with 97% doctors and 88% of nurses fully vaccinated. So far, hospital systems that have mandated vaccinations have seen very little attrition among the highest skilled workers.
Staff threatened at Harborview Medical Center over COVID treatment and mask wear
“At first, there was a feeling of camaraderie and people really applauding health care workers,” said Sam Conley, a neuroscience acute care nurse at Harborview Medical Center in Seattle.
But nearly two years after the pandemic began, amid a new period of vaccine requirements, mask enforcement, and staff shortages, Conley said the strains of the job have been as difficult as ever.
“It’s the verbal and physical abuse from visitors and family members that’s been some of the most challenging aspects of providing care,” Conley said. “I’ll have to ask visitors several times, ‘Hey, I need you to put that mask back on.'”
38-year old Washington State Trooper dies of COVID
The WSP would not comment on how long he was sick, or if he worked while COVID positive, or his vaccination status. COVID has been the leading killer of law enforcement since 2020.
According to KOIN, Gunderson became ill on a business trip. Gunderson was assigned to District 1, which serves Pierce and Thurston Counties. He left behind a wife and two sons.
The Seattle Times reported that 68% of all Washington state workers impacted by the October 18 vaccination deadline are fully inoculated and have submitted their documentation.
Turning Point USA and former state rep Matt Shea lead anti-government/anti-vaccination rally in Spokane
Turning Point USA, founded by Charlie Kirk in 2021, created an offshoot organization called Turning Point Faith, collaborated with On Fire Ministries for an anti-vaccination rally in Spokane. An estimated 4,000 people gathered at Riverfront Park to hear Dr. Ryan Cole, Ada County, Idaho health officer, Leslie Monookian of Health Freedom Defense Fund, and former state representative Matt Shea. Washington state representative Jenny Graham (R-Spokane) was expected to speak but was a no-show at the rally.
Matt Shea recently formed his own church, On Fire Ministries, after a schism with Ken Peters and the so-called Church at Planned Parenthood (TCAPP). TCAPP, along with Covenant Church, was ordered by a judge last week to stop protests outside of the Planned Parenthood Clinic after a year-long legal battle.
Matt Shea has been a subject of controversy for over a decade. While serving in Iraq, his commander had to disarm him due to “anger management issues.” In 2018 he distributed a manifesto titled Biblical Basis for War. The Spokane County Sheriff reported Shea to the FBI and said the manifesto was racist, anti-Semitic, and based on the white supremacist ideology of Christian Identity. The group wants to create a white-ethnostate based on Christian dogma in the Pacific Northwest.
Dr. Ryan Cole is antimask, called the COVID vaccine, “needle rape,” and leads the public health efforts in Ada County, Idaho, where Boise is located.
On the same day, Turning Point USA hosted a “medical freedom” rally in Enumclaw.
The anti-vaccination movement has increasingly aligned with anti-government and white nationalist groups. Organizations like Christian Identity and the Proud Boys using the messages of government overreach and defending freedom as recruiting tools.
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 7 to 14 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.
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
Number of vaccinated Washington state residents continues to rise
The Washington State Department of Health released updated vaccination numbers for the state and its 39 counties. On Monday, 76.4% of all residents 12 and over have received at least one dose, and 69.7% were fully vaccinated.
The number of people fully vaccinated slowed down last week. All but one county, Skamania, reported at least a modest increase. With 73.2% of residents fully vaccinated, San Juan County continues to lead the state. At 28.4%, Stevens County was in last and is the only county with less than 30% of residents fully vaccinated.
The two counties have a stark difference in the number of new COVID cases. On Monday, San Juan County was down to 51.9 cases per 100K people, while Stevens County was 1,104.1.
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 that can be set up online.
King County, Washington is reporting over 85% of age eligible residents are vaccinated with at least one dose. The highest rates of positivity are in areas with low vaccination rates statewide. The FDA has provided full approval of the Pfizer vaccine for anyone 16 and over.
COVID vaccines are free for anyone over 12 years old, and no appointment is necessary at most locations. Lyft and Hopelink provide free transportation, and KinderCare, the Learning Care Group, and the YMCA offer free childcare during vaccination appointments or recuperation.
According to the DoH COVID Dashboard, 20.6% of all acute care patients hospitalized in Washington have COVID. A hospital system caring for this many COVID-positive patients in acute care is considered to be under “severe stress.” ICUs are at 89.4% of capacity statewide, with 31.7% of ICU patients fighting COVID. The number of ICU patients dropped significantly from last week.
The 7-day rolling average hospital admission rate for new COVID patients was down to 147, which is still higher than the January 2021 peak. The Department of Health reported 1,329 COVID patients statewide on September 26 and 220 on ventilators. Monday data is typically incomplete, so expect to see those numbers change tomorrow. If that number holds, hospitalizations have dropped 15%.
The number of patients at EvergreenHealth in Kirkland dropped 26% from last week. Currently, the hospital is treating 29 patients, 78% fully vaccinated (one patient, under 12, is not eligible). The ICU is caring for 9 patients, 78% fully vaccinated, with five on ventilators – none vaccinated. Only one vaccinated patient is under 60 years old. There was no additional information on the pediatric patient.
Cassie Sauer, CEO of the Washington State Hospital Association (WSHA), indicated she was “cautiously optimistic” about the declining number of hospitalizations. However, she cautioned that the future is uncertain with the arrival of cooler weather and, eventually, flu season.
At the same briefing, Dr. Radha Agrawal with Overlake Medical Center in Bellevue said the patients she is treating are younger, sicker, and not responding to treatment.
“Once they get on a ventilator, the rate of success has been really, really low,” she said, adding, “We’re seeing so many younger people this year. It’s tragic, and it’s tragic for the patients, and it’s tragic for the families, and it’s tragic for the people taking care of them.”
“I’ve never seen anything like it,” said Dr. Freudenberger. “It’s particularly bad among our nursing staff.”
He said the start of every day involves assessing how short of staff they will be and how they will staff a constant influx of new COVID-19 positive patients.
Unlike Idaho, Washington state has not declared what’s called ‘crisis standards of care,’ which is a decision that would force health care providers to systematically ration care because of a lack of space and resources.
“We are on a razor’s edge of that,” Dr. Freudenberger. “That would get at the very core of what we do as health care providers.”
Back to School
School District
Status
Less than 10 Active Cases
10 or More Active Cases
Bellevue
GREEN
– Bellevue (1) – Eastgate (1) – Enatai (4)
None
Lake Washington
YELLOW
– 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*) – 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*)
Northshore
RED
– Arrowhead Elementary (19) – Canyon Creek Elementary (24) – Canyon Park Middle School (8**) – Cottage Lake Elementary (15) – Crystal Springs Elementary (47**) – East Ridge Elementary (22) – Fernwood Elementary (13**) – Frank Love Elementary (31) – Hollywood Hills Elementary (19) – Inglemoor High School (7) – Innovation Lab High School (10) – Kenmore Elementary (16) – Kenmore Middle School (41**) – Kokanee Elementary (51) – Leota Middle School (5) – Lockwood Elementary (20) – Maywood Hills Elementary (20**) – North Creek High School (21**) – Northshore Middle School (12**) – Ruby Bridges Elementary (9) – Secondary Academy for Success (10) – Shelton View Elementary (18**) – Skyview Middle School (77**) – Sunrise Elementary (20) – Timbercrest Middle School (32**) – Wellington Elementary (67) – Westhill Elementary (19) – Woodin Elementary (16**) – Woodinville High School (20) – Woodmoor Elementary (20**)
– Bothell High School (13*/102)
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 Bellevue School District moved back to green status while new confirmed COVID cases were reported in four Lake Washington schools.
The number of positive cases between staff and students grew to 13 at Bothell High School over the weekend, with another 102 students are quarantined. The NECS reports the school has 1,607 students, and the Northshore School District website reports 236 faculty. Although the numbers in the district may appear to be bad, it is the only school district we are monitoring that is performing weekly universal COVID testing.
King County COVID vaccination rates – at least one dose ages 12 to 19 – by zip code as of September 27, 2021
Vaccination rates among adolescents 12 to 19 jumped significantly throughout the Kirkland-Bellevue-Woodinville area, although the sharp divide between the northern and southern half remains. Every zip code below 80% vaccinated for the age group saw an increase of at least 5% in a week.
We recommend that parents in the Bellevue and Lake Washington School District request better transparency on their publicly facing COVID dashboards.
Kirkland-Bellevue-Woodinville
King County Public Health updated the vaccination rates by zip code, with the numbers improving throughout the region. The northern half of Kirkland, Bothell, and Kenmore, continue to lag behind the rest of the local area.
King County, Washington, at least one dose of COVID vaccine, all eligible ages, as of September 27, 2021
Zip Code
Percent vaccinated, at least one dose, 12 and older
98155
92.7%
98028
89.5%
98011
85.9%
98034
84.7%
98033
92.3%
98072
90.4%
98052
94.8%
98004
>95.0%
98039
93.7%
98005
94.6%
98007
89.2%
Vaccination rates for those 12 and older by zip code – at least one dose
National Round-Up
Johns Hopkins University Cumulative Case Tracker is reporting 30,952 new cases and 286 deaths nationwide. Most states do not provide reporting over the weekend, so a significant amount of data is missing.
“Boosters are important, but the most important thing we need to do is get more people vaccinated,” Biden said before receiving his injection.
“The vast majority of Americans are doing the right thing. Over 77% of adults have gotten at least one shot,” he said. “About 23% haven’t gotten any shots. And that distinct minority is causing an awful lot of damage for the rest of the country. This is a pandemic of the unvaccinated. That’s why I’m moving forward with vaccination requirements wherever I can.”
COVID is spinning out of control in Alaska, with the state reporting 21 COVID deaths on Monday and almost 4,000 new cases from Friday to Sunday. The state is leading the United States for new COVID cases with a staggering 7 day moving average of 1,225 new cases per 100K residents. Once the top state for vaccination, since April, it has slid to 32nd place.
Superior Court Judge Katherine Cooper ruled the ban on certain COVID-19 mitigation measures violated the so-called “single-subject rule” for legislation by being inserted into a state budget bill.
“The bill is classic logrolling – a medley of special interests cobbled together to force a vote for all or none,” Cooper said in her 17-page ruling.
Ninety minutes after the decision was released, Gov. Doug Ducey’s spokesman said the ruling by a “rogue judge” would be challenged:
Idaho
While Dr. Ryan Cole was exporting COVID misinformation in Spokane on Sunday, the Gem State set new records. The state is now treating 774 COVID patients, a new record. Among the 774, 207 in the ICU – Idaho only has 170 ICU beds.
St Luke’s Health was treating 303 COVID patients statewide and reported every ICU patient was unvaccinated.
303 COVID+ patients across @StLukesHealth & guess how many of those requiring the ICU are unvaccinated? 100%. All of them. Every COVID patient requiring intensive care today is NOT vaccinated. This is a pandemic of unvaccinated people. #VaccinesWork#OneSharedPurposepic.twitter.com/vZO2t835Qc
For the week ending Sunday, the state reported another 1,516 cases involving 5- to 17-year-olds. That’s a 10% increase from the previous week, as K-12-aged children continue to account for a growing share of Idaho’s coronavirus caseload. Nine children were hospitalized with COVID-19 in the past week.
In Yellowstone County, 129 people are hospitalized with COVID-19. Of those, 111 are unvaccinated. Between the two hospitals, 30 patients are in the ICU, and 20 are on ventilators. Of those, all are unvaccinated.
“With more hospital beds available, hospitals now have another tool in their toolbox to treat Montanans in need of care as their systems are strained,” Gov. Greg Gianforte said Friday in a statement.
Montana has the fifth-highest rate of new COVID cases in the country, with 15% to 19% of all tests coming back positive.
New York
The deadline for 450,000 healthcare workers to get vaccinated has arrived in New York with a wide range of reports from hospital systems across the state. Statewide, over 95% of nurses and almost all doctors got vaccinated or had an exemption approved. Hospital systems are reporting a wide range of results from “total compliance” to 15% attrition. The number of clinicians that left has been reported to be low statewide.
The hardest-hit system appears to be Erie County Medical Center in Buffalo. The hospital announced it has suspended elective inpatient surgeries and stopped accepting intensive-care patients as it prepares to fire “hundreds of unvaccinated employees,” a spokesman Peter Cutler said.
In New York City, up to 11% of the 43,000 public health system employees refused to get vaccinated.
About 460 patients — including 135 in intensive care units — are in the Clinic’s Ohio hospitals. This is more than double the number of patients that were hospitalized with COVID-19 at the Clinic one month ago. The majority of these patients are unvaccinated, the hospital system said.
Statewide, unvaccinated people account for close to 94% of recent coronavirus hospitalizations, according to data from the Ohio Department of Health.
Oregon
To our south, Oregon has 886 COVID patients hospitalized, which is an increase of 11 from over the weekend. Almost a quarter of all COVID patients are in the ICU, and although that number declined by 25 over the weekend, most of that was due to patients succumbing to COVID.
The current surge, fueled by the highly contagious delta variant, is slowly beginning to abate as the virus finds fewer people who aren’t immune either through vaccination or recent infection. However, the new forecast indicates that hospitalizations will remain at extremely high levels until October 5 and will stay high well into December.
Wyoming
The Wyoming Department of Health reported an additional 854 confirmed COVID-19 cases. The number of COVID-19 patients in Wyoming hospitals fell below 200 on Sunday to 198 and dropped further to 192 on Monday, according to the WDH. The most recent peak in COVID-19 hospitalizations occurred on September 8, when there were 233 COVID-19 patients in Wyoming hospitals.
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) Worsening problems with data from the Washington State Department of Health is hobbling efforts to understand the current situation and forecast the future. In counties where 40% or more of the total population is vaccinated, the number of cases per 100,000 people is down. Hospitalizations are up among people under 35 and have declined for individuals over 49. There is very little else that can be said with certainty.
Confirmed COVID cases between students and faculty at Bothell High School in the Northshore School District have grown to 12, with 100 more in quarantine. School officials in Eatonville moved its middle school to remote learning at least until mid-October due to an unspecified number of cases.
If you qualify for a Pfizer booster shot, we checked area pharmacies and grocery stores – they’re available now.
The Washington Department of Health data and reporting problems, which started in August and has only gotten worse, have become problematic. The new Modeling and Surveillance Situation Report, released by the DoH today, expressed uncertainty in the ongoing COVID situation because critical data is missing. Choose your path wisely over the next two months based on what is in the report. The first option makes for a harsh winter while the second path forecasts a sixth wave.
The City of Seattle has reached an agreement with three more unions today over modifications to the vaccine mandate. The Seattle Fire Department agreed to the compromise plan and incentives. The Seattle Police Officer Guild was absent from the negotiations.
Anti-vaccination advocates are becoming more desperate and violent. Hospital workers were threatened and attacked in multiple states this week, and the anti-vaccination group Waking Up Washington has resorted to telling their followers not to go to hospitals. The same group is planning an anti-vaccination “town hall meeting” at a Woodinville restaurant tomorrow. If you’re planning to attend, be sure to bring $20 cash and be ready to pay at the door.
Idaho and Alaska are still operating under “crisis standards of care,” and Alaska, in particular, is getting much worse. If you want to feel your blood pressure rise and have veins bulging out of your neck, please, read the Idaho section. We recommend not having anything breakable nearby. In Helena, Montana, where the city’s hospital is operating under crisis standards of care, state legislatures debated whether things are really that bad.
The situation in the Pacific Northwest is so deranged reporting Oregon has 60 available ICU beds statewide is now considered good news.
Data continues to show improvement across Washington, particularly in most of the highly 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 is 803.4 per 100K, statistically unchanged from yesterday. The Central Hospital Region, which represents King County, is 258.7, a slight drop from yesterday.
Percent of Total Population Fully Vaccinated
Average 14-Day New Case Rate (unadjusted)
50.00% or above (13 counties)
464.5 (down)
40.00% to 49.99% (17 counties)
683.3 (down)
28.10% to 39.99% (9 counties)
755.8
14-Day New COVID Cases per 100K average by Vaccination Rate, Not Adjusted for Population
Through September 23, Washington’s statewide 14-day rolling average is 446.4 COVID cases per 100K – the change is “statistically insignificant,” but it’s worth noting the margin was 0.4 cases!. Counties in the 1,000.0 to 1,399.9 range include Lincoln (1,257.9), Franklin (1.127.5) and Stevens (1,115.0). Counties in the 800.0 to 999.9 per 100K range include Adams, Benton, Garfield, Grant, Grays Harbor, Okanogan, and Pend Oreille.
New cases by age group are statistically unchanged. Hospitalizations were up for people under 35 years old and down for individuals over 49 years old.
Age Group
7-Day Case Rate
7-Day Hospitalization Rate
Ages 0-11
193.4
1.3
Ages 12-19
201.4
1.5 (up)
Ages 20-34
193.4
5.0 (up)
Ages 35-49
196.8
9.9
Ages 50-64
135.4
14.7 (down)
Ages 65-79
97.6
21.7 (down)
Ages 80+
94.9
33.3 (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 has not been updated since yesterday. The state of Washington is not reporting the percentage of positive cases.
COVID reports from the Washington Department of Health providing fewer details
As Washington state entered what local officials called the fifth wave, the state provided fewer details on the Washington State Department of Health COVID-19 Data Dashboard. Between August 30 and September 24, the state removed or has delayed granular information, including:
Total number of staffed adult acute care beds available
Total number of adult acute care beds occupied
Total number of staffed adult ICU care beds available
Total number of adult ICU beds occupied
Staffed acute care and ICU beds available by Hospital Region
Number of COVID patients in acute care and the ICU by Hospital Region
Percentage of positive COVID cases detected by daily testing by county and state – accurate data hasn’t been available since August 27, and all data stopped updating last week – there will be no reporting until November 1
Some metrics, particularly hospital occupancy, number of people in the ICU, and number of people on ventilators, have gone through multiple revisions. When these issues have occurred in other states, they became the subject of national attention.
Suppose you compare the quality and quantity of data from the DoH to other states such as South Carolina. In that case, it exposes a breakdown in the region’s ability to gather and analyze COVID information.
South Carolina reported 2,602 confirmed new cases and another 889 probable cases today. The state had 111 confirmed COVID-related deaths and another 11 probable fatalities under investigation. The state processed 36,766 PCR tests, and 9.4% were positive. Currently, 8,511 acute care beds are being utilized, 86.4% of staffed beds in the state. Of those patients, 2,196 have COVID, with 533 in the ICU and 369 on ventilators. There was 223 hospital admission for COVID patients, and 28 hospitals in the South Carolina are experiencing staffing shortages.
We were able to write that in five minutes. The analysis in the first section of the state update took over half an hour and required processing raw data in Excel.
Last year, Washington state moved quickly to create detailed reports during the start of the pandemic. The state was the first to have a confirmed COVID case, a confirmed COVID death, and the first super spreader event. EvergreenHealth in Kirkland and the Kirkland Fire Department literally wrote the books for hospital COVID response, initial case management, and EMS response to potential COVID cases.
The lack of data, while Washington is in the worst COVID surge to date, is glaring, considering these tools were once available. We once led the nation in the capacity to process PCR tests and report the data. It erodes public trust when the number of skeptics is declining, and the remaining are increasingly radicalized. Doctors and nurses in the United States are being assaulted, stalked, and getting death threats. Anti-vaccination organizations are now advocating for people not to go to hospitals and, in a few cases, have attempted to remove people, including ICU patients, on BIPAP and ventilators.
Finally, current reporting does not track pediatric hospitalizations or pediatric acute care, NICU, or PICU resources despite weeks of promises that information would be shared.
We are disappointed that other larger media organizations are not highlighting these issues, especially when you consider the number of headlines generated by the actions of Florida, Georgia, Iowa, and Nebraska.
Department of Health issues updated modeling and surveillance situation report
Testing shortages create uncertainty in how many active cases are missed as hospital admissions spiked to a level 60% higher than the peak in January 2021. At the end of August, the statewide R0, the rate of transmission, dropped below 1.0. It has since increased to 1.3 and was showing an exponential growth curve. The report estimates that 1 in 106 Washingtonians are experiencing an active COVID case, the highest rate recorded since August 2020.
Statewide immunity to COVID is estimated at just over 60%, with 1 in 5 having some degree of natural immunity. With 40% of the entire population exposed, the Delta variant has a significant number of new hosts it can infect. Unvaccinated residents are ninefold more likely to be hospitalized than unvaccinated.
The state has two forecasted models. The first is based on the R0 at 0.9, which would support a declining number of new cases. Under that model, daily hospital admissions for COVID would return to levels seen outside of surges, less than 40 people a day statewide.
The second model assumes R0 doubles to 1.8 due to the Thanksgiving holiday and the state population becoming fatigued with mask wear. If this scenario becomes a reality, December daily hospital admissions will increase to 141 to 240 per day by the end of the year.
Eatonville Middle School moves to virtual learning due to COVID outbreak
Officials in Eatonville announced that Eatonville Middle School was moving to remote learning through October 11 at the minimum. The district didn’t release any specific information on the number of infected students, staff, or if there is significant transmission within the school.
Located between Olympia and Mount Rainier in Pierce County, the town had 3,000 residents. According to the DoH, only 47.9% of county residents are fully vaccinated.
Letter to parents announcing Eatonville Middle School is moving to remote learning
Seattle reaches agreement with major public employee unions over vaccination mandates
“Since the pandemic touched down in Seattle, our officers, firefighters, and frontline workers have worked day in and day out to provide nation-leading testing, vaccination, and relief programs for our residents. Those efforts are a key reason we have one of the highest vaccination rates and lowest cases and hospitalizations of every major American city,” said Mayor Durkan.
The agreement is expected to be ratified, provides 8 hours of paid time off for any employee who submits a vaccination form by October 5 and is fully vaccinated by October 18. Employees can begin the vaccination process by October 18 and not face termination. They will have to use their available accrued time off while going through the vaccination process, which can last from two to six weeks. Finally, each employee will receive 40 hours of supplementary paid leave for COVID-related reasons. Employees who are fully vaccinated by October 18 will receive an additional 40 hours of supplemental leave for a total of 80 hours.
“Worker safety and certainty are of paramount importance, and the unions involved with these negotiations centered those concerns throughout a complex and time-sensitive process,” said Shaun Van Eyk, PROTEC17 Union Representative and Coalition of City Unions Co-Chair. “We believe that these two tentative agreements honor the essential, public-sector workers whose work could not be performed remotely and create clear, transparent, and equitable pathways for all City workers with respect to the vaccine mandate. While both agreements took a great deal of time and effort to reach, the outcome is unquestionably worth it for the health and safety of our union members, their families, and our communities.”
We have reached a tentative agreement with nearly all unions to support employee vaccinations with incentives, frontline worker pay, & flexibility for telework until Jan 2022. These policies will protect the health of our workforce & communities we serve. https://t.co/s5T0s4sUvH
The city has now reached vaccination agreements with six labor unions. The Seattle Police Officer Guild, SPOG, was not part of the agreement. The city indicated they were still negotiating with police union leaders.
Almost 90 local, county, and state employees sued Washington state to try and block vaccine mandates earlier this month. One of the plaintiffs claimed up to 150 City of Seattle firefighters were ready to resign. In August, SPOG Union President Mike Solan said up to 200 officers were prepared to quit.
Anti-vaccination activist groups calling for the sick to “avoid hospitals”
As part of a national trend, the activist group Waking Up Washington is telling its followers to “avoid hospitals” because “they’ve fired many of their free thinkers.”
Ms. Davis is a central figure in the Washington state anti-vaccination movement, which has seen its numbers dwindle since the summer months. She told her followers to go to another website for medical treatment plans. The site includes access to an online doctor for prescriptions of medications, with a $149 fee for a consultation for Ivermectin. According to WebMDRx, 10 pills cost between $23 and $56.
The site also links to the discredit organization America’s Frontline Doctors and the FLCCC. We have elected not to link to that website as it provides dangerous medical advice.
Suggested treatments include hydrogen peroxide nebulization and taking dandelion, pine needle, and eucalyptus supplements. Neublizing hydrogen peroxide can be fatal, and none of these supplements have any therapeutic value. The website DNS is provided by Google, according to a whois search.
Anti-vaccination “town hall meeting” in Woodinville tomorrow at local restaurant
Tomorrow, the same group is holding a “town hall meeting” at Rooster’s Bakery and Cafe in Woodinville. The event touts legal resources to fight vaccine mandates and “expert testimony” about “rigged statistics.”
To attend, you are required to pay a $20 fee in cash at the door.
Editor’s comment: Nothing suspicious about that.
Anti-vaccination event flyer for Woodinville tomorrow
We recommend avoiding all travel to Spokane, Yakima, Klickitat, Benton, Franklin, and Walla Walla counties, along with Alaska, Idaho, and Montana. Hospital resources in these regions are constrained, and you may receive inadequate care if you experience a medical emergency.
Thank you
Thank you to our new subscribers and those of you who have made one-time contributions. On behalf of the entire team, thank you for helping us keep the lights on!
No promotional consideration has been given, or requested from the n95 project or any manufacturer of masks
Vaccination
No update
King County, Washington is reporting over 85% of age eligible residents are vaccinated with at least one dose. The highest rates of positivity are in areas with low vaccination rates statewide. The FDA has provided full approval of the Pfizer vaccine for anyone 16 and over.
COVID vaccines are free for anyone over 12 years old, and no appointment is necessary at most locations. Lyft and Hopelink provide free transportation, and KinderCare, the Learning Care Group, and the YMCA offer free childcare during vaccination appointments or recuperation.
According to the DoH COVID Dashboard, 22.0% of all acute care patients hospitalized in Washington have COVID. A hospital system caring for this many COVID-positive patients in acute care is considered to be under “severe stress.” ICUs are at 89.5% of capacity statewide, with 33.9% of ICU patients fighting COVID. There has been a slow decline for all data points over the last week.
The 7-day rolling average hospital admission rate for new COVID patients was unavailable today. The Department of Health reported 1,436 COVID patients statewide on September 23 and 233 on ventilators. We aren’t confident that these numbers are accurate. Hospital occupancy rates don’t support this much of a decline, and the state dashboard noted, “The “hospital admission rate” metric on the Healthcare System Readiness tab was not updated today due to an interruption in our data systems.”
Harborview Medical Center is only at 113% capacity, which is an improvement from last week when the Level I trauma center was at 117% capacity.
Chelsey Roos, a registered nurse who works at St. Joseph’s Hospital in Tacoma, spoke with KCPQ.
“You get into your car after work, and you just want to cry.”
“Not only do we have roughly 50% more cases than we had during the December surge, but we’re caring for all of those patients with fewer staff, because it’s been so challenging for particularly our nurses, that people are choosing to leave healthcare because of how stressful it’s been,” says Dr. Steven Mitchell, the medical director of Harborview Medical Center’s Emergency Room.
It’s a perfect storm, the stress of the job causing many to leave-which then leaves the remaining nurses with an even heavier workload.
“It burns people out, its burning people out so easily, we can’t seem to keep enough nurses working or wanting to work in acute care or a hospital, it’s just becoming too much, and I think people are wanting to reprioritize things in their lives,” says Roos.
“I don’t know what my daily census is today, but this is really the first time in the COVID surge this last week where we’ve seen an increase in children that have been admitted for the care of COVID.”
– Bellevue (1) – Big Picture (1) – Chinook (1) – Eastgate (1) – Enatai (36) – Interlake (2) – Lake Hills (13) – Puesta del Sol (2) – Wilburton (3)
None
Lake Washington
YELLOW
– Alcott Elementary (2*) – Ella Baker Elementary (3*) – Community School Elementary (7) – Dickinson Elementary (2*) – Eastlake High (1*) – Einstein Elementary (1*) – Evergreen Middle School (1*) – Finn Hill Middle School (1*) – Benjamin Franklin Elementary (2*) – Robert Frost Elementary (9) – Inglewood Middle School (3*) – Juanita Elementary (2*) – Juanita High School (1*) – Kamiakin Middle School (4* – see below) – Helen Keller Elementary (1*) – Peter Kirk Elementary (2*) – Kirkland Middle School (1*) – Lake Washington High (1*) – Lakeview Elementary (1*) – Muir Elementary (1*) – Redmond Elementary (2*) – Redmond Middle School (1*) – Redmond High School (1*) – Rose Hill Elementary (1*) – Rose Hill/Stella Schola Middle School (2*) – Thoreau Elementary (4) – Mark Twain Elementary (3*)
Northshore
RED
– Arrowhead Elementary (13) – Canyon Creek Elementary (24) – Canyon Park Middle School (8) – Cottage Lake Elementary (16) – Crystal Springs Elementary (47**) – East Ridge Elementary (24) – Fernwood Elementary (13**) – Frank Love Elementary (28) – Hollywood Hills Elementary (17) – Inglemoor High School (7) – Innovation Lab High School (9) – Kenmore Elementary (15) – Kenmore Middle School (39**) – Kokanee Elementary (50) – Leota Middle School (5) – Lockwood Elementary (8) – Maywood Hills Elementary (14**) – North Creek High School (21**) – Northshore Middle School (10**) – Ruby Bridges Elementary (7) – Secondary Academy for Success (10) – Shelton View Elementary (18**) – Skyview Middle School (82**) – Sunrise Elementary (21) – Timbercrest Middle School (28) – Wellington Elementary (64) – Westhill Elementary (10) – Woodin Elementary (9) – Woodinville High School (21) – Woodmoor Elementary (21**)
– Bothell High School (12*/100)
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.
We had a parent-reported confirmed COVID case at Kamiakin Middle School on Tuesday. Because the Lake Washington School District updates its dashboard weekly, we don’t know if this is in addition to the 3 cases reported on Monday or if any of those earlier cases have returned to class. We have set the number to 4.
The number of positive cases between staff and students has swelled to 12 at Bothell High School, with another 100 students quarantined. The NECS reports the school has 1,607 students, and the Northshore School District website reports 236 faculty. Although the numbers in the district may appear to be bad, they are the only school district of the three we are following that is performing weekly universal COVID testing.
We recommend that parents in the Bellevue and Lake Washington School District request better transparency on their publicly facing COVID dashboards.
Kirkland-Bellevue-Woodinville
Booster shots for eligible individuals are now available in the Kirland-Bellevue-Woodinville area. 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.
We canvased area drug and grocery stores to check for availability. Walgreens, Rite-Aid, Bartell’s, and CV are all offering booster shots immediately. Booster shots are also available at the CVS located within the Target store at 17,700 NE 76th Street in Redmond. Additionally, the QFC at Kirkland Urban is providing booster shots.
Most locations require an appointment that can be set up online. The Kirkland Urban QFC was already completely booked through the weekend.
National Round-Up
Johns Hopkins University Cumulative Case Tracker is reporting 128,731 new cases and 3,157 deaths nationwide.
Alaska
Alaska continues to operate in crisis standards of care as the situation in the vast and remote state continues to deteriorate. Officials reported 1,793 new cases and a staggering 41 deaths (yes, we know the headline says 1800 cases and 44 deaths – if you read the story, it says 1793 cases and 41 deaths, talk amongst yourselves – we’re over it) in the state of just over one million people. The numbers included hundreds of older cases due to a data entry backlog.
The state had a record of 217 COVID patients hospitalized. The statewide 7 day moving average for new COVID cases is a staggering 976 per 100K people, and currently, 9.2% of all COVID tests are coming back positive.
The state now has 20 ICU beds available, an improvement from yesterday, and 74 residents on ventilators.
Soldotna’s Central Peninsula hospital, about 150 miles from Anchorage, is operating at 133% capacity. Richards is worried about what will come next. “We all know that hospitalizations lag following these high-case days, so I don’t know what’s in store for us.”
The goal is to make more room at the busy Anchorage hospitals, which offer more intensive care and other services, especially sick patients that rural hospitals can’t support.
This practice is known as “load leveling,” and it’s done more regularly between hospitals in urban areas, where patients can be moved by ambulance. It’s far rarer in rural Alaska, though, since most hospitals in those areas aren’t connected by road and can be hundreds of miles apart.
“Once you start involving learjets and medevac companies, it gets infinitely more complicated,” Brunner said in an interview Thursday.
Patients that don’t need critical care are flown to acute care hospitals in rural areas. For many rural hospitals, the patients they receive are sicker than they usually see, straining staff. Worse, patients are separated from family and friends and face potential air ambulance bills in the tens of thousands of dollars.
In the 6,000 resident town of Bethel, Alaska, half the police force is threatening to resign over a recent vaccination mandate. The remote city is only accessible by boat or airplane during the warmer months, and ice road in the winter. The city is experiencing one of the highest COVID case rates in the state and country and doesn’t have the resources to deal with the surge. City officials decided to mandate vaccinations.
Resistance to the vaccine from police in Bethel is endemic of opposition the vaccine has seen from police departments across the country. Many officers have refused vaccine mandates, filed unsuccessful lawsuits, and decried the measures as unconstitutional.
But in Bethel, some say police have gone a step further, dangling the possibility of increased violence over remote residents’ heads if the city were to push half of the police force out of a job.
Among other highlights, Police Chief Richard Simmons baldly told KYUK earlier this week that the small city was “one of the most violent communities in the nation” and needed every one of its officers.
Available data shows that Bethell has a high crime rate but not one of the highest in the nation.
Alaska Chief Medical Officer Dr. Anne Zink, who also works in a hospital emergency department, said many retail pharmacists have stopped asking customers if they’d like the vaccine because of the fury it triggers.
“We see many triage nurses in the emergency department also afraid to ask that question,” Zink said, “because patients have been violent towards them in the emergency department when asking the question if they’re vaccinated or if they have COVID-19.”
Idaho
Idaho reported 1,646 new COVID cases and 34 new deaths on Friday. The state continues to operate under crisis standards of care. Unlike states such as Alaska, Oregon, and Washington, which use “load leveling” to maximize resources, Idaho hospitals can go it alone.
While people are dying in hospital waiting areas in the Panhandle, hospitals in the eastern part of the state are operating under “contingency care.” Both Oregon and Washington are running on “contingency care protocols,” which give medical providers options to defer certain treatments and take other steps to maximize resources.
While hospitals in the Magic and Treasure valleys and Northern Idaho have added beds in conference rooms, cafeterias, and other available spaces, Herget believes PMC should have adequate traditional bed capacity heading forward.
On Monday, Herget said PMC would open a special care unit with nine rooms equipped with negative pressure technology to treat patients with contagious upper respiratory diseases, such as the coronavirus.
According to ABC News, an advocacy group for older adults has filed a civil rights complaint against Idaho over the state’s “crisis standards of care” guidelines for hospitals overwhelmed by patients amid the coronavirus pandemic.
On Tuesday, the group Justice in Aging asked the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services to investigate Idaho’s health care rationing plan. They contend it discriminates against older adults, especially Black and Native American adults, by using factors like age when prioritizing which patients get access to life-saving care.
“Older adults are facing serious risk of discrimination, resulting in death,” because of Idaho’s crisis standards, Justice for Aging attorneys wrote in their complaint letter. Symptomatic breakthrough cases are overwhelming among people over 70 years old.
The school wrote in a statement on Friday, “In light of our declining campus positivity rates and high vaccination rates, the university will shift from testing all ticket holders in the student section to random sample testing of that population before next week’s football game.”
According to the Idaho Department of Health and Welfare, the percentage of Idaho’s eligible population (12 and older) fully vaccinated is just 51.5%.
Photo credit – Dr. Ashley Carvalho – photo after being a family member of a patient threatened to shoot her
“I received a slew of verbal abuse from a patient’s family members who called me an incompetent doctor, threatened me with physical violence, and demanded I give them my name and medical license number so they could sue. This was because I refused to prescribe Ivermectin, which is not proven to treat COVID-19 and is recommended only in clinical trials at this point, and hydroxychloroquine, which current research suggests is not effective or safe in treating COVID-19. My patient was struggling to breathe, but the family refused to allow me to provide care. A call to the police was the only solution.”
Several physicians from Kootenai Health were slated to speak during the meeting as the hospital hit two milestones this week: its highest number of COVID-19 inpatients and the highest number of COVID-19 ICU patients at 43. The hospital in Coeur d’Alene typically only has 26 ICU beds.
The group was described as a “mob” of 200 people who were “extremely hostile.”
BREAKING: The meeting has been postponed. Board members were worried about safety, per city fire code.
Editor’s Note: We remind you again, our state is supporting Idaho’s bad choices. In the coming weeks, it is likely at least a couple of the people in this “mob” will be begging the doctors who had planned to speak today to save their lives.
“When there’s that kind of things to compete against, we don’t have a chance,” he said. “We just don’t have employees. We’ve seen from 2 or 3 classified staff, all the way to 60 classified staff, that districts are missing across the state.”
He said three school districts were closed Friday, two due to staffing shortages and one because of COVID-19 cases among students. He said open schools are also struggling with lower than normal attendance.
Montana
Montana reported 1,326 new COVID cases across the state where officials aren’t reporting unvaccinated versus vaccinated cases. The state has 395 people hospitalized with COVID and didn’t share how many are on ventilators.
According to KHN, Billings Clinic said it might soon implement “crisis standards of care” that would force staff to save provisions for patients they can most likely save.
Yellowstone County is seeing the worst of the surge. The Montana Department of Health and Human Services reported 2,461 current active cases there, as much as the next two counties combined.
And in Helena, where a hospital is operating at crisis standards of care, state lawmakers questioned health officials on the severity of the situation.
“I’m not sure I would feel really dismayed about the rate increase when you just think of it really mathematically,” Gillette said. “… Just put in simple terms, if you had two (cases) at one point and you increased to four, you’d increase by 50%, so you just kind of have to put it in … more broad terms and not … lose the other data. So, for instance, when we look at the number of COVID cases per 100,000, we’re pretty much just middle of the pack normal.”
If being the sixth-worst in the United States is “middle of the pack,” Montana is competing with its neighbor to the west in a race to the political bottom.
There were 855 COVID-19 hospitalizations, 30 fewer than the previous day, and 268 patients in ICU beds, which was an increase of five. There were 60 available adult ICU beds across the state of Oregon, which is an improvement from two weeks ago.
The OHA’s latest COVID-19 forecast shows a slowing in the decline of daily cases and hospitalizations through mid-October. The report estimates 495 cases per 100,000 people, or an average of 1,480 daily cases and 81 hospitalizations for the two weeks between September 29 and October 12.
In our neighbor to the south, new COVID cases among children now outnumber those among the elderly.
[WOODINVILLE] – (MTN) A moment of distraction for a Woodinville man turned into a lost wallet at a local AM/PM store, but his faith in humanity was left a bit stronger when he checked his Ring doorbell camera later the same day. The Woodinville man posted in a community group a picture of a man, holding up what appears to be a wallet and pulling his mask down to make his face visible.
“I don’t know if anyone on here recognizes this guy but today he restored my faith in humanity,” the post started.
Larry Lovato was the man in that picture, and Lovato had found the wallet. Lovato looked around for a potential owner to no avail, and looking for an ID, noticed the wallet had a conceal carry permit and many credit cards. Taking matters into his own hands, Lovato dropped it off at the address listed on the ID.
The owner of wallet, who asked not to named, was left happily surprised and posted about it. “If you see this, huge thanks stranger. The world needs more people like you.”
Within minutes of the original post on Facebook, Juanita Lovato posted that the man in the photograph was their father. Juanita Lovato had this to say about their dad, “I feel that’s why I’m so blessed to have him as my dad, father, [and] best friend. He still sets good examples for me and teaches me to never to stop trying to do good.”
Journalists, activists, and researchers defending the First Amendment
Subscribe to Malcontent News
Register to feed your head holes with the Malcontent News newsletter.
Submitting your e-mail address gives us permission to send you e-mails. We do not sell or distribute our e-mail lists or share them with third parties.
