Citing a drastic shortage in hospital space — and COVID-19-related closures at several schools — Gov. Brad Little Tuesday deployed 370 medical employees and National Guard troops to overwhelmed Idaho hospitals.
The deployments won’t directly affect schools. Instead, Little described the moves as a last-ditch attempt to head off health-care rationing at hospitals, a practice known as crisis standards of care.
“We are pulling out all of the stops,” Little said during an eight-minute video address Tuesday.
Little cited one grim statistic from the state’s current and most severe coronavirus spike. This morning, only four of the state’s nearly 400 adult ICU beds are open.
“We are dangerously close to activating statewide crisis standards of care – a historic step that means Idahoans in need of health care could receive a lesser standard of care or may be turned away altogether,” Little said in a news release. “In essence, someone would have to decide who can be treated and who cannot. This affects all of us, not just patients with COVID-19.”
COVID-19 hospitalizations and ICU admissions have hit all-time peaks. On Saturday, a record 500 Idahoans were hospitalized with suspected or confirmed COVID-19 cases. COVID-19-related ICU admissions soared to a record 160 on Sunday.
Little is assigning 150 National Guard troops to short-staffed hospitals. An additional 200 medical and administrative staffers will be available through a U.S. General Services Administration contract. The Department of Defense will send a 20-member medical response team to overburdened health care facilities in North Idaho.
Little incorporated a personal experience into Tuesday’s comments. He said he toured a Boise ICU Monday evening — nearly full with COVID-19 patients, all unvaccinated, most breathing only with the help of a machine. The average age of the patient: 43.
”What I saw was heartbreaking,” he said.
(More details on the tour, with comments from House Speaker Scott Bedke, from Clark Corbin of the Idaho Capital Sun.)
While Idaho’s health care system is “teetering on the brink,” Little said, the state’s schools are also feeling the effects of the latest coronavirus wave. Several schools have already closed or shifted to online learning. And while the state’s overall new case numbers were relatively flat last week, new cases among 5- to 17-year-olds increased by 21 percent.
So on Tuesday, Little renewed his appeal to Idahoans who are on the fence about the COVID-19 vaccines.
“Please choose to receive the vaccine now to protect lives, help our exhausted medical staff, keep health care access available to all of us, keep our workforce healthy, and keep our kids in school,” Little said.
Little’s last vaccine appeal drew a sharp response from a political adversary, Lt. Gov. Janice McGeachin.
“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 Tuesday afternoon. “I trust YOU to make your own health choices.”
Idaho’s vaccination numbers: more details
As we’ve been reporting for several weeks, Idaho’s COVID-19 vaccinations are rebounding.
Last week, the state administered nearly 30,000 vaccines. That’s far below the peak from early April, when more than 90,000 Idahoans received a shot within the span of a week — but nonetheless, it’s a sign the vaccination numbers are climbing.
But it’s not an apples-to-apples comparison. The current numbers also include third COVID-19 vaccine doses, now recommended for people with compromised immune systems.
Third vaccine doses — booster shots — are not yet readily available. But that could come this fall.
What does this new math mean, in terms of Idaho’s uphill push to boost vaccination rates, which remain among the lowest in the nation?
The third dose numbers do not affect the state’s count of “fully vaccinated” Idahoans, Department of Health and Welfare spokeswoman Niki Forbing-Orr said Tuesday. That count still reflects the number of people who have met basic vaccination requirements: two doses of the Pfizer or Moderna vaccines, or the single dose of the Johnson and Johnson vaccine.
As of Tueday, 733,269 Idahoans are counted as fully vaccinated.
Let’s look at how the weekly numbers have been trending over the past month — because it also illustrates an uptick in the vaccination rate.
| Date | Fully vaccinated Idahoans | One-week change |
| July 30 | 691,789 | 5,974 |
| Aug. 6 | 698,267 | 6,478 |
| Aug. 13 | 705,427 | 7,160 |
| Aug. 20 | 714,645 | 9,218 |
| Aug. 27 | 727,815 | 13,170 |
We’ll continue to track the vaccination numbers — and all the coronavirus metrics — and report on them weekly.
Please check back for updates on this developing story.
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Because the testing program is voluntary, it won’t do any good in some schools. And even where the tests take place, parents might not get data they can use to make informed decisions about their kids’ health and safety.
A line extended around the building early Wednesday afternoon. Parents said it was a minor inconvenience.
At least 13 Idaho districts and charters are requiring masks. West Ada decided to require staff to wear masks and students can opt out with a parent’s permission.
Rising vaccination numbers could be a linchpin to keeping schools in session this fall, Gov. Brad Little said again Tuesday. Meanwhile, federal money for K-12 coronavirus testing could be on its way shortly.
COVID-19-related ICU admissions surged to a record high last week. New case numbers climbed for the seventh consecutive week.
September 01, 2021 at 01:33AM
https://www.idahoednews.org/coronavirus/teetering-on-the-brink-little-deploys-federal-workers-national-guard-to-hospitals/
'Teetering on the brink:' Little deploys federal workers, National Guard to hospitals - Idaho EdNews
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