Breaking: Gov. Little highlights COVID-19 cases straining health care, workforce next?

While encouraging Idahoans to get vaccinated during an Aug. 12 press conference at Nampa High School, Governor Brad Little highlighted the state’s recent COVID-19 statistics. Those numbers show that Idaho is currently on track to running up COVID-19 cases again like the surge at the end of last year, when elective medical procedures are canceled and all the intensive care units are filled with COVID-19 cases.

The governor has a clear take-home message: for those who haven’t yet been vaccinated, get a COVID-19 vaccine now. “Over 197 million Americans have received the vaccine safely,” Little remarked. “The risk of serious side effects is extremely low. By comparison, the risk of death or hospitalization from the COVID-19 disease is much higher, and it’s growing.”

Hospitals filling up

“You’re all aware of what’s taking place at Kootenai right now,” Little stated. “In the Coeur d’Alene area, they’re at capacity. Local hospitals here have some significant issues.”

Little also pointed out that: “(On) the dashboard that I get about hospitals, where there’s a vaccination rate that’s higher, there’s a green line for hospital capacity. If they’ve got a lower vaccine rate, there’s an orange or red (line).” St. Luke’s Wood River is an example of this: Blaine County has a vaccination rate of 88% (all/both doses).

Local hospitals are once again filling up with COVID-19 patients – almost all unvaccinated – and access to health care services is getting tighter for everyone, according to statistics from the Idaho Department of Health and Welfare. Little had a poster with the latest numbers set-up on an easel next to him during his Aug. 12 press conference. The poster read:

• New covid cases: 98.9% unvaccinated
• Covid hospitalizations: 98.6% unvaccinated
• Covid deaths: 98.7% unvaccinated

Gov. Little also described that since May 15, there have been:

• 10-times as many COVID-19 cases among unvaccinated people compared to vaccinated people
• 13-times as many COVID-19 hospitalizations among unvaccinated people compared to vaccinated people
• 8-times as many COVID-19 deaths among unvaccinated people compared to vaccinated people.

The hospital capacity issues are currently bad enough due to COVID-19 that St. Luke’s Health System announced a system-wide postponement of “all elective surgeries and procedures that require an overnight hospital stay” on Aug. 11. Emergency cases seeking admittance to a hospital may not get a bed, Little remarked.

Not just a hospital problem

Gov. Little emphasized that this COVID-19 surge is different: “The big change is the Delta variant…Back in March 2020, my coronavirus advisory board told me that viruses will do what viruses do, and what viruses do is mutate.”

Little also noted that increased spread of the current Delta variant of COVID-19 was bad for business: “We cannot afford to have such a large share of our workforce out sick all at once. Our workforce cannot afford to stay home because schools and day cares shut down due to outbreaks. This threatens Idaho’s phenomenal economic success. Our hospitals won’t be able to take in the influx of patients. And, importantly, it is not fair to our students who will experience disruptions in their school year.”

Little remarked that his motivation for today’s press conference was to encourage unvaccinated Idahoans to get vaccinated so that schools could stay open with in-person sessions: “My reason for being here today is we want kids back in school.” He explained that unless more are vaccinated, “our epidemiologists say…(that) case counts could continue to increase through the fall and exceed last year’s peak for daily case counts.” Such a situation would lead to more school closings and damage to Idaho’s economy and workforce.

The governor will use a $30 million emergency fund for expanded COVID-19 testing for grades K-12. He did clarify that this money is not part of the American Rescue Plan Act money which the 2021 Legislature chose not to allocate during this year’s session.

When asked if he would call up the Idaho National Guard if the current Delta variant surge became worse, Little replied: “Don’t be surprised.”

Little was clear about what he wants Idahoans to know: “Our main defense in ensuring the new school year is entirely in person, free from outbreaks and quarantines, is the COVID-19 vaccine. To those friends and neighbors of ours waiting to receive the vaccine, the time to get the vaccine is now.”

Alx Stevens contributed to this story.