Hospitalizations Declining, But 'Disease Remains Very High' In WA

SPOKANE, WA — COVID-19 case counts and hospitalization rates are trending in the right direction, but they'll need to keep trending that way before the state is in the clear, the Washington State Department of Health says.

Washington Gov. Jay Inslee and Secretary of Health Dr. Umair Shah both visited Providence Sacred Heart Medical Center in Spokane Wednesday to meet with frontline workers bearing the brunt of the hospitalization crisis. Over recent weeks, Eastern Washington has been inundated with COVID-19 patients, many coming in from out of state, crossing the border to escape Idaho's failing health care system. Providence is the highest level ICU and only trauma center in Eastern Washington, and its leaders say the hospital is in danger of being overrun with patients if the hospitalization rate doesn't continue to improve.

"We're not talking about just taking care of people w/COVID-19, said Dr. Daniel Getz, Chief Medical Officer for Providence Sacred Heart Medical Center. "If your child is in a bike accident and has a bleed in their brain, or you're in a car accident and need our trauma center, we need to have people, space and stuff to care for these people. If we are saturated, we can't provide the care because we don't have the staff, we don't have enough physical space, or we don't have the supplies, then we can't accept patients in our facility."

At the DOH's weekly briefing Wednesday, the state's health care leaders confirmed that there has been a decline in COVID-19 cases and hospitalizations, but that the death rate remains high and daily case counts are still higher than they ever had been before this current, fifth wave of infections.

"Hospital admission rates are also declining but remain very high," said Lacy Fehrenbach, Deputy Secretary of Health for the COVID-19 Response. "We are seeing declines in all age groups except among pediatric patients 0 to 19 where hospitalizations are flattening."

Another cause for cautious optimism: As hospitalization rates have declined, the state's vaccination rate has taken an upswing. As of Wednesday, health care providers across Washington have now administered more than 9 million vaccine doses. Youth vaccination rates in particular have improved, with 46 percent of Washingtonians ages 12 to 15 now fully vaccinated, as are 53 percent of kids 16 and 17-years-old.

As of Monday, the state says 76.4 percent of Washington's population 12 and older has had at least one dose of the COVID-19 vaccine, and 69.7 percent are fully vaccinated.

The vaccination rate is likely to continue to improve as several looming vaccine mandates draw closer to deadline. Health care workers, cabinet agency state employees, teachers and school staff, childcare and early learning providers and employees in several other industries are all subject to vaccine mandates with deadlines in mid-October or early December — and some independent businesses are likely to impose mandates of their own, the DOH says.

For those who are still on the fence about vaccination, local health experts say it's the best way to protect against COVID-19 infections, and will be key in making sure the hospitalization rate continues to decline.

"By getting more people vaccinated, wearing our masks, avoiding large gatherings we can save more lives in the days, weeks, and months to come," Fehrenbach said. "We can also help to protect our healthcare system for those who need it and we can help to keep our children and staff safer."