WA COVID Death Tolls Rise As Hospitalization Surge Grows

WASHINGTON — COVID-19 deaths are on the rise, hospitalization rates continue to break records, and Washington health officials warn that the health care system may be nearing a breaking point.

At a Washington State Hospital Association news briefing Monday, officials confirmed a total 1,570 Washingtonians were currently hospitalized with COVID-19.

"That is multiple large hospitals," said Cassie Sauer, president and CEO of the WSHA. "If you just took a hospital and filled it with COVID, that would be multiple of our largest hospitals in the state, full completely of COVID patients. This is enormous stress on the health care system, to have this many patients with a single diagnosis, this just doesn't happen."

Of those patients, 188 were suffering severe symptoms and had been placed on ventilators. In some cases, rural hospitals have been so full with COVID-19 patients that doctors have had to deny service to patients with other diseases or illnesses.

"We have suspended all in-patient elective procedures, we had five cases scheduled for today and tomorrow that we canceled on Friday," said Mike Glenn, CEO of Jefferson Health Care, a critical-access hospital in Port Townsend.

At the WSHA's last conference on Aug. 19, officials reported 1,240 hospitalized COVID-19 patients across Washington state. At the time, it was the record high, but officials had expressed hope that hospitalizations might be plateauing. Unfortunately, the hospitalization rate has continued to rise as hundreds more patients have checked in. Also on the rise is the death toll, which health officials say they did expect, because it typically follows behind any spike in hospitalizations.

"As we've experienced throughout COVID, you see cases go up, and then a couple weeks later you see hospitalizations go up, and then a couple weeks later you see deaths go up," Sauer said.

As of Thursday, a total 6,507 Washingtonians have died of COVID-19. Sauer says between 25 and 30 more deaths were added in the latest reporting period.

Meanwhile, one group in particular is seeing a marked increase in new cases and hospitalizations: pregnant women.

"For the first time during the pandemic, we are seeing huge numbers of sick, pregnant women, really sick women," said Dr. Tanya Sorenson, executive medical director for women's health at Swedish Health.

Sorenson says pregnant women are one of Washington's least-vaccinated demographics, which is troubling because COVID-19 infections can cause serious pregnancy complications.

"We're seeing ICU admissions, we're seeing maternal deaths, we're seeing babies born prematurely either to help the mother breathe or to rescue the baby because the mother is hypoxic," Sorenson said.

"It's heartbreaking to spend my day in the ICU taking care of women who are pregnant and may not make it, and maybe leave their babies motherless."

Sorenson is urging all pregnant mothers to seek vaccination immediately, if they have not already done so.

The effectiveness of the COVID-19 vaccine can be seen regionally, as counties with lower vaccination rates are consistently grappling with higher case counts and hospitalizations. Joining WSHA's conference Monday was Dr. Mark Johnson, an infectious disease specialist at Confluence Health in Wenatchee, who said they had seen a "profound shift" in COVID hospitalizations, largely driven by the low vaccination rate.

"None of our critically ill patients are vaccinated," said Johnson.

Johnson joined other conference speakers in calling on the public to get vaccinated, which health officials say is the safest way to protect against COVID-19, especially as the rapidly-spreading delta variant is causing such large spikes in case counts across the state.

"It's not too late to get a vaccine," Sauer said. "Go today. Get the series started."

Finally, speakers had one more message for the public: the pandemic is not over. Many Washingtonians have begun to act as if everything is back to normal, planning parties, going to public events and fairs. While the state's current COVID-19 guidelines allow for those activities, doctor's say it's better to buckle down.

"The public perception of where we are does not match what's happening in hospitals, where people are coming in very ill and having extended stays and even dying," Sauer said. "We really want the public to understand this remains incredibly serious."