Officials: Hospitals still in thick of COVID-19 fight

Although daily COVID-19 infection numbers may indicate a slight slowdown of the virus, hospitals and health care workers in this area are continuing to struggle because of the volume of patients needing care and their own staff members who are getting sick, Asotin County Health Department Director Brady Woodbury said Friday.

“There’s still a lot of impact happening in the hospitals and that’s where we have a lot of concerns,” Woodbury said.

The omicron variant is less severe than previous variants, but the high numbers of people needing hospitalization with fewer health care workers available to deal with the surge is becoming a problem.

And Woodbury said the declining numbers may not be an accurate gauge of whether the coronavirus is retreating. The drop in Asotin County’s infection numbers from 60 in the middle of the week to 26 on Friday may be more of a function of testing and reporting than actual numbers of illnesses, Woodbury said.

“It could be going down. We have a lot of fluctuation in the week but our numbers are still extremely high,” Woodbury said. “I think our numbers (of actual infections) are higher than the numbers are indicating.”

One factor that is influencing the spread of the omicron variant is that Asotin County has the third-lowest rate of vaccinations of all the counties in Washington, he added.

“That’s pretty much across the board of age ranges of people eligible,” he said.

“I think on a statistical curve, our cases will be similar to other parts of the state, but there’s a lot of factors, including how well the community wears masks, how well we social distance. We’re not as good at wearing masks (in Asotin County), but we also don’t have the population density as the western part of the state.”

Woodbury believes the public attitude toward public health workers remains somewhat skeptical because of some of the rules the agencies have had to enforce. Overall, he said, “I’ve felt a tremendous amount of support from people in our community. We also hear from people who get upset by something or are not happy about measures we have had to take in schools and businesses. But this is something we haven’t been through — ever.”

Woodbury said he does believe there is an end in sight, “but things have to change. We can’t keep doing the same things the same way, but I just hope we learn from the lessons we have and make adjustments and be as nimble as we can. I just think we need to be responsive and take the measures that work. There’s not a lot of buy-in with masking and vaccination, and there isn’t a lot of support for mandates. So it just comes down to hoping people make the right decision. Vaccinations are safe and effective, but they’re not the only tool.”

Public Health – Idaho North Central District reported 184 new COVID-19 cases Friday, including 13 in Clearwater County, 50 in Idaho County, 69 in Latah County, 11 in Lewis County and 42 in Nez Perce County.

Asotin County had 26 new cases Friday, Whitman County posted 207 new cases and Garfield County did not update its website.

The Lewiston Elks Lodge, including the bar and dining room, closed Friday because of illness among staff and volunteers, and the high rate of COVID-19 in the community. There was no word on when the lodge would be reopened.

The Idaho Department of Health and Welfare announced the first confirmed infection with the BA.2 sub-variant of the COVID-19 omicron variant in Ada County.

Dr. Christine Hahn, state epidemiologist, said the identification of this sub-variant of omicron “is a reminder that the virus that causes COVID-19 will continue to mutate as long as it is being transmitted and is a reminder of the importance of vaccination and other measures to protect yourself from this virus.”

Hahn said the department will continue to monitor this and future variants “and are committed to transparency in informing the public what we know when we know it.”

The BA.1 lineage of omicron is currently causing 98% of all COVID-19 infections in Idaho, making the severity of illness and infectiousness from the BA.2 sub-variant unknown. Early data from Asia and Europe indicate there have not been major differences in disease severity or the effectiveness of currently authorized vaccines.

However, COVID-19 treatments and vaccines may become less effective as mutations continue to emerge. In addition, natural immunity from infection with prior variants may not be protective against future variants, the health department said.

The BA.2 sub-variant has been identified in 22 U.S. states and at least 40 countries where it is reportedly spreading quickly.

The Idaho Department of Health and Welfare released its weekly list of COVID-19 infections among long-term health care centers in the state. In north central Idaho, there were minor increases in several care centers, but 10 new infections reported at Royal Plaza since Jan. 21; seven at the State Veterans Home in Lewiston; 12 at Brookside Landing in Lewiston; and 11 at Lakeside Living in Winchester.

Hedberg may be contacted at khedberg@lmtribune.com.