Washington state’s health system pushed to brink
SEATTLE — Hospital leaders, doctors and public health officials said Thursday that a spike in COVID-19 hospitalizations is pushing health care systems in Washington state closer than they’ve ever been to a crisis point.
The effects of the Omicron variant’s rapid transmission were coming into focus as hospital leaders and health officials detailed trends of severe COVID-19 cases, which had been in decline since the peak of the Delta variant last year, the Seattle Times reported.
So far, King County and western Washington have experienced the brunt of the Omicron spike, but the rest of the state isn’t far behind, state health officials said in a Thursday news briefing.
At University of Washington Medicine’s four campuses — three in Seattle and one in Renton — COVID-19 hospitalizations are higher than they’ve been at any other point in the pandemic, said Dr. John Lynch, medical director of Harborview Medical Center’s infection control program.
There are early signs that these new infections are causing less severe illness, especially in vaccinated people, Dr. Francis Riedo, medical director for infection control and prevention at EvergreenHealth in Kirkland, said during a separate briefing with hospital leaders.
However, Riedo called it a numbers game. “A small percentage of a million people is a huge number, still,” he said.
As of Thursday, King County was averaging about 31 COVID19 hospitalizations per day, a 76% increase in the past week.
Lynch urged Washingtonians not to visit hospital emergency rooms for COVID-19 tests or mild virus treatment, as health care systems are quickly reaching the point at which they can’t handle many more patients.
Factors further challenging hospitals include rising worker infection rates — forcing workers into quarantine — delayed care, obstacles discharging patients who no longer need hospital care, and limited testing access statewide.
“We are entering, I think, the most challenging phase of this pandemic, period,” Lynch said.