■ Several Western states have been forced to ration care as COVID surges.
Crisis care rules grow due to COVID surge
BOISE, Idaho — In another ominous sign about the spread of the delta variant, Idaho public health leaders on Thursday expanded health care rationing statewide and individual hospital systems in Alaska and Montana have enacted similar crisis standards amid a spike in the number of unvaccinated COVID-19 patients requiring hospitalization.
The decisions marked an escalation of the pandemic in several Western states struggling to convince skeptical people to get vaccinated.
The Idaho Department of Health and Welfare made the announcement after St. Luke’s Health System, Idaho’s largest hospital network, asked state health leaders to allow “crisis standards of care” because the increase in COVID-19 patients has exhausted the state’s medical resources.
Idaho is one of the least vaccinated U.S. states, with only about 40 percent of its residents fully vaccinated against COVID-19.
Crisis care standards mean that scarce resources such as ICU beds will be allotted to the patients most likely to survive. Other patients will be treated with less effective methods or, in dire cases, given pain relief and other palliative care.
A hospital in Helena, Montana, was also forced to implement crisis standards of care amid a surge in COVID-19 patients. Critical care resources are at maximum capacity at St. Peter’s Health hospital, officials said Thursday.
And earlier this week Providence Alaska Medical Center, Alaska’s largest hospital, also started prioritizing resources.
Thursday’s move in Idaho came a week after state officials started allowing health care rationing at hospitals in northern parts of the state.
“The situation is dire — we don’t have enough resources to adequately treat the patients in our hospitals, whether you are there for COVID-19 or a heart attack or because of a car accident,” Idaho Department of Welfare Director Dave Jeppesen said in statement.
He urged people to get vaccinated and wear masks indoors and in crowded outdoor settings.
“Our hospitals and health care systems need our help,” Jeppesen said. In other developments:
■ Mississippi has surpassed New Jersey as the state with the highest rate of COVID-19 deaths in the U.S., with roughly 1 of every 320 Mississippians having succumbed to the coronavirus. The state’s top health official on Thursday warned that more deaths will come.
■ New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio said he reached out to U.N. Secretary General António Guterres two weeks ago, letting him know the city’s vaccination requirements will apply to world leaders at next week’s General Assembly meeting. The mayor said he understands the U.N. has its own rules and jurisdiction but it was important to have “continuity” of the city’s vaccination rules to protect the progress made against the coronavirus. He said Guterres has been cooperative and understanding.
■ Seattle and King County officials said Thursday that proof of a COVID-19 vaccination or a negative test will be required to enter certain establishments and attend outdoor events. Public Health — Seattle & King County Health Officer Dr. Jeff Duchin issued the order, which will go into effect Oct. 25.
■ The Navajo Nation on Thursday reported 54 more COVID-19 cases and two additional deaths. The latest numbers pushed the tribe’s totals to 33,394 confirmed COVID-19 cases and 1,428 known deaths from the virus since the pandemic began more than a year ago.