‘Too many unvaccinated’: Idaho seeks hospital volunteers, plans COVID treatment centers
As Idaho hospitals labor under the strain of the latest COVID-19 surge, state leaders are asking for volunteers and the governor is opening three treatment centers to aid overwhelmed facilities.
Thursday marked another day of surging infections, as the state added 992 COVID-19 cases. It’s the first time this week the daily number has not exceeded 1,000. The state’s test positivity rate also climbed again, to a worrisome 13.2% for the week of Aug. 15, according to the Department of Health and Welfare. According to public health experts, a rate of less than 5% is thought to demonstrate control over spread of the coronavirus.
Gov. Brad Little announced Thursday that the state will open three facilities offering free monoclonal antibody treatment, which health experts say can help COVID-19 patients avoid getting severely ill. The facilities will be in North Idaho, East Idaho and the Treasure Valley, according to a news release from the governor. The exact locations will be disclosed in the coming days, the release said.
Monoclonal antibodies are produced by cloning immune cells that have been shown effective against the COVID-19 disease.
The aim of the facilities will be to preserve bed capacity at the state’s hospitals, according to Little. To be treated at one of the antibody centers, patients will need a referral from a doctor.
As part of his message on Thursday, the governor stressed that the refusal of many Idahoans to get vaccinated against COVID-19 is causing the dire situation in the state, and he again pleaded for more residents to get the shots.
“There are too many unvaccinated people in our hospitals right now,” Little said in the release. “We need to reduce the number of COVID-19 hospitalizations so everyone else can continue to access health care for strokes, heart attacks, car accidents, and other emergencies. We need more Idahoans to choose to receive the vaccine.”
Only 48.1% of eligible Idahoans — those 12 and older — are fully vaccinated, according to Health and Welfare.
The state will focus on North Idaho, where hospitalizations are surging and vaccination rates are especially low. On Wednesday, Kootenai Health, a major hospital based in Coeur d’Alene, announced that it had converted one of its classrooms into a patient care unit to avoid running out of beds.
On Thursday, the governor also announced that he is directing $10 million in federal funds from the American Rescue Plan Act to “address constraints and emerging needs in Idaho hospitals and skilled nursing facilities,” according to the release.
“The staffing shortage facing senior care facilities is so severe that many facilities cannot accept new patients who desperately need care,” Robert Vande Merwe, executive director of the Idaho Healthcare Association, said in the release. He added that the funds will help facilities find extra staff to accept new patients.
On Tuesday, state officials asked for volunteers to assist hospitals in a variety of ways during a news briefing.
“There’s a wide variety of positions available, a wide variety of skill sets — we need positions in every part of the state,” Elke Shaw-Tulloch, administrator for the Department of Health and Welfare’s Division of Public Health, said at the briefing, according to The Associated Press.
As of Monday, there were 436 patients hospitalized with suspected or confirmed cases of COVID-19, and 135 COVID patients in an ICU, according to Health and Welfare.
The state also added three deaths on Thursday, in the following counties: Ada (1 new, 510 total), Jerome (1 new, 28 total), Twin Falls (1 new, 142 total).
For a county-by-county breakdown of Wednesday’s new cases and deaths, see our “What we know” file at IdahoStatesman.com.
