Idaho’s COVID-19 week: 9,360 new cases, 178 deaths, 7-day moving average reaches 1,337
With hospitals under continuous strain from Idaho’s COVID-19 crisis, the state added 9,360 new cases the seven days, according to the Department of Health and Welfare.
The total has pushed the state’s seven-day moving average up to 1,337 new cases per day, despite a reported backlog of roughly 11,000 cases that health officials have so far been unable to process.
The number of hospitalized patients is still dangerously high, with 746 in hospital beds statewide as of Wednesday and 188 in intensive care units — numbers roughly 50% higher than during the peak last fall.
Since last Friday, 10 more people associated with long-term care facilities have died, according to Health and Welfare.
There were 178 deaths added this week, pushing the total to 2,931 since the pandemic began. Deaths among younger adults have climbed — four of the 24 added Friday were people in their 40s, and one was in their 30s. For much of the pandemic, roughly half of statewide deaths had occurred at long-term care facilities, but the 855 deaths in those settings now account for only 29% of the total statewide.
The state has recorded 11,258 hospitalizations, 1,872 intensive care patients and 11,917 health care workers who have been infected.
On Friday, Fred Meyer pharmacies announced that they would begin a “vaccine power hour” during the first hour of business (9 a.m.-10 a.m.) starting Monday, according to a press release. The push is aimed at populations eligible for COVID-19 booster shots, which includes recipients of the Pfizer vaccine who were vaccinated at least six months ago and who are 65 or older, work in high-risk or long-term care settings, or have certain underlying medical conditions, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Most Americans who received the Moderna or Janssen (Johnson & Johnson) vaccine are not currently eligible for the extra shots. The Pfizer vaccine remains the only one with full Food and Drug Administration approval; the others have emergency-use authorization.
In the release, Fred Meyer noted that its pharmacies will also be offering flu shots, which the CDC recommends for most Americans older than 6 months.
Many other pharmacies and other locations in the Treasure Valley are also offering the booster and flu shots.
LONG-TERM CARE UPDATE
As of Friday, Health and Welfare reports that there are 6,486 active coronavirus cases among 145 facilities, which is 415 more than the 6,071 reported on Sept. 24. There are 194 facilities with resolved outbreaks.
To date, 855 people from 191 facilities in Idaho have died from COVID-19-related causes — 10 more than were reported last Friday. Long-term care deaths account for about 29% of the 2,931 deaths in the state.
The most recent data from Health and Welfare show that 77.6% of Idahoans age 65 and older have been fully vaccinated against COVID-19.
Below is a list of Idaho cities along with with the number of facilities in each city that have active cases of the coronavirus among residents and/or staff. For an outbreak to be considered “resolved,” more than 28 days must pass (two incubation periods) without any additional cases associated with the facility.
Bellevue (1), Blackfoot (2), Boise (27), Buhl (2), Burley (2), Caldwell (5), Chubbuck (2), Coeur d’Alene (9), Eagle (2), Emmett (3), Fruitland (1), Garden City (1), Gooding (1), Grangeville (1), Hayden (1), Idaho Falls (6), Jerome (1), Kimberly (1), Kuna (2), Lewiston (10), Malad (1), Meridian (16), Middleton (1), Montpelier (2), Moscow (3), Nampa (8), Orofino (2), Payette (1), Pinehurst (1), Pocatello (10), Post Falls (3), Rexburg (2), Rupert (1), Salmon (1), Sandpoint (3), St. Maries (1), Star (1), Twin Falls (9), Winchester (1).
Visit coronavirus.idaho.gov for a complete list of long-term facilities with active cases this week.
WEEKLY SNAPSHOT
Vaccine doses administered in Idaho: 1,600,127, according to Health and Welfare. Of those, 786,828 people have been fully vaccinated, which accounts for 52.1% of Idahoans age 12 and older.
Test positivity rate: Out of the 44,445 COVID-19 tests conducted for the week of Sept. 19 - Sept. 25, 15.4% came back positive.
