Idaho’s COVID-19 week: Positivity rate rises sharply, more than 3,600 cases since Monday
As surges in COVID-19 cases fueled by the omicron variant roil holiday celebrations across the country and hamper the airline industry, Idaho is beginning to see case counts climb.
Caseloads in the Gem State declined in late October before leveling out in November and December, but daily numbers have ticked up again, according to data from the Department of Health and Welfare.
Over a four-day period starting Monday, the state recorded more than 3,600 new cases, with 924 on Thursday and more than 1,000 on Tuesday. The week of Dec. 20, the state’s seven-day moving average of new cases hovered around 330.
Another indicator of COVID-19 prevalence, the test positivity rate, has also risen. After dropping to 5.4% the week of Dec. 12 — the lowest rate since July — it rose to 8.4% for the week of Dec. 19-25, the most recent dates available. Public health officials aim to keep the positivity rate below 5% to control viral spread.
The record-breaking rise in cases nationwide has been linked to the omicron variant, a highly contagious and possibly less virulent strain of the coronavirus. The state has confirmed 15 cases of omicron in Idaho, but there are likely many more, as most test samples are not put through genomic sequencing.
For the week of Dec. 19, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimates that 59% of infections nationally were caused by omicron.
How are Idaho hospitals faring?
While many hospitals in the U.S. are seeing waves of new patients, those increases have not — so far — appeared in Idaho.
As of Monday, the state reported that there were 247 confirmed or suspected COVID-19 patients at Idaho hospitals and 76 in intensive care. Those figures are down from the peaks of 793 hospitalized patients and 213 ICU patients on Sept. 24.
“In spite of the rising omicron variant cases, so far we are not seeing increased numbers of hospitalized COVID patients,” said a spokesperson for St. Luke’s Health System, Christine Myron, in an email. “We are seeing some challenges to our hospital capacity due to high volumes of non-COVID disease needing hospitalization, our efforts to get delayed surgeries and procedures completed, and due to staffing challenges compounded by the fatigue of the past two years of the pandemic.”
Many states are also seeing a surge in pediatric hospital admissions, but the pattern has not emerged in Idaho.
“We have not seen an increase,” said Mark Snider, a spokesperson for Saint Alphonsus Health System, referring to pediatric patients.
At St. Luke’s, which has a pediatric ICU at its downtown Boise hospital, there also has not been a spike, Myron said.
“The biggest risk for us in Idaho will be when kids return to school after the holidays,” she wrote. “We certainly hope that more eligible children and adolescents will get vaccinated, and stay home from school if they are sick.”
Low booster rates
While more than half of Idaho adults are fully vaccinated against COVID-19, less than half of those people have received a booster dose, which health officials say is necessary for greater protection against the omicron variant.
Around 59.2% of Idahoans older than 18 are fully vaccinated, with 39.2% of those having received a booster shot, according to data from Health and Welfare. The CDC expanded booster shot eligibility to all adults in November, with shots to be administered six months after the second shot of a two-dose vaccine or two months after receiving the Johnson & Johnson vaccine.
Nearly 76% of people 65 or older are fully vaccinated, and 64% of those people have received a booster dose.
Currently, only Americans 16 or older are eligible for booster doses. The Food and Drug Administration may authorize boosters for the 12-15-year-old age group in the coming days, according to The Washington Post.
During a panel hosted by the Idaho Statesman earlier this month, Dr. Christine Hahn, state epidemiologist, noted that omicron has been shown to evade some vaccine protection. The efficacy of a primary vaccine series against omicron is significantly reduced.
“That’s one reason why you’ve heard us talk about boosters even more in the last few weeks,” she said. “Omicron is suggesting how important it is for folks to get the booster and not rely on just the primary series.”
Long-term care
As of Thursday, Health and Welfare reports that there are 5,408 active coronavirus cases among 95 long-term care facilities. There are 257 facilities with resolved outbreaks.
To date, 1,019 people from 220 facilities in Idaho have died from COVID-19-related causes — three more than were reported last Friday. Long-term care deaths account for about 25% of the 4,162 in the state.
Below is a list of Idaho cities along with the number of facilities in each city that have active cases 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.
American Falls (1), Bannock (1), Boise (23), Bonners Ferry (2), Buhl (1), Burley (1), Caldwell (1), Chubbuck (1), Coeur d’Alene (8), Eagle (1), Emmett (1), Fruitland (1), Garden City (1), Hayden (2), Idaho Falls (1), Kootenai (1), Kuna (2), Lewiston (6), McCall (1), Meridian (9), Montpelier (2), Mountain Home (1), Nampa (4), Payette (1), Pocatello (4), Post Falls (4), Rexburg (1), Rigby (1), Salmon (1), Sandpoint (4), Silverton (1), St. Maries (1), Twin Falls (5), Weiser (2).
Weekly snapshot
Vaccine doses administered in Idaho: 2,146,096, according to Health and Welfare. Of those, 891,383 people have been fully vaccinated, which accounts for 56.9% of Idahoans age 12 and older.
Test positivity rate: Out of the 22,676 COVID-19 tests conducted for the week of Dec. 19-Dec. 25, 8.4% came back positive.
For a full list of daily numbers on a county-by-county basis, visit our “What We Know” story.
This story was originally published December 30, 2021 at 8:04 PM.
