Idaho ranked among least safe

Abraham Lincoln intimated there is a fine line between liberty and responsibility. Laws, for example, limit our freedoms where they may harm the lives of others. Schools require children to have certain vaccines before coming to school. When the actions of one risk the safety of another, “freedom” becomes very one-sided.

Yet applying that in a pandemic is a tricky beast. According to the latest assessment, our choices are costing Idaho more than nearly all other states.

WalletHub recently released updated rankings for the Safest States During COVID-19, using rates of virus transmission, positive testing, hospitalizations and death, as well as the share of the eligible population getting vaccinated. Economic experts say vaccination rates are also essential for getting the economy back on track, from eliminating restrictions to consumer confidence and travel.

Idaho came in 47th. The safest state ranked was Vermont, with the rest of the top 10 all in the eastern U.S.

As recently reported in The Press, only 38 percent of eligible residents in the Panhandle Health District are fully vaccinated. According to Mayo Clinic’s vaccine tracker, nationally nearly 60 percent of Americans have received at least one dose, and 51 percent are fully vaccinated.

Vaccinations aside, just walking around North Idaho it’s obvious how few wear masks or stay distant to protect others, a very different situation from most other states.

While both have declined to issue mandates, not only Kootenai Health, but Gov. Little has urged Idahoans to get vaccinated, especially as school is about to start. Other states in the Northwest, such as Washington, Oregon and California have school staff vaccine or testing mandates.

“Mandate” is seen by some as a dirty word. Nobody likes to be told what to do, but those who institute health care recommendations see them as necessary to protect the public, when consequences of the actions of one affect the many.

Kootenai Health is overloaded with unvaccinated COVID patients, reporting a rise in the more harmful Delta variant with more patients who are young and otherwise healthy needing hospitalization. These surges in hospitalizations and cases, especially up north, discourages tourism and economic recovery, and are likely to lead to restrictions or at least reductions on public gatherings again, according to financial experts and recent cancellations.

That’s why vaccines — as well as masks and distancing — have been directly linked to economic recovery, and their lack to greater risks to public health and safety. According to a previously reported Kootenai Health statement, “At the hospital, we are seeing that the Delta variant is also leading to more severe illness in a younger population, many of which have few if any risk factors for hospitalization … It is not our intent to frighten, but rather to inform our community of what lies ahead if the current trajectory continues.”

The whole situation also impacts general access to health care.

Hospitals overwhelmed with COVID patients also impacts everyone else, because the facilities and doctors dealing with the rise are less available to the rest of us — not just at the hospital, but rippling through the system of medical offices and providers. Kootenai Health has been forced to cancel elective surgeries. If you’ve tried to get a quick appointment recently, you know area doctors were already swamped with the county’s population explosion.

“Idahoans have always valued freedom and independence,” said Kootenai Health in a statement. “We also recognize the value of working together as a community to take care of our own. Never were those qualities needed more than now.”

We all value choice. Hopefully, we all value one another, too.

To view the full Wallethub report see https://wallethub.com/edu/safest-states-during-covid/86567.

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Sholeh Patrick is a columnist for the Hagadone News Network. Email Sholeh@cdapress.com.