Hospitals 'dangerously close' to crisis standards of care

COEUR d'ALENE — A St. Maries woman said Tuesday even though she had received the Moderna vaccine, and her husband the Pfizer vaccine, they still got the coronavirus.

“We thought we were protected, but you’re really not protected,” she said to Gov. Brad Little during an hourlong AARP telephone town hall.

The woman said they went to the hospital looking for help because they felt lousy and had “terrible headaches.” But she said they were told they weren’t sick enough to be admitted and there wasn’t a clinic that could help them, either.

“They just sent us home,” she said.

The woman said Idaho needs to have something for people in their situation who “really have nowhere to go.”

“We feel sort of left out,” she said.

It doesn’t help, she added, that Idahoans don’t want to wear masks that can help the virus from spreading.

“You can get it even though you’ve been vaccinated,” she said.

Little responded by saying, “Nobody ever said it was 100%” effective.

He said it was a “miracle” that initially about 95 percent of those receiving the vaccine did not get COVID-19, and with the more contagious delta variant’s recent surge, about 80%.

Little said chances of being hospitalized if you get the virus are much greater if you’re not vaccinated.

“I feel terrible about your ailment,” Little said. “But had you not been vaccinated there’s high probability you might be worse off than you are now.”

Little, State Epidemiologist Dr. Christine Hahn, and Idaho Department of Health and Welfare Director Dave Jeppesen answered questions from the public for about an hour.

Little said it’s a race to get people vaccinated as the virus does what viruses do — change and adapt.

He has declined to issue any vaccine mandates, and several times called on Idahoans to "do the right thing and get vaccinated."

Little said he hopes that Food and Drug Administration’s recent approval of the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine will encourage more Idahoans to get the shot.

Jeppesen said the good news is, they are seeing an increase in Idahoans getting vaccinated.

One recent day, 591 Idahoans received their first dose of the vaccine. Monday, more than 1,200 did.

Stateside, 805,906 have received at least one dose of the vaccines, per the state’s website.

In Idaho, 75 percent of those 65 and older are fully vaccinated, which nearly matches the national average of 81%.

But only 48% of those 12 and older in Idaho are fully vaccinated, well below the national average of 63%.

Jeppesen said delta is a “sneaky little variant” that’s causing Idaho’s COVID-19 numbers to move the wrong direction.

In early July, the state had about 3.3 coronavirus cases per 100,000 people. Today, it’s about 30 cases per 100,000. Eight weeks ago, the state’s positivity rate for COVID-19 was 2.8%; today, it’s 12.8%. And not long ago, Idaho long-term care facilities had 14 coronavirus cases between staff and patients. Today, it’s more than 60.

Jeppesen said the state’s hospitals are operating near capacity due to rising coronavirus cases, which is straining staff and resources.

Hahn said hospitals are “thinking about crisis standards of care” which means “it is impossible for them to provide the normal, or standard, level of care to patients” and difficult choices could be made regarding treatment and preserving health care capacity.

“The goal is to avoid crisis standards of care,” Hahn said.

Jeppesen worries it could happen.

“We are dangerously close to crisis standards of care,” he said.

One caller said his uncle went to the emergency room at an Idaho hospital and had to wait for hours in the hallway because it was so crowded.


Another caller said she went to brunch at a restaurant Sunday and “no one had a mask on.”

“Will you be coming out with a mask mandate?” she asked Little.

The governor didn’t answer yes or no, but said, the “best thing is for everybody to choose to do the right thing.”