Please be careful out there with the Omicron variant. Please stay home whenever possible and wear a mask when you have to go out. I’ll be skipping the movies and going out to eat and flying at least until this pandemic is more under control. Here are some highlights from these articles from the Idaho Statesman:
By the way, I live in Idaho, where our current Republican governor is suing the Biden Administration’s vaccine mandates for businesses, and it seems like most of the state is cheering the governor and the SCOTUS on.
Meanwhile, the Omicron variant is exploding everywhere. It is bad. Everyone needs to wear a mask when indoors. If you don't get vaccinated and you don't wear masks, this will continue to spread. It’s that simple.
Among other things, schools and medical centers are having staffing shortages and are closing. It is having many domino effects. Hospitalizations are at record highs across the county. Staff are also testing positive.
In normal times, the Primary Health Medical Group in Idaho averages about 40,000 phone calls per month. This month, the medical group expects to receive over 80,000, and receptionists are struggling to respond to the torrent of inquiries.
"If we can't get (our patients) an appointment, if we can't communicate with them, their chronic problems — their hypertension, their diabetes — may not get the same attention it should get," he said. "We saw that happen somewhat with delta, but not to this degree."
He added, "The cascading implications of omicron are enormous."
At Primary Health Medical Group, a large primary care provider in the Treasure Valley, the COVID-19 test positivity rate from Monday through Friday was 46.7%, said Dr. David Peterman, the medical group's CEO.
"This is absolutely on fire, out of control," Dr. Peterman told the Idaho Statesman by phone Saturday. "Control of a respiratory pandemic is achieved when you have 5% or less (positivity). We're at nine times that. It's just unbelievable."
In September, when the state activated crisis standards of care at hospitals, Primary Health's highest test positivity rate was 27.4%.
The deluge of patients this month has "absolutely overwhelmed" Primary Health's urgent care clinics, in part because the record numbers of patients are arriving at a time when many staff members are out sick. Out of 600 employees, 9% were out as of Friday, forcing clinics to curtail hours or close entirely.
On Friday, four Primary Health clinics were closed out of 21 in the Treasure Valley. On Saturday and Sunday, seven clinics were closed.
All of Primary Health's clinics are closing an hour early each day, at 7 p.m., to allow strained staff to finish their nightly work.
While talking to a Statesman reporter on Saturday, Dr. Peterman said he received notice that another staff member at one of his clinics has tested positive.
"Every time I get one of these emails, my heart sinks," he said.
About 97% of Dr. Peterman's employees are vaccinated, but the omicron variant is known to cause breakthrough cases. Even though research shows vaccinated people — especially if they have received a booster dose — are highly protected from severe illness, sick employees still have to stay home for several days.
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