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COVID-19 testing taking place at the Warfinger Building at Eureka Marina, OptumServe in Humboldt County, has recently seen an increase in testing. (Photo by Ryan Hutson)
Dr Hoffman shocked county officials on Tuesday afternoon when he explained how the COVID-19 public health emergency has dramatically changed locally, now affecting the ability of the local hospital system to care for non-COVID patients. Echoing the CDC’s sentiment that the pandemic is now thriving largely on the community’s unvaccinated potion, Humboldt health officials have sounded the alarm again, alerting the public to the urgent need to flatten the disease again. curve in the hope of keeping local hospital capacity at a manageable rate in the face of the surge in late summer. Noting that at least 20% of local hospital beds are occupied by COVID patients, Hoffman offered a reality test for Supes, as well as residents of the county when he said, “You think what that means. This means that a bed that is needed for someone who has had a heart attack, someone who has been in a car accident, someone who has had appendicitis – they might not have a bed right now. .
In his written report to the county which he read aloud to supervisors, Hoffman explained that around August 1, there were 25 hospital beds occupied by COVID patients. He added: “We suspect it could go higher and we are closely monitoring the situation in hospitals. In previous outbreaks, hospitalizations remained well below 20 beds. Hospital staff, clinic staff, public health staff, really everyone in healthcare, all of whom have worked tirelessly for the past 18 months to treat and prevent COVID-19 have received a devastating blow with this news. . “
Dr Hoffman told the Supervisory Board: “The arrival of the Delta variant has significantly changed the situation in our county. The increase in cases seen in many counties has now hit here, with a 400% increase in cases within a few weeks. Hoffman added that with the arrival of Delta, there had been a dramatic increase in hospitalizations. He counted 25 residents of local hospitals treated for COVID-19 “a few days ago”.
This is an increase from last week, when Roberta Luskin-Hawk, CEO of St. Joseph Providence at Humboldt noted that there was 19 in total, including 4 in intensive care be treated for COVID-19.
Screenshot of the State COVID-19 Hospitalization dashboard showing hospitalization rates for Humboldt County. Updated August 10, 2021.
This update from the county health department is slightly more conservative than what the California state dashboard for hospitalizations with COVID-19 reflects. According to state data updated on August 10, Humboldt County has a total of 29 COVID-19 patients in local hospitals, and 6 of them are believed to be in intensive care with more severe symptoms. As Dr Hoffman pointed out during the virtual Board of Supervisors meeting, when hospitals are close to full capacity, there is a negative impact on other departments, a lack of open beds for non-covid-19 patients. and a forced cancellation of elective internships. surgeries and other treatments made available.
Dr Hoffman highlighted the issue at the meeting, following some public comments on the subject of vaccinations. Hoffman reiterated that hospital capacity is a concern that healthcare workers are forced to consider when the case rate rises. “They’re canceling elective procedures at St. Joe’s Hospital to increase bed capacity, and they’re looking for more staff.” With a sense of urgency, Humboldt’s public health official explained, “We have applied for resources with several agencies… And this is just beginning, so we don’t want to get to the point where we are putting patients in hallways on stretchers, putting people in gift shops, lining up ambulances at 10-15 depths while waiting to enter the hospital. That’s what we’re trying to prevent here.
The report included a graph showing increasing case rates for both vaccinated and unvaccinated people in the county. Hoffman explained the detailed information in the graph, noting the importance of the increase in cases. He said,
We would like to publicly share the data on the current increase in our Humboldt County epidemiology program.
You can see the sharp increase in cases with this latest Delta surge, much larger than the previous two surges (winter surge with Epsilon, spring surge with Alpha). And you can see the marked difference in cases and hospitalizations among the fully vaccinated people in Humboldt County. Our local data is consistent with what is seen nationally with the Delta variant.
As we see groundbreaking cases, we are also seeing a dramatic reduction in hospitalizations and deaths among fully vaccinated people, reinforcing the importance of getting vaccinated.
Graphic included in Hoffman’s presentation to BOS, August 10.
The written report provided to the board was a one-page document emphasizing the need to continue the vaccination effort locally, while drawing attention to new statistics that illustrate the difference between COVID-19 of 2020 and the new, more robust DELTA variant. The Delta strain of COVID-19 is believed to be responsible for the increase in cases due to its high degree of transmissibility and the increased viral load that allows it to infect a person faster and easier.
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