In last three weeks cases and hospitalizations have steadily risen. We don’t want to be here. Good news is vaccinations have been steady. Discouraged by large number not vaxxed. #utpol
@GovCox Cox: To those health care providers, our heart breaks that you’re going through this again. Especially caring for people who didn’t take the opportunity to protect themselves.
For first time in pandemic we had a moment Friday evening where there was no ICU space. #utpol
Cox: Rural hospital was looking to transfer a patient to a referral ICU and was turned away. Only lasted a few hours but in critical care every minute counts.
Cox says he will meet with the Lege this week. He’s met with Lege leaders regularly over last two weeks. #utpol
Cox: Meeting with the full legislature because laws in place now require collaboration with all the members. Will meet with House and Senate majority and minority caucuses (I’m assuming the majority meetings will be closed). Hope to find consensus on further measures. #utpol
Cox: Will share info w/ legislators and local health depts. Working on color coding system for schools. Green is 1%. Yellow 1-2% infection and Red at 2% and up.
Goal has been to not overwhelm health care system and keep kids in schools.
Cox: That means 1.5m with no vaccine. Many of them young people who aren’t eligible.
Young people aren’t impacted to the extent of adults, but a low % of hospitalizations means many hospitalizations due to high number of cases. Also spike in RSV taking up space. #utpol
Now Dr. Michelle Hofmann who opens with quick data
Rolling 7-day avg. 1,263 up from 795 last month. Pct pos is 15.1% same as a month ago. Test/test is 10.8%. “We are in a sustained surge of cases that is at unsustainable levels.”
Hofmann: We have Delta variant, higher spread and no masks in schools.
Kids are very unlikely to get ill but large amount of transmission translates into many hospitalizations. And they’re big spreaders and take it home w/ them. Some will be hospitalized, some will die. #utpol
Hofmann: We are projecting more than 39k cases in 5-17 year olds in September.
Number of Covid patients has more than tripled since June 1.
Utahns need to get vaxxed to stop the spread and start wearing masks to prevent the surge in hospitals. #utpol
Hofmann: When pandemic hit she was caring for disabled children in a nursing home.
Number and size of nursing home outbreaks is directly tied to community spread. In one outbreak this week, everyone was vaxxed but 25% had breakthrough infections. 1 hospitalized, 1 died. #utpol
Hofmann: Roughly 1/3 of nursing homes are experiencing an outbreak.
In a surge, health care providers are strained, caring for children in hallways and closets.
It’s preventable if people would get vaxxed and wear masks.
Hofmann: Loved ones are being hospitalized w/ mental health emergencies. She has one in her own family. Taking a toll on children and our families. Need to stop divisiveness around things we know work.
I’m sorry for the pain pandemic has caused. We need to heal together. #utpol
Hofmann: Health care workers are leaving their jobs. The work force shortages are real. Thank a provider and mask up and get vaccinated.
Now @MarcHarrisonMD, CEO of Intermountain healthcare. Says he has incurablel blood cancer. In remission but he’s immunodeficient. #utpol
Harrison: He would normally avoid a group like this. But this is important. He hopes people in the room aren’t carrying variant because “if you are you could kill me.”
“We can make a difference together. It has to be a concerted effort.” #utpol
Harrison: Referral ICUs at 103% capacity. ICUs overall at 105% capacity. More Life Flight transfers in last month than ever. 3x had to transfer patients between health care systems, which increases risk to patients.
Hearing enormous stresses on rural hospitals. #utpol
Harrison: Delaying elective cases now.
It is extraordinarily difficult for caregivers to manage this surge. We have lost valuable clinicians in past year. “Some people just can’t take it anymore. It has been unrelenting the stress these folks have faced.” #utpol
Harrison: "They are particularly disheartened by the amount of unnecessary death and destruction.”
There have been 1.8M people vaccined. Zero deaths from vax. There have been breakthrough infections. The people who die are people like me, with compromised immune systems. #utpol
Harrison: It is extremely rare for vaxxed people to end up in the ICU, on a ventilator or dead. Not true for unvaxxed.
Recently visited ICU. Staff had previously healthy 40-year-old & 50-year-old die. Families “were confused and angry.” Those famlies are changed forever. #utpol
(By the way, if you’re reading the Facebook comments it is apparent that none of this will matter to some people ranting about the fake pandemic. Those people are the worst.)
Harrison: Stop spreading misinformation. Get vaxxed. Wear a mask. Thank a caregiver. #utpol
Now Dr. Chris Miller from Primary Childrens: In May average was 0 in hospital with Covid. With school approaching it was 3-4. Now it’s 7-9.
Currently treating 12-17 children on any given day. 5-7 of them in ICUs.
Intermountain has treated 31-52 children in past week. #utpol
Miller: Also caring for several patients with Covid-related MIS-C. And there is a steady increasein RSV. Seeing 209 cases/week. Numbers usually seen at peak season.
For last few weeks Primary has been at or near capacity, due to flooding, construction and RSV. #utpol
Miller: Protect those patients who can’t get vaccinated by masking, distancing and for everyone who can get vaccinated to get the shots.
Critical to ensure we have the resources to care for Utah children. #utpol
From meeting with legislators etc. it’s clear there is no appetite for statewide mandates beyond what we’re doing. It’s very frustrating. But there are some things we can already be doing. #utpol
Henderson: Goal is to keep kids in school and protect the health care system.
Utah delivered 1.2m high quality masks to schools around the state.
Test-to-Stay program: When schools reach 2% it triggers testing. Students need negative test to return to in-person class. #utpol
Henderson: We believe wholeheartedly in parental choice. Choices have consequences. If a parent chooses not to be tested, the child must stay home. No additional mandate is needed. That is in state law.
Thank public health officials. They’re under pressure & demoralized. #utpol
Cox is back: “It’s been well-documented how much I hate masks. I’m not alone in that for sure. I’ve been fully vaccinated.”
Breakthrough cases happen. Likely lots of people have been infected and don’t show symptoms because of vaccine. #utpol
Cox: “As much as dislike it, especially when I’m around unvaccinated people and immunocompromised people I’m going to try to wear a mask more often.” #utpol
Now for questions.
Winslow: What public health measures are you contemplating?
Cox: Important to note circumstances were different when the bills were passed. Cases down, vax up. We were promised at the time that if things change Lege would revisit that. #utpol
(BTW, this shows how stupid the bill was. The Lege is incapable of responding nimbly even if they wanted to — which many clearly do not.)
Cox: We have to get their support. No other choice moving forward. Open to ideas. They’ve rejected some of ours. Want to hear theirs. #utpol
Cox: Looking at other avenues to treat this as well. Monoclonal antibodies which we’ve been using and novel approaches to alleviate strain on hospitals.
Every idea is on the table but have to have full Legislature engaged.
Cox: We’re encouraging people to wear masks. Legislature won’t accept state mask mandate. Considering requiring masks if spread reaches a threshold until it goes down. #utpol
Cox: Masks have been blown out of proportion.
They are not as effective as the pro-mask crowd thinks. About to see how effective they are against Delta. They won’t single-handedly solve this crisis.
At same time, they’re not the evil some think they are. #utpol
Cox: Anti-maskers and extreme maskers “need to get over ourselves a little bit.” Common sense is missing from the discussion.
Q. What is the next step? Is there one?
Cox: That’s up to legislative leadership. Not a huge appetite for big vax mandates. #utpol
Cox: There are consequences for not getting vaccinated. (He’s unclear on what that is.)
Some insurance companies are offering incentives to get vaxxed. Some in private sector requiring them. Expect insurance to charge unvaxxed more — something they do all the time. #utpol
Cox: Universities requiring vax drove big numbers at Weber St.
Will be discussing how we can get vaccines to people who are struggling. Seen most willingness when docs have conversations one-on-one. #utpol
Q. Does some of the power taken by the Lege need to be clawed back?
Cox: Doesn’t need to be clawed back, but Lege needs to engage. It’s not a two-way door. Changing metrics opens door for a new discussion.
Our form of govt isn’t great for pandemic response. #utpol
Cox: Perhaps we ended up where we did because we didn’t engage closely enough with them. Now things have changed and it’s time to re-engage.
Looking for a consensus to act. If there is we’ll call a special session. If not, “it is what it is and we use the tools we have.” #utpol
Q. What if the Lege doesn’t agree to anything?
Cox: There is immunity from getting Covid.
(Translation: Ride it out.)
No one knows where we hit herd immunity. Delta complicates that. Florida, Ark., Louisiana turning around. #utpol
Cox: Have higher vax than some of those areas so we hope we turn the corner soon. But we’ve added schools to the mix. Increases opportunity for greater spread.
Risk Ratio
Over the past 28 days, unvaccinated Utahns are
• 5.4x as likely to test positive
• 5.9x as likely to be hospitalized
• 4.1x as likely to die.
Over the past week, unvaxxed people account for 88% of cases.
Hospitalizations down 2 since Friday. There are 178 Covid patients in ICU, down 6 from Friday. Referral ICUs 88.5% full.
Risk Ratios:
In last 28 days, unvaxxed Utahns are:
• 5.1x as likely to test positive
• 6.2x as likely to be hospitalized
• 4.9x as likely to die. #utpol