News

NEWS ‘Felt Severely’

The Delta-variant surge pushes local hospital capacity to the brink

By Thadeus Greenson

thad@northcoastjournal.com

Humboldt County’s ongoing record COVID-19 surge — which had seen 1,536 cases confirmed through the first 24 days of August as the Journal went to press — is putting an increasing strain on local hospitals, Health Officer Ian Hoffman told the Board of Supervisors.

“The hospital impact is being felt severely by our local healthcare workers,” Hoffman told the board during an Aug. 24 report, reading from a prepared statement, adding that while there’s some hope case rates have began to plateau, hospitalizations have not. “Many critically ill residents have been transferred out of the county due to a lack of bed space in our local ICUs. Plans have been in the works for weeks at increasing staffing in the hospitals, but due to significant staffing shortages across the state and the U.S., so far, no increase in staffing has been secured as of the time of this report. Humboldt’s ICU capacity has been near or at 100 percent for most of the past two weeks.”

The large influx of COVID-19 patients that has seen at least 67 hospitalized this month, Hoffman said, has resulted in the cancellation of many procedures that are necessary but deemed “non emergencies,” but include things like heart, cancer and back surgeries, some of which had already been deferred due to COVID. Hoffman said he believes roughly 90 percent of the recent cases have been the highly contagious Delta variant.

Underscoring the reverberating impacts of the stretched hospital capacity, Fifth District Supervisor Steve Madrone asked if local hospitals are offering monoclonal antibody treatments, which some tests suggest have been effective in treating early COVID-19 patients who are mildly symptomatic but have underlying conditions putting them at great risk as a means of preventing more severe illness. Hoffman replied that the treatment requires an infusion that takes several hours, which requires space and staff time that are luxuries local hospitals currently don’t have amid the surge.

National, state and local officials, as well as a group of 111 local doctors in a recent letter to the community, have repeatedly advised that the three COVID-19 vaccines being used in the United States — including the Pfizer BionTech vaccine the FDA gave full approval Aug. 23 — are safe and effective. While so-called breakthrough cases in fully vaccinated people are increasingly being seen with the rise of the Delta variant, data shows the vaccines remain incredibly effective at preventing severe illness, hospitalizations and death.

Yet as the Journal went to press Aug. 24, just 52 percent of the local population had been fully vaccinated. At the supervisors’ meeting Madrone urged those who have thus far chosen not to get vaccinated for whatever reason to take other precautions.

“If you want to be unvaccinated, stay home, if you can — or at least wear the mask,” he said.

Fourth District Supervisor and Board Chair Virginia Bass urged residents who had been so upset about last year’s lockdowns to recognize their actions now are impacting local businesses, noting that a single exposure or positive case can close a local business for more than a week.

“It’s impacting a lot of businesses very negatively right now,” she said, before turning her attention to the Humboldt County Fair, which chose to proceed even as most local events canceled, citing worsening COVID conditions. “Personally, I’m not going anywhere near the fair. I think that’s the worst idea. … I think people are in such a hurry to resume life they’re forgetting there’s a bigger picture of how to approach it.”

Hoffman said he’s constantly hearing from business — including restaurants and daycare centers — that have had trouble staying open due to staff exposures or other related issues.

And the vast majority of Humboldt County’s school-age children are slated to return to in-person learning this week and next, as the county is in the midst of an unparalleled case surge. Through the first 24 days of August, it had confirmed a quarter of its total cases from the pandemic’s 19-month duration, as well as 20 percent of its hospitalizations and 14.5 percent of its deaths.

Hoffman indicated he’s worried about children’s ability to simply stay in school amid quarantine and isolation requirements and increasing threats of exposure to kids, staff and teachers, particularly in areas of the county with lower vaccination rates.

“These are very real concerns,” he said. l Thadeus Greenson (he/him) is the Journal’s news editor. Reach him at 442-1400, extension 321, or thad@ northcoastjournal.com. Follow him on Twitter @thadeusgreenson.

Medicare 2021 Part D Low-Income Subsidy (LIS) Lis Income and Asset Resource Limits

Upcoming Vaccination Clinics

LIS Annual Income Limit

Humboldt County Public Health has a noon to 5 p.m. series of no-cost COVID-19 vaccination Humboldt County Fair – main parking clinics scheduled this week. Walk-ins are lot (1250 Fifth St.) Pfizer/Johnson & welcome but appointments are encour- Johnson aged. Sign up — and request help with Petrolia – Friday, Aug. 27, from 10:30 to transportation, as needed — at www. noon vaccines.gov or www.myturn.ca.gov. For Mattole Valley Resource Center (167 more information, call the county joint Sherman St.) Pfizer/Johnson & Johnso information center at 441-5000. Ferndale – Friday, Aug. 27, from noon Please change the tables to read like this: to 5 p.m.Eureka – Wednesday, Aug. 25, from 8:30 to 10:30 a.m. Humboldt County Fair – main parking LIS Annual Income Limit Person(s) Annual Income Limit Individuals/Couples $19,320/$26,130 lot (1250 Fifth St.) Johnson Housing Authority – (735 W. Everding St.) Pfizer/Johnson & Johnson Pfizer/Johnson &

Ferndale – Wednesday, Aug. 25, from Honeydew – Friday, Aug. 27, from 1:30

noon to 3 p.m. LIS Annual Asset Limit to 3:30 p.m. Person(s) Annual Income LimitHoneydew Elementary School (1 Wilder Humboldt County Fair – main parking lot (1250 Fifth St.) Individuals/Couple $13,290/$26,520 Ridge Road) Pfizer/Johnson & JohnsonPfizer/Johnson & Johnson

Eureka – Wednesday, Aug. 25, from 5 to Ferndale – Saturday, Aug. 28, from

7 p.m. That should free up some space to add the Grant disclosures next to the SHIP logo .(see noon to 5 p.m. attached). The text can be found in the ad running in the 6-24 NCJHumboldt County Fair – main parking Highland Park (High St. Parking Area) Pfizer/Johnson & Johnson lot (1250 Fifth St.) Pfizer/Johnson & Fortuna – Thursday, Aug. 26, from 8:30 to Johnson

10:30 a.m. Redway – Sunday, Aug. 29, from 9 a.m.

Dollar General (650 S. Fortuna Blvd.) Pfiz- to 2:30 p.m. er/Johnson & Johnson Redwoods Rural Health Center (101 W. Ferndale – Thursday, Aug. 26, from Coast Road) Pfizer/Johnson & Johnson

Person(s)

Individuals / Couple

Annual Income Limit

$19,320 / $26,130

LIS Annual Asset Limit

Person(s)

Individuals / Couple

Annual Income Limit

$13,290 / $26,520

CONVERSATIONS ON MUHAMMAD ALI:“The production of this document was supported, in part, by grant number CFDA 93.924 from the US Administration for Community Living (ACL), DHHS, Washington, DC. 20201. Grantees undertaking projects under government sponsorship A VIRTUAL EVENT SERIESare encouraged to express freely their findings and conclusions. Points of view or opinions do not, therefore, necessarily represent official Administration of Community Living policy.” Its contents are solely the responsibility of A1AA/HICAP and do not necessarily represent the official views of ACL.”

Call (707) 444-3000 | 1-800-434-0222 for more information.

CONVERSATIONS ON MUHAMMAD ALI:

A VIRTUAL EVENT SERIES “Ali, Race & Religion”

Presented by PBS and The Undefeated

September 9, 4:00pm

Go to KEET.org for details

Corporate funding for MUHAMMAD ALI was provided by Bank of America. Major funding was provided by David M. Rubenstein. Major funding was also provided by The Arthur Vining Davis Foundations, the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, and by The Better Angels Society and by its members Alan and Marcia Docter; Mr. and Mrs. Paul Tudor Jones; The Fullerton Family Charitable Fund; Gilchrist and Amy Berg; The Brooke Brown Barzun Philanthropic Foundation, The Owsley Brown III Philanthropic Foundation and The Augusta Brown Holland Philanthropic Foundation; Perry and Donna Golkin; John and Leslie McQuown; John and Catherine Debs; Fred and Donna Seigel; Susan and John Wieland; Stuart and Joanna Brown; Diane and Hal Brierley; Fiddlehead Fund; Rocco and Debby Landesman; McCloskey Family Charitable Trust; Mauree Jane and Mark Perry; and Donna and Richard Strong. And by viewers like you.