Nurse Jason Doff, wearing a PAPR, and Dr. James Darnton (right) check on a patient in the acute care COVID-19 unit at Harborview Medical Center on Jan. 21, 2022 in Seattle, Wash. The highly transmissible omicron variant is putting a significant strain on health systems nationally resulting in staffing shortages and changes in capacity strategies.
Karen Ducey/Getty Images
Health officials in King County issued an “urgent plea” to the public this week in which they asked area residents to do what they can to help reduce the pressure on county hospitals, which have seen a 700% increase in admissions over the past month.
Officials say the surge in hospitalizations — driven by the extraordinarily contagious omicron variant of the coronavirus — has led to canceled surgeries and long delays in care for patients who don’t have COVID-19.
In a post on the county’s public health blog, Dr. Paul Ramsey, CEO of UW Medicine, said health care workers are counting on the public to help stymie the surge.
“The COVID-19 pandemic is one of the most serious threats to the health of the public in our lifetime,” he said. “While our health care workers continue to provide life-saving patient care under the most difficult circumstance, our call to action is urgent.”
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Environmental Services workers Haimanot Gebre (left) and Aster Mekonen deep clean a non-COVID room with disinfectant in the acute care unit at the Harborview Medical Center on Jan. 21, 2022 in Seattle, Wash. The highly transmissible omicron variant is putting a significant strain on health systems nationally resulting in staffing shortages and changes in capacity strategies.
Karen Ducey/Getty ImagesThe blog post said an average of 70 people are being hospitalized each day, up from just eight people at this time last month. County data show that an average of 3,126 new cases are being reported per day.
Statewide, Washington is seeing nearly 23,000 new cases and 2,500 hospitalizations per day. Roughly 63% of state residents are fully vaccinated.
The spike in hospitalizations over the past month led state Gov. Jay Inslee to recently order a four-week pause on all non-urgent medical procedures, as well as dispatch members of the Washington National Guard to assist staff at several state hospitals.
Members of the National Guard arrive at the Harborview Medical Center on Jan. 21, 2022 in Seattle, Wash. With the significant demand for COVID-19 testing and high occupancy rates at hospitals due to the spread of the omicron variant, the National Guard will help with the daily operational workflow at this testing site set up for staff and families of Harborview Medical Center, and homeless persons who are staying in shelters.
Karen Ducey/Getty Images
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King County’s call-to-action to the public was printed as an ad in Sunday’s edition of the Seattle Times. It was signed by MultiCare Health System, Overlake Medical Center & Clinics, the Seattle Cancer Care Alliance, Seattle Children’s, Snoqualmie Valley Hospital, Swedish, UW Medicine, Virginia Mason Franciscan Health, Public Health – Seattle & King County and the Washington State Hospital Association.
The ad said county residents can help curb the surge in hospitalizations by getting vaccinated; avoiding crowded indoor areas; getting a booster dose; upgrading their mask to an N95, KN95 or KF94; staying out of hospitals unless they’re experiencing a medical emergency; and receiving regular check-ups from their primary care doctor.
Despite the county’s grim virus figures, health officials are confident the omicron surge will slow down in the coming weeks. On Sunday, Dr. Anthony Fauci — the nation’s top infectious disease expert — told ABC News that he was "as confident as you can be" that most states will have reached a peak of omicron cases by mid-February.
"Things are looking good,” he said. “We don't want to get overconfident, but they look like they're going in the right direction right now.”
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