Pierce County seeing rise in COVID hospitalizations as state braces for Omicron surge
Washington state hospital officials on Thursday described the state’s hospital systems as “stressed but not broken” but the rapidly-spreading Omicron variant could put that resilience to the test.
“The surge that we’ve talked about coming has not yet hit from Omicron,” Taya Briley, Washington State Hospital Association’s executive vice president, told reporters during a Thursday news briefing.
An exception though, exists in Pierce and South King County, both areas that are now seeing a rise in COVID hospitalizations.
“We are seeing an increase in South King County and Pierce County regarding COVID patient care at this point in time, which absolutely could be the beginning of the impact from the new variant,” said Mark Taylor, director of operations for the Washington Medical Coordinating Center based at UW Harborview Medical Center.
Dr. Michael Myint, physician executive for population health at MultiCare Health System, which serves Pierce, Thurston, King counties and the Spokane area, said its Pierce and South King County hospitals were seeing a slow rise in COVID patients.
“After our initial peak in our Delta surge where we had over 150 (COVID-positive) patients in this region ... in our hospitals, we got down as low as in the mid-80s And we’re back up to 106 as of today.”
He noted that MultiCare’s Capital Medical Center was seeing varying rates of COVID illness, and for now its Spokane system was “relatively stable and luckily on the lower end, but we’re seeing the rates in the community go up now. We’re anticipating that those rates in Spokane County may continue to rise.”
This rise in the Pierce-South King County region may offer an early glimpse of the next wave. COVID hospitalizations statewide for now are at an average of 575 this past week, compared with the prior week’s average of 626, according to Briley.
The seven day average of patients on a ventilator was 86, down from the previous week’s average of 101, Briley said, with an average of 12 to 15 COVID deaths a day.
King County health officials have estimated that hospitalizations as a result of Omicron will inevitably surpass previous Delta peaks, despite early indications from overseas that Omicron was less severe.
“There is a bit of a math problem here,” Myint said. “Because even if the percent of patients that require hospitalizations is lower for Omicron ... If enough patients get infected through the holidays, that may continue to strain our already strained systems.”
He also noted the higher transmission levels of Omicron could further strain staff who will need to isolate and quarantine if infected.
“Even with the lower levels of COVID patients, our hospitals have been running over 100 percent capacity,” he added.
Inability to move non-critical patients out who need further care and strained staffing have been contributing to the current overload for some time.
Briley noted that if the state has to move to crisis standards of care, where medical care is essentially rationed based on level of need, “That will be a decision that is made at the state level. No individual hospital is actually going to be in the role of making that decision.”
Later Friday, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention issued new guidance for health care systems, recommending that asymptomatic workers could go back to work after seven days and a negative test, with isolation time reduced even more if there are staffing shortages. Those with high-risk exposures but also who’d received their complete vaccine doses, including a booster, also would not need to home-quarantine.
Officials on Thursday implored the state’s residents to gather safely during the holidays, using layered strategies including masking, making sure rooms have adequate ventilation and avoiding overcrowding.
“Invest in high-quality well-fitted medical grade disposable masks,” Briley said. “Gather in small groups... mask up indoors, maintain distance and make sure you are in a well-ventilated space.”
She added: “Consider whether anyone attending your holiday gatherings are high risk and take steps to minimize that risk. Get vaccinated and get your booster and make sure those at your gatherings are vaccinated and boosted.”
The state’s first three Omicron cases were detected in early December in King, Pierce and Thurston counties. The state Department of Health’s variant update of Dec. 22 showed a total of 171 Omicron cases among those lab-sequenced in the state, with 12 of those in Pierce County and 126 in King County.
This story was originally published December 23, 2021 at 2:06 PM.
