BOISE, Idaho — This article originally appeared in the Idaho Press.
In Rexburg last December, a doctor named Russ McUne rolled up his sleeves and became the first Idahoan to receive the COVID-19 vaccine.
Some followed in his footsteps this year, but others have put off or resisted vaccinations as hospitals have struggled with staffing, available beds and the sheer amount of oxygen needed to save patients in their care.
“This pandemic has always been in our control,” said David Pate, a physician and retired CEO of St. Luke’s Health System in Idaho. “It’s out of control because we failed to exercise control over it.”
The “greatest tragedy” is those who made decisions based on misinformation, Pate said. Vaccines absolutely work, he said. The past year will end with Idaho at the bottom of the list nationwide for percentage of the population with a first dose and percentage fully vaccinated. The Gem State just narrowly deactivated Crisis Standards of Care in all health districts before the end of the year on Dec. 20.
This year was like a rollercoaster, said Nurse Practitioner Brad Bigford, but without extreme high points, just extreme low points.
“September and October were really horrible,” Bigford said. “We sent more people to the hospital and emergency rooms and called 911 more times in the past six months than we did in the previous four years.”
Fewer people were staying at home and masking in public this year in certain parts of Idaho, Bigford said, and more dangerous variants of the disease, like delta and omicron, were prevalent. In India, a delta-fueled surge in the spring peaked at over 400,000 new cases a day.
This year, Idaho had widespread vaccines available. Yet only 46% of Idahoans are fully vaccinated.
As the delta wave swept through the U.S., many Gem State residents had no protection against the virus.
Idaho had over 32,000 more cases this year than last year, as of Dec. 20. Almost 1,000 more Idahoans died of COVID-19 in 2021 than in 2020. Hospitalizations peaked at 793 on one day this year, higher than last year’s record of 496 in one day. Pediatric hospitalizations rose to 15 this year from a high of 10 last year.
In October, an infant died of COVID-19.
Intensive care unit admissions peaked at 213 this year over 2020’s high water mark of 126.
In Idaho, nearly all COVID-19 patients were unvaccinated, according to multiple news reports.
“I think what is so disappointing is that here we are in 2021 and our knowledge of epidemiology, of viruses, of vaccines has never been greater,” Pate said. “We’ve made such tremendous advances and yet we had so many unwilling to take advantage of that.”
There is a variety of reasons why some have been unwilling, including distrust of the government.
Dr. Ted Epperly, an Idaho native and CEO of Family Medicine Residency of Idaho, said in a recent interview with the Idaho Capital Sun that, in a sense, the Intermountain West and Rocky Mountain West is the last frontier in the continental United States. In many cases, those who migrated here in the 1800s wanted to get away from government.
“They wanted to be distanced and spaced, and they didn’t want people telling them what to do,” Epperly told the Capital Sun. “So it’s been a perfect breeding ground, I think, for that kind of libertarian thinking.”
Some individuals, however, have based current decisions during the pandemic on misinformation, Pate said.
“We have great tools at our disposal, it’s just that so many people are not willing to avail themselves,” Pate said. “We certainly have to take that into consideration for our next pandemic planning, because there will be another pandemic.”
But for now, the current pandemic does not seem to be abating. The omicron variant made up 73% of new infections as of Dec. 20.
Omicron has been spreading rapidly, likely due both to increased transmissibility and its ability to evade immunity, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
“Omicron won’t be the last,” Pate said. “It’s going to continue to pose a threat to all those who are susceptible, especially when they are indoors for prolonged periods of time, whether that’s going to be at work, at school, at church, at events.”
This article originally appeared in the Idaho Press. Read more at IdahoPress.com
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