Washington hospital officials continue to sound the alarm over the surge of COVID cases they say is driven by unvaccinated people.
Taya Briley of the Washington State Hospital Association says the state is facing its worst COVID wave since the pandemic began.
And she says hoped-for help from the National Guard won’t be coming.
“We do not think we will have much relief coming from the National Guard,” says Briley. “We have made inquiries about that with the state and they feel like those resources are deployed elsewhere and will not be available to us.”
Hospitals are canceling necessary surgeries and taking longer to deal with heart attacks and strokes because COVID patients are taking up so many beds.
And while hospitals in Washington are being asked to help neighboring Idaho with its crisis, Dr. Chris Baliga with Virginia Mason in Seattle says their ability to do so is limited.
“We’re stretched. So do we get transfers from Idaho? Yeah. We do,” says Baliga. “Are we helping? Yes. But is our capacity limited? Yes.”
Hospitals in northern Idaho are so packed that facilities are now allowed to ration care.