Hospital Association: COVID-19 Hospitalizations Inch Downward in State, Concern Over Unvaccinated Congregating

There’s new research from the Washington Department of Health showing people vaccinated for COVID-19 tend to congregate together while unvaccinated people do the same.

State Hospital Association CEO Cassie Sauer shared the information Monday, saying there’s concern about the unvaccinated group.

"Those clusters of risk for unvaccinated people grow even greater because they're spending so much time around other folks who are unvaccinated who are more likely to transmit the disease to them," said Sauer. "So this is really worrisome information."

There’s also concern about lower vaccination rates among long-term care workers and first responders, which could make it difficult for patients to get to hospitals and long-term care centers.

The Hospital Association is reporting a 7 percent drop in COVID-19 hospitalizations in the last week across the state.

There’s also been roughly five fewer deaths a day from the virus during the same time frame.

However, Sauer thinks the public has grown numb to the numbers, which still total 10-15 deaths daily.

"If there was someone who was shooting 10-15 people per day, or there was a kind of a car that malfunctioned and caused crashes that killed 10-15 people per day, I think the response in our state would be tremendous," Sauer said. "We continue to feel in the hospital community like there's more of an 'Oh Well' to these deaths."

There is a positive expectation among Hospital Association members that a federal announcement about vaccinations for 5-11 year-olds will be coming by the first of November.

The Hospital Association hosted its weekly public briefing to discuss the new information Monday. Sauer said the briefings may transition to once every two weeks, which would signal improving conditions with the pandemic within the state.