UW Medicine’s Emergency Operations Center (EOC) reports on our ability to maintain normal operations using a scale from “monitoring” to “high level of activation” based on information about community transmission rates, hospital admissions, staffing capacity, space availability, PPE supplies and other impacts on the health system. This update provides a quick look at some of the key data used by the EOC to determine UW Medicine’s current level of activation. For more detailed information, you can review the EOC’s situation status reports.
EOC Level of Activation
March 29, 2022: The EOC is at a Low-Mid Level of Activation based on current numbers for COVID-19 admissions and community transmission. COVID-19 patients represent 1.23% of hospital admissions. UW Medicine hospitals are caring for 14 patients with COVID-19.
UW Medicine COVID-19 Inpatients
Daily Capacity Data Report
The Daily Capacity Data Report shows the total occupancy and the number of COVID-19 patients at each hospital.
King County and Washington State Epidemiology
King County: Public Health – Seattle & King County is reporting 373,210 cases and 2,688 deaths as of March 28. The number of new cases over the last seven days is currently at 56.7 per 100,000 people.
Washington: The Department of Health reports 1,453,251 total cases and 12,454 deaths as of March 27.
EOC Priorities
Lessons Learned Survey (Final Week, Closes April 1): UW Medicine’s Emergency Management response to COVID-19 has involved everyone in our organization. Please provide your feedback to guide our systemwide planning in the future. The survey can be completed in less than 10 minutes.
Survey link: https://redcap.link/LessonsLearnedSurvey
Second Booster Doses (New): Today, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) authorized a second booster dose of the Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna COVID-19 vaccines for older people and certain immunocompromised individuals. The FDA cited emerging evidence that a second booster dose of an mRNA COVID-19 vaccine improves protection against severe COVID-19 and is not associated with new safety concerns.
Pending approval by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, UW Medicine will follow these criteria:
- A second booster dose of the Pfizer-BioNTech or Moderna COVID-19 Vaccine may be administered to individuals 50 years of age and older at least 4 months after receipt of a first booster dose of any authorized or approved COVID-19 vaccine.
- A second booster dose of the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 Vaccine may be administered to individuals 12 years of age and older with certain kinds of immunocompromise at least 4 months after receipt of a first booster dose of any authorized or approved COVID-19 vaccine. These are people who have undergone solid organ transplantation or who are living with conditions that are considered to have an equivalent level of immunocompromise.
- A second booster dose of the Moderna COVID-19 Vaccine may be administered at least 4 months after the first booster dose of any authorized or approved COVID-19 vaccine to individuals 18 years of age and older with the same certain kinds of immunocompromise.
COVID-19 Therapeutics (New): Later this week, UW Medicine will start offering a new monoclonal antibody treatment (Bebtelovimab) due to increased rates of the omicron subvariant (BA.2) regionally. UW Medical Center – Montlake is now offering the Evusheld prophylactic treatment to transplant patients during their inpatient stay. The COVID-19 Therapeutics Team is also exploring additional administration sites and increasing patient outreach for Evusheld.
UW Medicine Masking Policy (Effective March 28): UW Medicine continues to require masks for patients, visitors, vendors or healthcare workers while working in any of the clinical footprints, including administrative spaces. See UW Medicine Masking Policy Update: Clinical and Non-Clinical Requirements. UW and UW Medicine personnel who do not work in clinical areas can follow the UW masking policy.
Employee Booster Requirement (Deadline March 31): All employees except those working in non-clinical roles in the School of Medicine are required to get a first COVID-19 vaccine booster or complete the declination process. For more information, please see COVID-19 Booster Campaign.
Stay Informed
In the Media:
- Are masks effective if you’re the only one wearing one? A UW doctor weighs in, Dr. John Lynch, Infectious Diseases, KING5 News
- Omicron subvariant found in 25% of cases tested at UW Medicine lab, Dr. Alex Greninger, Laboratory Medicine, Associated Press
- We Study Virus Evolution. Here’s Where We Think the Coronavirus Is Going, Jesse Bloom, Genome Sciences, The New York Times
Ongoing communications:
- Emergency Operations Updates: Scheduled for Tuesdays.
- Dr. John Lynch COVID-19 Update: Scheduled for Thursdays every two weeks.
- Town Halls: Generally scheduled for 3 p.m. on Fridays; Check your email for announcements (recordings available).
- Community Conversations: Check you email for dates and times (recordings available).
- EOC Situation Reports: Posted on the UW Medicine intranet (AMC login required).
- Leadership Messages and Employee Resources: Posted on The Huddle.
Sincerely,
UW Medicine Leadership
