Data Snapshot
UW Medicine Hospitals:
King County: The county reported 295 new positive cases and 5 new deaths on Aug. 17.
Washington: The state reported 468,350 cases and 6,269 deaths as of Aug. 16.
United States: The CDC reports 36,951,181 cases and 620,493 deaths as of Aug. 17.
Global: WHO reports 207,784,507 confirmed COVID-19 cases and 4,370,424 deaths as of Aug. 16.
Numbers update frequently, please follow links for most up-to-date numbers.
UW Medicine COVID-19 Vaccine Distribution Update
Total Vaccine Doses Administered: 356,577
As of Aug. 17, 2021.
UW Medicine in the News
The Seattle Times: Washington hospitals filling as pandemic labor shortage strains health care system
Featuring: Sommer Kleweno Walley, Interim Chief Executive Officer, Harborview Medical Center; Mark Taylor, BSN, RN, CCRN-K, Interim Associate Administrator, Harborview Emergency Services
“As they fill up, hospitals are juggling their depleted staff, paying overtime and converting single-patient rooms into doubles.
“Administrators say they are coping with the pressure, and not turning away patients. “We are still fully functional and providing ongoing care to any patient,’ said Mark Taylor, RN, BSN, CCRN, associate administrator at Harborview.
“On August 11, Harborview had more than 500 patients in beds, an ‘unprecedented’ number, Kleweno Walley told the county officials. The hospital is licensed for 413, but can add beds to handle surges.”
KOMO: Younger, unvaccinated COVID-19 patients fill ICU at Seattle’s Harborview Medical Center
Featuring: James Town, MD, Medical Intensive Care Unit, Division of Pulmonary, Critical Care and Sleep Medicine; Shelby Elizaga, RN, ICU
“‘Now we’re seeing almost only younger people, we’re seeing people from their 30s to their 50s, more than 90% of patients, in fact I think all of the patients in our hospital now, are unvaccinated patients,’ said Dr. James Town, medical director of the medical ICU at Harborview.
“Town was halfway through his 12-hour shift, and about 17 months into a pandemic that is now revealing cruel rhythms.
“‘The number of cases that we diagnosed in the community will pick up, and then about a week later we start to see more hospitalizations, and then about a week after that is often when we start to see an uptick in the mortality rate,’ he said.”
Spokesman-Review: Breakthrough COVID-19 cases are growing, though still rare. Here’s what one Spokane woman experienced.
Featuring: Josh Liao, MD, MsC, General Internal Medicine
“After a massive vaccination effort followed by the CDC loosening mask mandates in May, then Washington reopening in June, the public messaging signaled that the pandemic was nearly over.
“But vaccines alone – without masking, distancing, testing or tracing – were never going to be the way forward.
“‘It’s not the only strategy; it never was,’ said Dr. Josh Liao, a professor at the School of Public Health at the University of Washington.
“Initially, the vaccine push was aimed at herd immunity, trying to beat back the virus before it could mutate and infect more people.
“‘I think that push was well-intentioned, but I think our slowness in getting there and the inability to get above where we are now has led to variants and the need to go backwards,’ Liao said.
“That push backwards includes other strategies used previously in the pandemic, like mask recommendations now in place virtually everywhere in the country.
“‘Masks have to happen now, but it wasn’t like once you got a shot you would never need to mask, distance or do those other things,’ Liao said.”
Tweet of the Week
A @UWMedicine study out now in @JAMANetworkOpen finds that pregnant or lactating women handle #COVID19 vaccinations well. More than 20,000 women have now contributed surveys worldwide, which serve as the basis of the study. @UWashOBGYN #vaccines #pregnant https://t.co/pgiG427qrZ pic.twitter.com/SEGCUhHaIF
— UW Medicine Newsroom (@uwmnewsroom) August 17, 2021
