COVID-19 cases are on the rise again throughout Wyoming, and local health officials are dealing with both the impact of increased cases and burnout among health care workers, all while still trying to encourage the public to take the situation seriously.
“I think the impression in our county is that it’s all gone away, but it hasn’t,” Sweetwater County Health Officer Dr. Jean Stachon said during the monthly COVID-19 update meeting held through Zoom for local health officials and county leaders.
Dr. Stachon said “things are heating up” across the state. After months of relatively low case numbers, Wyoming is again seeing increases in new cases. Most Wyoming counties are now in “red” and “orange” zones, meaning they have high or moderate to high transmission levels of COVID-19.
Sweetwater County had around 40 active cases on Monday when the meeting was held and was in the “red” zone with high transmission levels. Dr. Stachon noted our county is not leading the state in active cases or transmission levels, as it has at times in the past, but that doesn’t mean things won’t get worse again.
Memorial Hospital of Sweetwater County has seen an increased number of COVID-19 patients, according to Kim White, the hospital’s incident commander, and “it’s not just the elderly or immunocompromised anymore.” White said the hospital has been admitting patients in their 30s and giving oxygen to people who would not be considered high risk. There is no rhyme or reason to who COVID affects and how, and even those who survive may have to deal with long-term effects, according to White.
In addition to rising cases, local health officials are facing the effects the pandemic has had on health care workers. Dr. Cielette Karn of Sweetwater Memorial said there is a nursing shortage across the country, and she believes “we burned a lot of them out” during the first wave of COVID-19 and “this next wave could be as bad if not worse.” White said the hospital is not immune to the nursing shortage, and the staff is dealing with the difficulties of dealing with the pandemic.
“It’s getting heart wrenching,” White said, explaining that hospital staff have to deal with pressure and exhaustion that make it hard to come to work.
Public Health Director Kim Lionberger agreed, saying that health workers have had to deal with burnout, anxiety, and despair since the pandemic began, and it’s not going away.
Burnout among health workers can lead to staffing shortages that make it difficult to deal with increased cases. Dr. Karn noted that hospitals in Salt Lake City are experiencing this reality. Doctors from Utah are reporting that their Intensive Care Units are down to a more limited number of beds because they don’t have enough nurses, and increased numbers of patients mean the ICUs are maxed out most of the time. Dr. Karn said many ICUs in Salt Lake City have to refuse to take patients, whether they’re COVID-19 patients or not.
As far as the recent rise is COVID-19 cases, Lionberger said she believes both the presence of the Delta variant of COVID-19 and the relatively low vaccination rates in Wyoming play a part. Many of the cases in Sweetwater County have been identified as the Delta variant, Lionberger said.
State Health Officer Dr. Alexia Harrist said in a press release that the Delta variant is dominant in Wyoming right now, with most new cases in the state likely linked to the variant.
“The Delta variant must be taken seriously because it spreads much more easily between people than the COVID-19 we’ve become familiar with,” Harrist said. “There are also concerns from experts that as the Delta variant spreads the number of breakthrough cases will increase.”
Breakthrough cases refer to cases of COVID-19 in people who have been fully vaccinated. Dr. Stachon noted that, currently, most of the cases of COVID-19 in Sweetwater County are among those who are unvaccinated. White said that the Wyoming Department of Health reported about 5% of cases in Wyoming have been breakthrough cases. Dr. Karn pointed out that breakthrough cases are usually milder and typically don’t result in hospitalization or death.
Health officials continue to encourage the public to get vaccinated if they have not yet. Dr. Karn said it’s “distressing from a physician’s point of view” to know that we have an effective solution for dealing with COVID in the vaccine and people won’t get it.
“Please reconsider,” Dr. Karn said to those who aren’t vaccinated. “This is not a political decision, it’s about public health.”
Despite overall low vaccination rates in Wyoming, the vaccine does continue to be distributed in Sweetwater County, and is readily available. Public Health has walk-in vaccine clinics on weekdays, Sweetwater Memorial has a drive-thru vaccine clinic every Wednesday, and vaccines are available through local pharmacies.
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