From DHW Director Dave Jeppesen: When will Idaho exit crisis standards of care; encouraging pregnant women to choose to get the COVID-19 vaccine

On By idhwmediaIn Director Updates

When will Idaho be able to exit crisis standards of care?

That is a question I receive quite frequently. When Gov. Brad Little and I answered questions through the AARP Town Hall earlier this week, several people asked us about this and shared stories of postponed surgeries and delayed healthcare that caused them frustration and distress. That is not what anyone wants. We all want healthcare availability to return to normal.

The short answer to that question is that Idaho will deactivate crisis standards of care when the surge of COVID-19 patients ends and the number of patients no longer exceeds the healthcare resources available.

Below are a few examples that will let us know we can leave crisis standards of care:

  • Non-clinical or non-traditional spaces or rooms are no longer being used to care for patients in hospital and healthcare systems settings
  • Patients who should be admitted to the hospital are admitted to traditional hospital rooms, and are no longer being kept for long periods in emergency rooms
  • Instead of large hospitals transferring patients to small hospitals, we can return to normal where small hospitals can transfer critical care patients to large hospitals as needed
  • At least some postponed, less critical surgeries can continue (we are starting to see this happen in some hospitals in Idaho)
  • Staff-to-patient ratios can return to normal
  • The trend of new cases and hospitalizations continues to decline

When the situation changes in Idaho, crisis standards of care will be deactivated, and the public will be informed immediately.

Safe, effective, and recommended: Pregnant women should choose to get the COVID-19 vaccine

It is safe for pregnant women to get the COVID-19 vaccine. Getting the vaccine causes the body to create protective antibodies for both the mom and baby. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and a panel of experts have concluded that the vaccine is safe for pregnant women and their babies. As a reminder:

  • Pregnant and recently pregnant women are more likely to get severely ill with COVID-19 compared with women who are not or who have not recently been pregnant.
  • Evidence about the safety and effectiveness of COVID-19 vaccination during pregnancy has been growing. These data suggest the benefits of receiving a COVID-19 vaccine outweigh any known or potential risks of vaccination during pregnancy.
  • There is currently no evidence that any vaccines, including COVID-19 vaccines, cause fertility problems in women or men.
  • There is no evidence that COVID-19 vaccination causes any problems with pregnancy, including the development of the placenta.
  • Women who are pregnant or who have been recently pregnant are at an increased risk for severe illness from COVID-19 and should strongly consider vaccination.

Listen to the recording of the media briefing focused on pregnancy and the COVID-19 vaccine, with our special guest, Dr. Guillermo Guzman, an OB/GYN with Saint Alphonsus Health System: https://coronavirus.idaho.gov/covid-19-vaccine/

More information is available at: https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/vaccines/recommendations/pregnancy.html

Veteran’s Day

I want to thank and recognize the Idaho men and women who have served in the U.S. Armed Forces, along with their families. Thank you for your service, and I hope you know how much I and your fellow Idahoans appreciate you.

I hope you all have a safe and healthy weekend.

One thought on “From DHW Director Dave Jeppesen: When will Idaho exit crisis standards of care; encouraging pregnant women to choose to get the COVID-19 vaccine”

  1. Steven Wallace

    Crisis Standards of Care:

    You herded ’em into the hospitals with scary covid bedtime stories and questionable testing. Why not just herd ’em out with the truth? If you do what I suggest, this crisis will disappear faster than fish wrap on a hot, humid summer afternoon.

    Simply require every hospital, clinic, and pharmacy, as part of legally mandated informed consent protocol, to inform patients that medical errors are the THIRD leading cause of death in the U.S. This notification should be posted at all patient entrances and waiting rooms, and printed on all treatment consent forms. Every prescription drug label should have this warning on it. Every medical or pharmacy webpage, including yours, should have a banner across the top with this warning. Every healthcare worker’s smock, lab coat, or uniform should have this warning embroidered on it. Every television, magazine, and newspaper pharmaceutical ad should contain this warning. Public or private schools and businesses choosing to post a “mask required” or “mask recommended” sign, at their entrance, should be required to place additional signage warning patrons that medical errors are the THIRD leading cause of death. Medical error is the real pandemic and the jab and unhealthy masking requirements may just bump it up to first or second place.

    When you propose this initiative to Governor Little and he starts squirming uncomfortably in his chair and begins to snivel about the negative impact it will have on big donor campaign bucks, remind him that it’s not about protecting him and his interests, but rather about protecting the interests of all Idahoans. It’s the neighborly thing to do. Remind him of his “civic duty” and that personal sacrifice “for the greater good” was the hype he used to justify shuttering businesses and limiting personal freedoms. Now, it’s his turn.

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