Idaho’s COVID-19 death toll surpasses 3,000 as state adds 47 new deaths Wednesday

The number of Idahoans who have lost their lives to COVID-19 has reached another unfortunate milestone.

The Idaho Department of Health and Welfare reported 47 new coronavirus-related deaths on Wednesday, bringing the state’s total to 3,040 since the start of the pandemic, up from 2,993 deaths on Tuesday.

Idaho’s case fatality rate sits at about 1.15%.

In December 2020, the mean age for Idaho residents who succumbed to the virus was 77.9. That average has dropped to 70.71 through September. Of the 47 new deaths added Wednesday, three of the individuals were in their 30s, two were in their 40s, four were in their 50s, 12 were in their 60s, 14 were in their 70s and 12 were 80 or older.

Idaho’s seven-day moving average for new COVID-19 cases has stayed above 1,000 per day for 27 consecutive days. With 1,367 new cases reported Wednesday, the seven-day average has reached 1,320.6 cases per day. That average would be higher if not for a backlog of more than 8,200 cases for the most recent two-week period, as local health districts struggle to keep up with case data entry.

Ada and Canyon counties accounted for about 45% of Wednesday’s new COVID-19 cases, with 414 and 203, respectively. Ada County’s seven-day moving average surpassed 400 cases per day last week and currently stands at 431. Canyon County’s seven-day average is 216.4.

Since a peak of 793 patients hospitalized statewide with COVID-19 on Sept. 24, Idaho’s hospitalization numbers have been trending downward. As of Monday, there were 715 patients hospitalized, including 184 in intensive care. Of those patients, 14 are children, according to Health and Welfare.

Dr. Jim Souza, chief physician executive at St. Luke’s Health System, said Wednesday that the St. Luke’s ICU mortality rate is currently above 40%, higher than the 28% rate last December. He said St. Luke’s has six children hospitalized with COVID-19, two of whom are in the pediatric ICU. Souza said 98% of patients in the ICU are unvaccinated.

Health and Welfare Director Dave Jeppesen said on Tuesday that the greater hospital bed availability this week could be attributed, in part, to the high number of deaths recently.

St. Luke’s now scheduling booster shots

St. Luke’s Health System is administering Pfizer COVID-19 booster shots to eligible individuals who have already received their initial Pfizer vaccine series. Appointments can be made online at stlukesonline.org/mychart or by calling 208-381-9500.

The groups currently eligible to receive a Pfizer COVID-19 booster shot are those 65 and older and those 18 and older who work in long-term care settings, have underlying medical conditions and/or work or live in high-risk settings. There also must be six months between the end of the initial series and the additional booster.

Souza clarified that for someone 65 or older who received the Moderna or Johnson & Johnson doses, just being in that age group is not enough to get the Pfizer booster shot. They would have to be at least 65 years old and have some sort of underlying condition to allow for the “mixing” of vaccines.

Souza recommended that the public check all the conditions that apply on the CDC website.