Beds in Harbor Regional Health Community Hospital are filling fast as the flu and ongoing cases of COVID surge in Grays Harbor County and nationwide.
Precautions and common sense are the best tools to keep people healthy and out of a hospital bed, said Harbor Regional Health’s director of marketing and public relations Chris Majors.
“The number one thing people can do is wash their hands. That flu is very transmissible that way,” Majors said in a phone interview. “The reason we didn’t see the flu for the two years everyone was masked up, was because everyone was masked up.”
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Flu vaccines, available at pharmacies and clinics, are also a good preventative decision, Majors said. This year’s vaccine is built to target the strain of influenza, called Flu-A, seen during this year’s seasonal flu epidemic, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Some pharmacies may have certain days where they’re administering shots, or require one to make an appointment ahead of time, while others do walkups.
“Flu-A is the worst one. It is covered under the vaccine. If people haven’t got their flu shot this year, it might save your life,” Majors said. “You might not get any symptoms at all.”
Michael S. Lockett / The Daily World The majority of Harbor Regional Health Community Hospital’s beds are currently occupied by flu or COVID patients as rates surge, requiring some patients be transferred as far away as Idaho.
Full house
The hospital here in Grays Harbor isn’t the only facility with a gutful of patients, Majors said; facilities nationwide are feeling the strain.
“It’s pretty crazy. We actually transferred two people to Eastern Idaho,” Majors said. “When we were at the peak of the worst part of the (Delta-strain COVID) outbreak, that was when we were only stretching into the Oregon area.”
Many facilities from hospitals to long-term care facilities are getting slammed as patients requiring advanced care flood in, Majors said. For example, the Union Gospel Church in Aberdeen’s homeless shelter is currently locked down due to a severe flu outbreak, with no set date for reopening, said Laurel Wiitala, the interim director at the mission.
Patients requiring advanced medical care may be turned away from hospitals whose beds are full.
“It’s not just our area. It’s not just Washington,” Majors said. “Other hospitals are full for more advanced care even if (patients) need it. Being risk-averse is a winning choice.”
Seattle-area Washington, home to many of the state’s medical facilities, has been hammered by an outbreak of respiratory syncytial virus, commonly referred to as RSV. While the outbreak is dying out, it flooded area hospitals for a time, Majors said. Grays Harbor wasn’t hit as hard by RSV, but flu numbers are rapidly increasing everywhere.
“So far in this area, we haven’t had much of the RSV which in Seattle area is clogging up the children’s hospitals,” Majors said. “But the flu is exploding.”
With limited numbers of hospital beds, obviating your particular need for one with vaccines and hand-washing, two extremely simple measures, are your best move, Majors said.
“A flu vaccine is the first and best way to reduce your chances of getting the flu and spreading it to others,” said Grays Harbor County Public Health in a social media post. “CDC recommends that everyone 6 months of age and older receive a flu vaccine every year.”
It could also be as simple as wearing a mask or staying away from someone with a cough in a grocery store, Majors said.
“It’s a problem with not many answers,” Majors said. “It’s imperative that people make good choices to protect themselves.”
Contact reporter Michael S. Lockett at 757-621-1197 or mlockett@thedailyworld.com.
