Hospitals still seeing COVID-19 patients, despite lower numbers

IDAHO FALLS, Idaho (KIFI) - Idaho Falls Community Hospital and Eastern Idaho Regional Medical Center are continuing to see COVID-19 patients, as cases continue to decrease.

Several viewers have reached out saying the hospitals haven't had any patients for weeks.

However, both IFCH and EIRMC say that isn't true.

Coleen Nieman, the public information officer with EIRMC, said in an email, "COVID hospitalizations have declined significantly, and there have been a few days in the last week where there were no COVID inpatients. However, most days we have had two to three inpatients hospitalized with COVID."

At IFCH, they've seen the same thing, saying while the vast majority of patients they've seen recently are coming in for non-coronavirus needs, they've "Treated COVID patients over the course of the last week. However, we did see a noticeable dip in those numbers," Natalie Podgorski said.

State health officials say the number of newly confirmed coronavirus cases in Idaho continues to drop, and the vast majority of the infections are occurring in unvaccinated people.

Idaho’s vaccination rates continue to lag behind national rates. Just 49% of all Idaho adults have been vaccinated, compared to more than 63% of adults nationally. Idaho Public Health Administrator Elke Shaw-Tulloch says it could take until the fall for 70% of Idaho adults to be vaccinated.