Health

Natrona County has had a tough time with COVID-19 with high numbers of people hospitalized. Meanwhile, only 35 percent of the county has been fully vaccinated. County Health Officer Dr. Mark Dowell joins Bob Beck to discuss the vaccine and what it might take to turn things around.

The Biden administration announced last month that it will require nursing home staff to get vaccinated, or facilities could face losing federal funding. Wyoming Public Radio's Kamila Kudelska reports state facilities are concerned this will increase the existing staff shortage.

Memorial Hospital of Sweetwater County has opened a second COVID unit in its same day surgery department. This comes about a week after the hospital announced it was canceling elective surgeries due to increase of COVID-10 patients and staff shortages.

The Biden administration announced last month that it will require nursing home staff to get vaccinated against COVID-19. Facilities that don't comply could lose federal funding. But nursing home administrators are worried it could end up hurting already significant staff shortages.

The Hot Springs County School District raised some eyebrows when they canceled activities like football and pushed classes to online offerings this week to a sudden spike in COVID-19 cases. The cases have impacted the entire town. Wyoming Public Radio's Bob Beck spoke with Hot Springs County Health Officer Vernon Miller and he explained the situation.

On August 31, Memorial Hospital of Sweetwater County announced they are canceling all elective surgeries. This comes right after the Rock Springs hospital had a completely full ICU over the weekend. Wyoming Public Radio's Kamila Kudelska spoke with the director of emergency services and incident commander Kim White to understand why elective surgeries had to be canceled.

Memorial Hospital of Sweetwater County has canceled all elective surgeries. This comes as the hospital deals with an influx of COVID-19 patients.

As the COVID-19 delta variant drives case counts to their highest levels in months, Montana Gov. Greg Gianforte amplifies misinformation about the effectiveness of masks in schools.

In the last two weeks, 372 confirmed active COVID-19 cases were reported in Teton County. 53 percent of those were breakthrough cases. That means vaccinated individuals tested positive for the virus. Rachael Wheeler, the public health response coordinator for the Teton County Health Department, said this number gives a false sense that the vaccine isn't working.

An analysis by the Center for Rural Strategies found that many rural communities' vaccination rates are still lagging behind the national average, but some are closing the gap – including Montana’s conservative Flathead Valley.