So Many Dead, Devastated, And in Denial

1 in 500 Americans have died of COVID

Idaho is blowing up. Their ICUs are full from an influx of COVID patients.

Still, we headed into the state for vacation, as planned. We did this because our destination, the City of Rocks, is literally at the end of the road and off the grid. The only time we had potential exposure is when we bought gas along the way, used a pit toilet, or passed someone along a trail.

Prior to heading into Idaho, I began following Idaho Capital Sun reporter Audrey Dutton’s coverage of COVID during the spread of the Delta variant in her state. The first tweet of hers I saw:

And what is she reporting? From a recent article:

There’s a 33-year-old man hospitalized in what used to be a cardiac ICU. Just like most of the other patients on this floor, he has COVID-19. He’s on his belly, unconscious, covered by a sheet. There is a breathing tube down his throat, and tubes in other places to drain bad fluids and deliver good ones.

As of Thursday, Sept. 16, he was one of 180 people in Idaho ICUs fighting the disease. Nearly all of them, unvaccinated.

We passed a milestone recently; one of every five hundred Americans have died of COVID. We passed this marker as we spent the last few weeks…