Whatcom sees three new COVID cases Thursday; Lummi examining new vaccine study
Three more Whatcom County residents have tested positive for COVID-19, the Washington State Department of Health reported Thursday, Oct. 29, but there were no more deaths related to the respiratory illness.
Whatcom County now has seen 1,588 confirmed cases and 50 related deaths during the pandemic, according to state data as of 11:59 p.m. Wednesday, Oct. 28. That means that 3.1% of the Whatcom residents who have tested positive for COVID during the pandemic have died.
The state Department of Health data also shows Whatcom County has had 111 hospitalizations (an increase of two) and 79,328 tests have been performed (an increase of of 529 from what was reported Wednesday).
The state’s Risk Assessment Dashboard, most recently updated Thursday for data as of 11:59 p.m. Wednesday, showed that Whatcom County is making two of four Phase 2 metrics goals.
▪ Whatcom is missing the target rate of fewer than 25 new cases per 100,000 residents every 14 days with a rate of 52.4.
▪ Whatcom had an average COVID-19 testing rate per 100,000 people over a week of 257.8. No goal was stated for this metric, however, the overall statewide number was 221.0.
▪ Whatcom is making the target of less than 2% of individuals testing positive for COVID-19 during the past week with a rate of 1.4%.
▪ Whatcom is missing the target of less than 80% of all licensed hospital beds occupied by patients with 88.6% reported by the state.
▪ Whatcom is making the target of less than 10% of all licensed hospital beds being occupied by COVID-19 patients with 2.0% reported by the state.
St. Joseph hospital in Bellingham reported to The Bellingham Herald on Thursday that it was treating five patients for COVID-19, an increase of one from Wednesday.
The Lummi Tribal Health Center Thursday morning announced via Facebook that the 71st and 72nd community members have tested positive for COVID-19 during the pandemic. The Lummi health department has conducted 2,185 tests during the pandemic, and the community currently has three active cases, but has had no coronavirus-related deaths.
Western Washington University’s most recent on-campus student COVID testing data shows that, since Sept. 15, WWU has tested 5,886 students, five of whom had positive tests.
Lummi explores new trial
The Lummi Public Health Department has submitted an application to participate in the Novax COVID-19 vaccine trial, according to a release, and as the tribe attempted to determine whether it should enroll in the trial.
The news comes after Lummi decided to withdraw from an AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine trial earlier this month due to communication problems and a pause to the trial.
“Native peoples are at higher risk of severe symptoms or death from the coronavirus,” Lummi Public Health Department Medical Director Dr. Dakotah Lane said in the release. “The AstraZeneca trial was not a good fit, but we continue to believe it’s important for our people to have the opportunity to volunteer for a trial as we’re at a much higher risk than other populations.”
There is a three-part process Lummi will go through to determine if the trial is right for the community by the Northwest Indian College Institutional Review Board, the Lummi Health and Family Services Commission and then the Lummi Indian Business Council. If all three agencies approve the trial, the Lummi Public Health Department could begin registering volunteers in November, the release said.
“We know there are concerns from our tribal members and we have taken this to heart,” Lummi Nation Chairman Lawrence Solomon, said in the release. “This decision will be made carefully and with community input. Other tribes have experienced such loss from this virus that we want to provide as many options to protect people as possible.”
Vaccine distribution
The Washington State Department of Health said in a release Thursday that it is encouraging healthcare providers to prepare to enroll as approved COVID-19 vaccine providers as part of the department’s continuing distribution planning efforts. This is the first step in setting up COVID-19 vaccine provider locations.
Long-term care facilities also can enroll in a program that will provide COVID vaccine for their residents and staff, according to a release.
“Participation is critical to ensuring that their vulnerable residents are among the first to receive a vaccine when it becomes available,” according to the release.
The Department of Health and Human Services also informed the state Department of Health of a new vaccine preparation timeline, asking the state to have its plan ready by Nov. 15 as a “be ready” date, the release states.
“The intent of setting this date is to help all states be ready to use vaccine as quickly as possible after one is federally approved,” according to the release, adding that the state must submit additional planning to the Department of Health and Human Services by Nov. 2 to support the new timeline.
Numbers elsewhere
COVID-19 cases and deaths according to Johns Hopkins University Thursday afternoon:
▪ The U.S. has more than 8.93 million reported cases, the most of any nation, and 228,602 deaths.
▪ Worldwide, there are more than 44.8 million reported cases and 1.17 million deaths.
In Washington state, the most recent numbers from the Department of Health were reported Thursday afternoon:
▪ 105,557 reported cases, an increase of 814 from data on Tuesday.
▪ 8,467 coronavirus-related hospitalizations, a two-day increase of 109 from data Tuesday.
▪ 2,405,352 total tests, a two-day increase of 42,757 from data Tuesday.
▪ 2,359 deaths related to COVID-19, six more than were reported Tuesday, meaning that 2.2% of the state residents who have tested positive for COVID during the pandemic have died.
Phased reopening
Gov. Inslee on Tuesday, Oct. 13, moved all counties in modified Phase 1 to Phase 2, but his July 28 extension of an indefinite pause on counties moving ahead in the Safe Start Washington plan remains in place. That came a week after Inslee loosened some restrictions for activities and businesses.
That means 22 counties — including Whatcom — are in Phase 2 and 17 counties are in Phase 3.
