Whatcom sees one death, 105 new COVID-19 cases, as vaccine supply remains short
Another Whatcom County resident who tested positive for COVID-19 has died and the number of confirmed cases in the county climbed by 105, the Washington State Department of Health’s dashboard reported on Wednesday, Feb. 3.
Overall, Whatcom County has seen 5,735 confirmed cases and 66 related deaths during the pandemic, according to state data as of 11:59 p.m. Tuesday, Feb. 2, meaning 1.1% of all COVID cases in Whatcom County have been linked to a death.
Forty-four additional probable cases — an increase of 10 from Tuesday’s report — have been reported in Whatcom County during the pandemic, resulting from positive antigen tests not confirmed by a molecular test.
The COVID-related death reported Wednesday is Whatcom’s 11th reported so far in 2021. According to the state’s epidemiologic curves, the person first tested positive for COVID-19 on Jan. 11, becoming the third person to initially test positive on that date to later die. No other information, such as gender or age, were reported.
The 105 new cases reported Tuesday mean Whatcom County has had 2,266 cases — or 39.5% of its pandemic total — reported in 2021, and it has averaged 57.9 reported cases per day the past week. It is the ninth time Whatcom had more than 100 new cases reported in a day — all of which have occurred in 2021.
The state cautioned that Wednesday’s data may include up to 560 duplicate cases statewide.
The state Department of Health data Wednesday also showed Whatcom County has had 286 hospitalizations during the pandemic, an increase of five from Tuesday’s report.
The state reported that a total of 153,842 molecular tests have been administered in Whatcom County during the pandemic — an increase of 1,900 tests from Tuesday’s report — meaning 3.7% of all reported tests during the pandemic have come back positive. The state cautioned that negative test results from Nov. 21-30 are incomplete.
Wednesday’s vaccination report said that as of 11:59 p.m. Monday, Feb. 1, Whatcom County had administered 16,360 vaccinations — an increase of 596 vaccinations from Monday’s report, which was through 11:59 p.m. Saturday, Jan. 30. An average of 520.0 Whatcom County residents per day received a vaccination dose from Jan. 26-Feb. 1, up from the 488.9 seven-day average on Monday. Vaccination data is released Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays.
The state estimates that 7.33% of the county (or approximately 16,514 residents) have received their first dose of a COVID-19 vaccine and 1.72% of the county (or approximately 3,875 residents) are fully vaccinated. The number of vaccines given and people vaccinated may not match, according to the dashboard, because people may be vaccinated in counties other than where they live.
According to the data released Wednesday, Whatcom residents have received approximately 2.1% of the 773,346 total vaccine doses administered in the state — down from 2.2% in Monday’s report — and has administered the 10th-most doses in the state. For comparison, Whatcom County represents 3.0% of the state’s total population and is the state’s ninth-largest county, according to 2019 U.S. Census estimates.
The Lummi Nation reported on Facebook Wednesday that it has provided 772 first doses of vaccine, meaning approximately 10% of the Lummi community has received its first dose, and that more than 300 people have been fully vaccinated.
St. Joseph hospital in Bellingham, which is licensed and staffed for 241 beds, reported to The Herald on Thursday it was treating 24 patients for COVID-19, a decrease of three from Wednesday’s report. St. Joseph has banned visitors at the medical center until further notice while COVID-19 remains a public health threat.
Bellingham school sees case
Carl Cozier Elementary school saw its first COVID-19 case this school year, according to Bellingham Public School’s COVID-19 dashboard on Wednesday, though it was the 12th case the district has seen since in-person learning resumed.
Only one case has been reported at Carl Cozier, though it did require one class return to remote learning, according to the dashboard, with an expected return date of Feb. 16.
Carl Cozier joins Bellingham’s list of schools that have seen a COVID case, including Birchwood (three cases), Geneva, Sunnyland, Wade King, Silver Beach, Alderwood and Lowell elementaries, Fairhaven Middle School and a 12th case at a non-school location. None of the district’s 12 incidents have included more than one reported case.
The district estimates 2,600 students have returned for in-person learning and 900 staff members are working on site.
Whatcom’s risk assessment
The state’s Risk Assessment Dashboard was last updated Wednesday evening for data as of 11:59 p.m. Tuesday, Feb. 2. With a shift to “Healthy Washington” goals to resume business activities, the state is more specific on reporting dates for some metrics. The dashboard does not update on the weekends.
Whatcom County was missing the marks on two key metrics:
▪ Whatcom is missing the target rate of fewer than 25 new cases per 100,000 residents Jan. 11-24 with a rate of 406.6 — a decrease from 431.9 reported Tuesday. Whatcom County has the 10th-highest infection rate in the state, according to Tuesday’s data.
▪ Whatcom had an average COVID-19 molecular testing rate per 100,000 people Jan. 10-16 of 440.7. No goal was stated for this metric, however, the overall statewide number was 307.9, and Whatcom’s average was an increase from the 419.8 reported Tuesday.
▪ Whatcom is missing the target of less than 2.0% of individuals testing positive for COVID-19 Jan. 10-16 with a rate of 7.9% — a decrease from the 8.6% reported Tuesday and the 15th-lowest in the state.
The latest Healthcare System Readiness risk assessment dashboard, updated Wednesday evening for data through Tuesday, shows for the North region, which combines Whatcom, Skagit, Snohomish, San Juan and Island counties:
▪ Occupied beds: 1,068 of the region’s 1,250 adult hospital beds (85.4%) were occupied, missing the state’s goal of 80% or less and an increase of 69 occupied beds from data Tuesday.
▪ COVID occupied beds: 96 of the region’s 1,250 adult hospital beds (7.7%) were occupied by COVID patients, making the state’s goal of 10% or less and a decrease of one occupied bed from data Tuesday.
▪ Occupied ICU beds: 96 of the region’s 136 adult ICU beds (70.6%) were occupied. The state does not have a goal for this metric, but it was an increase of five beds being used from data Tuesday.
▪ COVID occupied ICU beds: 26 of the region’s 136 adult ICU beds (19.1%) were occupied by COVID patients. The state does not have a goal for this metric, but it was an increase of two beds being used from data Tuesday.
Vaccine supply short
COVID-19 vaccines remain in short supply locally, Whatcom County Health Director Erika Lautenbach told the County Council, which was meeting as the Health Board on Tuesday.
Whatcom County received only 700 doses of vaccine against COVID-19, this week, Lautenbach said.
“This is a structural issue,” Lautenbach said. “This is a nationwide shortage and a statewide shortage that is resulting in a lot of confusion and frustration for all of us.”
Whatcom County Executive Satpal Sidhu was also critical of the scant amount of vaccine made available to Whatcom County providers.
“We all understand that the supply of vaccine is limited, but there is no excuse for the fact that the doses are not equitably distributed,” Sidhu said in an email to The Bellingham Herald. “Why has the state been more generous with some counties than others? That undermines trust in government at all levels.”
A total of 32 providers have been approved by the state to inoculate people in Whatcom County, from small pharmacies and private medical clinics to large chains and the PeaceHealth system.
Together, providers countywide could have administered 8,000 to 9,000 doses, she said.
“The news is what the news is. There is not enough vaccine,” Lautenbach said.
— Robert Mittendorf, rmittendorf@bhamherald.com
Numbers elsewhere
New coronavirus cases and deaths according to Johns Hopkins University Thursday morning:
▪ The U.S. has more than 26.5 million reported cases, the most of any nation, and more than 450,000 deaths.
▪ Worldwide, there are more than 104.5 million reported cases and 2.2 million deaths.
Washington state reported these numbers from the Department of Health Wednesday evening:
▪ 301,372 confirmed cases, an increase of 1,354 from reported cases on Tuesday.
▪ 14,922 probable cases, an increase of 248 from Tuesday’s data.
▪ 17,987 coronavirus-related hospitalizations, an increase of 96 from data Tuesday.
▪ 4,645,828 total molecular tests, an increase of 31,060 from Tuesday’s data.
▪ 4,388 deaths related to COVID-19, an increase of 72 deaths, but deaths were not reported Tuesday by the state due to another data processing error.
According to the state’s latest vaccination report, which is updated Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays:
▪ 773,346 vaccinations had been given through Monday, an increase of 44,710.
▪ The state has averaged administering 27,902 doses of vaccines the past seven days — almost two-thirds of the Department of Health’s stated daily goal of 45,000, but a decrease from the average 28,115 reported Monday.
▪ The state estimates that 8.33% of the state’s residents have received their first dose of a COVID-19 vaccine and 1.87% percent of residents are fully vaccinated.
▪ Approximately 1,028,000 doses have been delivered to Washington state providers (an increase of approximately 132,000 from Monday’s report) and 132,600 doses have been delivered for the CDC’s long-term care program (unchanged from Monday’s report).
▪ Of the approximately 1,160,600 doses delivered, 66.62% have been given.
Washington state actions
In the “Healthy Washington” plan introduced by Gov. Jay Inslee Jan. 5, business resumption is tied to targets by health system regions. Whatcom is tied to Skagit, San Juan and Island counties in the plan.
The state will run analyses every other Friday to determine whether regions will move backward or forward in phases the following Monday, officials said.
All regions began in Phase 1 on Jan. 11, and the Puget Sound and West Region will move to Phase 2 Monday, Feb. 1. It allows live entertainment with ticketed groups of up to 10 people and very limited fitness activities such as appointment-based training in gyms.
Phase 2 allows restaurants and indoor fitness centers to open indoors at 25% capacity and allows for sports competitions to resume with limited spectators, and wedding, and funeral ceremonies can increase capacities.
Whatcom County is in the North Region, along with Skagit, San Juan and Island counties, and remains in Phase 1.
This story was originally published February 4, 2021 at 8:29 AM.
