Which races were hardest hit during Whatcom’s post-holiday COVID-19 surge?
Whatcom County’s post-holiday COVID-19 surge hit residents identifying as American Indian or Alaska Native disproportionately hard, according to data released by the county health department.
The percentage of cases impacting people in that group was already nearly double its portion of Whatcom’s total population at the end of December, and it grew to nearly three times its total segment in the county.
That increase has been reflected in the numbers reported by the Lummi and Nooksack communities on Facebook. As of Thursday, Feb. 11, the Nooksack Indian Tribe reported 58 confirmed cases — up from 24 reported Dec. 30 — while the Lummi Tribal Health Center reported 390 cases — up from 147 cases reported Dec. 30.
Additionally, Lummi has reported its community’s first three COVID-related deaths since New Year’s.
The Whatcom County Health Department breaks down the percentage of cases each for eight race or ethnicity categories represented in Whatcom’s total count. The Bellingham Herald uses those percentages and the county’s total number of cases to estimate the number of cases each race or ethnicity has seen during the pandemic.
The data was last updated Dec. 29, as the health department said it was working to “increase completeness so that sub-population data is as accurate as possible.” After a request from The Herald, the health department updated its breakdown of how COVID-19 cases are impacting different races and ethnicities in the county on Tuesday, Feb. 9.
The Herald also asked Whatcom Unified Command if it had a breakdown of vaccinations by race and ethnicity, but was told the county does not have that data and that it is waiting for the Washington State Department of Health to make changes to the Washington State Immunization Information System to make that data available.
The case data provided by the county shows that those identifying as American Indian/Alaska Native weren’t the only ones to see their infection rates increase since Dec. 29. Those identifying as white and Asian also saw their percentage of cases grow, though both remain below their portions of Whatcom’s total population.
Those identifying as Hispanic, meanwhile, saw their percentage of cases drop significantly, though it still remained more than double that group’s total population percentage in Whatcom County.
Approximately 21% of all cases (an estimated 1,236 cases) do not have a known race or ethnicity.
Here is what the latest race and ethnicity data, which is through Feb. 8, shows for the county:
▪ Overall: The number of cases reported in the county increased by 76.3% (2,547 cases) between Dec. 29 and Feb. 8, according to the state Department of Health.
▪ White, non-Hispanic: 61.3% of total cases where race is known, up from 58.6% on Dec. 29 (people identifying as white represent 78.7% of Whatcom’s total population). Using that percentage, The Herald estimates 2,849 COVID-19 cases have been in people who identify as white — an 82.1% increase over the Dec. 29 estimate of 1,564 cases.
▪ Hispanic: 23.4% of total cases where race is known, down from 27.9% on Dec. 29 (people identifying as Hispanic represent 9.5% of Whatcom’s total population). Using that percentage, The Herald estimates 1,088 COVID-19 cases have been in people who identify as Hispanic — a 46.0% increase over the Dec. 29 estimate of 745 cases.
▪ American Indian/Alaska Native, non-Hispanic: 7.3% of total cases where race is known, up from 5.1% on Dec. 29 (people identifying as American Indian or Alaska native represent 2.5% of Whatcom’s total population). Using that percentage, The Herald estimates 339 COVID-19 cases have been in people who identify as American Indian or Alaska Native— a 149.2% increase over the Dec. 29 estimate of 136 cases.
▪ Multiracial, non-Hispanic: 2.7% of total cases where race is known, down from 2.8% on Dec. 29 (people identifying as multiracial represent 3.6% of Whatcom’s total population). Using that percentage, The Herald estimates 126 COVID-19 cases have been in people who identify as multiracial — a 67.9% increase over the Dec. 29 estimate of 75 cases.
▪ Asian, non-Hispanic: 2.5% of total cases where race is known, up from 2.3% on Dec. 29 (people identifying as Asian represent 4.3% of Whatcom’s total population). Using that percentage, The Herald estimates 116 cases are in people who identify as Asian — an 89.3% increase over the Dec. 29 estimate of 61 cases.
▪ Black, non-Hispanic: 0.9% of total cases where race is known, down from 1.1% on Dec. 29 (people identifying as Black represent 1.0% of Whatcom’s total population). Using that percentage, The Herald estimates 42 COVID-19 cases are in people who identify as Black — a 42.5% increase from the Dec. 29 estimate of 29 cases.
▪ Native Hawaiian or other Pacific Islander, non-Hispanic: 0.7% of total cases where race is known, unchanged from Dec. 29 (people identifying as Native Hawaiian or other Pacific Islander represent 0.3% of Whatcom’s total population). Using that percentage, The Herald estimates 33 cases are in people who identify as Native Hawaiian or other Pacific Islander — a 74.1% increase from the Dec. 29 estimate of 19 cases.
▪ Other race, non-Hispanic: 1.1% of total cases where race is known, down from 1.6% on Dec. 29 (people identifying as some other race or ethnicity represent 0.0% of Whatcom’s total population). Using that percentage, The Herald estimates 51 cases are in people who identify as a race or ethnicity other than the seven listed above — a 19.7% increase over the Dec. 29 estimate of 43 cases.
State vaccine inequity
A data report released by the Washington State Department of Health on Thursday, Feb. 11, shows that low percentages of Hispanic, Black and multiracial people have received COVID-19 vaccines compared to their percentage of population in the state.
“These data are crucial to understanding how we must balance the need to vaccinate as many Washingtonians as quickly as possible while also promoting equity in the process,” state Secretary of Health Dr. Umair A. Shah said in a release about the data. “While we have been focusing on both throughout, we must all do more to address these COVID-19 vaccine inequities and related access barriers.”
According to the statewide report:
▪ People who identify as Hispanic represent only 4.7% of the people who have received at least one dose of vaccine and 5.9% of those fully vaccinated, compared to their 13.2% representation of the total population.
▪ People who identify as Black represent only 2.2% of the people who have received at least one dose of vaccine and 2.7% of those fully vaccinated, compared to their 3.9% representation of the total population.
▪ People who identify as multiracial represent only 0.2% of the people who have received at least one dose of vaccine and 0.3% of those fully vaccinated, compared to their 4.3% representation of the total population.
▪ People who identify as Native American or Alaska Native represent 2.2% of the people who have received at least one dose of vaccine and 2.9% of those fully vaccinated, compared to their 1.2% representation of the total population.
▪ People who identify as Asian represent 8.3% of the people who have received at least one dose of vaccine and 11.2% of those fully vaccinated, compared to their 9.0% representation of the total population.
▪ People who identify as white represent 66.6% of the people who have received at least one dose of vaccine and 65.8% of those fully vaccinated, compared to their 67.6% representation of the total population.
