Whatcom County sees 39 new confirmed COVID cases reported by state Wednesday
Whatcom County had 39 new confirmed COVID-19 cases reported on the Washington State Department of Health’s coronavirus dashboard Wednesday, April 22, but no related deaths.
Overall, Whatcom County has seen 7,798 confirmed cases and 89 related deaths during the pandemic, according to state data as of 11:59 p.m. Tuesday, April 20. An additional 293 probable cases — up three from Tuesday’s report — have been reported in Whatcom County during the pandemic, resulting from positive antigen tests not confirmed by a molecular test.
That means that 1.1% of Whatcom’s 8,091 total cases (confirmed and probable cases combined) have resulted in death — better than the statewide 1.4% average of total cases.
Whatcom County’s daily average of newly reported cases the past seven days is 27.6, up from 25.9 on Tuesday.
Whatcom County is currently in Phase 3 of Gov. Jay Inslee’s Healthy Washington — Roadmap to Recovery plan. On April 12, Inslee announced Whatcom will remain in Phase 3 for at least the next three weeks, though three counties slid back to Phase 2.
To remain in Phase 3, Whatcom must make at least one of two goals set by the state on the next data evaluation date scheduled for May 3:
▪ The first goal is for the county to have fewer than 200 new cases per 100,000 residents in a two-week period. Whatcom’s infection rate was 153.1 between March 30 and April 12, according to the latest update of the state’s Risk Assessment Dashboard on Wednesday, meaning Whatcom is currently making the first goal. Whatcom County’s rate during the last evaluation period (March 20 to April 2) was 154.8.
▪ The second goal is for the county to have fewer than five new COVID-related hospitalizations per 100,000 residents per seven days. Whatcom had three COVID-related hospitalizations (or 1.3 per 100,000 residents) from April 3-9, according to the state’s epidemiological curves. That means Whatcom is currently making the second goal, according to data analysis by The Bellingham Herald. Whatcom County’s rate during the last evaluation period (March 24-30) was 1.3.
Whatcom vaccination update
Wednesday’s vaccination report said that as of 11:59 p.m. Monday, April 19, Whatcom County had administered 124,893 doses — up 2.62% (3,187 vaccinations) from Monday’s report, which was for data through Saturday. That is ahead of the state’s 2.05% increase in doses administered for the same period.
Vaccination data is updated on Monday, Wednesday and Friday afternoons. Here is what data analysis of the latest numbers by The Bellingham Herald showed:
▪ Whatcom County — the ninth most populated county in Washington state with approximately 3% of the state’s total population, according to 2019 U.S. Census estimates — has administered the 10th most doses of the 39 counties in the state.
▪ The state estimates 39.86% of Whatcom County residents have initiated a COVID-19 vaccine — seventh-highest in the state and ahead of the statewide average of 38.24%. The state reports 90,886 people in Whatcom County have initiated vaccination — eighth-highest in the state and an increase of 2,014 from Monday’s report.
▪ The state estimates 26.96% of Whatcom County residents are fully vaccinated — 14th-highest in the state and ahead of the statewide average of 25.90%. The state reports 61,472 people in Whatcom County are fully vaccinated — eighth-highest in the state and an increase of 1,083 from Monday’s report.
▪ Based on 2019 five-year population estimates from the U.S. Census Bureau, Whatcom County has administered 0.57 doses of vaccine per resident — 27th in the state and behind the overall state average of 0.64 doses per person.
J&J vaccine update
Whatcom County providers have administered 5,030 doses of the Johnson & Johnson vaccine to date, the Whatcom County Health Department told The Bellingham Herald in an email.
Last week, the Washington State Department of Health decided to follow guidance from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration and Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and pause the use of the Johnson & Johnson vaccine. The action was taken based on the appearance of rare, but serious side effects — including brain blood clots and low platelet counts — appearing in six women under the age of 50, according to the state Department of Health.
According to a state update Wednesday, the Advisory Committee on Immunizations Practices will hold an emergency meeting Friday, April 23, to talk about the Johnson & Johnson vaccine.
The Whatcom County Health Department told The Herald in an email that it has not heard of any severe adverse reactions to any of the COVID-19 vaccines.
Other Whatcom data
▪ 351 total hospitalizations during the pandemic according to the state dashboard, up one from Tuesday’s report.
▪ 221,396 molecular tests administered, according to the state dashboard, up 426 from Tuesday’s report.
▪ Fourteen patients were being treated for COVID-19 at St. Joseph hospital in Bellingham on Thursday, April 22, according to the hospital, down three from Wednesday.
▪ 101 Western Washington University students have tested positive for COVID-19, including 13 from the spring quarter, according to the school’s dashboard, unchanged from Tuesday’s data.
Whatcom’s risk assessment
The state’s Risk Assessment Dashboard was last updated Wednesday evening for data as of 11:59 p.m. Tuesday. It showed:
▪ Whatcom is missing the target rate of fewer than 25 new cases per 100,000 residents March 30 through April 12 with a rate of 153.1 — unchanged from Monday and 23rd-highest among the 39 counties in the state.
▪ Whatcom had an average COVID-19 molecular testing rate per 100,000 people March 28 to April 3 of 279.1. No goal was stated for this metric, however, Whatcom’s average was down from the 280.5 reported Tuesday but third-highest in the state.
▪ Whatcom is missing the target of less than 2.0% of individuals testing positive for COVID-19 March 26 to April 1 with a rate of 3.3% — down from 3.4% on Tuesday and 28th-highest in the state.
Testing site to close
The COVID-19 testing site operated by the Whatcom County Health Department and Whatcom Unified Command at the Northwest Washington Fairgrounds in Lynden will end operations on Wednesday, April 28, according to a news release.
The site has seen reduced use since COVID cases peaked in Whatcom County in January, as the number of tests performed each week since then has dropped by about 87%, according to the release.
Low-barrier COVID test will still be provided seven days a week from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. at Bellingham International Airport. It can administer up to 500 tests per day, but in recent weeks has only been used between 200 and 300 times per day, according to the release.
“The Bellingham site can absorb the volume of testing that has been happening at the Lynden site,” Whatcom County Health Department Communicable Disease and Epidemiology Manager Cindy Hollinsworth said in the release. “As we’ve done throughout this pandemic response, we are adjusting to the current public health needs. Consolidating our testing operations at the Bellingham testing site allows us to focus more energy on vaccinations.”
State vaccine allotment
The Washington State Health Department reported it expects more vaccine doses from the federal government to be delivered next week, according to a news release Wednesday, and the numbers over the next three weeks should continue to climb.
The three-week forecast is:
▪ Week of April 25: 370,340 total doses, including 191,680 first doses and 178,660 second doses. Among those, the state is expecting 212,940 Pfizer doses and 157,400 Moderna doses.
▪ Week of May 2: 377,360 total doses, including 191,680 first doses and 185,680 second doses. Among those, the state is expecting 219,960 Pfizer doses and 157,400 Moderna doses.
▪ Week of May 9: 383,360 total doses, including 191,680 first doses and 191,680 second doses. Among those, the state is expecting 219,960 Pfizer doses and 163,400 Moderna doses.
Numbers elsewhere
New coronavirus cases and deaths according to Johns Hopkins University Thursday morning:
▪ The U.S. has more than 31.8 million reported cases, the most of any nation, and more than 569,000 deaths.
▪ Worldwide, there are more than 144.0 million reported cases and 3.0 million deaths.
Washington state reported these numbers from the Department of Health Wednesday evening:
▪ 362,276 confirmed cases, up 1,172 from reported cases Tuesday.
▪ 27,938 probable cases, up 324 from Tuesday’s data.
▪ 21,632 coronavirus-related hospitalizations, up 36 from data Tuesday.
▪ 6,346,452 total molecular tests, up 24,252 from Tuesday’s data.
▪ 5,422 deaths related to COVID-19, up 15 from Tuesday’s data. That means 1.4% of all Washington residents who have tested positive for coronavirus have died.
According to the state’s latest vaccination report on Wednesday:
▪ 4,765,270 vaccinations had been given as of Monday, April 19, an increase of 95,807 from the previous report.
▪ The state has averaged administering 58,830 doses of vaccines the past seven days — less than the Department of Health’s new stated daily goal of 90,000 and up from the average 56,048 reported Monday.
▪ The state estimated that 38.24% of the state’s residents (2,927,970 people) have received their first dose of a COVID-19 vaccine and 25.90% percent of residents (1,982,674 people) are fully vaccinated.
▪ 81.87% of the 5,820,340 doses that have been distributed to Washington state providers and long-term care centers have been administered.
This story was originally published April 22, 2021 at 9:36 AM.
