Vaccine helping, but not stopping COVID-19 spread, state says, as Whatcom sees 38 new cases
Whatcom County had 38 new confirmed COVID-19 cases reported on the Washington State Department of Health’s coronavirus dashboard Friday, April 24, but no related deaths.
Overall, Whatcom County has seen 7,878 confirmed cases and 89 related deaths during the pandemic, according to state data as of 11:59 p.m. Thursday, April 22. An additional 298 probable cases — an increase of five from Thursday’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 8,176 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 29.6, up from 28.4 on Thursday.
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 152.2 between April 1 and April 14, according to the latest update of the state’s Risk Assessment Dashboard on Friday, 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 5-11, 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
Friday’s vaccination report said that as of 11:59 p.m. Wednesday, April 21, Whatcom County had administered 128,968 doses — up 3.26% (4,075 vaccinations) from Wednesday’s report, which was for data through Monday, April 19.
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 41.03% of Whatcom County residents have initiated a COVID-19 vaccine — ninth-highest in the state and ahead of the statewide average of 39.32%. The state reports 93,546 people in Whatcom County have initiated vaccination — an increase of 2,660 from Wednesday’s report.
▪ The state estimates 27.80% of Whatcom County residents are fully vaccinated — ninth-highest in the state and ahead of the statewide average of 26.82%. The state reports 63,392 people in Whatcom County are fully vaccinated — an increase of 1,920 from Wednesday’s report.
▪ Based on 2019 five-year population estimates from the U.S. Census Bureau, Whatcom County has administered 0.58 doses of vaccine per resident — behind the overall state average of 0.66 doses per person.
J&J vaccine update
A U.S. health panel says it’s time to resume use of Johnson & Johnson’s COVID-19 vaccine, despite a very rare risk of blood clots. Out of nearly 8 million people vaccinated before the U.S. suspended J&J’s shot, health officials uncovered 15 cases of a highly unusual kind of blood clot, three of them fatal. All were women, most younger than 50.
But advisers to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said Friday the vaccine’s benefits outweigh that serious but small risk -- especially against a virus that’s still infecting tens of thousands of Americans every day. The government will rapidly weigh that recommendation in deciding next steps.
Whatcom County has some Johnson & Johnson vaccine doses remaining from before the pause was issued, Whatcom County Health Department spokesperson Melissa Morin told The Bellingham Herald in an email, but providers will not resume using the vaccine until the state Department of Health approves administration by Washington state providers.
Other Whatcom data
▪ 352 total hospitalizations during the pandemic according to the state dashboard, down one from Thursday’s report.
▪ 221,750 molecular tests administered, according to the state dashboard, down 1,126 from Thursday’s report.
▪ Fourteen patients were being treated for COVID-19 at St. Joseph hospital in Bellingham on Friday, according to the hospital, no change from Thursday.
▪ 103 Western Washington University students have tested positive for COVID-19, including 15 from the spring quarter, according to the school’s dashboard, up two from Thursday’s data.
Long-term care update
Whatcom County had two new cases and a related death associated with its long-term care facilities, according to the Washington State Department of Health’s latest COVID-19 Long-Term Care Report.
According to the report, which was released Thursday and reflected data through Sunday, April 20, Whatcom County long-term care facilities have had 351 confirmed cases during the pandemic — up from the 349 in the previous report, which included data through April 12.
The number of COVID-related deaths in Whatcom’s long-term care facilities increased to 46, according to the state’s data.
The 351 cases mean that long-term care facilities had 4.5% of the 7,759 overall cases reported in Whatcom County by Sunday, while the 46 related deaths represent 50.5% of the county’s death total (89).
Statewide, long-term care facilities have been associated with 19,989 cases (5% of the state’s total cases) and 2,644 related deaths (49% of the state’s death total) — an increase of 566 cases and 48 deaths since April 12 — the report showed.
Whatcom’s risk assessment
The state’s Risk Assessment Dashboard was last updated Friday evening for data as of 11:59 p.m. Thursday. It showed:
▪ Whatcom is missing the target rate of fewer than 25 new cases per 100,000 residents April 1 through April 14 with a rate of 152.2 — down from 153.5 on Wednesday and 24th-highest among the 39 counties in the state.
▪ Whatcom had an average COVID-19 molecular testing rate per 100,000 people March 30 to April 5 of 240.3. No goal was stated for this metric, however, Whatcom’s average was down from the 260.3 reported Thursday and third-highest in the state.
▪ Whatcom is missing the target of less than 2.0% of individuals testing positive for COVID-19 March 30 to April 5 with a rate of 4.7% — up from 3.5% on Thursday and 26th-highest in the state.
Statewide situation report
Vaccination is helping, but not enough to stop the spread of COVID-19 according to the latest statewide situation report released Thursday.
The situation report said that due to people’s actions around the state, the reproductive number is 1.72, but if you add in immunity from vaccination or a previous infection, that number drops to 1.29, according to the report.
But, the bad news is that the reproductive number — which represents the number of new infections expected to be caused by each new case — needs to be below 1.0 for a substantial amount of time to actually see the disease shrink in the state, according to the release.
“Vaccination is working, but immunity isn’t high enough yet to combat increasing disease levels. All of us, including people who are fully vaccinated, need to keep taking steps to slow the spread while we vaccinate more people,” Acting State Health Officer Dr. Scott Lindquist said in a news release about the report. “Keep your social circles small and whenever you plan an activity with others, take it outside. Wear your mask every single time you’re around others, indoors or outdoors. If you’ve gotten your vaccine, you still have a role to play – encourage and help people you know to get vaccinated.”
The report also estimated that as of April 2 approximately 26.8% of the state’s population had immunity to COVID — about 15% from vaccination and 11% from previously being infected by the virus.
Case counts were increasing in most counties across the state as of April 8, according to the report, including sharp increases among people 10 to 49 years old.
Numbers elsewhere
New coronavirus cases and deaths according to Johns Hopkins University Friday evening:
▪ The U.S. has more than 31.98 million reported cases, the most of any nation, and more than 571,109 deaths.
▪ Worldwide, there are more than 145.2 million reported cases and 3.08 million deaths.
Washington state reported these numbers from the Department of Health Friday evening:
▪ 365,209 confirmed cases, up 1,369 from reported cases Thursday.
▪ 28,385 probable cases, up 386 from Thursday’s data.
▪ 21,772 coronavirus-related hospitalizations, up 29 from data Thursday.
▪ 6,386,551 total molecular tests, up 16,742 from Thursday’s data.
▪ 5,434 deaths related to COVID-19, up six from Thursday’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 Friday:
▪ 4,919,206 vaccinations had been given as of Wednesday, April 21, an increase of 153,936 from the previous report.
▪ The state has averaged administering 61,184 doses of vaccines the past seven days — up from the average 58,830 reported Wednesday.
▪ The state estimated that 39.32% of the state’s residents (3,010,701 people) have received their first dose of a COVID-19 vaccine and 26.82% percent of residents (2,053,173 people) are fully vaccinated.
▪ 83.08% of the 5,920,730 doses that have been distributed to Washington state providers and long-term care centers have been administered.
This story was originally published April 24, 2021 at 5:00 AM.
