Whatcom surpasses 100,000 residents starting vaccination, but case, hospital numbers climb
On the positive side of Monday’s data release by the Washington State Department of Health’s coronavirus dashboard, Whatcom County surpassed 100,000 residents initiating a COVID-19 vaccination and nearly 40% of all eligible residents are fully vaccinated.
But the data also showed the county is only a handful of new cases and just two hospitalizations away from failing both criteria for the next evaluation period to remain in Phase 3 of Gov. Jay Inslee’s Healthy Washington — Roadmap to Recovery plan.
Inslee on Tuesday, May 4, announced a two-week pause to the state’s “Healthy Washington — Roadmap to Recovery” plan, which means counties will stay at their current level of COVID-19 restrictions, for now. Data metrics for each county were expected to be announced Tuesday, but Inslee’s announcement will delay that for two weeks.
Whatcom County County Health Department Director Erika Lautenbach said last week that she believed Whatcom County would remain in Phase 3 when the newest Roadmap to Recovery metrics were released Tuesday, but she added she is “concerned about our ability to maintain that Phase 3 status upon the next evaluation.”
That next data evaluation now appears to be just two weeks away, meaning Whatcom County could be facing a chance of rolling back to Phase 2 then if its numbers continue in the same direction.
Monday’s data release likely did little to ease those concerns, as the dashboard showed 52 new COVID-19 cases and two COVID-related hospitalizations added to Whatcom County’s pandemic totals. No new COVID-related deaths were reported, though.
Overall, Whatcom County has seen 8,197 confirmed cases and 91 related deaths during the pandemic. An additional 312 probable cases — an increase of three from Saturday’s report — have been reported in Whatcom County during the pandemic, resulting from positive antigen tests not confirmed by a molecular test.
Whatcom County also has had 374 COVID-19 hospitalizations during the pandemic. St. Joseph hospital in Bellingham reported it had 28 active hospitalizations Tuesday — just three shy of its pandemic high 31 on Jan. 29.
Whatcom County’s daily average of newly reported cases the past seven days is 33.9, up slightly from an average of 33.6 one week earlier (April 20-26).
On April 12, Inslee announced Whatcom would remain in Phase 3 for at least the next three weeks, though three counties slid back to Phase 2. The latest metrics, which will determine each county’s phase for the next three weeks, are expected to be released Tuesday.
To remain in Phase 3, Whatcom must make at least one of two goals set by the state on the next data evaluation date:
▪ 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 190.4 from April 12-25, according to the latest update of the state’s Risk Assessment Dashboard on Monday, meaning Whatcom is currently making the goal. That rate was up from the 183.8 reported Friday. 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 10 COVID-related hospitalizations (or 4.4 per 100,000 residents) from April 16-22 according to the state’s epidemiological curves. That means Whatcom is currently making the goal, according to data analysis by The Bellingham Herald, which also showed the county would fail the metric with 12 hospitalizations in a week. Whatcom County’s rate during the last evaluation period (March 24-30) was 1.3.
Whatcom vaccination update
Monday’s vaccination report said that Whatcom County has administered 147,394 doses — up 3.93% (5,578 vaccinations) from the last report. That was slightly ahead of the state’s 3.58% 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 show:
▪ 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 ninth-most doses of the 39 counties in the state.
▪ The state estimates 54.15% of eligible Whatcom County residents (those 16 and older) have initiated a COVID-19 vaccine — sixth-highest in the state. The state reports 102,102 people in Whatcom County have initiated vaccination — an increase of 2,176 from the last report.
▪ The state estimates 39.32% of eligible Whatcom County residents are fully vaccinated — 11th-highest in the state. The state reports 74,129 people in Whatcom County are fully vaccinated — an increase of 2,176 from the last report.
▪ Based on 2019 five-year population estimates from the U.S. Census Bureau, Whatcom County has administered 0.67 doses of vaccine per resident — 27th highest in the state and behind the overall state average of 0.75 doses per person.
▪ Statewide, there have been 5,587,640 vaccine doses administered — up 193,171 from the last report. So far, 3,342,189 residents (54.40% of all eligible residents in the state) have initiated vaccination and 2,389,071 (38.88%) have completed it.
Bellingham schools report case
Bellingham Public Schools reported on its dashboard Monday that it had a new COVID-19 incident at Northern Heights Elementary School last week. The incident involved one confirmed case and required one class return to remote learning with an expected return date of May 17.
The district now has had 35 incidents and 37 reported cases since it began returning to in-person learning.
The district estimates 9,190 students have returned for in-person learning and 1,600 staff members are working on site.
Lynden schools see cases
The Lynden School District’s COVID-19 dashboard showed three new COVID-19 cases spread over three incidents in its schools when it was updated Monday.
The new incidents, according to the dashboard, included:
▪ One new case reported the week of April 19-23 at Lynden Middle School. The incident did not require anybody else return to remote learning or quarantine.
▪ One new case reported the week of April 19-23 at the district’s preschool. The incident required some individuals to return to remote learning or quarantine with an expected return date of May 10.
▪ One new case reported the week of April 26-30 at Bernice Vossbeck Elementary. The required one class return to remote learning or quarantine with an expected return date of May 11.
Overall, the district’s dashboard reports there have been 71 cases spread across 48 incidents since Lynden students began returning to classes. Twenty-three incidents have required some students and/or staff to temporarily return to remote learning or quarantine.
Blaine schools report cases
The Blaine School District’s COVID-19 dashboard reported a total of four cases in four incidents in its schools in April.
The new incidents, according to the dashboard, included:
▪ One new case reported the week of April 12-16 at Blaine Primary School. The incident did not require anybody else return to remote learning or quarantine.
▪ One new case reported the week of April 12-16 at Blaine Middle School. The incident required some individuals to return to remote learning or quarantine.
▪ One new case reported the week of April 12-16 at Blaine Elementary School. The incident required some individuals to return to remote learning or quarantine.
▪ One new case reported the week of April 19-23 at Blaine High School. The incident required some individuals to return to remote learning or quarantine.
Overall, the district’s dashboard reports there have been 13 cases spread across nine incidents since Blaine students began returning to classes. Five incidents have required some students and/or staff to temporarily return to remote learning or quarantine.
Numbers elsewhere
New coronavirus cases and deaths according to Johns Hopkins University Tuesday morning:
▪ The U.S. has more than 324 million reported cases, the most of any nation, and more than 577,000 deaths.
▪ Worldwide, there are more than 153.6 million reported cases and 3.2 million deaths.
Washington state reported these numbers from the Department of Health Monday evening:
▪ 377,019 confirmed cases, up 2,137 from the last report.
▪ 30,172 probable cases, up 345 from the last report.
▪ 22,472 coronavirus-related hospitalizations, up 139 from the last report.
▪ 6,590,447 total molecular tests, up 41,674 from the last report.
▪ 5,507 deaths related to COVID-19, up eight from the last report.
This story was originally published May 4, 2021 at 9:30 AM.
