19 residents, staff sickened in COVID-19 outbreak at this Whatcom long-term care facility
A total of 19 residents and staff at Avamere Bellingham Healthcare and Rehabilitation have tested positive for COVID-19, the Whatcom County Health Department said on Saturday, May 8.
Two people have been hospitalized, and a man in his 80s, who was diagnosed with COVID-19, has died, according to the Whatcom County Health Department.
The Whatcom County Health Department has been responding to the outbreak in coordination with the skilled nursing facility since being notified of a confirmed case associated with Avamere on April 24, the department said in response to questions from The Bellingham Herald, which heard about the cases from a reader with family there.
Health department officials are waiting for death certificate information, which will verify whether the man’s cause of death was COVID-19 or other causes, the health department said.
Six of the 19 confirmed cases were among people who were fully vaccinated, meaning they tested positive for COVID-19 two weeks or more after they received the full course — one or two shots, depending on which one they received — of a COVID-19 vaccine. They are known as breakthrough cases.
“Vaccine breakthrough cases, though rare, are to be expected, especially among older people and those who are immunocompromised,” the health department said.
Dr. Elizabeth Burns, a representative for Avamere’s parent company, said in a prepared statement that it was “deeply saddened by the loss of any one of our residents to this virulent enemy.”
“As a skilled nursing facility providing compassionate patient-centered care, we are also a family humbled by this virus, fiercely dedicated to protecting and caring for our staff and our most vulnerable population,” said Burns, the chief medical officer for the Avamere Family of Companies.
“The loss of any resident, no matter what the reason, is nothing short of devastating — our thoughts and prayers are with the family members and loved ones who have been impacted,” Burns added.
Avamere is at 1200 Birchwood Ave. in Bellingham.
Breakthrough cases
Health officials also discussed the efficacy of vaccines and the impact of higher incidents of COVID-19 circulating in Whatcom County, including among those who have been vaccinated against the respiratory illness.
“Vaccines are very effective, but no vaccine is 100% effective, and they are less so with greater age or when the immune system is weak,” said Dr. Greg Stern, Whatcom County health officer, in a prepared statement. “Higher levels of COVID-19 in the community increase the risk of exposure to the virus, and with more cases in the community, we also anticipate more breakthrough cases.”
Burns also said officials expect to see breakthrough cases because of “increasing age and comorbidities.”
“The great news is we have systems in place that track these trends to investigate possible variants or any vaccine quality control issues,” Burns said.
Finding the cause behind local breakthroughs isn’t likely because there isn’t enough data from the small numbers, health officials said, adding that data aggregated — in vaccine monitoring and quality systems — at the state and federal levels will help officials learn more.
“Breakthrough cases may be random or related to the person’s age and immune status, could be due to variants that are more resistant to the vaccines, or could be due to problems with the particular batch of vaccine,” Stern said.
“Information from further testing for variants and information on the types and lots of vaccines that were received, combined with similar information from other cases throughout the state and country, that’s what’s needed to understand the reasons behind breakthrough cases,” he added.
Burns said the nursing home had early access to COVID-19 vaccines once they were authorized for use.
“Recent data from the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid shows that nursing homes have seen a 96 percent decline in new COVID cases among residents since the peak during the week of Dec. 20 of last year, along with the lowest number of new COVID cases,” Burns said. “In addition, COVID-related deaths in nursing homes declined by 91 percent since Dec. 20, 2020, which is a testament to how highly effective these vaccines are.”
Reporting outbreaks
As for why the Whatcom County Health Department didn’t release information sooner about the outbreak, spokeswoman Melissa Morin provided a number of reasons:
▪ “It’s our job to let people know about risks to the public’s health,” she said in response to The Herald’s question. “COVID-19 is spreading throughout our county, and the risk of getting COVID-19 is real and present everywhere, not just in places where outbreaks occur.”
▪ She said officials also must protect personal health information, “and we respect the privacy of residents and facilities like this.”
▪ “Given all that, we don’t release information about outbreaks unless we can’t identify the close contacts at risk or if there is an elevated risk to the general public,” Morin said.
As of Saturday, May 8, the state reported Whatcom County has seen 8,423 confirmed cases — 58 on Friday, May 7 — and 92 related deaths during the pandemic. The state estimates 55.55% of eligible Whatcom County residents (those 16 and older) have initiated a COVID-19 vaccine and 40.82% are fully vaccinated.
Whatcom County was missing both goals to remain in Phase 3 of Gov. Jay Inslee’s Healthy Washington — Roadmap to Recovery plan on Friday. The county’s most recent infection rate per 100,000 residents in a two-week period was 206.6, over the goal of 200. And the county’s rate for new COVID-related hospitalizations per 100,000 residents per seven days was 7.10, over the goal of 5.
Long-term care update
Long-term care facilities in Whatcom County have had 363 confirmed cases of COVID-19 during the pandemic, according to the most recent report from the Washington State Department of Health, which reflected data through Monday, May 3.
The number of COVID-related deaths in long-term care facilities in Whatcom remained at 46, according to the COVID-19 Long-Term Care Report released on Tuesday.
The 363 cases mean that long-term care facilities had 4.4% of the 8,197 overall cases reported in Whatcom County by Monday, while the 46 related deaths represent 50.5% of the county’s total of 91 deaths.
Statewide, long-term care facilities have been associated with 20,188 cases (5% of the state’s total cases) and 2,658 related deaths (48% of the state’s death total).
This story was originally published May 8, 2021 at 12:27 PM.
