Whatcom still seeing ‘vast majority’ of new COVID cases among unvaccinated residents
As of May 16, Whatcom County had 50 breakthrough cases, where a fully vaccinated person has tested positive for COVID-19, the Whatcom County Health Department reported to The Bellingham Herald.
That represents 0.056% of the approximately 89,300 Whatcom County residents who are fully vaccinated, spokesperson Melissa Morin reported.
The 50 cases also represent 1.4% of the 3,602 Whatcom residents who have tested positive for COVID-19 since Jan. 22 — the first day a Whatcom resident could have been considered fully vaccinated after the Pfizer vaccine was first administered in the county on Dec. 18 — according to analysis by The Bellingham Herald.
“We continue to see stark differences in case rates between unvaccinated and vaccinated people in our county, and the vast majority of new infections are among those who are unvaccinated,” Morin wrote.
Earlier this month, the health department and officials at St. Joseph hospital in Bellingham reported that no patients hospitalized with COVID-19 were fully vaccinated.
Because Whatcom County is too small of a sample size and not every specimen is genetically sequenced, Morin said that the health department does not have data about how many of the 50 breakthrough cases are associated with variant strains.
The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention stopped tracking breakthrough cases after April 26, instead focusing on vaccine breakthroughs that resulted in hospitalization or death. As of April 26, more than 9,245 breakthrough cases had been reported from 46 states, the CDC reported.
As of May 17, the CDC reported 1,949 breakthroughs have resulted in hospitalization and/or death, which is less than 0.016% of the more than 123 million fully vaccinated U.S. residents at the time.
Whatcom weekly update
Whatcom County continued to see a slowing in the number of new confirmed COVID-19 cases it had reported by the Washington State Department of Health’s coronavirus dashboard last week, further signs that it is emerging from its fourth wave during the pandemic.
The state did not report new data Saturday, May 22, due to scheduled maintenance on the dashboard over the weekend.
Still, Whatcom County’s case total grew by 165 last week, as its total number of cases during the pandemic grew from 8,662 on Saturday, May 8, to 8,827 on Friday, May 21 — an average of 27.5 cases per day.
That average was down from the 34.1 cases per day (239 total) reported the previous week and the 39.7 average (278 total) from two weeks ago and was the best average Whatcom has seen since it averaged 26.2 cases per day (184 total) between April 18 and 24.
Whatcom County also saw 11 new COVID-related hospitalizations reported last week after seeing 10 the week before.
St. Joseph hospital reported it was treating 14 COVID patients on Monday, May 24, which was down from 17 on Sunday, May 16.
Also last week:
▪ Whatcom’s infection rate (the number of new cases in a two-week period per 100,000 residents based on epidemiological data from eight days earlier) was unchanged from May 14, remaining at 229.8 on Friday, May 21, according to the state’s Risk Assessment Dashboard.
▪ Whatcom’s weekly hospitalization rate (the weekly number of new COVID-related hospitalizations per 100,000 residents based on epidemiological data from 10 days earlier) decreased from 7.9 to 3.9 on Friday, according to analysis by The Bellingham Herald.
▪ The number of reported vaccine doses administered in Whatcom County last week increased 6.4% from the previous week — climbing from 11,546 the week of May 9 to 12,286 last week.
PeaceHealth vaccine update
PeaceHealth in Whatcom County plans to distribute 850 first doses of the Pfizer vaccine this week — less than a third of the 3,000 it planned to distribute last week, according to its weekly vaccine update on Monday.
Additionally, PeaceHealth reported it plans to distribute 785 booster (or second) doses — down from 1,500 last week.
As all doses are the Pfizer vaccine, individuals 12 and older are eligible to receive doses, though parental consent is needed for those under 18.
PeaceHealth reported it will continue to scale its vaccine distribution as community demand requires.
Check for available appointments by going to its online scheduling tool at peacehealth.org. PeaceHealth affiliation isn’t required to get the COVID-19 vaccine from PeaceHealth. Or, call 833-375-0285 from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m., Monday through Friday. The phone line doesn’t accept messages.
For other vaccine sites, check with your health care provider or go to Washington state’s Vaccine Locator tool at vaccinelocator.doh.wa.gov.
Whatcom County seniors who aren’t tech-savvy or who are homebound and need help with transportation or have other barriers to getting a COVID-19 vaccine appointment can call 360-746-3450, which is being offered by the Whatcom Council on Aging.
The Washington State Department of Health also offers assistance at 800-525-0127, then press #. Language assistance is available.
As of Friday, the state Department of Health dashboard reported that 176,298 vaccine doses had been administered in Whatcom County and that 59.90% of Whatcom’s residents 16 and older had initiated vaccine and 48.91% were fully vaccinated.
Approximately 569 residents per day initiated vaccination last week week, according to The Herald’s analysis, and at that rate, it will take Whatcom County until June 22 to reach 70% of residents 16 and older initiating vaccination.
Bellingham schools report cases
Bellingham Public Schools reported on its dashboard Friday that it had two new COVID-19 incidents in its schools, making a total of nine incidents it reported last week and 17 in the past two weeks.. All 17 of those incidents, including the two most recent, involved just a single COVID-19 case, according to the dashboard.
The two new reported cases included:
▪ A case reported at Shuksan Middle School that required select contacts return to remote learning or quarantine with an expected return date of June 1.
▪ A case reported at Wade King Elementary that required select contacts return to remote learning or quarantine with an expected return date of June 4.
The district now has had 54 incidents and 58 reported cases since it began returning to in-person learning. All 54 incidents required at least select contacts return to remote learning or quarantine.
The district estimates 9,190 students have returned for in-person learning and 1,600 staff members are working on site.
