Whatcom surpasses vaccination milestones, but sees another COVID-related death reported
On the same day it surpassed three vaccination milestones, Whatcom County received a reminder that there is still plenty of work to be done before it can move past the COVID-19 pandemic.
Whatcom saw its 98th COVID-related death of the pandemic reported by the Washington State Department of Health’s coronavirus dashboard on Monday, May 22. In addition, the dashboard showed the county with 60 new confirmed cases and one-related hospitalization, as the state reported three days’ worth of data Monday due to scheduled maintenance to the dashboard Saturday.
On the positive side for the county’s vaccination efforts, the state reported that as of Monday:
▪ More than half of all Whatcom residents (50.65%) have initiated vaccination.
▪ More than 60% of all eligible Whatcom residents (61.25%), defined as residents 16 and older by the state, have initiated vaccination.
▪ More than half of all eligible Whatcom residents (51.14%) have completed vaccination.
“This milestone moves Whatcom County closer to the 70% vaccination threshold established for reopening by the Governor,” Whatcom County Health Department Director Erika Lautenbach told The Bellingham Herald in an email. “It also means half of our total population is or is on the road to becoming much less susceptible to contracting or transmitting the virus, protecting all of us from the potentially damaging health impacts of COVID.
“I’m especially encouraged to see so many of our young residents move so quickly to get vaccinated. Every shot gets us closer to the people we love and things we love to do.”
Overall, Whatcom County has seen 8,887 confirmed cases, 415 hospitalizations and 98 related deaths during the pandemic, according to state data. An additional 363 probable cases — up four from the last report — have been reported in Whatcom County during the pandemic, resulting from positive antigen tests not confirmed by a molecular test.
With the 60 new cases reported Monday, Whatcom County’s daily average of new reported cases over the past week increased to 29.1, according to an analysis by The Bellingham Herald, lower than the 29.6 average from one week earlier (May 11-17).
St. Joseph hospital reported it was treating 16 COVID patients Tuesday, which was up two from Monday.
The COVID-related death reported Monday was for a person who first tested positive for COVID-19 on May 4, according to the state’s epidemiological curves, meaning Whatcom County has had three people who first tested positive in May die. No other information about the person who died, such as gender, age or hometown was reported. It was Whatcom’s sixth COVID-related death in May.
During the pandemic, 1.1% of Whatcom’s 9,250 total cases (confirmed and probable cases combined) have resulted in death — better than the statewide 1.3% average of total cases.
On May 18 all counties throughout the state returned to Phase 3 of Gov. Jay Inslee’s Healthy Washington — Roadmap to Recovery plan. Additionally, Inslee announced May 13 that the state will fully reopen by June 30 — earlier if 70% of all residents 16 and older initiate vaccination.
Though data other than vaccinations is no longer measured in the reopening plan, Whatcom County would still be failing one of two metrics the state previously used to determine if it would stay in Phase 3.
▪ The county has an infection rate of 225.4 COVID-19 cases per 100,000 residents between May 3-16, according to the state’s Risk Assessment Dashboard, meaning Whatcom would have failed to meet the state guideline of 200 to remain in Phase 3.
▪ The county averaged 3.9 COVID-related hospitalizations per 100,000 residents from May 7-13, according to The Herald’s analysis of the state epidemiological data, meaning Whatcom would have made the state guideline of 5.0 to remain in Phase 3.
Whatcom vaccination update
Monday’s vaccination report said that Whatcom County has administered 184,044 doses — up 4.39% (7,746 doses) from the last report.
Vaccination data is updated on Monday, Wednesday and Friday afternoons. Here is what the latest data shows:
▪ With 61.25% of its residents 16 and older initiating vaccination, Whatcom County ranks sixth in the state. The state reports 115,474 people in Whatcom County have initiated vaccination — an increase of 2,533 from the last report.
▪ With 51.14% of its residents 16 and older completing vaccination, Whatcom County ranks sixth in the state. The state reports 96,421 people in Whatcom County have completed vaccination — an increase of 4,201 from the last report.
▪ Based on the latest report, The Herald estimates Whatcom County still needs 16,507 more residents 16 and older to initiate vaccination to reach 70% of the eligible population. In the last seven days of data, an average of 715 Whatcom County residents per day initiated vaccination. At that rate, it would take the county until June 15 (about 24 days) to reach 70% of all residents 16 and older initiating vaccination.
▪ Statewide, there have been 6,749,266 vaccine doses administered — up 208,032 from the last report. So far, 3,742,455 residents (60.91% of all eligible residents in the state) have initiated vaccination and 3,120,105 (50.78%) have completed it. Based on the latest data, The Herald estimates it will take the state until June 22 to reach the goal of 70% of all residents 16 and older initiating vaccination at its current seven-day average of 18,277 people per day initiating vaccination.
Lynden schools see cases
The Lynden School District’s COVID-19 dashboard showed 10 new cases spread over five incidents in its schools when it was updated Monday.
The new incidents, according to the dashboard, included:
▪ One new case reported the week of May 10-14 at Lynden Academy. The incident did not require anyone to return to remote learning or quarantine.
▪ One new case reported the week of May 10-14 at Bernice Vossbeck Elementary. The incident required one school bus of students and staff return to remote learning or quarantine with an expected return date of May 28.
▪ Four new cases reported the week of May 17-21 at Lynden High. The incident required some individuals return to remote learning or quarantine with varied return dates.
▪ Two new cases reported the week of May 17-21 at Lynden Academy. The incident did not require anyone to return to remote learning or quarantine.
▪ Two new cases reported the week of May 17-21 at Isom Elementary. The incident required some individuals return to remote learning or quarantine with varied return dates.
Overall, the district’s dashboard reports there have been 108 cases spread across 64incidents since Lynden students began returning to classes. Thirty-seven 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 33.1 million reported cases, more than 590,000 deaths — both most of any nation — and 286.3 million vaccine doses administered, second only to China, which reports 466.6 million.
▪ Worldwide, there are more than 167.4 million reported cases, 3.4 million deaths and 1.7 billion vaccine doses administered.
Washington state reported these numbers from the Department of Health Monday evening:
▪ 395,900 confirmed cases, up 1,757 from the last report.
▪ 33,599 probable cases, up 248 from the last report.
▪ 23,745 coronavirus-related hospitalizations, up 185 from the last report.
▪ 6,929,879 total molecular tests, up 24,210 from the last report.
▪ 5,709 deaths related to COVID-19, up seven from the last report.
This story was originally published May 25, 2021 at 9:23 AM.
