Lummi vaccinations added to county total, as state reports Whatcom’s 99th COVID-19 death
Whatcom County will likely meet its 70% COVID-19 vaccination target faster now that 67% of residents aged 16 and older are known to be vaccinated. The increase comes as more than 4,700 Lummi Tribal Health vaccinations were added to state records Friday, June 4.
However, Whatcom County saw one new COVID-19-related death and 29 new confirmed cases on the Washington State Department of Health’s coronavirus dashboard Friday.
Overall, Whatcom County has seen 9,173 confirmed cases, 442 hospitalizations and 99 related deaths during the pandemic. An additional 393 probable cases have been reported in Whatcom County during the pandemic, resulting from positive antigen tests not confirmed by a molecular test.
The death was the first reported since May 24. No other information about the person, such as gender, age or hometown was reported.
That means that 1.0% of Whatcom’s 9,566 total cases (confirmed and probable cases combined) have resulted in death — better than the statewide 1.3% average.
With the new cases, Whatcom County’s daily average of reported cases decreased to 23.0 from the 31.4 average from one week earlier.
St. Joseph hospital in Bellingham reported it was treating 21 COVID-related patients on Saturday, June 5 — up one from a day earlier.
The state vaccination report Friday showed Whatcom County has administered 205,046 vaccine doses and estimated that 65.73% of the county’s residents 16 and older have initiated vaccination, while 57.24% have completed it. Statewide, those averages were 63.06% initiating vaccination and 54.65% completing it. It appears the Lummi numbers have yet to be accounted for in the state dashboard.
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.
If the 70% goal isn’t met, the governor on Thursday, June 3, said the state will still reopen, though he’d prefer it with more vaccinated.
Inslee also introduced state lottery drawings, higher education financial aid, game systems, smart speakers and tickets for sporting events and air travel incentives to nudge the most reluctant people to get vaccinated.
Though data other than vaccinations is no longer measured in the reopening plan, Whatcom County would be making one of two metrics the state previously used to determine if it would stay in Phase 3.
▪ The county has an infection rate of 193.9 COVID-19 cases per 100,000 residents between May 14-27, the latest data available, according to the state’s Risk Assessment Dashboard, meaning Whatcom would have met the state guideline of 200 or less to remain in Phase 3.
▪ The county averaged 5.3 COVID-related hospitalizations per 100,000 residents from May 18-24, according to The Bellingham Herald’s analysis of the state epidemiological data, meaning Whatcom would have missed the state guideline of 5.0 or less to remain in Phase 3.
Lummi vaccinations numbers
The 4,700 individuals that take the county’s vaccination rate to 67% include Whatcom County residents vaccinated by the Lummi Tribal Health Center’s community clinics, according to a Friday news release by the Whatcom County Health Department.
Tribal governments receive vaccine shipments directly from the federal government, separate from the state’s allotment. As a result, vaccination data from the Lummi Tribal Health Center wasn’t previously included in the Washington State Immunization Information System, according to the news release.
This data is expected to be included in the state’s data dashboard in the coming days, according to the county.
“The Lummi Nation has been an invaluable partner in our county’s vaccination efforts, sharing their vaccine supply with the broader Whatcom community, even when supplies were scarce,” said Erika Lautenbach, director of the Whatcom County Health Department. “And they continue to lend their supplies, staff and experience to community clinics throughout the county. Thank you, Lummi Nation, for all you continue to do to bring our county closer to reopening.”
The Lummi Communications Facebook page posted Friday that “In case you are wondering, all vaccines provided by (Lummi Health) have been successfully uploaded to the state database and will be included in this State Lottery. Good luck!”
Information about vaccination numbers from the Nooksack Tribe are not yet available.
“We have also been in communication with Nooksack Tribal Clinic about the logistics of including their data in the Washington State Immunization Information System,” according to Schuyler Shelloner, communications specialist with the Whatcom County Health Department.
Bellingham Library to reopen
The Bellingham Public Library Central branch, with its main floor remodeling complete, will open at 50% capacity Monday, June 7. Limited in-person services will be available 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Monday to Saturday.
Occupancy limits are expected to increase from 50% to 100% on July 1.
Curbside pickup service will continue, with hours changed to 4 p.m. to 6 pm Monday, Wednesday and Saturday. The library’s call center will be available 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Monday to Saturday.
Masks will be required for all public and staff and patrons will be asked to keep their overall visit under 60 minutes.
The help desk and public restrooms open June 7 and in-person browsing will be allowed. Patrons can pick up held books in person.
Not yet available are study and meeting rooms, public seating and computers, in-person storytimes, newspapers and microfilm areas.
Availability of services will be updated regularly on the library’s frequently asked questions web page.
Numbers elsewhere
New coronavirus cases and deaths according to Johns Hopkins University Friday night:
▪ The U.S. has more than 33.34 million reported cases, more than 596,998 deaths — both most of any nation — and 298.70 million vaccine doses administered, second only to China, which reports 723.48 million.
▪ Worldwide, there are more than 172.44 million reported cases, 3.70 million deaths and 2.04 billion vaccine doses administered.
Washington state reported these numbers from the Department of Health Friday evening:
▪ 404,473 confirmed cases, up 591 from the last report.
▪ 34,790 probable cases, up 128 from the last report.
▪ 24,440 coronavirus-related hospitalizations, up 61 from the last report.
▪ 7,230,226 total molecular tests, up 19,426 from the last report.
▪ 5,836 deaths related to COVID-19, up 15 from the last report.
This story was originally published June 5, 2021 at 5:00 AM.
CORRECTION: Whatcom County will likely meet its 70% COVID-19 vaccination target faster now that 67% of residents aged 16 and older are known to be vaccinated, according to the Whatcom County Health Department.
