Whatcom County hits coveted COVID-19 vaccination milestone
Whatcom County has reached the state’s goal of having 70% of residents 16 and older who have received at least their first dose of a vaccine against COVID-19, the Health Department said Monday, July 12.
With that milestone, Whatcom County becomes the fourth county in Washington to reach that mark, and the second county with a population above 50,000 to do so.
“By working together, Whatcom County has reached this critical milestone for community health and economic recovery,” Whatcom County Executive Satpal Sidhu said in a statement.
“We offer our thanks and gratitude to our health care providers who have given over 224,000 doses, our businesses who offered to serve as clinic locations and who provided incentives, and the countless volunteers who stepped up to help with vaccination. This achievement wouldn’t have been possible without them,” Sidhu said.
More than 136,000 Whatcom residents age 12 and older have received at least one COVID vaccine dose, the Health Department said in a statement.
“It may feel like the pandemic is over, but highly transmissible variants have been detected in Whatcom County, some associated with more severe disease. They pose a serious risk of COVID for unvaccinated people,” said Dr. Greg Stern, the County health officer.
“It’s especially vital to get both doses of the Pfizer or Moderna vaccines. A single dose appears to be less effective against the delta variant, but completing the two-dose series provides strong protection,” Stern said.
The Johnson & Johnson vaccine’s effectiveness against the delta variant is still being studied.
Whatcom cases last week
Whatcom County saw 56 new confirmed COVID-19 cases, five new related hospitalizations and two deaths added to its totals last week, according to the Washington State Department of Health’s coronavirus dashboard Friday, July 9.
Overall, Whatcom County has seen 9,562 confirmed cases, 481 hospitalizations and 105 related deaths during the pandemic, according to the dashboard. An additional 430 probable cases — an increase of five over the last week — have been reported in Whatcom County during the pandemic, resulting from positive antigen tests not confirmed by a molecular test.
Whatcom’s infection rate decreased to 54.8 on Friday — its lowest mark since it had a rate of 50.6 on Nov. 13 and down from 74.1 a week earlier — based on the state’s most recent complete epidemiological data between June 18 and July 1, according to the state’s Risk Assessment dashboard.
Though the 56 cases reported last week were more than the 43 a week earlier, it was still the second-smallest weekly total Whatcom has seen since the final week of October.
The deaths reported last week were for people who first tested positive for COVID on May 1 and June 3, according to the state’s epidemiological curves — the 10th person to first test positive in May and later die and the first to test positive in June. No other information about the people who died, such as gender, age or hometown was reported.
The state reports that 1.1% of Whatcom’s 9,992 total cases (confirmed and probable cases combined) have resulted in death — better than the statewide 1.3% average.
St. Joseph hospital in Bellingham Monday, July 12, reported it was treating four patients who have tested positive for COVID-19, down from five on Saturday and Sunday, July 10-11, and nine on Friday.
The county averaged 1.3 COVID-related hospitalizations per 100,000 residents between June 21-27, according to analysis by The Bellingham Herald of the latest complete hospitalization data on the state’s epidemiological curves.
The state’s vaccination report on Friday showed the county has now administered 228,662 vaccine doses and estimated that 69.9% of the county’s residents 16 and older have initiated vaccination, while 63.8% have completed it.
Both were ahead of the overall percentages for the state, which reported it has administered 7,928,034 doses and that 67.2% of residents 16 and older have initiated vaccination and 61.6% have completed it.
With numbers decreasing, The Bellingham Herald plans to write about updated numbers once a week.
PeaceHealth vaccine update
PeaceHealth’s COVID-19 Vaccine Clinic at the Cordata Main Clinic location, 4545 Cordata Parkway, and has two clinics scheduled this week: 5:30-7:30 p.m. Tuesday, July 13, and 9 a.m-noon Saturday, July 17.
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.
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.
Though appointments are recommended at the Cordata vaccine clinic, walk-ins are welcome.
Next week, PeaceHealth has clinics scheduled for:
▪ 5:30-7:30 p.m. Tuesday, July 20.
▪ 5:30-7:30 p.m. Thursday, July 22.
For other vaccine sites, check with your health care provider or go to Washington state’s Vaccine Locator tool at vaccinelocator.doh.wa.gov.
Long-term care update
Whatcom County had no new COVID-19 cases or related deaths associated with its long-term care facilities last week, according to the Washington State Department of Health’s latest COVID-19 Long-Term Care Report.
According to the report, which was released Tuesday, July 6, and reflected data through Monday, July 5, Whatcom County long-term care facilities have had 383 confirmed cases during the pandemic. The number of COVID-related deaths related to Whatcom’s long-term care facilities remained at 48, according to the state’s data.
The 383 cases mean that long-term care facilities had 4.0% of the total cases reported in Whatcom County as of Monday, while the 48 related deaths represent 46.6% of the county’s death total.
Statewide, long-term care facilities have been associated with 20,727 cases (5% of the state’s total cases) and 2,666 related deaths (45% of the state’s death total).
Numbers elsewhere
Washington state reported these numbers from the Department of Health Friday afternoon:
▪ 417,687 confirmed cases, up 2,172 from the previous week.
▪ 37,416 probable cases, up 448 from the previous week.
▪ 25,538 coronavirus-related hospitalizations, up 220 from the previous week.
▪ 7,753,156 total molecular tests, up 139,536 from the previous week.
▪ 5,997 deaths related to COVID-19, up 58 from the previous week.
