Whatcom COVID case numbers slowly creep up, but no new delta variant cases reported
Whatcom County saw 69 new confirmed COVID-19 cases last week — the county’s highest weekly gain since mid June — but no new delta variant cases were reported by the Washington State Department of Health’s coronavirus dashboard.
Whatcom also saw nine new COVID-related hospitalizations but no new related deaths last week, according to the state’s data.
As of data released Friday, July 16, Whatcom County had seen 9,631 confirmed cases, 486 hospitalizations and 105 related deaths during the pandemic, according to the dashboard. An additional 439 probable cases — an increase of nine over the last week — have been reported in Whatcom County during the pandemic, resulting from positive antigen tests not confirmed by a molecular test.
Until it had 69 new cases last week, Whatcom County had seen its of confirmed cases decrease each week since 92 were reported the week of June 21.
Other Whatcom County COVID numbers show:
▪ Whatcom’s infection rate decreased to 49.6 on Friday — down from 54.8 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.
▪ The state reports that 1.0% of Whatcom’s 10,070 total cases (confirmed and probable cases combined) have resulted in death — better than the statewide 1.3% average.
▪ St. Joseph hospital in Bellingham Tuesday, July 20, reported it was treating four patients who have tested positive for COVID-19, unchanged from last week’s report.
▪ The county averaged 1.3 COVID-related hospitalizations per 100,000 residents between July 2 and July 8, 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 230,086 vaccine doses — up 1,424 from the week before — and estimated that 70.4% of the county’s residents 16 and older have initiated vaccination, while 64.4% have completed it. Both were ahead of the overall percentages for the state, which reported that 67.7% of residents 16 and older have initiated vaccination and 62.2% have completed it.
With numbers decreasing, The Herald plans to write about updated numbers once a week.
PeaceHealth vaccine update
PeaceHealth will host one COVID-19 Vaccine Clinic from 5:30 p.m. to 7 p.m. Tuesday, July 20, at the Cordata Main Clinic location, 4545 Cordata Parkway.
Schedule an online appointment through PeaceHealth’s COVID-19 online scheduling tool at http://ow.ly/vdhU50E0Nu0 .
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.
“Please continue to encourage people in your circle to consider the vaccine, the safest way to prevent the spread of the highly contagious delta variant, now in our county,” PeaceHealth said in a release.
Though appointments are recommended at the Cordata vaccine clinic, walk-ins are welcome.
PeaceHealth previously announced it has clinics scheduled next week for:
▪ 5:30-7:30 p.m. Tuesday, July 27.
▪ 5:30-7:30 p.m. Thursday, July 29.
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 pop-up vaccine clinics
The Whatcom County Health Department’s latest vaccine update Monday, July 19, said that it will host two pop-up vaccine clinics this weekend:
▪ 3-6 p.m. Friday, July 23, at at the old Lynden Middle School gym, 516 Main St., Lynden — all three vaccines will be available, along with COVID-19 testing to anyone 18 and older.
▪ 10 a.m. to noon Sunday, July 25, at Miller’s Farm on Lummi Island, 2206 Tuttle Lane — Moderna and Pfizer vaccines will be available. Appointments aren’t necessary but can be made on prepmod.doh.wa/gov.
COVID variant update
Though Whatcom County had no new confirmed cases of the delta variant reported last week in the latest SARS-CoV-2 Sequencing and Variants report by the Washington State Department of Health released Wednesday, July 14, Whatcom still had 20 new confirmed variant cases reported.
Among those was Whatcom’s first confirmed cases of the B.1.617.1 kappa variant, which was first found in India.
Whatcom County has at least one case of nine of the 11 variants currently being tracked in Washington state.
Since its first confirmed variant case was reported Feb. 23, Whatcom has had a total of 634 variant cases through July 13, which accounts for 20.07% of Whatcom’s 3,159 cases reported since then and 6.61% of Whatcom’s pandemic total of 9,593 cases, according to analysis by The Herald.
The state’s most recent variants report for Whatcom County last week showed:
▪ Eight new alpha (U.K.) variant cases — 387 total.
▪ No new B.1.351 (South Africa) variant case — three total.
▪ 10 new gamma (Brazil) variant cases — 186 total.
▪ No new B.1.427 (California) variant cases — six total.
▪ No new B.1.429 (California) variant cases — 31 total.
▪ Two new B.1.526 (New York) variant cases — 17 total.
▪ No new B.1.525 (New York) variant cases — two total.
▪ No new delta (India) variant cases — one total.
▪ One new kappa (India) variant cases — one total.
Whatcom also has seen no cases of the P.2 (Brazil) or B.1.617.3 (India) variants, according to the report.
Health officials say the delta variant of the coronavirus continues to surge elsewhere in the country and accounts for an estimated 83% of U.S. COVID-19 cases. That’s a dramatic increase from the week of July 3, when the variant accounted for about 50% of genetically sequenced coronavirus cases.
Long-term care update
Whatcom County had three new COVID-19 cases but no 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 13, and reflected data through Monday, July 12, Whatcom County long-term care facilities have had 386 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 386 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 20,763 cases (5% of the state’s total cases) and 2,675 related deaths (45% of the state’s death total).
Councils discuss return to normal
Both the Bellingham City Council and the Whatcom County Council have been discussing a return to in-person meetings as more residents are vaccinated against COVID-19 and infection rates decline.
Whatcom County is considering a hybrid approach that will include an in-person meeting and an online meeting service, but didn’t set a date for returning to in-person meetings when it met online Tuesday, July 14.
Bellingham City Council members discussed a hybrid option for council members, staff and members of the public, but didn’t make a decision when it met online Monday, July 12.
Both councils’ meetings would continue to be streamed live online and archived.
Bellingham City Council members were reluctant to return to in-person meetings immediately and instead will consider the issue again Aug. 30.
Appointed city of Bellingham boards and commissions will return to in-person meetings in September, however.
“I think it’s high time we got back in chambers,” said Councilman Gene Knutson. “I’m not going to be held hostage by anti-vaxers.”
Other council members said they were looking forward to in-person meetings but weren’t quite ready to take that step yet.
“I’m personally a little uncomfortable with this,” said Councilman Michel Lilliquist. “Maybe I’m being overly cautious but I do feel a little uncomfortable.”
Councilwoman Lisa Anderson said that she contracted COVID-19 early in the pandemic and is now vaccinated, but she doesn’t trust that those who aren’t vaccinated will follow health guidelines and wear a mask or face covering at in-person council meetings.
“I’m one of those people who’s struggling with this,” Anderson said. “I just don’t want a situation where we have a massive outbreak.”
—Robert Mittendorf, rmittendorf@bhamherald.com
Power of Providers for vaccination
Gov. Jay Inslee and Secretary of Health Dr. Umair A. Shah encouraged all health care providers in the state to reach out and talk to their patients about COVID-19 vaccination, according to a Department of Health release Monday.
“As a trusted source of health information, providers can play an essential role in educating patients and advocating for vaccination,” Shah said in the release. “We know their help will make a difference as we continue working to reach more than three million people in our state who are not yet protected by the lifesaving COVID-19 vaccine, especially in areas and groups of people at high risk because of lower vaccination rates.”
As part of its Power of Providers community vaccination initiative, the state is asking all health care providers to:
▪ Proactively reach out to patients to inquire if they have received a COVID-19 vaccine and invite them to do so if they have not.
▪ Ask patients at every visit if they have been vaccinated or check their immunization records and provide information and education about vaccines to those who have not yet been vaccinated.
▪ Provide vaccination for those who want it right then or refer them to a COVID-19 vaccination location using vaccinelocator.doh.wa.gov or calling 833-VAX-HELP.
▪ Empower patients who have already been vaccinated to share their status with friends, family and others they know with free stickers and buttons from the Department of Health and invite staff to talk with patients about their vaccination experiences.
▪ Share trustworthy resources with patients who are not ready to be vaccinated.
This story was originally published July 20, 2021 at 12:27 PM.
