Vaccination rates in 2 Whatcom regions under 50%, but health department’s not giving up
While most of Whatcom County has at least initiated COVID-19 vaccination, two regions are lagging behind.
As of last week, 49% of the residents within the region covered by the Nooksack Valley School District and 45% of those living in the region covered by the Mount Baker School District had begun a vaccination cycle, according to data released by the Whatcom County Health Department Tuesday, Oct. 12.
Elsewhere in the county, at least 50% of the population has started vaccination in each of the other five school district regions, the health department reported, with the Bellingham leading the way at 74%. Blaine, Ferndale and Meridian each have had more than 60% of their respective populations initiate vaccination.
So why have rates remained so low in the county’s eastern most reaches?
“It seems to be a combination of access and individual decisions,” Whatcom County Health Department Communications Specialist Melissa Morin told The Bellingham Herald in an email.“ Access issues include transportation, language and cultural barriers, and work schedules that don’t mesh with clinic hours.”
Morin said the health department and its partners in those areas have been working hard with grass-root campaigns to increase vaccination rates.
But it’s taken more than hosting clinics in the Nooksack and Mount Baker regions to increase rates, she added.
“Our partners have provided Spanish and Russian translation services, volunteers, outreach support, and more,” Morin wrote. “We’ve had a number of people thank us for running clinics close to where they live, because they were otherwise unable to get vaccinated.”
Finding success in rural clinics
A weekly clinic at the East Whatcom Regional Resource Center, 8251 Kendall Road in Maple Falls, where a new food bank is located, has been particularly effective, Morin reported, as the consistent presence of the clinic has allowed residents in the area to fit vaccination into their busy schedules.
The health department has partnered with Medical Teams International to run the clinic, which is scheduled to last through the end of October, but Morin said “we will likely extend these clinics and open more recurring clinics in November as demand continues.”
As of Oct. 13, Morin reported 135 doses had been given at the clinic.
There are plans to host clinics in other rural regions, including Maple Falls, Sumas, Everson, Glenhaven, Acme and Van Zandt, Morin reported, adding that a total of 231 doses have been administered at clinics in the Nooksack Valley and Mount Baker areas.
“This is a modest number of vaccinations compared to a mass clinic in an urban area, but it’s in line with what we hear from other rural clinics across the state,” Morin wrote. “It’s an indication of the challenges of increasing vaccination rates in rural areas.”
Other upcoming clinics include ones scheduled from 3 p.m. to 7 p.m. Wednesdays, Oct. 20 and 27, at A Watered Garden Family Learning Center at 700 Strandell St. in Everson and one from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 16, at the Glenhaven Lakes Club, 664 Rainbow Drive, south of Lake Whatcom, and others will be scheduled as needed.
The Department of Health Care-a-Van also is scheduled to visit Sumas, Maple Falls and Acme, Morin reported.
A list of scheduled vaccination pop-ups and clinics is available at whatcomcounty.us/3530/COVID-19-Vaccine-Information.
Getting help from friends
The health department has been working to vaccinate homebound residents, according to Morin, and partners such as SeaMar have been vaccinating farmworkers. The Nooksack Indian Tribe also has played a big role in vaccinating its neighbors, Morin added.
“We’re grateful to the many partners who have stepped up to help bring the vaccine to everyone who wants it,” Morin wrote.
But Morin added that it is up to each of us to help and encourage friends, family and neighbors who have not yet been vaccinated but want to do so.
“Help someone make or get to an appointment,” Morin wrote. “Some people might want the vaccine but just haven’t gotten around to it, and a prompt from you might be the reminder that they need.
“Be willing to have conversations with your families, friends, and neighbors about getting the vaccine. The vaccine is the best way to protect kids too young to get the vaccine, our elders, and other medically vulnerable people.”
What do the numbers show?
Despite having lower vaccination rates than the rest of the county, the Mount Baker and Nooksack Valley regions have not necessarily had the highest infection rates in the county.
Since Jan. 30, there had been 616 COVID-19 cases reported in the Mount Baker region, according to The Herald’s analysis of weekly location data reported by the health department, while the Nooksack Valley region had 631.
Based on 2019 U.S. Census estimates, Nooksack Valley has the county’s second-highest infection rate since Jan. 30, with 5,829 cases per 100,000 residents, The Herald’s analysis shows. Mount Baker, meanwhile, is second-lowest at 4,090 cases per 100,000.
For the record, the Lynden region had the highest rate at 8,210 cases per 100,000 residents, and Bellingham was lowest at 2,970, The Herald found, while Blaine had 4,878, Meridian had 5,128 and Ferndale had 5,761 cases per 100,000 residents since Jan. 30.
Countywide, the Washington State Department of Health reported Wednesday, Oct. 13, that 138,871 Whatcom County residents — 60.9% of its total population — has completed vaccination, while 150,665 residents — 66.1% of the population — have initiated it.
This story was originally published October 16, 2021 at 5:00 AM.
