Whatcom County sees 3 more COVID-related deaths Thursday, as hospitalizations remain high
Three more Whatcom County resident’s deaths have been linked to COVID-19, the Washington State Department of Health’s COVID-19 Data Dashboard reported Thursday, Oct. 28, while hospitalizations remained high in the county.
Whatcom now has seen 159 COVID-related deaths during the pandemic, the state reported.
The three deaths reported Thursday were for residents who first tested positive for COVID on Sept. 4, Oct. 4 and Oct. 7, The Bellingham Herald’s analysis of the state’s epidemiological data showed.
They represent the 21st epidemiological death in September and the fourth and fifth in October, The Herald’s analysis found, and increased the county’s total number of deaths since Aug. 1 to 47.
With 5,981 total cases (confirmed and probable combined) in the county since Aug. 1, Whatcom has seen 0.8% of cases during that time frame result in death. That is better than the county’s pandemic death average of 1.0%, according to the state’s data, and the statewide 1.2% rate.
No other information about the three people who died, such as their age, gender, vaccination status or hometown, was reported.
Before the deaths reported Thursday and one reported Tuesday, Oct. 26, 74% of Whatcom County’s 43 epidemiological deaths in August, September and October were in people 65 and older, according to The Herald’s analysis of the latest age-range data released by the state on Monday, Oct. 25.
For the entire pandemic before the most recently reported deaths, 83% of Whatcom’s first 155 deaths were in people 65 and older, according to analysis of the state data, which also showed that residents 65 and older accounted for 11% of all Whatcom cases through last week.
In August, September and October (before the deaths reported Tuesday and Thursday) there were five deaths in Whatcom County residents in the 50-65 age group, four in the 35-49 age group and two in the 20-34 age group, the state’s data shows. The county has not had any deaths of anybody younger than 20 throughout the pandemic.
Additionally, there were 45 COVID-related deaths in unvaccinated or partially vaccinated Whatcom County residents between Feb. 1 and Oct. 16, according to The Herald’s analysis of data released last week by the Whatcom County Health Department, compared to 16 deaths of fully vaccinated residents during that same time frame.
Whatcom COVID hospitalizations
St. Joseph hospital in Bellingham reported that it was treating 40 patients for COVID-related symptoms on Friday, Oct. 29, which was down one from its previous report. That total also was two fewer than the pandemic-record high 42 it reported treating on Tuesday.
The state, meanwhile, reported nine new COVID-related hospitalizations on Thursday, upping the county’s total for the pandemic to 823.
The Herald’s analysis of the state’s epidemiological data showed there have been 100 COVID-related hospitalizations so far in the month of October, meaning 6.5% of Whatcom’s 1,531 total cases during the month have resulted in hospitalization. That’s higher than the 5.1% hospitalization rate the county saw in September (113 hospitalizations in 2,229 total cases). The county’s hospitalization rate for the pandemic is 5.0% of cases, The Herald’s analysis found.
Whatcom’s weekly COVID-related hospitalization rate stands at 9.2 patients per 100,000 residents for the most recently completed epidemiological hospitalization data from Oct. 13-19 — down from the 10.1 rate a week earlier (Oct. 6-12), but incomplete data show the weekly rate could climb as high as 16.2 hospitalizations per 100,000 once data is finalized next week.
The Herald’s analysis of data reported last week by the Whatcom County Health Department showed that between Feb. 1 and Oct. 16 there were 421 COVID-related hospitalizations of unvaccinated or partially vaccinated residents, compared to 59 COVID-related hospitalizations of fully vaccinated residents during the same period.
Statewide, Washington surpassed 40,000 COVID-related hospitalizations during the pandemic, according to Thursday’s report on the dashboard.
More Whatcom COVID data
The latest report on the state dashboard also shows Whatcom County has:
▪ 15,136 confirmed cases during the pandemic — up 77 cases from the last report.
▪ 1,260 probable COVID cases during the pandemic — up 12 from the last report — resulting from positive antigen tests not confirmed by a molecular test.
▪ A weekly infection rate of 189 cases per 100,000 residents for the most recently completed epidemiological data Oct. 13-19 — up from the 163 rate one week earlier (Oct. 6-12).
▪ The state has stopped updating the number of completed tests through Sunday, Oct. 31, as it works “to increase its capacity to process the increased testing data volume received in the last few months.”
▪ 271,992 vaccinations administered during the pandemic. The state reports 66.7% of Whatcom County’s total population has initiated vaccination and 61.6% has completed it.
Additionally, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Data Tracker Friday listed Whatcom’s level of transmission as “High” — the highest of four categories. All 39 counties in Washington state were listed in the “High” transmission category, and 75.6% of all counties nationwide were “High.”
Whatcom schools COVID update
The COVID-19 dashboards on Whatcom County school district websites showed:
▪ Bellingham Public Schools has reported 100 total COVID-19 cases in its schools this school year, including three new cases reported Thursday: one case at Cordata Elementary with a possible exposure window of Oct. 25-29, one new case at Shuksan Middle School with a possible exposure window of Oct. 18-22, and one new case at Squalicum High with a possible exposure window of Oct. 18-22. Shuksan has now had two reported cases during the Oct. 18-22 exposure window, while Squalicum has had four. Close contacts of all cases have been notified, according to the dashboard.
▪ Blaine School District has reported 82 total COVID-19 cases in its schools this school year. It listed no new cases Thursday.
▪ Lynden School District has reported 140 total COVID-19 cases in its schools this school year. It listed no new cases Thursday.
▪ Meridian School District has reported 21 COVID-19 cases in its schools this school year. It listed no new cases Thursday.
▪ Mount Baker School District has reported 33 COVID-19 cases in its schools this school year. It listed no new cases Thursday.
▪ Ferndale School District did not update its COVID report Thursday. On Wednesday it reported 12 students or staff have had a positive test reported to the Whatcom County Health Department in the past seven days — a decrease from 14 in the last report. Six of those people were on a school campus during their infectious period.
COVID case information could not be found on the Nooksack Valley School District website.
Statewide breakthrough data
In its latest COVID-19 Cases, Hospitalizations and Deaths by Vaccination Status report released Thursday, the Washington State Department of Health reported that between Sept. 22 and Oct. 19:
▪ Unvaccinated 12- to 34-year-olds in the state are five times more likely to be infected with COVID-19 (2,162 cases per 100,000 residents) than fully vaccinated residents (407 cases per 100,000 residents) in the same age group.
▪ Unvaccinated 35- to 64-year-olds in the state are five times more likely to be infected with COVID-19 (2,174 cases per 100,000 residents) than fully vaccinated residents (451 cases per 100,000 residents) in the same age group.
▪ Unvaccinated residents 65 and older in the state are four times more likely to be infected with COVID-19 (1,476 cases per 100,000 residents) than fully vaccinated residents (356 cases per 100,000 residents) in the same age group.
▪ Unvaccinated 12- to 34-year-olds in the state are 16 times more likely to be hospitalized with COVID-19 symptoms (48 hospitalizations per 100,000 residents) than fully vaccinated residents (three hospitalizations per 100,000 residents) in the same age group.
▪ Unvaccinated 35- to 64-year-olds in the state are 18 times more likely to be hospitalized with COVID-19 symptoms (224 hospitalizations per 100,000 residents) than fully vaccinated residents (13 hospitalizations per 100,000 residents) in the same age group.
▪ Unvaccinated residents 65 and older in the state are nine times more likely to be hospitalized with COVID-19 symptoms (524 hospitalizations per 100,000 residents) than fully vaccinated residents (56 hospitalizations per 100,000 residents) in the same age group.
▪ Unvaccinated residents 65 and older in the state are nine times more likely to die from COVID-19 symptoms (201 deaths per 100,000 residents) than fully vaccinated residents (23 hospitalizations per 100,000 residents) in the same age group.
This story was originally published October 29, 2021 at 10:15 AM.
