Whatcom sees 2 more COVID-related deaths and weekly infection rate among unvaccinated rise
Whatcom County’s weekly COVID-19 infection rate among its unvaccinated and partially vaccinated residents continued to grow during the week of Oct. 17, the latest data showed, and both deaths reported that week were among residents not fully vaccinated.
During the week of Oct. 17-23, Whatcom County saw 350 COVID cases among residents who were not fully vaccinated, according to data released by the Whatcom County Health Department on Friday, Oct. 22.
Based on data previously released by the Washington State Department of Health, 137,736 Whatcom residents were fully vaccinated as of Oct. 17.
That means that 90,964 residents were not fully vaccinated, based on the Washington State Office of Financial Management’s 2021 population estimates.
Based on that number, Whatcom’s weekly COVID infection rate the week of Oct. 17 was 385 cases per 100,000 unvaccinated or partially vaccinated residents in the county, The Bellingham Herald’s analysis shows. That was up from an infection rate of 313 the week of Oct. 10-16.
Meanwhile, there were 121 breakthrough cases the week of Oct. 17-23, according to the health department data. That resulted in a weekly infection rate of 88 cases per 100,000 fully vaccinated residents in the county, The Herald’s analysis found, which also was slightly up from a rate of 74 the week before.
The health department also reported that 22 of the 26 COVID-related hospitalizations between Oct. 17 and Oct. 23 and both COVID-related deaths reported that week were among unvaccinated or partially vaccinated residents.
The two deaths reported during the week were of an unvaccinated man 70-79 years old and an unvaccinated woman 90-99 years old, the health department reported.
Since Feb. 1, Whatcom County’s unvaccinated or partially vaccinated population has seen more than five times as many COVID cases, more than seven times as many COVID-related hospitalizations and nearly three times as many COVID-related deaths compared to fully vaccinated residents.
Vaccine breakthroughs have accounted for 16.2% of COVID cases (1,692 of 10,469 total), 12.5% of COVID-related hospitalizations (63 of 506 total) and 25.4% of COVID-related deaths (16 of 63 total), according to The Herald’s analysis of health department data since Feb. 1.
Whatcom sees another COVID death
Whatcom County saw two COVID-related deaths reported on Friday, Oct. 29, by the Washington State Department of Health’s COVID Data Dashboard, upping its pandemic total to 161.
The deaths were for people who first tested positive for COVID on Sept. 21 and Oct. 13, according to The Herald’s analysis of the state’s epidemiological data, upping the county’s total for deaths epidemiologically linked to September to 22 and October to six.
With 3,836 total cases (confirmed and probable combined) in September and October, according to analysis of the state’s epidemiological data, 0.7% of all Whatcom County cases during that time frame resulted in death. That is better than the county’s pandemic death rate of 1.0% cases resulting in death and the statewide average of 1.2%, according to the state dashboard.
No other information about the people whose deaths were reported Friday, such as their age, gender, vaccination status or hometown, was released.
Whatcom County had seven deaths reported by the state last week.
Before the deaths reported Tuesday, Thursday and Friday last week, 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, Thursday and Friday) 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.
More Whatcom numbers
Other Whatcom County COVID data shows:
▪ With 60 confirmed COVID-19 cases reported Friday, Whatcom County now has had a pandemic total of 15,196 cases. The county’s case total increased by 403 last week, which was higher than the 397 increase seen one week earlier.
▪ Whatcom saw an additional 16 probable cases reported Friday, resulting from a positive antigen test not confirmed by a molecular test, bringing its pandemic total to 1,276 probable cases. Whatcom had 60 probable cases reported last week.
▪ Whatcom’s weekly infection rate stands at 192 cases per 100,000 residents based on the state’s most recently completed data from Oct. 14-20, which is up from 168 from the week before (Oct. 7-13). Whatcom has the 20th-highest weekly infection rate of the 39 counties in the state, according to the state dashboard.
▪ With four COVID-related hospitalizations reported Friday, Whatcom has seen 827 during the pandemic. The county had 38 hospitalizations reported last week, which was up from 24 the week before.
▪ Whatcom’s weekly hospitalization rate stands at 10.1 COVID-related hospitalizations per 100,000 residents for the most recently completed data from Oct. 14-20, which is unchanged from the week before (Oct. 7-13). Whatcom has the 13th-highest weekly hospitalization rate of the 39 counties in the state, according to the state dashboard.
▪ St. Joseph hospital in Bellingham reported that it was treating 42 patients for COVID-related symptoms on Monday, Nov. 1, which matches the pandemic-record high 42 it reported treating on Tuesday, Oct. 26. Saturday and Sunday, Oct. 30-31, also saw 42 patients treated, up two from the most recent report.
▪ The state’s vaccination report on Friday showed the county has now administered 274,122 vaccine doses — an increase of 5,489 last week, which was more than the 3,831 reported the week before. The state estimated that 66.8% of the total population in the county has initiated vaccination and 61.7% had completed it. Both percentages were ahead of the averages across the state, which reported that 65.1% of the state’s total population initiated vaccination and 60.1% are fully vaccinated.
▪ The state has stopped updating the number of completed tests until Oct. 31 as it works “to increase its capacity to process the increased testing data volume received in the last few months.”
▪ The statewide Effective Reproductive Number (R-effective) shows that each person who tests positive for COVID-19 is estimated to infect 1.01 others as of Oct. 9, which is up from 0.83 on Oct. 2. Anything below 1.0 means that transmission of the disease should be shrinking.
The CDC’s COVID Data Tracker on Monday continued to list the level of transmission in Whatcom County as “High” (the highest of four classifications). All but one of Washington state’s 39 counties are listed in the “High” category, as are 74.02% of all counties nationwide. Columbia County’s COVID transmission is listed as “Substantial.”
