Two of Whatcom’s most recent COVID-related deaths were in unvaccinated residents in 40s
Half of the four most recent COVID-related deaths in Whatcom County were in unvaccinated residents in their 40s, while the other half were in vaccinated residents in their 80s, according to the Whatcom County Health Department.
All four deaths were in men and occurred the week of Dec. 5-11, according to data in the county’s most recent COVID-19 data report released Friday, Dec. 10.
Since Feb. 1, 70% of the 84 total deaths in Whatcom County (59 deaths) have been in unvaccinated or partially vaccinated residents, The Bellingham Herald’s analysis of county reports showed, while there have been 25 deaths among fully vaccinated residents.
During the week of Dec. 5, Whatcom County saw 55 breakthrough COVID cases, along with three COVID-related hospitalizations.
Data previously released by the Washington State Department of Health showed 142,761 Whatcom residents were fully vaccinated as of Dec. 5.
Based on that number, Whatcom’s weekly COVID infection rate the week of Dec. 5 was 55 cases per 100,000 vaccinated residents in the county, The Herald’s analysis shows. That rate was the lowest the county has seen since weekly breakthrough data began being reported for the week of Aug. 15 and was down from an infection rate of 97 the week of Nov. 28 to Dec. 5, when there were nine hospitalizations and no deaths reported among Whatcom’s fully vaccinated.
Meanwhile, the health department reported there were 224 cases among Whatcom residents who were not fully vaccinated the week of Dec. 5. That worked out to 261 cases per 100,000 unvaccinated or partially vaccinated residents, The Herald’s analysis found, which was down from the case rate of 391 from one week earlier.
Additionally, the health department reported there were 17 COVID-related hospitalizations of unvaccinated or partially vaccinated residents in Whatcom County during the week of Dec. 5.
Since Feb. 1, Whatcom County’s unvaccinated or partially vaccinated population has seen more than four times as many COVID cases, nearly six times as many COVID-related hospitalizations and more than two times as many COVID-related deaths compared to fully vaccinated residents.
Whatcom’s unvaccinated and partially vaccinated residents have accounted for 81% of COVID cases (10,731 of 13,250 total) and 85% of COVID-related hospitalizations (589 of 689 total), according to The Herald’s analysis of health department data since Feb. 1.
More Whatcom numbers
Whatcom County just saw its smallest weekly increase in confirmed COVID-19 cases in more than four months.
With 56 new confirmed COVID-19 cases reported Friday on the Washington State Department of Health’s COVID-19 Data Dashboard, Whatcom finished the week with 266 new confirmed cases reported.
With the exception of the Thanksgiving holiday week, when Whatcom had 256 new confirmed cases reported in three days, the last time Whatcom had fewer than 300 new confirmed cases reported was the week of Aug. 1-7, when it had 206 new cases.
Whatcom now has 17,723 confirmed cases during the pandemic.
Other Whatcom County COVID data released Friday on the state dashboard shows that:
▪ Whatcom saw an additional 22 probable cases reported Friday, resulting from a positive antigen test not confirmed by a molecular test, bringing its pandemic total to 1,558 probable cases. Whatcom had 44 probable cases reported last week — 20 more than the week before.
▪ Whatcom’s weekly infection rate stands at 167 cases per 100,000 residents based on the state’s most recently completed data from Dec. 2-8, which is down from 179 from the week before (Nov. 25 to Dec. 1). Whatcom has the 11th-highest weekly infection rate of the 39 counties in the state, according to the state dashboard.
▪ With one COVID-related hospitalization reported Friday, Whatcom has seen 994 hospitalizations reported during the pandemic. The county had 16 hospitalizations reported last week, which was down 23 from the week before.
▪ Whatcom’s weekly hospitalization rate stands at 8.8 COVID-related hospitalizations per 100,000 residents for the most recently completed data from Dec. 2-8, which is down from 13.6 the week before (Nov. 25 to Dec. 1). Whatcom has the 15th-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 25 patients for COVID-related symptoms on Monday, Dec. 20, which was unchanged from Saturday and Sunday, Dec. 18-19, and down one from Friday’s report.
▪ The state’s vaccination report on Friday showed the county has now administered 320,531 vaccine doses in Whatcom County — an increase of 6,893 last week, which was fewer than the 9,408 reported the week before. The state reported 50,276 additional doses, which include extra doses administered to immunocompromised residents and booster shots, have been administered in the county.
▪ The state estimated that 68.8% of the total population in the county has initiated vaccination and 63.4% had completed it. Both percentages were ahead of the averages across the state, which reported that 67.7% of the state’s total population initiated vaccination and 62.3% are fully vaccinated.
▪ The state is still working “to increase its capacity to process the increased testing data volume received in the last few months” by Dec.. 30.
▪ The statewide Effective Reproductive Number (R-effective) shows that each person who tests positive for COVID-19 is estimated to infect 0.77 others as of Nov. 25, which is down from 0.83 on Nov. 18. 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). Twenty-eight of Washington state’s 39 counties are listed in the “High” category.
Whatcom schools COVID update
The Herald’s analysis of data published by the Bellingham, Blaine, Lynden, Meridian, Mount Baker and Nooksack Valley school districts, which list which schools cases are reported in, shows there have been 806 total cases reported in those districts, an increase of 40 from the week before.
The Herald’s data analysis shows there have been a total of 330 cases reported in elementary schools (29.4 cases per 1,000 students), 162 cases reported in middle/junior high schools (30.8 cases per 1,000 students) and 239 cases reported in high schools (33.3 cases per 1,000 students) so far this school year. Another 75 cases have been reported in other district programs or facilities.
The COVID-19 dashboards on Whatcom County school district websites showed:
▪ Bellingham Public Schools has reported 180 total COVID-19 cases in its schools this school year, or approximately 14.9 cases per 1,000 students, according to The Herald’s analysis. Eleven new cases were listed Friday: one case at Cordata with a possible exposure window of Dec. 6-10, two cases at Bellingham High with a possible exposure window of Dec. 13-17, one case at Cordata Elementary with a possible exposure window of Dec. 13-17, one case at Kulshan Middle School with a possible exposure window of Dec. 13-17, one case at Roosevelt Elementary with a possible exposure window of Dec. 13-7, one case at Silver Beach Elementary with a possible exposure window of Dec. 13-17 and four cases at Squalicum High with a possible exposure window of Dec. 13-17.
▪ Blaine School District has reported 187 total COVID-19 cases in its schools this school year, or approximately 80.5 cases per 1,000 students, according to The Herald’s analysis. No new cases have been reported since Dec. 5.
▪ Lynden School District has reported 281 total COVID-19 cases in its schools this school year, or approximately 77.5 cases per 1,000 students, according to The Herald’s analysis. No new cases have been reported since Dec. 10.
▪ Meridian School District has reported 85 COVID-19 cases in its schools this school year, or approximately 46.5 cases per 1,000 students, according to The Herald’s analysis. No new cases have been reported since Dec. 12.
▪ Mount Baker School District has reported 43 COVID-19 cases in its schools this school year, or approximately 23.1 cases per 1,000 students, according to The Herald’s analysis. No new cases have been reported since Nov. 24.
▪ Nooksack Valley School District has reported 30 cases between Oct. 31 and Dec. 11, or approximately 15.1 cases per 1,000 students.
▪ Ferndale School District reports that as of Friday, seven students or staff have had a positive test reported to the Whatcom County Health Department in the past seven days, up three from the previous report. Of those, four people were on a school campus during their infectious period.
