Whatcom has 4 more COVID-related deaths and second Omicron variant case reported Wednesday
Four more Whatcom County resident’s deaths have been linked to COVID-19 and the county had its second confirmed Omicron variant case reported by the state on Wednesday.
The four deaths brought Whatcom’s pandemic COVID-related death total to 192, according to the Washington State Department of Health’s COVID-19 Data Dashboard on Wednesday, Dec. 22. There have been seven deaths reported so far this week.
The deaths reported Wednesday were for people who first tested positive for COVID-19 on Sept. 28, Nov. 26, Dec. 4 and Dec. 12, The Bellingham Herald’s analysis of the state’s epidemiological data found, bringing the county’s epidemiological death total for September to 24, while there have been 13 epidemiological deaths in November and thee in December.
Since Aug. 1 there have been 80 epidemiological deaths, The Herald found, which is 42% of the county’s pandemic total.
With 9,110 total cases (confirmed and probable combined) in the county since Aug. 1, Whatcom has seen 0.9% of cases during that time frame result in death, The Herald’s analysis showed. 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 for the pandemic.
No other information about the people whose deaths were reported Wednesday, such as their age, gender, vaccination status or hometown, was reported.
Before the deaths reported Wednesday and one other reported Tuesday, 75% of Whatcom’s 75 deaths since Aug. 1 were in people 65 and older, according to The Herald’s analysis of the latest age-range data released by the state on Monday, Dec. 20. An additional eight deaths (11%) were in people between 50 and 64, while eight (11%) were in people between 35 and 49.
Though Monday’s data, no COVID-related deaths have been seen in any Whatcom residents younger than 30 during the pandemic, according to data released by the Whatcom County Health Department.
Before the seven deaths reported this week, there were 59 COVID-related deaths in unvaccinated or partially vaccinated Whatcom County residents between Feb. 1 and Dec. 11, including 32 since Aug. 22, according to The Herald’s analysis of the latest data released Friday, Dec. 17, by the Whatcom County Health Department. For comparison, there were 25 deaths of fully vaccinated residents between Feb. 1 and Dec. 11, including 20 since Aug. 22.
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, a person is still considered “fully vaccinated” two weeks after receiving their second dose of the Pfizer or Moderna vaccine or the single-dose Johnson & Johnson vaccine. Booster and third doses are not yet factored in.
Whatcom variant update
Whatcom County had its second Omicron variant case reported in the Department of Health’s latest SARS-CoV-2 Sequencing and Variants in Washington State report released Wednesday. The county’s first confirmed omicron case was reported by the county health department on Dec. 10.
Statewide, 171 confirmed omicron cases have been reported, according to the report, which is up 161 cases from last week’s report.
The state’s latest variant report showed Whatcom also had 228 new confirmed cases of the delta variant — the only other “variant of concern” being monitored by the state. Whatcom has now had 1,946 confirmed delta cases since the first case was reported July 6. Those 1,946 cases represent 23% of the 8,405 total cases reported in the county since July 6.
Whatcom County has at least one case of seven of the eight “variants being monitored” by the state. But beyond the delta, alpha (476 total cases) and gamma (255 total cases), Whatcom has seen fewer than 50 cases of every other variant.
Whatcom’s 2,751 total variant cases represent 24% of the 11,454 confirmed cases in the county since the first variant was reported Feb. 23.
Statewide, the report said that 11% of all confirmed molecular COVID-19 cases were sequenced during the month of November and 56,457 specimens (12.4% of all confirmed cases) have been sequenced since January, meaning variant counts are likely much higher.
Statewide, the Department of Health found there have been 9,808 vaccine “breakthrough” cases involving the delta variant, which represents 29% of the 33,756 confirmed delta variant cases in the state. There have been 90 Omicron “breakthrough” cases, which represents 56% of the 161 confirmed cases in the state.
Other Whatcom COVID data
The latest report on the state dashboard also shows Whatcom County has:
▪ 17,937 confirmed cases during the pandemic — up 49 from the last report.
▪ 1,586 probable COVID cases during the pandemic — up nine from the last report — resulting from positive antigen tests not confirmed by a molecular test.
▪ A weekly infection rate of 145 cases per 100,000 residents for the most recently completed epidemiological data Dec. 7-13 — down from 198 one week earlier (Nov. 30 to Dec. 6).
▪ 1,001 COVID-related hospitalizations during the pandemic — up one from the last report. St. Joseph hospital in Bellingham reported it was treating 27 patients with COVID-related symptoms on Thursday, Dec. 23 — up two from its last report.
▪ A weekly COVID-related hospitalization rate of 7.9 patients per 100,000 residents for the most recently completed epidemiological hospitalization data from Dec. 7-13 — down from 12.7 a week earlier (Nov. 30 to Dec. 6).
▪ 348,103 total tests (molecular and antigen combined). The state reported that an “unexpected delay” has once again pushed back the resumption of its reporting of testing data until approximately Dec. 30.
▪ 325,273 vaccinations administered during the pandemic — up 1,439 from the last report. The state reports 69.1% of Whatcom County’s total population has initiated vaccination and 63.6% has completed it. The state also reports Whatcom has administered 53,278 “additional doses,” which includes third doses for immunocompromised residents and booster doses.
Additionally, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Data Tracker Thursday listed Whatcom’s level of transmission as “High” — the highest of four categories. Thirty-two of the 39 counties in Washington state and 81% of counties nationwide also were listed in the “High” transmission category.
Whatcom schools COVID update
Western Washington University on Wednesday announced that it will start winter quarter classes remotely for the first week of classes (Jan. 4-7). In-person classes are scheduled to resume Jan. 10.
“This will allow time for post-travel COVID testing and monitoring of symptoms, as well as additional time for employees and students to get booster shots,” a letter from Sabah Randhawa said in a letter to the WWU community that urged all students, teachers and staff to receive a booster shot.
Through Dec. 10, Western Washington University has reported 156 students and 13 employees have tested positive for COVID-19 this school year. The school also reports that 95.4% of students and 97.3% of employees are fully vaccinated.
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. No new reported cases since Dec. 17 have been listed.
▪ Blaine School District has reported 203 total COVID-19 cases in its schools this school year. No new reported cases since Dec. 19 have been listed.
▪ Lynden School District has reported 293 total COVID-19 cases in its schools this school year. No new reported cases since Dec. 17 have been listed.
▪ Meridian School District has reported 90 COVID-19 cases in its schools this school year, including five new cases listed Wednesday: one case reported Dec. 14 at Irene Reither Elementary, one case reported Dec. 15 at Irene Reither Elementary, one case reported Dec. 15 at Meridian High, one case reported Dec. 17 at Meridian Middle School and one case reported Dec. 18 at Irene Reither Elementary.
▪ Mount Baker School District has reported 43 COVID-19 cases in its schools this school year. No new reported cases since Nov. 24 have been listed.
▪ Nooksack Valley School District has reported 44 COVID-19 cases in its schools since Oct. 31. No new reported cases since Dec. 18 have been listed.
▪ Ferndale School District reported Friday that seven students or staff had a positive test reported to the Whatcom County Health Department in the past seven days — up three from the last report. Four of those people were on a school campus during their infectious period.
WA Notify expands to home testing
The WA Notify app will now allow residents who use the app to anonymously notify others of potential exposure if they test positive for COVID-19 with an at-home test, according to a state Department of Health release.
The new feature will allow those who take a home test to get a verification code if they test positive, according to the release.
“Slowing the spread of COVID-19 is dependent upon early notification to close contacts of everyone who tests positive for the virus,” Washington State Chief Science Officer Dr. Tao Kwan-Gett said in the release. “By including the option to request verification codes in WA Notify for positive at-home tests, more individuals can be notified earlier so they can take the steps to protect themselves and others.”
