With 3 more COVID-19 deaths Tuesday, Whatcom has seen 12 reported in past 9 days
Three more Whatcom County residents’ deaths have been linked to COVID-19, meaning the state has now reported 12 COVID-related deaths within the county in the past nine days.
Whatcom County now has had a total of 197 COVID-related deaths during the pandemic, according to the Washington State Department of Health’s COVID-19 Data Dashboard on Tuesday, Dec. 28.
The deaths reported Tuesday were for a people who first tested positive on Dec. 1 and Dec. 8 (two people), The Herald’s analysis of the state’s epidemiological data found. That brings the county’s epidemiological death total for December to seven.
Since Aug. 1 there have been 85 epidemiological deaths, The Herald found, which is 43% of the county’s pandemic total.
With 9,644 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 Tuesday, such as their age, gender, vaccination status or hometown, was reported.
Before the deaths reported Tuesday, 73% of Whatcom’s 82 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. 27. An additional nine deaths (11%) were in people between 50 and 64, while 11 (13%) 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.
Through data reported by the Whatcom County Health Department on Dec. 17, 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.
Record holiday weekend growth
Whatcom County had its largest reported increase of confirmed COVID-19 cases of the pandemic reported by the state on Monday, as it saw 371 cases over the four-day holiday weekend.
The previous high the county had seen was 309 cases reported Sept. 7, 2021, following the four-day Labor Day weekend.
Examining the state’s epidemiological curves, the majority of the new cases reported Monday came in the days leading up to Christmas, when Whatcom had 126 cases Tuesday, Dec. 21, and 150 cases Wednesday, Dec. 22 — the two highest daily totals the county has seen throughout the entire pandemic.
So what caused those record numbers?
“The rise in case rates may be due to a number of factors, including the highly infectious Omicron variant. ... Overall, our case rates are rapidly approaching the numbers seen during the Delta peak in September,” Whatcom County Health Department spokesperson Scarlet Tang told The Herald in an email Tuesday afternoon.
Health Information and Assessment Supervisor Amy Hockenberry also said that the county continues to see the majority of cases occurring among unvaccinated residents.
Between Aug. 22 and Dec. 11, approximately 72% of the 7,207 total cases in Whatcom County have been in unvaccinated or partially vaccinated residents, The Herald’s analysis of the latest data released by the health department showed.
“Now is the time to get vaccinated or boosted, as the vaccines are still keeping the majority of people from being hospitalized with COVID-19,” Tang wrote. “It is also the time to wear a well-fitting mask in indoor public spaces, and to cancel plans and stay at home if you have symptoms.
“Omicron is reinfecting many people who have previously had COVID-19, and the vaccines can provide a valuable layer of protection.”
As of Monday’s report, the Washington State Department of Health reported 329,800 vaccinations had been administered in Whatcom County during the pandemic. The state reports 69.3% of Whatcom County’s total population has initiated vaccination and 63.7% has completed it and that Whatcom has administered 56,721 “additional doses,” which includes third doses for immunocompromised residents and booster doses.
Other Whatcom COVID data
The latest report on the state dashboard also shows Whatcom County has:
▪ 18,434 confirmed cases during the pandemic — up 38 from the last report.
▪ 1,623 probable COVID cases during the pandemic — up 25 from the last report — resulting from positive antigen tests not confirmed by a molecular test.
▪ A weekly infection rate of 158 cases per 100,000 residents for the most recently completed epidemiological data Dec. 13-19 — up from 146 one week earlier (Dec. 6-12).
▪ 1,022 COVID-related hospitalizations during the pandemic — up nine from the last report. St. Joseph hospital in Bellingham reported it was treating 28 patients with COVID-related symptoms on Wednesday, Dec. 29 — down two from its last report.
▪ A weekly COVID-related hospitalization rate of 7.0 patients per 100,000 residents for the most recently completed epidemiological hospitalization data from Dec. 13-19 — down from 9.2 a week earlier (Dec. 6-12).
▪ 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 Feb. 28.
Additionally, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Data Tracker Wednesday listed Whatcom’s level of transmission as “High” — the highest of four categories. Thirty of the 39 counties in Washington state and 85% of counties nationwide also were listed in the “High” transmission category.
Updated isolation, quarantine guidance
Following the updated guidance issued by the CDC Monday, the Washington State Department shifted its isolation and quarantine recommendation according to a news release Tuesday.
The recommended isolation time for people with COVID-19 was shortened to five days followed by five days of wearing a mask around others, according to the release. If symptoms occur, individuals are asked to quarantine immediately until they receive a negative test result.
For those who have been exposed to COVID-19, the state and CDC are now recommending:
▪ Unvaccinated people, those who were fully vaccinated with the Moderna or Pfizer more than six months earlier and have not yet been boosted, or those who received the Johnson & Johnson vaccine more than two moths earlier and have not yet been boosted should quarantine for five days and follow that with five days of strict mask wearing.
▪ Fully vaccinated individuals who have been boosted do not need to quarantine, but should wear a mask for 10 days after exposure.
▪ If symptoms occur after exposure, quarantine immediately until received a negative test result.
“It remains important for community members to know about changes to this guidance”, Secretary of Health Dr. Umair A. Shah said in the release. “The key remains recognizing we all have to work together to protect ourselves and those around us”.
