3 more COVID-related deaths reported in Whatcom, as hospital reports pandemic record high
Whatcom County had another triple-digit case increase and three new COVID-related deaths reported Tuesday, as St. Joseph’s hospital in Bellingham reported Wednesday it was treating a new pandemic record number of patients for COVID-related symptoms.
The three deaths reported by the Washington State Department of Health’s COVID-19 Data Dashboard Tuesday, Jan. 4, brought the county’s pandemic total to 204, including 19 reported in the past 16 days.
The deaths reported Tuesday were for people who first tested positive for COVID-19 on Dec. 1, 6 and 7, The Bellingham Herald’s analysis of the state’s epidemiological data found, bringing the county’s epidemiological death total for December to 13.
Since Aug. 1, the beginning of the delta surge, there have been 92 epidemiological deaths, The Herald found, which is 45% of the county’s pandemic total.
With 11,097 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, The Herald’s analysis showed. That is better than the county’s total pandemic death average of 0.9%, according to the state’s data, and the statewide 1.1% 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, 72% of Whatcom’s 89 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, Jan. 3. An additional nine deaths (10%) were in people between 50 and 64, while 12 (13%) were in people between 35 and 49.
Through Monday, 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, though there have been four deaths among people in their 30s and 13 in their 40s.
Six of the eight deaths reported Dec. 19-24 were in unvaccinated or partially vaccinated residents, according to a report by the Whatcom County Health Department on Friday, Dec. 31. Of the 60 deaths since Aug. 22 where vaccination status has been reported, 38 (63%) have been among unvaccinated residents, The Herald’s analysis showed.
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.
Hospital COVID record
St. Joseph hospital reported it was treating 47 COVID-related patients on Wednesday, Jan. 5, topping the hospital’s previous pandemic high of 45 patients with COVID-related symptoms set on Monday, Jan. 3. It was also an increase of five from the hospital’s report on Tuesday.
The state reported 18 new COVID-related hospitalizations on Tuesday, bringing Whatcom County’s pandemic total to 1,058. Whatcom’s weekly COVID-related hospitalization rate is 8.3 hospitalizations per 100,000 residents for the most recently completed data from Dec. 20-26, which is up from 7.5 from one week earlier (Dec. 13-19).
After setting the record on Monday, the hospital encouraged Whatcom County residents to get their COVID-19 vaccination booster shots and practice other good skills, such as masking, social distancing and avoiding large crowds, to limit possible exposure.
PeaceHealth, which operates the hospital, said in a news release Wednesday that it is seeing “a significant increase in patients visiting the Emergency Department amidst the current omicron COVID-19 surge” and asked people seeking COVID testing to consider community testing options before going to the Emergency Department.
“Our caregivers work tirelessly to provide quality care to all patients who come through our doors, but there are times when our emergency department isn’t the best option,” PeaceHealth Northwest Chief Medical Officer Dr. Sudhakar Karlapudi said in the release. “Freeing up space and keeping wait times down in the ED lets us do what we do best: quickly and skillfully taking care of acute medical emergencies.”
COVID-19 testing resources in Whatcom County are available online at whatcomcounty.us/3388/COVID-19-Testing.
“The booster is hands-down the best way to protect yourself and your loved ones against COVID-19,” Karlapudi said in the release.
The Herald’s analysis of the county health department’s breakthrough data shows that 83% of the 425 COVID-related hospitalizations in Whatcom County since Aug. 22 have been in unvaccinated or partially vaccinated residents.
Other Whatcom COVID data
The latest report on the state dashboard also shows Whatcom County has:
▪ 19,824 confirmed cases during the pandemic — up 191 from the last report. The county has had confirmed case number increase by more than 190 cases in three straight reports by the state, including by a pandemic record 947 cases over the four-day New Year’s holiday weekend on Monday, Jan. 3.
▪ 1,686 additional probable COVID cases during the pandemic — up 34 from the last report — resulting from positive antigen tests not confirmed by a molecular test.
▪ A weekly infection rate of 250 cases per 100,000 residents for the most recently completed epidemiological data Dec. 20-26 — up from 178 one week earlier (Dec. 13-19).
▪ 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.
▪ 333,771 vaccinations administered during the pandemic. The state reports 69.5% of Whatcom County’s total population has initiated vaccination and 63.8% has completed it.
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-eight of the 39 counties in Washington state and 96% of counties nationwide also were listed in the “High” transmission category.
Whatcom long-term care update
Whatcom County had 26 new COVID-19 cases associated with its long-term care facilities reported the last two weeks and eight new COVID-related deaths, according to the Washington State Department of Health’s latest COVID-19 Long-Term Care Report.
According to the report, which was released Tuesday and reflected data through Monday, Whatcom County long-term care facilities have had 707 confirmed cases during the pandemic. The number of COVID-related deaths related to Whatcom’s long-term care facilities climbed to 78, according to the state’s data.
The 707 cases mean that long-term care facilities had 4% of the total cases reported in Whatcom County as of Jan. 3, while the 78 related deaths represented 39% of the county’s death total.
Statewide, long-term care facilities have been associated with 27,810 cases (3% of the state’s total cases) and 3,253 related deaths (33% of the state’s death total).
