Big numbers continue to roll in for Whatcom with 370 new COVID cases and 2 more deaths
Big numbers continued to roll in for Whatcom County, as the state reported 370 new confirmed COVID-19 cases and two new COVID-related deaths on Friday. The county has had at least 160 confirmed cases reported in six straight reports and again set a new pandemic record high for infection rate.
Whatcom County now has had 20,755 confirmed cases during the pandemic, according to the Washington State Department of Health’s COVID-19 Data Dashboard on Friday, Jan. 7.
The state also reported an additional 82 probable cases Friday, resulting from a positive antigen test not confirmed by a molecular test, bringing Whatcom’s pandemic total to 1,941 probable cases.
And for the third-straight day, Whatcom broke its weekly infection rate record. Whatcom currently has a weekly rate of 464 cases per 100,000 residents for the most recently completed epidemiological data from Dec. 23 to Dec. 29, which is up from from 233 one week earlier (Dec. 16-22).
Epidemiologically, Whatcom had a pandemic high 477 people test positive for COVID on Tuesday, Jan. 4, after 459 tested positive a day earlier.
Whatcom’s most recent deaths
The two deaths reported by the state Friday brought the county’s pandemic total to 208, including 23 reported in the past 19 days.
The deaths reported Friday were for people who first tested positive for COVID-19 on Dec. 17 and Dec. 23, The Bellingham Herald’s analysis of the state’s epidemiological data found, bringing the county’s epidemiological death total for December to 17. There were also 15 deaths epidemiologically linked to November and 18 in October.
Since Aug. 1, the beginning of the delta surge, there have been 96 epidemiological deaths, The Herald found, which is 46% of the county’s pandemic total.
With 12,282 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 Friday, such as their age, gender, vaccination status or hometown, was reported.
Before the deaths reported Friday and five others reported Tuesday and Thursday, 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.
Blood donations asked
Bloodworks Northwest said its blood supply is “alarmingly low” in a news release Friday. “With only a half-day left of blood supply, Bloodworks Northwest is urging the Pacific Northwest community to donate blood and help save members of the community who desperately need it,” the release stated.
With the recent rise in COVID-19 cases fewer people are available to donate blood, Bloodworks stated. “Bloodworks is facing extreme shortages in universal blood Type O and blood Type A and cannot fill local hospital demands.”
Kim Jongeward, laboratory manager at St. Joseph hospital, said “We are meeting the needs of our patients at the hospital, but the supply of blood products is at an all-time low due to a combination of the pandemic, weather, and staffing challenges at Bloodworks. Thankfully, our pathologists and blood bankers are actively managing the situation, and we are getting by. We are particularly in need of Type O blood, and we encourage anyone who can, to donate blood today.”
Those who wish to donate may book appointments online or call 800-398-7888. The Bellingham location is at 410 W. Bakerview Road, No. 117.
— Julie Shirley, jshirley@bhamherald.com.
Other Whatcom numbers
The latest report on the state dashboard also shows Whatcom County has:
▪ 1,075 COVID-related hospitalizations during the pandemic — up eight from the last report. St. Joseph hospital in Bellingham reported it was treating 42 patients with COVID-related symptoms on Friday — down six from its pandemic record high of 48 on Thursday.
▪ A weekly COVID-related hospitalization rate of 10.1 patients per 100,000 residents for the most recently completed epidemiological hospitalization data from Dec. 23-28 — up from 7.9 from a week earlier (Dec. 16-22).
▪ 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.
▪ 336,441 vaccinations administered during the pandemic — up 1,959 from the last report. The state reports 69.6% of Whatcom County’s total population has initiated vaccination and 63.9% has completed it. The state also reports Whatcom has administered 61,721 “additional doses,” which includes third doses for immunocompromised residents and booster doses.
Additionally, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Data Tracker Friday listed Whatcom’s level of transmission as “High” — the highest of four categories. All of the 39 counties in Washington state and 98% of counties nationwide also were listed in the “High” transmission category.
