Whatcom County sees its first COVID-related death of a resident younger than 20 years old
All seven school district regions within Whatcom County saw substantial drops in their weekly COVID-19 infection rates, but that news was tempered as the county had its first COVID-related death of somebody under the age of 20 reported.
Of the five most recent deaths where age was reported on the Whatcom County Health Department’s COVID-19 Data Dashboard Thursday, Feb. 24, one was for a resident between the ages of 10 and 19, The Bellingham Herald’s analysis showed. The other four deaths reported last week were for residents in their 40s and three in their 80s, analysis showed.
No other information about the people who died, such as their gender, hometown or vaccination status, was reported.
Before Thursday’s report, Whatcom County had not seen any COVID-related deaths among residents younger than 30.
It had five reported among people in their 30s and 15 among those in their 40s.
Throughout the pandemic, 87% of the 262 COVID-related deaths in Whatcom County have been among residents 60 and older, with 126 of those deaths among those 80 and older. Five COVID-related deaths have occurred in residents who had celebrated their 100th birthday.
On a positive note, the county data showed weekly infection rates among all age ranges were down last week.
Whatcom COVID location data
Though all seven regions saw big drops in their infection rates last week, the infection rate in the region covered by the Mount Baker School District dropped by 81% from the week before.
The Blaine and Nooksack Valley regions weren’t far behind at 75%, while the other four regions all saw decreases of at least 63%, The Herald’s analysis of location data on the county dashboard showed.
Six of the seven regions now have weekly infection rates lower than 300 new cases per 100,000 residents, while the sixth (Lynden) narrowly missed.
As the state twice adjusted the overall county’s overall case count down last week, the Ferndale, Mount Baker and Nooksack Valley regions saw their pandemic case totals drop slightly in response.
Weekly COVID-related hospitalization rates also decreased in six out of the seven regions, with a slight increase in the Ferndale region.
The county health department releases weekly data on the location of COVID-19 cases using school districts as geographical boundaries, including each region’s number of total cases during the pandemic, infection rate, hospitalization rate, percentage of residents who have initiated vaccination and a breakdown of case rates by age. Data in this week’s report was through Saturday, Feb. 19.
Overall, Whatcom County saw its pandemic total of cases increase by 40 between Feb. 13 and Feb. 19 — down from the 935 new cases the county reported the previous week.
Whatcom County has a weekly infection rate of 195 cases per 100,000 residents from Feb. 13-19, according to the Washington State Department of Health’s COVID-19 Data Dashboard, though that data remains incomplete and likely will change. Three of the county’s regions had infection rates lower than that mark, according to the county’s data this week.
Here is what the health department’s latest data showed for the seven regions in the county:
▪ Bellingham: Had a weekly infection rate of 185 cases per 100,000 residents (down from 528 a week earlier) with nine new cases reported. The region’s hospitalization rate dropped to nine COVID-related hospitalizations per 100,000 residents, and 83% of the region’s residents have initiated vaccination.
▪ Blaine: Had a weekly infection rate of 228 cases per 100,000 residents (down from 913 a week earlier) with 16 new cases reported. The region’s hospitalization rate dropped to 11 COVID-related hospitalizations per 100,000 residents, and 76% of the region’s residents have initiated vaccination.
▪ Ferndale: Had a weekly infection rate of 202 cases per 100,000 residents (down from 609 a week earlier) and had its pandemic case total adjusted down by one. The region’s hospitalization rate climbed to 17 COVID-related hospitalizations per 100,000 residents, and 72% of the region’s residents have initiated vaccination.
▪ Lynden: Had a weekly infection rate of 302 cases per 100,000 residents (down from 823 a week earlier) with 32 new cases reported. The region’s hospitalization rate dropped to nine COVID-related hospitalizations per 100,000 residents, and 59% of the region’s residents have initiated vaccination.
▪ Meridian: Had a weekly infection rate of 89 cases per 100,000 residents (down from 250 a week earlier) with 10 new cases reported. The region’s hospitalization rate dropped to no COVID-related hospitalizations per 100,000 residents, and 68% of the region’s residents have initiated vaccination.
▪ Mount Baker: Had a weekly infection rate of 100 cases per 100,000 residents (down from 535 a week earlier) and had its pandemic case total adjusted down by 25. The region’s hospitalization rate dropped to no COVID-related hospitalizations per 100,000 residents, and 50% of the region’s residents have initiated vaccination.
▪ Nooksack Valley: Had a weekly infection rate of 235 cases per 100,000 residents (down from 950 a week earlier) and had its pandemic case total adjusted down by one. The region’s hospitalization rate dropped to no COVID-related hospitalizations per 100,000 residents, and 56% of the region’s residents have initiated vaccination.
This story was originally published February 25, 2022 at 5:00 AM.
