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Snohomish County Executive Dave Somers and Health Officer Dr. Chris Spitters provided updates Tuesday on the community’s response to COVID-19.
Somers pointed to a recent news report that compared COVID infection rates in Snohomish, Pierce, and King counties. The analysis concluded Snohomish County’s rate of 4,633 infections per 100,000 residents was not only the lowest among the three counties compared, but also less than half of the national average of 9,832.
The result reflects efforts by thousands of people across the county, and illustrates “that all the hard work and sacrifices everybody has been making have been worth it,” Somers said. He urged people to keep making good COVID choices.
Dr. Spitters said case rates appear stable at 227 new cases per 100,000 population across the last two weeks. However, there has been an increase in hospitalizations.
He urged COVID-fighting vaccinations for everybody who is eligible. The data suggest that roughly 377,000 people here have already initiated vaccination, close to 60% of the eligible population of residents aged 16 and up. About 274,000 people here have completed vaccination. That is roughly one third of the county’s total population and 43% percent of those eligible for vaccines.
Somers and Spitters were joined for the briefing by Simone Tarver, who serves on the executive committee of NAACP Snohomish County, and Karina Gasperin of Actitud Latina, who also serves as board president for the Snohomish County Latino Coalition.
Tarver spoke about her reasons for getting vaccinated against COVID and work the NAACP has been doing to encourage vaccinations, particularly within BIPOC communities. While vaccination rates have been high among older people here who are Black or African American, younger people in those communities have participated less. There are many reasons behind this, including a history of systemic racism that includes the medical establishment, Tarver said.
For her, deciding to get vaccinated came down to considering all the available data and making the choice based on risk versus benefits. “I am incredibly fortunate to have avoided getting this virus,” she said.
Gasperin stressed the importance of good information about vaccinations. She and colleagues have worked to spread the word that COVID vaccinations are safe, available to anyone eligible regardless of insurance, and administered free of charge. Challenges accessing vaccines, and concerns about taking time off from work for vaccination are barriers for many in the Latinx community, she said.
Gasperin said she was happy for the chance to be vaccinated against COVID.
“I want to protect my family. I want to keep serving my community,” she said.
Watch the full briefing here: https://youtu.be/RF8zhOlUe6E
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The U.S. Food and Drug Administration on Monday expanded its emergency use authorization for the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine to include adolescents 12 through 15 years of age.
This is the first of five review decisions by federal and state public health regulators that would be required before the vaccine could become available to people as young as 12 in Washington.
Dr. Chris Spitters, Health Officer for the Snohomish Health District, told a media briefing on Tuesday that some patience will be necessary as the process plays out. About 40,000 additional young people in the county would become eligible for the Pfizer COVID vaccine if it secures approval, he said.
Primary care physicians are the preferred alternative for vaccinating people ages 12 to 15, Dr. Spitters said, but for many that will not be an option. Work is now underway on securing alternatives. Staging vaccination clinics at schools is an idea with some support, the media briefing was told.
Monday’s decision was “a significant step in the fight against the COVID-19 pandemic,” said Acting FDA Commissioner Janet Woodcock, M.D. “(The) action allows for a younger population to be protected from COVID-19, bringing us closer to returning to a sense of normalcy and to ending the pandemic. Parents and guardians can rest assured that the agency undertook a rigorous and thorough review of all available data, as we have with all of our COVID-19 vaccine emergency use authorizations.”
From March 1, 2020 through April 30, 2021, approximately 1.5 million COVID-19 cases in individuals 11 to 17 years of age have been reported to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Children and adolescents generally have a milder COVID-19 disease course as compared to adults.
See the FDA’s full press release for more information that agency’s action.
The graphic below outlines the other steps that would be required before the vaccine could be made available here. Before that happens, no vaccination appointments are being scheduled for patients ages 12 to 15 at Snohomish County Vaccine Taskforce vaccination sites or clinics.
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The Snohomish County Vaccine Taskforce continues to provide COVID vaccinations at drive-thru and walk-in mass vaccination sites throughout the county.
The upcoming schedule adds more weekend and evening hours. Reminder: Appointments are recommended, but are no longer required in advance. On-site registration is provided at all mass vaccination sites during open hours.
Find the schedule for May 12-18 at http://bit.ly/snocovaccine. Updated schedules will be added to that page as future dates and times are confirmed for the mass vaccination sites.
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Many people in Snohomish County are choosing to get vaccinated against COVID-19, and we wanted to share some of the reasons they are making that choice.
Why do you vax?
#vaxupsnoco #inittogether
Facebook
Twitter
YouTube: https://youtu.be/IOaoT7x53Mg
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“It was the right thing to do for my community, for my family, and for my staff. I’m looking forward to getting back to the things we used to enjoy in person before COVID.” -- Arlington Mayor Barb Tolbert
Why do you vax?
#vaxupsnoco
Facebook
Twitter
Youtube: https://youtu.be/vI88DrlYrLc
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The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recently released new guidelines for fully vaccinated people. Here are some of those guidelines. Even though you might be fully vaccinated, you still must take COVID precautions.
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The three-week COVID-19 vaccine allocation forecast from the federal government shows Washington will receive nearly 400,000 doses of vaccine each week this month. The numbers are subject to change as vaccine availability may change.
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This week: 396,260 total doses (204,580 first doses, 191,680 second doses)
- This includes 219,960 doses of Pfizer, 163,400 doses of Moderna, and 12,900 doses of Johnson & Johnson
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Week of May 16: 396,260 total doses (204,580 first doses, 191,680 second doses)
- This includes 219,960 doses of Pfizer, 163,400 doses of Moderna, and 12,900 doses of Johnson & Johnson
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Week of May 23: 396,260 total doses (204,580 first doses, 191,680 second doses)
- This includes 219,960 doses of Pfizer, 163,400 doses of Moderna, and 12,900 doses of Johnson & Johnson
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If you test positive for COVID-19, contact tracers will give you a call. They are helpful, confidential, and working hard to stop the spread of disease in our community. Please help them by picking up the phone. #InItTogether
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The Snohomish County Parks, Recreation & Tourism Division announced last week that McCollum Pioneer Park pool will remain closed for the 2021 season (June to September) due to ongoing concerns with the COVID-19 pandemic.
“We know that many families, members of the community, and staff will be very disappointed to hear the news,” said Tom Teigen, Director of Snohomish County’s Department of Conservation and Natural Resources. “This pool has been an important part of Snohomish County for almost 50 years, but we had to make the decision due to many factors, including the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic and staff capacity.”
Meanwhile, the county is participating in a partnership with the City of Everett and Port of Everett to help the city’s Jetty Island Days program make a comeback this summer while ensuring state COVID-19 safety protocols are followed on the ferry used to transport visitors to and from the island.
The ferry is scheduled to begin operating Monday, July 5 and then from Wednesday, July 7 through Labor Day. The ferry operates five days a week (Wednesday through Sunday). Ferry service is available between 10 a.m. and 7:45 p.m. on Fridays and Saturdays, and between 11 a.m. and 6:45 p.m. on Wednesdays, Thursdays and Sundays.
The cost of providing transportation to the island will be partially offset by a nominal passenger fee of $3 per person; children aged 2 and under are free. Reservations are scheduled to open June 15 at visiteverett.com/jetty.
See the city’s press release for full details on what’s new this year.
“Jetty Island is truly one of the hidden gems of the Pacific Northwest,” Everett Mayor Cassie Franklin said.
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The state Department of Health late last week released the latest COVID-19 modeling and surveillance situation report. There are some signs that cases may be starting to flatten, but disease activity remains high – meaning vaccination efforts and behavior like wearing masks, keeping physical distance and gathering outdoors are still critical.
The report findings include:
- Statewide case counts showed some flattening starting in late April, but it’s still too early to tell whether this will continue.
- The report estimates the vast majority of cases in the state are now associated with variants of concern.
- Immunity is playing a bigger role in slowing the spread of the virus as vaccination increases, but transmission was still on the rise as of mid-April.
- On April 16, the best model-based estimate of overall population immunity was 31.9%.
- As of April 22, case and hospital admission rates were increasing across all ages except people 70 and older, who are also the most likely to have been vaccinated. People ages 20-29 had the highest case rates and sharpest increases in case rates.
“We are cautiously optimistic about a possible plateau in the most recent data, but we are still in a fourth wave and seeing a number of concerning signs. DOH will continue monitoring these trends closely,” said Acting State Health Officer Scott Lindquist, MD, MPH.
See the full press release for more information.
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COVID-19 has caused approximately 6.9 million deaths worldwide, more than double what official numbers show, according to a new analysis by the Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation (IHME) at the University of Washington School of Medicine.
IHME found that COVID-19 deaths are significantly underreported in almost every country, including the United States. Indeed, the updated analysis shows that the United States has had more than 905,000 COVID-19 deaths to-date, more than any other country. The official U.S. count has the COVID death toll nudging toward 600,00 people.
By region, Latin America and the Caribbean and Central Europe, Eastern Europe and Central Asia were hardest hit in terms of total deaths. This figure only includes deaths caused directly by the SARS-CoV-2 virus, not deaths caused by the pandemic’s disruption to health care systems and communities.
“As terrible as the COVID-19 pandemic appears, this analysis shows that the actual toll is significantly worse,” said Dr. Chris Murray, IHME’s director. “Understanding the true number of COVID-19 deaths not only helps us appreciate the magnitude of this global crisis, but also provides valuable information to policymakers developing response and recovery plans.”
IHME’s analysis found that the largest number of unreported deaths occurred in countries that have had the largest epidemics to-date. However, some countries with relatively smaller epidemics saw a large increase in the death rate when accounting for unreported deaths.
See the full press release for more information.
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Cumulative from January 2020 through May 10, 2021.
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ESSENTIAL LINKS AND PHONE NUMBERS FOR UP-TO-DATE INFORMATION
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