Tri-Cities COVID cases plateauing at higher level than before

The number of new cases of COVID-19 in the Tri-Cities area has been holding fairly steady recently.

But the flattening is at a very high rate of cases, said Heather Hill, communicable diseases program manager for the Benton Franklin Health District, speaking on the Kadlec on Call podcast.

“We are encouraged to have seen a plateau, but it does remain higher than our previous plateaus,” said Dr. Amy Person, health officer for Benton and Franklin counties, in a Thursday media briefing.

Cases peaked this summer and again after Thanksgiving.

On Thursday 149 new confirmed cases of COVID-19 were reported in the Tri-Cities area, up from 135 a day earlier.

It brings the average number of new cases so far this week — starting with the weekend — to 152 per day.

That’s down from the 176 average number of cases reported daily last week by the Benton Franklin Health District. In reports the week before that — the last week of December — new cases were averaging 164 a day.

Health officials are watching data closely this week for an uptick from holiday gatherings and travel, as it has observed after holidays starting with Memorial Day this year. The coronavirus can incubate for as long as 14 days before a person becomes ill.

The most recent case rates, reflecting cases that started in the two weeks from Christmas to Jan. 7, have been increasing.

For Franklin County 821 cases per 100,000 people were reported in those two weeks. It was the first time this month that case rates above 800 were reported.

For Benton County 672 cases per 100,000 people were reported for the same two weeks, up from rates in the 500s reported at the start of the month.

Case rates give a snapshot of a longer period than daily case counts do, and they are based on when a person sought testing or when symptoms appeared, rather than when positive case results were reported to public health agencies.

Hospital cases

Hospital rates also are higher than they were earlier.

Two months ago the COVID patient counts were in the 30s. This month they have been in the 50s and 60s, but still lower than case numbers that reached the 80s in June and December.

Local hospitals are treating 56 patients for COVID, as reported Thursday. That’s down from 60 the previous day.

The 56 COVID patients accounted for 13% of the 419 patients being treated at hospitals in Richland, Kennewick, Pasco and Prosser.

The Washington state Department of Health’s goal is less than 10% COVID patients to ensure hospital capacity.

The daily count of new COVID cases Thursday included 91 cases in Benton County for a total of 12,921 since the start of the pandemic.

Franklin County had 58 new cases for a total of 9,424.

Together the two counties have had 22,345 cases confirmed through positive test results.

The Benton Franklin Health District now is reporting deaths weekly, with an update expected Friday.

Death reports have been slowed since the start of the year as local health officials adjust to a new state law that took effect Jan. 1. It reduces access to death certificate information as a privacy protection.

The number of deaths for the two county area remains at 233. They include 156 Benton County residents who have died and 77 Franklin County residents.

COVID vaccine

Local health officials continue to expect more people to be eligible to receive the COVID vaccine at the end of the month, Dr. Person said.

Now health care workers and others in their organizations are being vaccinated. Residents and staff of long-term care homes also are being vaccinated.

At the end of the month that likely will expand to people 70 or older and people 50 or older who live in a multigenerational home, where people of at least two generations are living.

When they become eligible they will need to get COVID vaccines from the places they get annual flu shots, such as pharmacies, clinics and doctor’s offices.

The Washington state Department of Health will launch “Phase Finder” online Monday, Jan. 18, to help people know when they are eligible for a COVID-19 vaccine.

It also will provide locations where vaccines are available as people become eligible for the vaccine.

So far seven organizations in Benton and Franklin counties have received a total of 14,300 doses, said public health officials.

Some are assisting smaller health care organizations that do not have the vaccine to offer COVID shots to their staffs.

The health district also is working with larger health care organizations to make plans for how they can vaccinate large numbers of people, Hill said. More information should be available in the next week or two, she said.

Vaccinating people for COVID will take longer than vaccinating people for the flu, she said,, and not just because two doses several weeks apart are required.

People will need to be monitored for a time before leaving the vaccination site to make sure they do not have an allergic reaction, which are rare.

They will require more education about the vaccine and may have more questions when they receive their immunizations.

The vaccines also are more complicated to store and handle, she said.

For instance, after the Moderna COVID vaccine is thawed and vaccinations start, 10 doses have to be used within six hours or it goes to waste, she said.

So far 20 organizations in Benton and Franklin counties have been approved to receive and administer the vaccine as more vaccine becomes available and more people become eligible for the vaccine. More applications are in process.

The state of Washington determines the priority for vaccine eligibility, with the goal of first protecting those most vulnerable to serious illness.

Washington state

The Washington state Department of Health reported 2,892 new cases of COVID-19 Wednesday and 49 deaths.

Statewide totals from the illness caused by the coronavirus are 281,202 cases and 3,838 deaths. Those numbers are up from 278,310 cases and 3,789 deaths Tuesday. The case total includes 12,001 cases listed as probable. DOH revises previous case counts daily.

Washington’s population is estimated at about 7.6 million, according to U.S. Census figures from July 2019.

As of Dec. 25, the date with the most recent complete data, 99 people with confirmed cases of COVID-19 were admitted to Washington state hospitals.

Preliminary reports indicate average daily hospital admissions were 102 in early January.

Out of the state’s total staffed intensive care unit beds (1,188), approximately 80.7% (959) were occupied by patients Wednesday. Of those staffed ICU beds, 18.1% (215) held suspected and confirmed COVID-19 patients.

For the past seven days, Washington had a case rate of 37.1 per 100,000 people. Seven states were lower.

The national rate for the same period was 74.8 per 100,000, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Arizona has the highest rate in the United States at 134.7. Hawaii is the lowest at 13.4.

According to the CDC, 208,238 people in Washington (2.7% of the population) have been vaccinated with a first dose and 572,600 doses have been delivered to the state as of Wednesday. Currently approved vaccines require two shots for maximum effectiveness.

Currently, Washington state is in phase 1A of vaccinations. That phase includes high-risk health care workers, high-risk first responders and residents and staff of congregate living settings such as nursing homes.

On the national level, 29.3 million doses have been distributed and 10.2 million people have received the first shot of the approved vaccines. The population of the United States is approximately 328 million.

On Jan. 2, the most recent date with confirmed testing data, 10,713 specimens were collected statewide, with 22.4% testing positive.

The average positive test rate for the seven days prior was 17.1%. More than 4.1 million tests have been conducted in Washington. The test numbers reflect only polymerase chain reaction tests, which are administered while the virus is presumably still active in the body.

Cases by county

King County continues to have the highest numbers in Washington, with 71,106 cases and 1,135 deaths. Pierce County is second in cases, with 30,008. Snohomish County has the second-highest number of deaths at 437.

Following Pierce for numbers of new cases are Spokane, Snohomish, Yakima, Clark, Benton and Franklin counties. If Benton and Franklin counties were considered together, they would rank fifth.

All counties in Washington have cases. Only three counties have case counts of fewer than 100, including Columbia with 92.

There have been more than 23 million confirmed coronavirus cases and 384,277 deaths from the virus in the United States as of Wednesday afternoon, according to Johns Hopkins University. The United States has the highest number of reported cases and deaths of any nation.

More than 1.9 million people have died from the disease worldwide. Global cases exceed 92 million.

Craig Sailor of The (Tacoma) News Tribune contributed to this report.