More Tri-Cities COVID vaccine appointments added. Local positive tests 3 times state rate
About 200 appointments for free COVID-19 vaccination at the Tri-Cities fairgrounds were added Wednesday for the rest of the week.
That was in addition to about 150 unclaimed appointments.
However, appointments only are available for those seeking second doses of Pfizer or Moderna vaccines, and public health officials want the doses to go to those who received first doses at the fairgrounds.
Some openings were mistakenly posted online earlier this week for Saturday evening. People who signed up for those will be contacted to reschedule.
A holding line for cars will form in the afternoons — no specific time is announced — each day through Saturday at the fairgrounds to give any leftover vaccine to people seeking their second dose. They must bring their COVID-19 Vaccination Record Card.
On Tuesday the fairgrounds gave more than 1,600 free Pfizer vaccines from 8:30 a.m. to 4 p.m.
The Southeast Washington Interagency Incident Management Team said it expected to keep up that pace through Saturday to catch up after being closed last week when weather delayed shipment of vaccine.
Moderna vaccine will be available Friday and Saturday this week at the Kennewick fairgrounds for the 500 people who received Moderna shots at the fairgrounds Jan. 25. Since then Pfizer vaccine has been given for first doses.
To register for a fairgrounds drive-thru appointment, go to prepmod.doh.wa.gov and click on “Find a Clinic.”
On the next page scroll down to find appointments available by location and date.
People who cannot register online may call the state COVID-19 Assistance Hotline at 800-525-0127 and press #.
Hours have changed. It now is staffed 6 a.m. to 10 p.m. Mondays and 6 a.m. to 6 p.m. Tuesdays through Sundays.
Those trying to find a first dose of the vaccine may check bit.ly/BFHDvaccinesites, where the Benton Franklin Health District maintains a list of places that may be giving vaccines — primarily pharmacies, hospitals and medical clinics.
Tri-Cities COVID cases
The Benton Franklin Health District reported 59 new confirmed cases of COVID-19 on Wednesday, after an unusual drop to just 14 cases on Tuesday.
It puts the average number of daily cases for the week so far — starting with the weekend — at 38 each day.
That’s down from an average of 46 a day last week, which continued the decline in recent weeks. In the previous three weeks 64, 76 and 94 cases on average a day were reported.
The case rate for the Tri-Cities area for the past seven days was an average of 15 new cases per day per 100,000 people.
Washington had a downward trending case rate of 11 new cases per 100,000 on average per day for seven days, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on Tuesday.
The national rate for the same period was 19 per 100,000.
Six states had lower rates than Washington. South Carolina has the highest rate in the United States at 40. Hawaii is the lowest at 3.
Tri-Cities test results
The percent of tests with positive results in the Tri-Cities area continue to be about three times the state average.
On Feb. 4, the most recent date with confirmed testing data, 21,611 specimens were collected statewide, with a downward trending just under 5% testing positive.
In the Tri-Cities area, the most recent information is for drive-thru testing at Columbia Basin College in Pasco. About 15% of tests there are positive.
As of Feb. 4, according to state data, Franklin County had 16% positive test results and Benton County had 13% positive test results.
Hospital COVID cases
The number of patients hospitalized locally for COVID-19 was back in the 30s Wednesday, after dropping into the 20s on several recent days.
That’s still well below the 89 hospitalized patients reported in late June.
There were 34 patients being treated for COVID-19 in Benton and Franklin County hospitals as of Wednesday.
They accounted for 9% of the 382 patients in the Richland, Kennewick, Pasco and Prosser hospitals.
That meets the Washington state Department of Health standard of less than 10% COVID patients to ensure adequate hospital capacity.
The 59 cases on Wednesday included 35 cases in Benton County for a total there of 14,515 since the start of the pandemic.
Franklin County had 24 new cases reported Wednesday for a total of 10,853.
Together the two counties have had 25,368 COVID cases confirmed with positive test results for the coronavirus and 286 deaths from complications of COVID-19.
Washington state
The Washington state Department of Health reported 746 new cases of COVID-19 and 24 deaths from the disease Tuesday.
Statewide totals from the illness caused by the coronavirus are 335,693 cases and 4,881 deaths. Those numbers are up from 334,947 cases and 4,857 deaths Monday. The case total includes 17,888 cases listed as probable. DOH revises previous case and death counts daily.
Washington’s population is estimated at about 7.6 million, according to U.S. Census figures from July 2019.
As of Feb. 4, the date with the most recent complete data, 72 people with confirmed cases of COVID-19 were admitted to Washington state hospitals.
Preliminary reports indicate that average daily hospital admissions were downward trending to 47 in mid-February.
Out of the state’s total staffed intensive care unit beds (1,234) approximately 75.9% (937) were occupied by patients Monday. Of those staffed ICU beds, 17.9% (98) held suspected and confirmed COVID-19 patients.
Cases by county
According to DOH data, King County continues to have the highest numbers in Washington, with 88,195 cases and 1,371 deaths. Pierce County is second in cases, with 37,543. Spokane County has the second-highest number of deaths, at 547.
Following Pierce for number of cases is Spokane, Snohomish, Yakima, Clark, Benton and Franklin counties. If Benton and Franklin counties were considered together, they would rank sixth, after Yakima County.
All counties in Washington have cases. Only 12 of the state’s 39 counties have case counts of fewer than 1,000.
There have been more than 28.2 million confirmed coronavirus cases and 502,482 deaths from the virus in the United States as of Tuesday evening, according to Johns Hopkins University. The United States has the highest number of reported cases and deaths of any nation.
More than 2.4 million people have died from the disease worldwide. Global cases exceed 112 million.
Craig Sailor with The (Tacoma) News Tribune contributed to this report.
This story was originally published February 24, 2021 at 12:51 PM.