More COVID vaccine appointments open as Tri-Cities struggles to keep new cases down

New opportunities for COVID vaccination are opening up this week in the Tri-Cities, including a limited number of vaccines available at the Benton County Fairgrounds for people needing their first dose and vaccine for veterans.

People who got a first dose of the Moderna, rather than Pfizer, COVID vaccine at the fairgrounds also may be able to get their second dose of Moderna on Wednesday.

The number of new cases of COVID-19 in the Tri-Cities jumped to 55 on Tuesday, despite progress in getting people vaccinated to protect against infection with the coronavirus.

More than 19,400 people have been fully vaccinated in Benton and Franklin counties, and nearly 61,000 doses of vaccine have been given, according to the Washington state Department of Health.

At the start of the week, more than 2.2 million doses had been delivered to the state and 1.8 million doses of COVID-19 vaccines have been administered in Washington, according to the Centers for Disease Control.

The 55 new COVID cases reported on Tuesday in the Tri-Cities area are up from an average of 39 new cases per day on the weekend.

They bring the number of new cases this week — starting with the weekend — to an average of 43 a day.

It’s the same number of cases per day on average as last week, which continued a bi-county drop in new cases from 46 a day the preceding week and 64, 76 and 94 cases a day the weeks before that.

The new cases reported Tuesday were mostly in Benton County, with 44 cases there and 11 in Franklin County.

Washington state Department of Health officials have been concerned that new cases have not been falling as quickly in Franklin County as in Benton County.

Case rates continue to be higher in the Tri-Cities area than in the rest of the state.

Benton and Franklin counties have had an average of 16 new cases per day per 100,000 people over the last seven days.

Washington state has a case rate of just under 11 new cases per day per 100,000 people, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported on Monday for the past seven days.

The national rate for the same period was 20 per 100,000.

Four states had lower rates that Washington. New Jersey has the highest rate in the United States at 37 and Hawaii was the lowest at 4.

The Tri-Cities area has 24 people hospitalized for treatment of COVID-19, up from 22 a day before, the Benton Franklin Health District reported on Tuesday.

The 24 local COVID patients on Tuesday accounted for just 6% of the 402 patients in the Richland, Kennewick, Pasco and Prosser hospitals.

The percentage was above 10% just two weeks ago.

Only one recent COVID-19 death in the Tri-Cities area was reported last week, after the area had about a death a day reported from December through mid February.

The Benton Franklin Health District reports deaths once a week, on Fridays.

The new COVID cases reported on Tuesday bring the total for the two counties to 25,611, including 14,665 faces in Benton County and 10,946 cases in Franklin County.

Tri-Cities fairgrounds vaccine

Check daily for appointments for first doses of the COVID-19 vaccine at the Kennewick fairgrounds.

On Tuesday, appointments for first doses were posted there until 2 p.m., and more appointments for first doses may be posted for each day through Saturday.

About 6,000 Pfizer vaccines will be given at the fairgrounds from Tuesday through Saturday this week, with the majority of those reserved for people needing their second dose of the vaccine.

To look for appointments, 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 for either first or second doses. A second page may show more local appointments.

Keep checking back for any appointments posted because of cancellations. Or call 800-525-0127 and press #.

If this is your first vaccine you will need to provide proof of eligibility, which is available at FindYourPhaseWA.org.

Any extra doses will be given to a holding line for those without an appointment. People in the car holding line should bring their COVID-19 Vaccination Record Card if they are looking for their second dose.

The Tri-Cities fairgrounds mass vaccination site also will have some Moderna COVID-19 vaccine available on Wednesday, March 3.

It is for people who received their first dose of the Moderna vaccine at the Benton County Fairgrounds and now are looking for their second dose.

Most of the vaccine administered at the fairgrounds in Kennewick has been Pfizer vaccine. Both require a second “booster” dose, with the same type of vaccine used for both shots.

To register for a second Moderna dose at the fairgrounds, call the state COVID-19 Assistance Hotline at 800-525-0127 and press #.

Vaccine for veterans

The Walla Walla Veterans Administration will be giving Moderna COVID-19 shots in the parking lot of the Federal Building in Richland from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturday, March 6.

The drive-thru clinic is at 825 Jadwin Ave., and face masks are required.

The event is open to any veteran age 65 or older if they are enrolled with the Walla Walla VA, including veterans using clinics in Richland, Yakima, Walla Walla, Enterprise, Ore., and Boardman, Ore.

Appointments are required by calling 509-525-5200 and then pressing 2 once and then again. Or ask for the call center.

Washington state

The Washington state Department of Health reported 475 new cases of COVID-19 Monday and 13 deaths from the disease since Friday.

Statewide totals from the illness caused by the coronavirus are 340,708 cases and 4,969 deaths. Those numbers are up from 340,233 cases Sunday and 4,956 deaths Friday. The case total includes 18,827 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. 10, the date with the most recent complete data, 50 people with confirmed cases of COVID-19 were admitted to Washington state hospitals.

Preliminary reports indicate that average daily hospital admissions were trending to downward toward 47 in late-February.

Out of the state’s total staffed intensive care unit beds (1,202) approximately 75.7% (910) were occupied by patients Sunday. Of those staffed ICU beds, 10.4% (125) 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 84,244 cases and 1,394 deaths. Pierce County is second in cases, with 38,424. Spokane County has the second-highest number of deaths, at 561.

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 28.6 million confirmed coronavirus cases and 514,302 deaths from the virus in the United States as of Monday evening, according to Johns Hopkins University. The United States has the highest number of reported cases and deaths of any nation.

More than 2.5 million people have died from the disease worldwide. Global cases exceed 114 million.

This story was originally published March 2, 2021 at 2:26 PM.