Not eligible yet for COVID vaccine in Tri-Cities? Health officials say check again

Some people may be surprised to learn they already qualify for the COVID-19 vaccine, say organizers of the Tri-Cities fairgrounds drive-thru vaccine clinic.

They are urging people to check out the state’s online Phase Finder to learn whether their particular set of circumstances qualifies them for the COVID-19 vaccine now.

For instance, some people may be surprised to learn that their household qualifies as multigenerational, said Ben Shearer, of the Southeast Washington Interagency Incident Management Team.

Go to FindYourPhasewa.org and answer the questions. If you don’t qualify yet, you can ask to be notified when you do qualify.

Eligibility requirements have been expanded twice already this month and will be broadly expanded again on March 31.

COVID vaccines are widely available in the Tri-Cities area for those who are eligible.

The Benton County Fairgrounds still had several hundred appointments open on Wednesday for the remainder of this work week, although Saturday appointments had been claimed.

Go to prepmod.doh.wa.gov and click on “Find a Clinic.” On the next page scroll down and check all pages for open appointments at the Benton County Fairgrounds listed separately for each day.

Most days a holding line forms several hours before the close of the clinic for any extra vaccine. Preference is given to those eligible for the vaccine but there are reports of some final doses being given to anyone who is there.

Help is also available to book an appointment or determine eligibility for the vaccine by calling the Washington state COVID-19 Assistance Hotline at 800-525-0127 and pressing #.

The Benton Franklin Health District also recommends checking for appointments at Tri-Cities Community Health. Call 509-547-2204.

Prosser Memorial Health also plans a clinic on Friday afternoon with both the Moderna and the single-dose Johnson & Johnson vaccine available. Call 509-788-6035 for an appointment or email connect@prosserhealth.org.

More appointments and information on how to make an appointment are listed at vaccinelocator.doh.wa.gov.

Wednesday it listed openings at the Kadlec Healthplex in Richland, the Kennewick Costco, the Kennewick Rite Aid on Ely Street and the Kennewick Fred Meyer.

WSU COVID outbreak

An outbreak in COVID-19 among Washington State University students and staff in Pullman is on the decline, according to Whitman County Public Health.

The peak in cases has not been tied to any particular event, but appears to be from activities outside the university.

Good weather for Pullman and a variety of events could have contributed, said Chris Skidmore, director of Whitman County Public Health.

While spring break for college students has been an issue for the spread of COVID cases across the nation, spring break at WSU was canceled this year and replaced with individual days off in February, March and April.

Classes are mostly being held remotely, but many students still have returned to Pullman during the current semester.

The two week case rate for Whitman County had been in the 500s but had dropped to 493 cases per 100,000 people by Wednesday.

“We hope we are on the other side,” Skidmore said.

WSU does contact tracing and also uses its scientific resources to test sewage from residential halls to look for evidence of the coronavirus.

If there are indications of an issue in dormitories, students there may be tested.

Close contacts have been identified and quarantined, Skidmore said.

Tri-Cities COVID cases

The number of new confirmed COVID cases in the Tri-Cities dropped to 29 on Wednesday after a one-day spike to 40.

It puts the number of cases so far this week — starting with the weekend — at 31 on average per day, which is close to the daily average new case numbers for the past two weeks.

The two week case rate for both Benton and Franklin counties continue to drop.

Both are meeting the requirements set by Washington state for the two counties to remain in Phase 3 of reopening when the state next checks for case rates below 200 on April 12.

The most recent case rate for Franklin County is 184 new cases per 100,000 for the two weeks ending March 17. For Benton County the most recent case rate is 121.

The case rate is figured by backdating new cases to the date people were tested, causing a lag in the weeks considered.

The new cases reported Wednesday included 20 in Benton County and 9 in Franklin County. They bring total confirmed cases for both counties since the start of the pandemic to 26,329.

The Tri-Cities area has had 306 deaths since the start of the pandemic, including 207 in Benton County and 99 in Franklin County.

The number of people hospitalized locally for treatment of COVID-19 increased to 17 on Wednesday, up from 12 on Friday.

The 17 patients being treated for COVID-19 on Wednesday accounted for just 4% of all patients in the Richland, Kennewick, Pasco and Prosser hospitals.

Washington state

The Washington state Department of Health reported 566 new cases of COVID-19 on Tuesday and three deaths.

Statewide totals from the illness caused by the coronavirus are 356,536 cases and 5,186 deaths. Those numbers are up from 355,970 cases 5,183 deaths Monday. The case total includes 21,695 cases listed as probable. DOH revises previous case and death counts nearly daily.

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

As of March 4, the date with the most recent complete data, 29 people with confirmed cases of COVID-19 were admitted to Washington state hospitals.

Preliminary reports indicate average daily hospital admissions were stable at 35 in early March.

Out of the state’s total staffed intensive care unit beds (1,242) approximately 73.2% (909) were occupied by patients Monday. Of those staffed ICU beds, 9.1% (113) 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 88,112 cases and 1,452 deaths.

Pierce County is second in cases, with 41,200 and has the second-highest number of deaths, at 597, according to DOH.

All counties in Washington have at least 100 cases. Only 11 of the state’s 39 counties have case counts of fewer than 1,000.

There have been more than 29.9 million confirmed coronavirus cases and 543,730 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 2.72 million people have died from the disease worldwide. Global cases exceed 124 million.

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

This story was originally published March 24, 2021 at 2:19 PM.