‘Struggling.’ Tri-Cities COVID cases surge. Officials fear more, younger deaths coming

Public health officials fear they will see a surge in deaths from COVID-19 and even higher demand for hospital care as the delta variant drives new daily cases higher.

“We are seeing the case rate approach and likely surpass the highest that we have had any time in the pandemic,” said Dr. Amy Person, health officer for Benton and Franklin counties, at a Thursday news media briefing.

The Tri-Cities area had 470 new COVID-19 cases announced on Thursday, bringing the confirmed cases reported since last Friday to 220 per day on average.

That’s up from an average of 58 new cases per day just three weeks ago.

The rolling two-week case rate per 100,000 people has surged 300% in two weeks, said Dr. Amy Person.

“Our medical system is being overwhelmed with a vaccine preventable disease,” she said. “ ... Our hospitals are full and are struggling with staffing shortages.”

The number of people hospitalized locally for COVID-19 treatment jumped to as many as 80 on a single day this week, the highest number according to Tri-City Herald records since the local health district began reporting that data about a year ago.

“Staff are out sick themselves,” said Heather Hill, infectious disease supervisor for the Benton Franklin Health District, speaking on the Kadlec on Call podcast, this week. “Staff have quit this profession. We are hearing of long lines in the emergency room.”

Hospitalizations are bound to increase as the number of infected people climbs due to the dangerous combination of the highly infectious delta variant of the coronavirus and a low vaccination rate, Dr. Person said. There is usually a lag time between when people are tested for the coronavirus and some become seriously ill.

More than 90% of samples from positive COVID-19 test results being genotyped now in Washington state to determine the strain of coronavirus are the delta variant, she said.

Elderly people have a high vaccination rate in the Tri-Cities area and there has been no surge in hospitalizations for that age group, Dr. Person said.

Those hospitalized and in intensive care units locally are younger than earlier in the pandemic, which likely will mean more deaths to come in younger people, she said.

“That is unacceptable for a vaccine-preventable disease,” she said. “ .... Vaccinations are highly successful in preventing deaths and hospitalizations.”

To date this year, 85 Benton and Franklin county residents have died due to complications of COVID-19, all but one of them unvaccinated.

Across Washington state from February through June 96% of patients hospitalized for COVID-19 treatment were not vaccinated, Dr. Person said.

COVID in children

The highest COVID-19 infection rate in the Tri-Cities area now is in adults ages 20-39, but public health officials also are concerned about the rate of cases in teens and children.

“Unless people really take heed, wear masks and protect kids, we will see a surge in pediatric patients,” Hill said.

With no COVID-19 vaccine yet approved for children under 12, wearing masks, social distancing and hand washing are among the steps that can help protect them as they return to school and help prevent outbreaks that disrupt learning, Hill said.

Students older than 12 should be vaccinated now, because they will need two doses of the vaccine several weeks apart for the vaccine to be fully effective. Vaccinating now would give them at least some immunity before they return to in-person classes, she said.

Intensive care units for children in some southern states are full, with some children on ventilators, Hill said.

The Tri-Cities area likely will not have that severe of an issue because it is smaller than southern cities now at capacity for children in their ICUs, she said.

“But, honestly, one child or two children being on ventilators because what could be a vaccine-preventable infection is just really unacceptable in our community,” Hill said.

The increasing number of daily new cases of COVID-19 also is putting stress on the free, drive-thru COVID-19 testing site at Columbia Basin College off Argent Road in Pasco.

The number of people being tested has climbed to more than 1,000 each of the five days it is open _ Fridays through Tuesdays 8:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. Nearly a quarter of the tests are coming back positive.

The demand is so high that public health officials have asked people who are seeking testing for job requirements or travel, to use other places in the community for testing, and leave the drive-thru site for people with symptoms or suspected exposures to the coronavirus.

Information about places offering testing is posted at covid19.bfhd.wa.gov/testing-sites.

More Tri-Cities vaccinations

All people, both vaccinated and unvaccinated, should be wearing masks in public if they are not sure everyone around them is vaccinated, said Dr. Person.

There is some good news in the Tri-Cities area fight against COVID-19.

Dr. Person said that the number of people getting vaccinated has increased in recent weeks.

Randy Johnson, a pharmacist and owner of RX Pharmacy in Richland, said demand for the COVID-19 vaccine at his business has tripled in the last two weeks compared to the weeks just before.

Part of the increased demand is likely from a new Washington state mandate that health care workers must be vaccinated to keep their jobs, he said.

But Johnson also is seeing more people who had put off or did not intend to get the vaccine decide they want it to protect themselves and their loved ones, he said.

His pharmacy has given more than 2,000 COVID-19 vaccines without seeing or receiving a later report of any serious reaction.

Any reactions have been mild and brief, such as tiredness, muscle aches or swelling at the injection site, he said.

The vaccine has become politicized, but as a Republican and a conservative he believes in the vaccine and urges people with concerns to talk to medical professionals to get accurate information on the vaccine, he said.

Tri-Cities COVID cases

Benton and Franklin counties have the highest rates of COVID-19 infection of any counties in the state of Washington and continue to lag the rest of the state in vaccinations.

Statewide 53% of all people are fully vaccinated.

That drops to 40% of people in Benton County and 33% in Franklin County.

The new COVID-19 cases reported on Thursday included 338 in Benton County and 132 in Franklin County.

They bring the total cases confirmed with positive test results for the Tri-Cities area since the start of the pandemic to 34,587, including 20,456 in Benton County and 14,131 in Franklin County.

On Wednesday local hospitals reported 80 patients being treated for COVID-19, or about 21% of the 384 patients in the Richland, Kennewick, Pasco and Prosser hospitals.

Thursday that dropped to 76 COVID patients or about 19% of 406 total patients.

That is still above the previous reported high of 74 local hospital patients being treated for COVID-19 at the end of December.

This story was originally published August 12, 2021 at 12:53 PM.