Sharp increase in COVID cases in Tri-Cities kids. Here’s what it means for schools

Tri-Cities area schools are at risk of increasing COVID-19 cases among students and staff given the high infection rate in kids from 5 to 19, said public health officials.

Cases in school-age children this month remains at 30% of new cases in Benton and Franklin counties, said Dr. Amy Person, bi-county health officer, at Thursday’s health district news briefing.

Currently, there are six active outbreaks in schools in the two counties, she said.

Three of those are from infections that spread in classrooms and the other three spread in other school settings, including within sports teams.

The highest rate of new COVID-19 cases right now is in teens ages 15 to 19, calculated at 1,192 cases per 100,000 teens in the last two weeks for Benton and Franklin counties combined..

Cases in that age group have risen sharply, said Heather Hill, infectious disease supervisor for the Tri-Cities based health district, speaking on the Kadlec on Call podcast this week.

Cases in children ages 5 to 14 have increased even more quickly, although the case rate is not quite as high, she said. The case rate for that age group is calculated at 1,158 cases per 100,000 children in the last two weeks.

Schools continue to do a good job of stopping the spread of the virus within their walls by good adherence to requiring masks, distancing and identification of those who are ill, Dr. Person said.

No school or classroom closures have been needed, she said.

Parents can help slow the spread by taking seriously symptoms such as sniffles, headaches and slight fevers in children, which could indicate they have COVID-19, Hill said.

Children should be kept home if they may have the disease to prevent the spread of the highly contagious delta variant.

Tri-Cities COVID cases

Overall case rates for the two counties appear to have peaked in the current wave of COVID-19.

The new case rate in Benton County as of Tuesday noon was 895 new cases per 100,000 people over two weeks, down from the rate of 984 a week ago Tuesday. The case rate Thursday dropped to 844.

In Franklin County, the new case rate announced at Tuesday noon was 1,118 new cases per 100,000 over two weeks, down from the case rate of 1,165 a week earlier. The case rate Thursday dropped to 1,073.

On Thursday, 199 new confirmed cases of COVID-19 were reported for the Tri-Cities area, including 113 in Benton County and 86 in Franklin County.

The cases increased the total for the two counties since the start of the pandemic to just over 45,000.

As case rates have dropped, so have the number of people admitted to Tri-Cities area hospitals, Dr. Person said.

Since Sept. 23, the number of people hospitalized for COVID-19 treatment in the four hospitals in Benton and Franklin counties has dropped below 100.

However, numbers still remain high, with 76 people being treated for COVID-19 in the Richland, Kennewick, Pasco and Prosser hospitals as reported Thursday. That’s nearly three times as many COVID-19 patients as six months ago.

“The majority of the hospitalizations continue to be in unvaccinated individuals and this difference is more pronounced in younger individuals than in the elderly,” Dr. Person said.

Across the state people age 12 to 34 are 26 times more likely to be hospitalized for COVID-19 treatment if they are not vaccinated.

Those 36 to 64 are 20 times more likely to be hospitalized, Dr. Person said, citing a Washington state Department of Health report.

“While we know disease is more severe in the elderly, the impact of vaccination on hospitalizations affects not just the elderly but even down to our pediatric populations,” she said.

Tri-Cities vaccinations

The percentage of people getting vaccinated against COVID-19 each week is increasing slightly, likely because employers are requiring the vaccine, Hill said.

However, the number of people vaccinated in Benton and Franklin counties is far below the number public health officials had expected and below the level that would offer significant protection in the community against the spread of the coronavirus, Hill said.

In Washington state nearly 58% of all people are fully vaccinated against COVID-19. For those 12 and older — the ages eligible for the vaccine — nearly 68% of the population is fully vaccinated.

In Benton County, the percentage of the population fully vaccinated drops to just under 46%, with 55% of people old enough to vaccinated now fully vaccinated. That puts the eligible population 13 percentage points below the state vaccination rate.

In Franklin county, just under 40% of the population is fully vaccinated.

Of those 12 and older, just under 51% are fully vaccinated. The eligible population 17 percentage points below the state vaccination rate.

Percentages do not include some people who received vaccines through federal programs, such as the Veterans Administration.

Although people who are vaccinated can still be infected with the coronavirus, they are less likely to be infected and significantly less likely to be hospitalized or die from complications of COVID-19, Dr. Person said.

People who have been reluctant to be vaccinated are sincere in their beliefs, said Dr. John Matheson, director of the Kadlec emergency departments. speaking on Kadlec on Call.

But the evidence is clear that COVID-19 vaccines are safe and effective, he said.

Tri-Cities free vaccine clinic

Columbia Basin College is expecting large crowds for a free COVID-19 vaccine clinic 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Monday Oct. 4 in the H Building parking lot on the Pasco campus. Enter off Argent Road on Saraceno Way.

The first 100 participants will be offered a $50 Safeway gift card, courtesy of the Washington state Department of Health.

Booster shots will be offered of the Pfizer vaccine for people who are immunocompromised, but they will not be eligible for the gift card giveaway.

Monday is the last day for people to receive a single dose of the Johnson & Johnson vaccine or the second dose of the Pfizer vaccine and still be fully vaccinated by the Washington state deadline of Oct. 18 for many workers, including state and school employees, to be fully vaccinated.

COVID-19 vaccines may be given at the same time as influenza or childhood vaccinations for those 12 and older, Dr. Person said.

Check vaccinelocator.doh.wa.gov for more locations offering COVID-19 vaccinations, including Pfizer boosters to those eligible, in the Tri-Cities area.

This story was originally published September 30, 2021 at 12:35 PM.