Update: Latest on COVID in Tri-Cities. And when to expect the new vaccine in Washington
Most COVID-19 data for the Tri-Cities is looking better.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention improved both Benton and Franklin counties COVID-19 community transmission ratings to “low” in its weekly update Thursday.
A week earlier both counties had ratings of “medium.”
Now that the community ratings have improved, the CDC makes no recommendations for wearing masks.
In other metrics that show falling levels of COVID in the community, the number of confirmed new cases in the Tri-Cities area was down for the week.
Most promising, the concentration of genetic material from the coronavirus in untreated municipal wastewater has dropped.
By the most recent count, it was still considerably higher than in the early spring, but was less than half of its summertime peak.
Wastewater is sampled from Kennewick, Pasco, Richland and West Richland.
However, despite declining evidence of the coronavirus locally, Benton and Franklin County residents are continuing to die from COVID-19, said Heather Hill, infectious disease supervisor for the Benton Franklin Health District, speaking this week on the Kadlec on Call podcast.
“So it is not just an inconsequential virus. It is still a deadly virus,” she said.
On Thursday the Benton Franklin Health District announced two more recent deaths from complications of COVID-19, one of them a woman in her 40s.
CDC WA COVID ratings
The CDC now gives 36 of the 39 counties in Washington state COVID-19 community level ratings of “low.”
The exceptions are Walla Walla and Grant counties, which are rated as “medium,” and Columbia County, which is rated as “high.”
When the community level is “high,” masks are recommended in indoor public spaces, and when they are “medium” those at high risk of serious illness should wear masks.
The CDC bases its COVID-19 community level ratings not only on new case rates, but also hospital beds used by patients with COVID and hospital admissions for people with the disease.
Tri-Cities COVID deaths
The two Tri-Cities area people who died recently due to COVID-19 were both women living in Benton County. In addition to the woman in her 40s who died, a woman in her 80s died.
Most deaths over the past two months have been in elderly people.
Deaths are announced weekly, usually on Thursday.
Deaths of Benton County residents due to complications of COVID-19 since the start of the pandemic now top 500.
Benton County has had 501 deaths and Franklin County has had 217, for a total of 718.
In the Tri-Cities, local public health officials verify that deaths are due to COVID complications by checking for a positive test result and that a coronavirus infection was named as a primary cause of death on the death certificate.
It can take several weeks for the health district to receive and reconcile death information due to the reporting processes of medical facilities and coroner offices and the process of issuing and releasing death certificates.
Tri-Cities COVID cases
The latest new COVID-19 case rate for Benton and Franklin counties combined was 123 new cases per 100,000 people over a week, with Benton County at 112 and Franklin County at 146.
That’s down from 262 for the two counties combined at the start of August. And it’s close to the new case rates being reported in late June.
The Richland, Kennewick, Pasco and Prosser hospitals reported 28 new patients admitted for treatment of COVID-19 over seven days in the most recent data available from the Benton Franklin Health District.
That compares to 35 reported at the start of August and 27 at the start of July.
COVID vaccine
The newly approved bivalent COVID-19 booster vaccine is en route to providers throughout the state, the Washington state Department of Health said Saturday.
The new booster is updated to target not only the original strain of COVID-19 but also the two subvariants that are causing most cases in Washington state now, omicron BA.4 and BA.5.
“We’re excited this updated bivalent booster will help increase protection against the omicron variants as we head into the fall season,” said Dr. Tao Sheng Kwan-Gett, the Department of Health’s chief science officer.
Public Health Seattle & King County compares the new booster to the flu vaccine, which is updated every year to target the flu strains expected in the upcoming flu season.
Just like the flu shot, the COVID-19 vaccine does not provide lifetime protection, Hill said.
An initial distribution of 191,100 booster doses is being distributed statewide, with subsequent weekly allocations to follow.
Initial demand is expected to exceed supply, and the Department of Health urges resident to remain patient while more inventory becomes available.
Visit Vaccine Locator or call the COVID-19 Information Hotline at 1-800-525-0127 to check on available vaccine.
Before people may get the new booster, they must get initial COVID-19 vaccinations — currently two doses of the Moderna or Pfizer vaccine.
The bivalent booster made by Pfizer is available for people 12 and older and the bivalent booster made by Moderna is for people 18 and older.
The booster should be given no sooner than two months after the latest vaccine dose.
The original monovalent booster will no longer be given to people ages 12 and older, but will continue to be the booster for children ages 5 to 11.
Vaccinations in the Tri-Cities area continue to lag the state.
In Washington state 69.5% of people 6 months and older have completed their primary COVID-19 vaccine series, compared to 57.4% in Benton County and 53.8% in Franklin County.
Of those eligible for a booster, 58% in Washington state have received one, compared to 50.2% in Benton County and 41.9% in Franklin County.
This story was originally published September 3, 2022 at 5:00 AM.