Thurston County reports 3 new COVID-19 deaths, announces plans for new vaccine clinic
Thurston County reported three new deaths and 22 new cases of COVID-19 on Tuesday.
The three deaths included a man in his 70s, a man in his 80s and a woman in her 90s, according to data from Thurston County Public Health and Social Services. With these added cases, the county has recorded 7,278 confirmed cases and 70 deaths since it reported its first case nearly a year ago.
In all, 341 Thurston County residents have been hospitalized at some point in their illness and 6,794 cases are considered recovered or recovering.
The good news: Only 2.8% of COVID-19 tests have come back positive over the last week, according to the data.
There are four ongoing COVID-19 outbreaks, including three at nursing facilities and one at an adult family home, according to a weekly report from the county. The total number of outbreaks remains at 49.
The state reported Thurston County had a transmission rate of 108.8 per 100,000 people over the two-week period starting Feb. 6, which is less than the overall state rate of 151.2.
Vaccine availability
So far, 50,082 vaccine doses have been given in Thurston County despite recent shortages, said department director Schelli Slaughter during a board of county commissioner’s meeting Tuesday morning.
She added 12.7% of county residents have received at least one dose and nearly 7% have been fully vaccinated.
In the next week, healthcare providers and pharmacies in the Thurston County region are expecting 4,780 first doses and 2,300 second doses, she said.
As a result of the increased supply, the county is planning to host an appointment-only, drive-up vaccine clinic at the Thurston County Fairgrounds on Friday.
Slaughter said people will be able to schedule appointments by the end of the day Wednesday through the state’s FindYourPhaseWA.org website. However, she said 20% of doses at the Friday clinic will be reserved for people who require special help via phone.
People without internet access can call the Department of Health vaccine hotline at 888-856-5816 or the Thurston County public health line at 360-867-2610 for information on vaccine availability.
In the region
▪ Pierce County reported 75 new COVID-19 cases and no new deaths on Tuesday. In all, the county has reported 36,450 cases and 466 deaths.
▪ Grays Harbor County has reported 3,361 confirmed and probable cases and 46 deaths as of Monday.
▪ Lewis County Public Health & Social Services added eight new COVID-19 cases on Tuesday. In all, the county has reported 3,250 cases and 50 deaths.
▪ Mason County reported three new COVID-19 cases Tuesday, bringing its total to 1,690 cases with 23 deaths.
▪ Pacific County reported 21 additional COVID-19 cases on Monday. In all, the county has recorded 762 positive cases with 10 deaths as of Monday.
Around the state, nation and world
The state Department of Health had reported a total of 341,441 cases and 4,988 deaths as of Tuesday.
In the U.S., over 28.7 million cases had been reported as of Tuesday with more than 516,000 deaths, according to Johns Hopkins University data.
Globally, 114.8 million cases had been reported and at least 2.55 million people had died as of Tuesday.
