Thurston County adds eight COVID-19 cases Tuesday, plans more mass vaccine events
Thurston County reported eight confirmed cases of COVID-19 and no new deaths on Tuesday as officials plan a multi-day mass vaccination event this weekend.
The added cases bring the county’s totals to 7,391 cases with 71 deaths, according to data from Thurston County Public Health and Social Services. Since the first case was recorded a year ago, 342 people have been hospitalized and 6,794 have recovered or are recovering.
Ongoing outbreaks at four congregate care settings are still being monitored by the county, including three at nursing facilities and one at an adult family home, according to a weekly report. The total of such outbreaks remains at 49.
The percent of positive COVID-19 tests over the past week has crept up to 3%, according to the data.
Vaccine supply and events
Regarding vaccines, about 15% of Thurston County residents have received their first vaccine dose while 9% have received the full two doses, said department director Schelli Slaughter at a Tuesday board of county commissioners meeting.
In all, the state reported at least 62,225 vaccine doses have been given in Thurston County as of last Saturday.
In the last week, Slaughter said the Thurston County region received 4,780 first doses and 2,300 second doses for a total of 7,080 doses. From that allocation, she said PHSS administered 2,608 doses, including 2,415 this past weekend during a series of events.
“I just want to say thank you so much to all of the amazing staff, volunteers and community partners that helped make these vaccine events a success, and share that we continue to plan vaccine events for this next week,” Slaughter said.
In the upcoming week, she said the county is expecting 8,710 first doses and 1,000 second doses. She said PHSS plans to administer 3,540 doses at clinics targeting specific populations as well as at mass vaccination events.
The mass vaccination events will occur Friday through Monday starting this week at South Puget Sound Community College, she said. More information on these events will be released in the coming days, she added.
Educators and child care providers are encouraged to seek vaccines through federal pharmacy partners such as Safeway, Albertsons, Walmart, Costco, Rite Aid and Kroger. Additionally, the county plans to hold an educators and health care providers focused event at SPSCC on Saturday.
Appointments for events and local providers can be scheduled through the state’s FindYourPhaseWA.org website. She added 20% of the allocation PHSS receives will be reserved for people who lack internet access or have difficulty scheduling an appointment online.
Such people 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.
New CDC guidelines
The Center for Disease Control and Prevention released new guidelines for fully vaccinated individuals on Monday, indicating they could gather indoors, without masks or distancing, with other vaccinated individuals two weeks after completing their vaccination series.
Health Officer Dimyana Abdelmalek clarified the guidance during the Tuesday meeting, saying a significant number of antibodies are made in the two weeks after the final dose.
She added people should still avoid medium to large gatherings and continue mitigation tactics such as mask wearing and distancing outside small controlled settings described by the CDC.
Additionally, Abdelmalek said the new guidance indicates fully vaccinated grandparents may, in a controlled setting with a single household, visit with unvaccinated grandchildren.
She encouraged residents to get vaccinated as soon as they are eligible with whichever vaccine is available.
“We are so fortunate to have three safe and effective vaccines at our disposal here in the county,” Abdelmalek said. “Hope is on the way. We are not quite there yet. We still have to be very vigilant with all of our prevention measures.”
In the region
▪ Pierce County reported 70 new COVID-19 cases and two new deaths on Tuesday. In all, the county has reported 37,049 cases and 476 deaths.
▪ Grays Harbor County has reported 3,425 confirmed and probable cases and 51 deaths as of Tuesday.
▪ Lewis County Public Health & Social Services announced 13 new COVID-19 cases on Tuesday. In all, the county has reported 3,288 cases and 50 deaths.
▪ Mason County reported five new COVID-19 cases Tuesday, bringing is total to 1,718 cases with 27 deaths.
▪ Pacific County has reported 755 positive cases with 10 deaths as of Tuesday.
In the state, nation and world
The state Department of Health had reported a total of 346,403 cases and 5,077 deaths as of Tuesday.
In the U.S., over 29.1 million cases had been reported as of Wednesday with more than 528,000 deaths, according to Johns Hopkins University data.
Globally, over 117.8 million cases had been reported and more than 2.61 million people had died as of Wednesday.
This story was originally published March 9, 2021 at 7:36 PM.
