Thurston County plans daily vaccine events as it reports 16 new COVID-19 cases
Thurston County reported 16 additional COVID-19 cases on Tuesday as it contends with a two week rise in case counts.
The added cases brings the county’s totals to 7,965 cases with 76 deaths, according to data from Thurston County Public Health and Social Services. The county saw 166 cases last week and 167 cases the week before – a stark jump from when the county reported 109 cases the week of March 15.
“COVID-19 continues to be a concern for us in Thurston County and we ask that people please continue to take precautions such as wearing masks, washing hands, staying physically distant and socializing responsibly,” said PHSS department director Schelli Slaughter during a board of county commissioners meeting Tuesday.
Overall, the county has seen a decline in case counts since the end of the winter holidays however that trend slowed in recent weeks, according to county data. Statewide trends indicate case counts plateaued in March and have started to rise in recent weeks, according to Department of Health data.
The age of county residents diagnosed with COVID-19 has shifted to younger age groups in recent weeks as more older residents have become eligible for the vaccine. At 1,679 cases or 21% of total cases, people ages 20-29 made up the largest age group with confirmed cases as of April 4, according to the latest weekly report.
People between the ages of 30-39 made up the second largest age group with 18% of cases. Subsequent age groups accounted for less shares of the total case count with people 80 and older making up the smallest portion at 3% of total cases, per the data.
Since the pandemic started just over a year ago, 462 people have been hospitalized and 7,606 are considered recovered or recovering. Over the one week period starting March 9, the county also saw 3.1% of COVID-19 tests return positive results, according to the report.
There are currently two ongoing outbreaks at congregate care settings, per the report, including one at an assisted living facility and one at an adult family home. In all, the county has seen 51 such outbreaks since March 2020.
Vaccine supply and events
Regarding vaccines, Slaughter said 134,237 doses have been administered in Thurston County. About 30% of the adult county population ages 16 and older have initiated their first dose and about 19.4% are fully vaccinated, she said.
This week the county has been allocated 8,240 first doses and 2,540 second doses for a total of 10,780 doses allocated to all vaccine providers in the county, Slaughter said. Of that total, PHSS has been allocated 6,510 doses, she added.
Slaughter said the county will administer the doses it’s been allocated at daily mass vaccination events at South Puget Sound Community College. She added the county is planning to host more clinics at the Thurston County Fairgrounds soon.
Additionally, Providence has open vaccine appointments at clinics this week. The single dose Johnson & Johnson vaccine will be available at Providence Medical Group, Lacey Family Medicine on Thursday, according to a Providence spokesperson, and a first-dose Pfizer clinic will be held on Friday at the same location.
Residents can visit the PHSS website or the state’s vaccine locator website for links to upcoming appointments at local vaccine clinics.
As of last week, residents are no longer required to use the state’s Phase Finder website to prove their eligibility as that tool has been eliminated.
People with difficulties scheduling appointments online can call the Department of Health vaccine hotline at 888-856-5816 or the Thurston County public health line at 360-867-2610.
Slaughter said significantly more volunteers will be needed at the county’s mass vaccination sites as they scale up operations, especially after April 15 when all adult residents will be eligible. She added the county plans to request support from the National Guard.
“We do ask that people will continue to be patient as we will have many people eligible all at once,” Slaughter said. “Our vaccine supply is still limited, but it is increasing... We will have enough vaccine for everyone who is eligible by summer.”
People can sign up to volunteer through the United Way of Thurston County website. Anyone with questions or concerns about volunteering can call 360-943-2773.
In the region
▪ Pierce County reported 89 new COVID-19 cases and one new death on Tuesday. In all, the county has reported 40,074 cases and 516 deaths.
▪ Grays Harbor County has reported 3,569 confirmed and probable cases and 57 deaths as of Monday.
▪ Lewis County Public Health & Social Services has reported 3,417 cases and 55 deaths as of Monday.
▪ Mason County has reported four more cases on Tuesday for a total of 1,831 cases with 27 deaths.
▪ Pacific County has reported 847 positive cases with 10 deaths as of Wednesday, according to an update from the Pacific County Emergency Management Agency.
In the state, nation and world
The state Department of Health has reported a total of 370,652 cases and 5,299 deaths.
In the U.S., at least 30.8 million cases had been reported as of Tuesday with more than 556,400 deaths, according to Johns Hopkins University data.
Globally, over 132.2 million cases have been reported and 2.87 million people have died as of Tuesday.
This story was originally published April 6, 2021 at 5:19 PM.
