COVID-19 activity plateaus in Thurston County as bivalent boosters roll out
COVID-19 disease activity has plateaued in Thurston County over the past month, says Health Officer Dimyana Abdelmalek.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention ranked the county’s COVID-19 Community Level as “low” based on data from Sept. 21-27. Abdelmalek pointed out this rating during a county meeting last week but added season changes may affect it.
“We have seen increases in COVID-19 transmission and hospitalizations in the past, going into the winter,” Abdelmalek said. “So I do want to encourage residents, especially folks 12 and up, if you qualify for a bivalent booster, to get boosted.”
Bivalent COVID-19 boosters first became available last month. Some people initially had difficulty finding open appointments, but availability has improved over the past few weeks she said. She added she expects bivalent boosters to be available to children 5 through 11 later this month.
Thurston County PHSS continues to offer free vaccination events, including for bivalent booster shots, every week. Upcoming events are listed on their coronavirus vaccine information website.
In addition to getting boosted, Abdelmalek recommended residents get their flu shots. She said these shots should be scheduled in September and October to get the most benefit.
Abdelmalek’s recommendation came as Thurston County case rate per 100,000 reached 71.5 from Sept. 20-26, according to Washington state Department of Health data. The county’s case rate has remained below 100, the state’s threshold for high activity, since mid-August.
As such, the state ranked Thurston County’s disease transmission as “substantial,” the second to worst rating. This rating contrasts with the CDC’s “low” level because the federal agency considers more metrics.
The CDC determines community levels by weighing new hospital admission and inpatient bed data after considering cases per 100,000 in the past seven days. Thurston County shared the “low” rating with all its immediate neighbors in Washington state.
With a “low” rating, the CDC recommends people wear masks if they experience symptoms, test positive or have been exposed to someone with COVID-19.
People should also wear masks on public transportation, the CDC says.
Recent cases, hospitalizations and deaths
Thurston County reported two deaths due to COVID-19, 59 hospitalizations and 615 cases from Sept. 12 to Oct. 2, according to its weekly reports.
Two men died: one in his 40s and one in his 80s. In all, 444 Thurston County residents have died and 2,869 have been hospitalized at some point in their illness since the start of the pandemic to Oct. 2.
Additionally, PHSS has confirmed 57,564 total cases. However, case numbers are likely undercounted due to the prevalence of at-home tests that are often not officially recorded.
PHSS had been investigating 17 ongoing outbreaks at congregate care settings as of Oct. 2. In all, there have been 281 such outbreaks.
Around 6.9% of staffed in-patient beds were being used by patients with confirmed COVID-19 over a seven-day period ending on Monday, according to CDC data. About 5.5% of these beds were reported occupied the previous week.
There were about 5.4 hospital admissions per 100,000 Thurston County residents over the same period, per CDC data. This represents a 17.1% decrease compared to the rate from the previous seven days.
This story was originally published October 10, 2022 at 12:09 PM.
