Tri-Cities COVID deaths still worry officials. More outbreaks reported

Public health officials were generally pleased this past week with trends for COVID-19 in the Tri-Cities area and the state.

However, there continue to be too many deaths, according to both state and local officials.

In the Tri-Cities area a single death due to COVID was announced this week by the Benton Franklin Health District.

It brings the total recent deaths in Benton and Franklin counties so far this month to nine, with four of those reported Sept. 18.

The most recent death was a Benton County man in his 80s, making him the 725th in the two-county area known to have died of COVID-19 since the start of the pandemic.

Seven of the deaths reported this month have been people in their 70s or older, although two people in their 40s also died.

About 350 people a day continue to die nationwide from COVID-19, said Lacy Fehrenbach, the Department of Health deputy secretary for prevention, safety and health, at a news briefing last week.

COVID outbreaks

There already have been eight outbreaks this month in long-term care homes for the elderly, such as nursing homes, said said Heather Hill, infectious disease supervisor for the Benton Franklin Health District, speaking last week on the Kadlec on Call podcast.

In August there were six.

The Benton Franklin Health District has been working with long-term care homes to encourage more residents and staff to get their COVID-19 boosters, which have been shown to reduce the risk of hospitalization and death and also long COVID.

Face coverings continue to be required by the Washington state Department of Health for visitors to long-term care facilities.

Quality face coverings continue to be one of the best ways to protect yourself from infection not only from the coronavirus but also flu and other respiratory infections as they start to increase in the fall, Fehrenbach said.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention lists it as the third leading cause of death in the nation for 2020 and 2021, behind heart disease and cancer.

Schools also are having COVID-19 outbreaks since students have returned to class this fall, Hill said.

There currently are four school outbreaks in the two counties with 15 other potential outbreaks under investigation, she said.

Tri-Cities COVID cases

Both Benton and Franklin counties earned a COVID-19 community rating of “low” on Thursday, an improvement from the previous week’s rating of “medium” by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Just four counties in the state of Washington received ratings of “medium” Thursday — Walla Walla, Columbia, Klickitat and Skamania, all on the southern edge of the state — and the other 35 counties were rated “low.”

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.

The number of new confirmed cases in the Tri-Cities area is down slightly since the start of September, dropping from 123 new cases per 100,000 in a week to 110 in a week.

Benton County’s new case rate has held fairly steady for the month, but Franklin County’s weekly case rate has dropped from 146 to 110.

However, Benton and Franklin counties remain among 11 of the 39 counties in Washington state with weekly new COVID-19 case rates above 100, according to the most recent statewide data. Two counties have case rates below 50.

Updated municipal wastewater test results were not released this week, but the latest data shows that concentrations of coronavirus in Kennewick, Pasco, Richland and West Richland had increased to levels seen four weeks ago.

Concentrations remained at about half of the summer peak of the omicron variant, however.

In Washington state the percentage of hospital beds occupied by COVID-19 patients has dropped from 11% to 7% over the past month and nationally hospitalization also is down, said Dr. Umair Shah, state secretary of health, on Thursday.

In the Tri-Cities the hospitalization rate matches the rate of a month ago, but it is lower than it was earlier in September.

COVID-19 vaccination

In Washington state more than 173,000 people have received the latest COVID-19 boosters this month, and plenty of the booster vaccine doses are available, said Michele Roberts, the state’s assistant secretary for prevention, safety and health.

She expects eligibility for the new booster to expand to allow children ages 5 to 11 to also receive it later in October.

Now it is only available to people 12 and older.

The booster can be given at the same time people get their annual flu shot, she said.

Hill recommends that people eligible for a booster get it soon. Now the boosters are free, but that could change, she said.

The booster should be given no sooner than two months after the latest vaccine dose.

The new booster, which is targeted against the original COVID-19 strain and the omicron strain, is widely available at pharmacies.

The vaccine booster also is available at free community clinics outside Super Mex, at 720 N. 20th Ave., Pasco, 2 to 6 p.m. Saturday and Sunday, Sept. 24-25; and outside Fiesta Foods, 115 S. 10th Ave., Pasco, 2 to 6 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 8.

The Department of Health Care-a-Van also will be giving free COVID-19 vaccinations noon to 5 p.m. Wednesday and Thursday, Sept. 28-29 at Grocery Outlet, 1325 4th Ave., Kennewick.

Gift cards worth $50 will be given to people getting the first or second dose in their primary series from the Care-a-Van.