OLYMPIA — Pacific County and 35 other counties passed the first metric check of the state’s county-by-county reopening plan and will remain in Phase 3 for at least the next three weeks, Gov. Jay Inslee announced on April 12.

The news means that Pacific County will continue to enjoy current restrictions, which permit restaurants to serve up to 50% of its maximum capacity and loosen restrictions on indoor and outdoor social gatherings, among other things. Just three counties — Cowlitz, Pierce and Whitman — failed the metric check and will move down to Phase 2 beginning April 16.

The county passed the metric check with flying colors, according to a report from the Washington State Department of Health. From March 20 to April 2, the most recent two-week period with complete data, there were a total of eight reported new cases in the county, far below the 100-case threshold. There were also zero reported hospitalizations over the most recent seven-day period; the county could afford no more than two in order to pass the hospitalization metric.

Pull Quote

‘We need to focus on lowering disease transmission for the next several months, even though we have increased immunity across the state due to vaccination efforts. Vaccine is a crucial tool, but it isn’t the only tool, and we don’t have enough yet to rely on it to shore up the virus and keep the majority of us safe from the spread of disease.’

Dr. Umair Shah

Washington State Secretary of Health

In addition, a recent alteration to the reopening plan by Inslee means it will take an extremely dire situation for Pacific County to move backwards in the plan. The governor announced last week that a county would have to fail both the new case and hospitalization metrics to move back a phase, meaning the county would have to report three or more hospitalizations in a single week and more than 100 new cases over 14 days, something it only did when cases spiraled out of control last November and December.

Dr. Umair Shah, Washington State Secretary of Health, said that while the state is in a “hopeful time” and much progress has been made in the fight against covid-19 over the past year, cases have begun to rise again and vigilance is still necessary to prevent a fourth wave of the virus in the state.

“We need to focus on lowering disease transmission for the next several months, even though we have increased immunity across the state due to vaccination efforts,” Shah said in a news release. “Vaccine is a crucial tool, but it isn’t the only tool, and we don’t have enough yet to rely on it to shore up the virus and keep the majority of us safe from the spread of disease.”

County concerned about virus exposure at north county bar

Over the weekend, the Pacific County Health and Human Services Department reported that it is concerned there was a “high possibility” of exposure at a north county bar the previous weekend.

According to the department, people who attended a karaoke event on the evening of Saturday, April 3 at the Pitchwood Alehouse in Raymond should monitor themselves for symptoms of the virus. Those who show symptoms should isolate themselves and get tested for covid-19, with drive-thru appointments available on Mondays and Wednesdays at Willapa Harbor Hospital and on Thursday at Peninsula Pharmacies in Ilwaco.

Those who attended the event and have questions are encouraged to contact the county’s call center at 360-875-9407 or 360-642-9407. The call center is open on weekdays from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m.

On April 12, the department reported that there are currently 16 active cases in Pacific County, up from nine cases a week ago. Of the 31 new cases reported in the county over the past 14 days, 24 have come in just the past seven days. With 877 total cases reported in the county since the pandemic began, the case rate currently sits at 143.3, up nearly double from 78.6 a week ago.

According to county health director Katie Lindstrom, eight recent cases are tied directly to the high-exposure event. Another four cases have been identified where people were infected by others who had probably caught the virus at the event, although Lindstrom cautioned that the county is still in the midst of its investigation.

Clatsop County reported 866 total cases as of April 12, an increase of 23 cases over the previous week. Statewide confirmed covid-19 cases totaled 352,391 on April 12, with 21,057 patients hospitalized and 5,329 fatalities reported since the pandemic began.

Providers ready for widespread vaccine eligibility

Vaccine providers in Pacific County are ready for an expected surge in interest beginning this week. Beginning on Thursday, April 15, all Washington residents and workers age 16 and older will be eligible to receive a covid-19 vaccine, making more than 1 million Washingtonians newly eligible.

In the county, vaccine clinics for all adults are currently scheduled on April 15 and 16. On April 15, Peninsula Pharmacies is hosting a first-dose Moderna clinic at the Chinook School, which is fully booked. The pharmacy is also hosting another first-dose Moderna clinic on April 16 at the school, which still had appointments available as of the Observer’s press time on April 13. Visit https://www.covidvaccine360.com for current and future vaccine clinics hosted by the pharmacy.

Ocean Beach Hospital is also hosting Pfizer vaccine clinics on April 15 and 16 at the Ilwaco Timberland Library for all people age 16 and older. Appointments for the April 16 clinic were still available as of April 13, and can be scheduled at https://prepmod.doh.wa.gov/reg/1560623930.

Before scheduling a first-dose appointment for either Moderna or Pfizer’s vaccine, the county is urging people to verify that they will be able to make the required second-dose appointment set for several weeks later in order to complete the two-dose regimen and be fully vaccinated. The second-dose appointment for Moderna is set four weeks after receiving the first dose, and the second-dose for Pfizer is set three weeks after the first-dose appointment.

A Johnson & Johnson vaccination clinic previously scheduled in south county this week has been postponed due to a nationwide pause ordered by federal officials, who are investigating an extremely rare side effect possibly associated with the J&J vaccine. The state Department of Health followed suit hours later, announcing it will pause the use of the J&J vaccine statewide immediately for the time being.

The pause in using the vaccine came after serious brain blood clots were reported in six people — all women under the age of 50 — between 6 and 13 days after they received the one-and-done J&J vaccine. These cases will be reviewed by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices in the coming days before recommending guidance about the vaccine’s use going forward. More than seven million people in the U.S. have been administered the J&J vaccine.

At the time of the postponement, about 149,000 J&J vaccine doses have been administered in Washington state, and the state Department of Health says it has no knowledge of the six patients who experienced the blood clots being Washington residents. For those who got the vaccine more than a month ago, the department said the risk of developing this complication is “very low.”

“People who have received the J&J vaccine who develop severe headache, abdominal pain, leg pain, or shortness of breath within three weeks after vaccination should contact their health care provider,” the department said in an April 13 news release. “It also demonstrates how well the robust vaccine safety monitoring systems work, since this potential safety concern was identified quickly and vaccines were paused to allow for further investigation.”

With all adults eligible to be vaccinated starting this week, the county is saying goodbye to its vaccine waitlist, which was used to schedule thousands of vaccine appointments for county residents over the past several months. For a list of all upcoming vaccine clinics in both ends of Pacific County moving forward, visit http://www.tinyurl.com/paccoclinics.

As of April 10, 16,116 vaccine doses had been given in Pacific County, up from 15,178 doses a week earlier. About 25.8% of county residents have been fully vaccinated so far. Statewide, 4.19 million doses have been given, up from 3.72 million doses a week ago.