PACIFIC COUNTY — Cases of covid-19 continued to rise steadily in Pacific County over the past week, as Washington state is witnessing pandemic-shattering records that are only expected to grow higher in the coming days and weeks.

As of Dec. 27, 41 new cases were reported in the county over the previous week, up from 34 new cases the week prior and totaling 2,258 since the pandemic began, according to county health director Katie Lindstrom. The case rate per 100,000 people over a two-week period stood at 346, up from 318, despite what Lindstrom said was a severe lack of testing availability in the county last week that might be keeping the number of new cases from being much higher.

Pull Quote

‘The strategies are about risk reduction, the same way that an airbag doesn’t prevent all injuries in a car accident but it really helps compared to not having one.’

Katie Lindstrom

Pacific County health director

The past week also saw two more people in the county hospitalized by the virus, bringing the pandemic total to 127, and another Pacific County resident pass away due to complications caused by covid-19. The individual, the 39th in the county to die since the pandemic began, was in their 60s.

Statewide, more than 5,900 new cases have already been reported among tests that were collected on Dec. 23 — the highest number in a single day since the pandemic began, beating the previous high of 5,233 on Sept. 7 earlier this year. With the highly contagious Omicron variant now clearly the most dominant strain in the state, the new record isn’t expected to last long.

Nationally, the more than 240,000 new cases reported on Dec. 27 are more than double what they were two weeks ago. The 1,205 deaths reported on Monday are nearly level with where they were from two weeks ago but, like hospitalizations, tend to lag behind new cases by 1-2 weeks.

On the vaccination front, the past week was strong in the county. According to Washington State Department of Health data, more than 160 county residents received their first dose of a covid-19 vaccine, more than 110 received their second dose, and more than 340 received their booster dose. In all, 60.8% of the county population has received at least one dose, 53.9% are considered fully vaccinated and 20.3% have received a booster dose.

For a list of all upcoming vaccine clinics in Pacific County, whether for a first or second dose or a booster dose, visit www.pacificcountycovid19.com/get-vaccinated.

Risk reduction

With Omicron proving to be much more contagious than even Delta, Lindstrom urged people to take steps to improve their risk reduction against the virus.

Steps Lindstrom said people should take to reduce their risk of contracting the virus include:

• Getting vaccinated, and then getting boosted once eligible. “Having both of your vaccines is good, being boosted is better. Having one dose is better than no doses. It’s not [all-or-nothing].”
• Upgrading from a cloth mask to an N95 or KN95 mask. “The primary function of [the cloth mask] is to prevent you from spreading it to someone else. It also has always provided some protection for the wearer … but the real advantage to the KN95s is it offers a lot of additional protection to the wearer compared to cloth masks.”
• Inquiring about treatment options, such as monoclonal antibodies, if you test positive for covid-19 and are at high-risk for contracting severe disease. County residents can talk to their healthcare provider or a public health nurse about whether to receive a referral for monoclonal antibodies that are now being offered in a limited capacity at Ocean Beach Hospital and Willapa Harbor Hospital.

“The strategies are about risk reduction, the same way that an airbag doesn’t prevent all injuries in a car accident but it really helps compared to not having one. And then the seatbelt is another tool, and then anti-lock brakes are another tool,” Lindstrom said. “We’re aware that breakthrough cases happen with people who are vaccinated, and we’re also aware that masks aren’t perfect and they don’t prevent 100% of the spread, but they are much more effective than not using them.”