PACIFIC COUNTY — It took 14 months from when a pandemic was declared for Pacific County to reach 1,000 confirmed cases of covid-19. It took five more months to reach 2,000 cases. Now, three months later, the county has blown past the 3,000-case milestone without breaking a sweat.

Another 325 cases of the virus were reported over the previous week, the most the county health department has reported in a single week since the pandemic began — beating the previous record of 296 cases from the week prior. In all, 3,161 cases of the virus have been reported in Pacific County as of Jan. 24.

The 14-day case rate stood at 2,874 per 100,000 people as of Jan. 23, up from 2,236 a week ago and more than double the rate of 1,312 two weeks ago. Another five county residents have been hospitalized over the past week, bringing the pandemic total to 141, and another person passed away due to complications from covid-19, the 43rd death in the county. The individual was in their 90s.

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The positivity rate at a clinic in Long Beach last week was nearly 70%, which county health director Katie Lindstrom called “insane.”

According to county health director Katie Lindstrom, the test positivity rates at recent testing clinics on both ends of the county hovered around an astounding 50%. The positivity rate at a clinic in Long Beach last week was nearly 70%, which Lindstrom called “insane.”

Statewide as of Jan. 23, at least 2,249 people in Washington are currently hospitalized with suspected or confirmed cases of covid-19 — up just 0.2% from a week ago — while 194 patients are on ventilators — up 10.9% from a week ago.

The good news, Lindstrom said, is that modeling from epidemiologists is showing that cases should begin to subside within the next couple of weeks, and there’s a possibility that cases could peak as soon as this week and then begin a quick descent.

Another silver lining is that, proportionately, Omicron is proving to be less severe than Delta, although the sheer number of cases are continuing to result in hospitalizations that are putting a strain on local and regional hospitals. As of Jan. 23, 96% of staffed hospital beds in Washington remained occupied.

Testing updateProviders in Pacific County are continuing to struggle to keep up with an overwhelming demand for covid-19 testing, although the past week saw several positive developments that should provide some relief for local health workers.

The federal government’s program to order rapid at-home covid tests launched a day ahead of schedule on Jan. 18, with every household in the U.S. able to order four free at-home tests through an online portal at www.covidtests.gov. The tests ship via the U.S. Postal Service, and are projected to take 7-12 days to arrive from when they were ordered.

A similar program also launched in Washington last week, with state residents able to order up to five free at-home tests per household beginning Jan. 21. The tests can be ordered online at www.sayyescovidhometest.org, although state health officials anticipated that initial demand will exceed the state’s current supply. The state is partnering with Amazon and CareEvolution to distribute and ship the tests.

“I think there’s going to be a shift, where we’re going to be really pushing at-home tests and having good public education and really pushing [the message] to stay home if you’re sick. Right now if you’re sick, assume you have covid because it’s just so prevalent,” Lindstrom said.

Additionally, Pacific County also has a request out to receive thousands of additional tests from the state, as Lindstrom said the overwhelming demand for testing in recent weeks is putting a serious dent in the county’s test reserves.

To that end, Lindstrom continues to urge that only symptomatic individuals and people who are close contacts of a positive case seek testing at clinics being held within the county. People seeking testing for travel or other reasons are not eligible to get tested at testing clinics.

“If you’ve tested positive within the last 90 days, you do not need another test,” Lindstrom said, with the exception of some healthcare workers who are required to get tested by a state order.

For a list of testing options in Pacific County, visit www.pacificcountycovid19.com/get-tested.

Studies affirm booster benefitsIn recent weeks, a number of real-world studies from across the globe have confirmed reports from the beginning of the Omicron outbreak: that mRNA booster shots strongly protect against severe illness from the variant.

According to data published last week by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, a third shot of either the Pfizer or Moderna vaccine are 90% effective against hospitalization with the new variant, while getting two shots was 57% effective when it had been at least six months since receiving the second dose. The CDC study looked at about 88,000 hospitalizations across 10 states in December and January when Omicron was the dominant variant.

Against developing a symptomatic infection, another CDC study found that the odds of a boosted person developing a symptomatic infection from Omicron was 66% lower than those who had received just two shots.

The data was also encouraging for older Americans who are boosted compared to their unvaccinated peers. Unvaccinated people between 50 and 64 were 44 more times likely to end up hospitalized with covid-19 than those in their age group who had received a booster shot. For unvaccinated people who are 65 and older, they were 49 times more likely to end up in the hospital due to Omicron.

The CDC’s figures largely affirmed another recent study from the United Kingdom Health Security Agency, which found that a third Pfizer shot is initially 95% effective against hospitalization from Omicron, and remained at about 80% effective four months later. With two shots of any vaccine, the study said, protection against severe illness from Omicron dropped to 40% after six months.

Currently, it is recommended for Americans to get a booster shot if it has been at least five months since receiving your second Pfizer or Moderna shot, or if it has been two or more months since receiving a single dose of Johnson & Johnson’s vaccine.

The studies, Lindstrom said, largely affirm what is being seen locally amid the current outbreak, which is that vaccinated and boosted individuals who catch a breakthrough case of covid are generally experiencing only mild or moderate symptoms.

“[The studies] are really similar to what we’ve seen locally and at the state level,” Lindstrom said.

In Pacific County, 62.4% of the total population has received at least one covid-19 vaccine dose, 55% have received two doses, and 24.4% have received a booster dose as of Jan. 22. For a list of upcoming local vaccine clinics, visit www.pacificcountycovid19.com/get-vaccinated.