PACIFIC COUNTY — The rate of local children receiving routine immunizations to gain protection against the likes of the measles, polio, diphtheria, tetanus and hepatitis have declined sharply during the pandemic, according to a newly released report from the Washington State Department of Health.

The number of vaccine doses administered to those 18 and under sharply declined throughout the state beginning in March 2020, the DOH said, and persisted through December 2021 — the latest available data for this report. In Pacific County and many other counties in Washington, a decrease in vaccination coverage was most evident in the youngest age groups.

In Pacific County, coverage from June 2019 to December 2021 for fully vaccinated children aged 19-35 months declined 33.2% compared to the five-year average prior to the pandemic. In the DOH report, fully vaccinated for this age group is defined as the completion of a series of 19 vaccine doses, which protect against diphtheria, tetanus, acellular pertussis, polio, measles, mumps, rubella, hepatitis B, Hib, chickenpox and pneumococcal infections.

The drop in coverage in Pacific County for that age group was the third worst in the state when compared to pre-pandemic levels, trailing only Garfield County (down 81.5%) — the least populous county in the state — in southeast Washington and Mason County (down 47.4%) on the Olympic Peninsula.

Among the 4-6 age group in the county, coverage has dropped by 17.5% compared to pre-pandemic levels, again the third-worst mark in the state. Wahkiakum County saw the biggest decline for this age group, at 26.7%.

The decline in the county — and statewide — was less evident in older age groups. Coverage among 11-12 year olds in Pacific County declined by 2.8%, placing it in the top half of the state for that age group. Among 13-17 year olds the county’s decline was 3.7%, putting it in the bottom five in the state.

Overall in Washington, vaccinations decreased 9.6% in the 19-35 months age group, 3.9% in the 4-6 age group, 3.6% in the 11-12 age group, and 1.8% in the 13-17 age group. Vaccine requirement charts can be found at tinyurl.com/57fcc3tu.

Health officials are stressing to parents and guardians to get their children up-to-date on their immunizations in order to attend school, kindergarten, pre-school or childcare next school year.

“The pandemic has been difficult for everyone. Disruptions to schooling, childcare and in-person health care made it hard for some families to stay up to date on their shots,” said Dr. Tao Sheng Kwan-Gett, DOH’s Chief Science Officer. “We encourage parents and caregivers to schedule their well-child visits as soon as possible, to make sure their kids are happy, healthy, meeting developmental milestones, and ready for school.”

DOH acknowledged several limitations to the data it used for its report, noting that not all health care providers report all immunizations for their patients to the Washington State Immunization Information System. The department also said it is unclear how the pandemic has affected providers’ capacity to report data.

Covid update

In Pacific County, the covid-19 case rate over a two-week period stood at 226 as of May 11, up from 194 the previous week. The case rate has been rising slowly since it bottomed out at around 50 after the Omicron wave subsided about two months ago.

The county is closing in on 4,000 confirmed cases of the virus since the pandemic began, with the total sitting at 3,896 last Wednesday — an increase of 20 over the week before. Local health officials say the actual case count is probably much higher, and that the increased use of at-home tests in particular mean that many recent positive cases are likely going unreported to health officials.

Hospitalizations and deaths remained static over the previous week, sitting at 167 and 55, respectively. A death attributed to covid-19 hasn’t been reported in the county since late March.

County health officials continue to recommend that people with underlying health conditions — including their age — who test positive for the virus reach out to their healthcare provider to see if they are eligible to be prescribed existing treatments, such as antivirals and monoclonal antibodies. Antivirals like paxlovid, which local pharmacies have in supply, have shown to be most effective when administered within the first five days after someone has been infected with covid.