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Hundreds of elderly drivers put their cars in line way before dawn for the opening day of a first come, first serve drive-thru COVID vaccination clinic in Sequim, Washington. The scene provided a dramatic illustration of eagerness among many seniors to get the coveted shots. Hospitals in other medium-sized and smaller Washington communities that have opened vaccination appointment lines to all seniors in recent days report being swamped as well.
At sunrise Thursday, a line of cars stretched well over a mile from a Sequim city park, through the town, and out onto U.S. Highway 101. Sequim police officers started turning people away and telling them to come back another day even before the first of 600 vaccine doses was injected.
Whatcom surges past 1,000 confirmed COVID cases in 2021 with 128 reported Thursday
The Bellingham Herald 1/15/2021 David Rasbach, The Bellingham Herald (Bellingham, Wash.)
Jan. 15 For the sixth time in 12 days, Whatcom County s reported number of confirmed new COVID-19 cases was in triple figures, as 128 new cases were reported on the Washington State Department of Health dashboard Thursday, Jan. 14.
Before Jan. 3, Whatcom had not seen a reported increase of more than 84 throughout the entire pandemic.
It took Whatcom County only 14 days to top 1,000 reported cases in 2021 there have been 1,111 so far this year but it s seven-day average did drop slightly from 98.6 Wednesday, Jan. 13, to 92.4 Thursday. The 1,111 cases in 2021 represents 21.0% of the county s total for the pandemic.
January 14, 2021 7:00 am
BELLINGHAM, Wash. Whatcom County now has the highest rate of COVID-19 infections of any area in the state.
The increases are greatest in northern parts of the county.
The Health Department reports cases have skyrocketed in the Lynden and Nooksack Valley areas, with the case rate doubling in Lynden and tripling in Nooksack Valley over the previous week.
The countywide count ending Tuesday, the most recent data available, shows a record 558 first-time positives, an increase of 50% over the previous week.
Also as of Tuesday, ICU availability was up to 29% in the North Region and 13% of all adult acute care beds were open across Whatcom, Skagit, San Juan, and Island counties.
Whatcom s concerning surge continues with 109 cases Wednesday, as Lummi reports death
The Bellingham Herald 1/14/2021 David Rasbach, The Bellingham Herald (Bellingham, Wash.)
Jan. 14 A day after its case count took a step back, Whatcom County s number of confirmed COVID-19 diagnoses surged forward with 109 new positive tests reported on the Washington State Department of Health dashboard Wednesday, Jan. 13. Though the state reported no new related deaths Wednesday, the Lummi Nation said that its community saw its first death that could be linked to coronavirus.
Overall, Whatcom County has seen 4,452 confirmed cases and 56 related deaths during the pandemic, according to state data as of 11:59 p.m. Tuesday, Jan. 12. That means that 1.3% of the Whatcom residents who have tested positive for COVID during the pandemic have died.