School-related COVID-19 outbreaks in Washington state reach 182 after case surge
News Tribune, Tacoma, Wash. 5/2/2021 Allison Needles, The News Tribune (Tacoma, Wash.)
May 2 Washington state saw a total of 29 COVID-19 outbreaks with ties to K-12 schools in March, bringing the number of outbreaks occurring between August and March to a total of 182, according to an updated report released by the Department of Health on Friday.
The 182 outbreaks involve 708 individual COVID-19 cases.
Pierce County data also appeared on the report for the first time. The county contributed 26 of the outbreaks since August. The data had been missing from the report due to a three-month lag in updating the Washington Disease Reporting System, according to the Tacoma-Pierce County Health Department (TPCHD).
Vaccine appointments open up in parts of Washington state amid some hesitancy
Appointments open in parts of Washington state amid some vaccine hesitancy
As concerns grow that we are in the beginning of the fourth surge, Washington state health leaders are also growing worried about demand lessening for the vaccine.
SEATTLE - As concerns grow for the possible beginning stage of a fourth surge in positive COVID-19 cases, Washington state health leaders are also growing worried about demand lessening for the vaccine.
State leaders said that some communities are experiencing vaccine hesitancy with only 26.7 percent of Washingtonians fully vaccinated as of Friday.
Third day in a row of more than 200 new COVID-19 cases reported in Pierce County
News Tribune, Tacoma, Wash. 3 hrs ago Debbie Cockrell, The News Tribune (Tacoma, Wash.)
Apr. 22 Pierce County reported 236 new COVID-19 cases Thursday with no additional deaths.
The Tacoma-Pierce County Health Department no longer assigns underlying condition status to individual deaths it reports and instead counts underlying conditions as part of a percentage of the total number of deaths, which as of April 20 was 77.2 percent.
The county s totals are now 42,722 cases and 528 deaths since the first confirmed coronavirus case was reported in March 2020.
The 14-day case rate per 100,000 is 215.4, with six-day data lag. The 7-day hospitalizations rate per 100,000 was 7.2 as of April 17, the most recent data point from TPCHD. That s up from 4.8 on April 1.
Pierce County works to dispel vaccine hesitancy as vaccinations slow down
Pierce County has broadened access to the COVID-19 vaccine, but now health officials are running into a new problem: vaccine hesitancy and people not showing up. Author: Lionel Donovan (KING) Updated: 7:10 PM PDT April 22, 2021
PUYALLUP, Wash. As Pierce County works to bring COVID-19 cases down, a concerning trend has emerged: a lag in people coming to clinics to get vaccinated. What we’re seeing is that it’s taking longer for our events to get people registered from them, said Mike Halliday of Pierce County Emergency Management. After people have gotten vaccinated, that initial rush seems to have stalled a little bit. We’re still encouraging people to register, so they can sign up and get a vaccine, but we are seeing that pace slow a bit.