This newsletter is produced weekly. For daily COVID-19 updates, go to kcowa.us/covid19 or sign up to receive the weekly bulletin produced by the Kitsap County Emergency Operations Center. You can manage your subscriptions using the links at the very bottom of this bulletin.
COVID-19 case rate remain elevated for youth as overall rate decreases; Kitsap County deaths exceed 200
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While our overall COVID-19 case rate (187.9 cases per 100,000 individuals) has continued to decrease, cases among youth ages 5 to 18 years old remains high (306 per 100,000). The 7-day incidence rate for youth is 60% higher than in the general population. As of Oct. 7, 15 school outbreaks were being monitoring by Kitsap Public Health District (KPHD).
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This week, the county passed a sobering milestone on Oct. 5, recording its 200th COVID-19 related death. While it took a little more than a year for Kitsap to reach 100 deaths from the virus, it took only about six months to go from 100 to 200.
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The number of reported COVID-19 deaths in the month of September exceeds the total number of deaths reported in all of 2020. KPHD is aware of 52 COVID-19 deaths reported in September, the highest number of deaths per month during the pandemic. We expect this number might still increase as death reports can be delayed by several weeks.
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More than 72 percent of eligible Kitsap residents (ages 12 and older) have received at least one dose of COVID-19 vaccine. Vaccine continues to be widely available throughout the county. Information on future KPHD clinics and other vaccination options around the county can be found at kcowa.us/vaccine.
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Earlier this week, King County issued a statement on a King County resident who died of a rare blood clotting syndrome, thrombocytopenia syndrome (TTS), after receiving the Johnson & Johnson (J&J) COVID-19 vaccine. This is the fourth death related to the J&J vaccine in the United States and the first in Washington State. According to CDC:
- out of 14.9 million doses of the J&J vaccine administered as of September 29, 2021, 47 people (0.0003%) have had confirmed cases of TTS, and the majority of these people have recovered.
- two confirmed cases of TTS following Moderna COVID-19 vaccination have been reported to the Vaccine Adverse Event Reaction System (VAERS) after more than 376 million doses of mRNA COVID-19 vaccines administered in the United States.
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KPHD continues to partner with the Kitsap County Emergency Operations Center on operating COVID-19 testing sites from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. in Bainbridge Island (Mondays), Bremerton (Tuesdays), Port Orchard (Wednesdays), and Poulsbo (Thursdays). For more information, including how to register for an appointment, visit kcowa.us/covidtesting.
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The Kitsap Public Health Board had their regular meeting on Tuesday, Oct. 5. The board received public comments via email before the meeting and, via Zoom, at the meeting. The board decided to consider the comments, review additional data, and discuss any potential COVID-19 response actions at the next regular meeting on Tuesday, Nov. 2. Meeting materials and the recording are posted here.
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PRINTABLE WEEKLY OUTLOOK
Download our weekly outlook report as a PDF that you can print and share in your community. Thank you for spreading reliable information about COVID-19!
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Numbers to know
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As of Oct. 5, 72.6% of Kitsap residents 12 and older had received at least one dose of COVID-19 vaccine and 67.3% were fully vaccinated. That puts Kitsap below the state average of 77.1% (as of Oct. 4) with at least one dose, and 70.7% fully vaccinated. Over 169,700 Kitsap residents have received at least one dose of vaccine.
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517 COVID-19 cases were reported in our county in the most recent week with full data available (September 27 to October 3): 26 cases on Bainbridge Island, 150 cases in Bremerton, 90 in Central Kitsap, 85 in North Kitsap, 164 in South Kitsap, 2 undetermined.
- Kitsap County's rate of cases per 100,000 population over 7 days is decreasing and is now 187.9.
- For the most recent 7 day period, our COVID-19 case rate was 9.2 times higher among those who are not fully vaccinated compared to those who are fully vaccinated.
- For the past month, our COVID-19 case rates by age group among those who are not fully vaccinated were 1.8 to 5.8 times higher compared to rate among those who are fully vaccinated. The rate difference was highest among those age 30-49.
- For the week ending 10/2,there were 30 new Kitsap resident COVID-19 hospitalizations; there were 31 the week prior.
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202 Kitsap resident COVID-19-associated deaths have been reported to date.
- Find more local COVID-19 data at kcowa.us/covid19data
SPOTLIGHT TOPICS
How does natural immunity compare to that after vaccination? Evidence shows that the immunity from prior infection is less reliable, less durable, and less effective against variants than immunity from vaccination. Researchers at the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center in Seattle provide further documentation that people who have recovered from a COVID-19 infection still stand to benefit from getting vaccinated.
Last weekend, the Kitsap Sun published an article featuring one of our public health nurses, Lindsey Camarena. We are so lucky to have Lindsey on our team. Her compassionate approach to vaccine education is exemplary. She leads by listening and is invariably non-judgmental, caring and compassionate. The KPHD family extends to Lindsey our most sincere condolences on the loss of her family member to COVID-19 just days after describing his story to our local board of health.
TALKING ABOUT COVID-19 VACCINES
You may know individuals who are unsure about whether they should get the COVID-19 vaccine. Getting the vaccine is a personal choice and there are many factors that may influence an individual's decision to get vaccinated.
Individuals may be more likely to listen to people they know than other sources.
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If you are interested and able to talk to your loved ones and others who may still be unsure about the COVID-19 vaccine, here are some tips:
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Listen with empathy and avoid judgment.
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Ask open-ended questions so you understand their concerns.
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Ask them permission to share what you know from trusted sources.
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Help them find their reason to get vaccinated.
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Help them overcome barriers to vaccination.
For more information, check out our factsheet.
QUESTIONS? CONTACT: pio@kitsappublichealth.org
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