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Snohomish County Executive Dave Somers, Health Officer Dr. Chris Spitters, and Dr. George Diaz with Providence Regional Medical Center Everett joined us this morning to provide updates on the response to COVID-19.
Topics included the extension of federal funding for the ongoing COVID response and the roll-out of the first COVID vaccine doses in Snohomish County.
“We believe that the vaccine is safe and we encourage the entire public to receive it once it’s available,” said Dr. Diaz, who was among the first healthcare providers in the county to be vaccinated. “Since we started our vaccination program here in Everett on Saturday, we’ve already vaccinated roughly 2,000 of our caregivers.”
Executive Somers thanked the congressional delegation for working to extend federal funding for the COVID-19 response into 2021.
“Critically, it will give the county and health district the opportunity to spend current CARES Act funding until the end of 2021,” Somers said. “We knew this was a possibility and had contingency plans in place. So, I have proposed to the County Council a plan to shift some of our remaining funding to ensure we are covering our most essential and important needs at the start of next year.”
Watch: https://youtu.be/psarL8HzYyY
Or read the transcript: https://www.snohd.org/DocumentCenter/View/6054
 For the first time since early-September, the rolling two-week case rate in Snohomish County decreased, from 444 to 427 per 100,000 residents. Coupled with the arrival of the first COVID-19 vaccines in the county these are promising signs.
“For that trend to continue moving in the right direction, we really need all of our residents and businesses to keep those important public health measures up during the holidays,” said Dr. Chris Spitters, Health Officer for the Snohomish Health District. “As hard as it is, avoiding indoor gatherings, wearing face masks and keeping six feet apart from those we don’t live with are the key to easing restrictions in the new year.”
While the two-week case rate decreased, Snohomish County is still in a very precarious position:
- Long-term care facilities continue to lead to 50-60 new cases weekly. There are ongoing outbreaks in 16 of the 17 skilled nursing facilities, 19 assisted living and 23 adult family homes. These outbreaks account for around 750 cases over the past two months.
- The COVID hospital census—the number of people hospitalized with confirmed COVID-19—has been holding steady at 90-100 people daily. These COVID cases represent more than 15 percent of total hospital capacity in the county, with the goal being under 10 percent. On any given day, there are 12-15 individuals requiring mechanical ventilation due to respiratory failure.
- Snohomish County has been averaging 24 deaths per week this month. This is up from 1-2 per week in August and September.
 Snohomish County Executive Dave Somers, Snohomish Health District Health Officer Dr. Chris Spitters, and Dr. George Diaz, Section Chief, Infectious Diseases, Providence Regional Medical Center Everett, give updates on the response to COVID-19 in Snohomish County.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=psarL8HzYyY&feature=youtu.be
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