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Snohomish County Emergency Management Director Jason Biermann and Health Officer Dr. Chris Spitters provided updates Tuesday on the community’s response to COVID-19.
Topics included ongoing efforts to expand COVID-19 vaccination opportunities in the community; the ongoing struggle to obtain sufficient supplies of vaccine; the county’s move to Phase 2 of the state’s Roadmap to Recovery plan; and the continuing need to engage in COVID-fighting behaviors, including during the upcoming Super Bowl weekend.
Biermann said the county, the health district, firefighters and other partners have been working since July to be ready to swiftly get COVID vaccines to those who want them. The Snohomish County Vaccine Task Force has plans for administering up to 50,000 vaccines weekly at seven mass vaccination sites, including four drive-thru and three walk-ins. Five could be available now.
“I have to emphasize ‘could be available’ because, unfortunately, we do not have the vaccine supply to keep all of those open,” Biermann said.
Until more vaccine becomes available, demand likely will outstrip supply. Meanwhile, Biermann said the county and partners expect by the middle of the next week to launch improved scheduling technology, that should make possible creation of waiting lists and scheduling of second doses at the time of the first shot.
“We do have a lot of capacity. We, unfortunately, do not have a lot of vaccine,” Biermann said.
Last week the county and its partners received a total of 17,000 doses. This week, they’ve been told to plan for 15,000 doses. Of that number, 9,000 are first-shot doses.
“If you think about the numbers, that’s 9,000 doses and 100,000 eligible people hoping to get vaccinated,” Dr. Spitters said. “It’s just a fraction of what we need it to be to satisfy the demand to address the frustrations everyone is experiencing and to fulfill the desire that most everyone in the county must have to be vaccinated. That’s what’s leading to the frustrations, the heightened stress levels in our community and what feels like trying to find the golden ticket to a vaccine appointment.”
Spitters said he was happy to see COVID case rates in Snohomish County continue to decline, reaching 184 cases per 100,000 population. That’s contributed to the county being cleared to move to Phase 2 of the state’s recovery plan.
While that’s good for the economy, education and social health, “It also means that everyone must be diligent with following all precautions to minimize risk of exposure and transmission while being able to take advantage of the privilege of increased opportunities for social and commercial employment activity,” Spitters said. “This is particularly important though as we head into Superbowl Weekend, which is commonly a time of big gatherings.”
He urged people to limit any party size to no more than five people from two households indoors and a maximum of 15 if meeting outdoors. Social distancing and mask wearing remains crucial.
Watch the briefing: https://youtu.be/fkN13g4ZKYc
Or read the transcript: https://www.snohd.org/DocumentCenter/View/6492/Media-Transcript-020221_202102021654451395-1
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Starting Monday, Snohomish County moved into Phase 2 of the state’s Healthy Washington – Roadmap to Recovery plan. It’s a good time to celebrate by supporting local businesses AND by continuing to make good choices, including wearing masks, washing hands and watching distance.
The graphics below explain what is now permitted.
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The Snohomish Health District reports each Tuesday the latest numbers for COVID vaccinations in Snohomish County. As of Saturday, Jan. 31, more than 8,400 people in the county had been fully vaccinated, receiving their second dose of COVID vaccine. Supply continues to fall far short of demand. This week, only about 9,000 first doses are expected to be reach county providers.
Find data here: www.snohd.org/covidvaccine
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President Biden on Tuesday took additional steps t to implement his comprehensive National Strategy to combat the COVID-19 pandemic. These steps include increasing the vaccine supply to states, Tribes, and territories and increasing funding to jurisdictions to help turn vaccines into vaccinations. And, the President announced that starting next week, the first phase of the federal pharmacy program will launch and select pharmacies nationwide will start offering vaccinations for their communities.
The fact sheet says starting Feb. 11 “those eligible for the vaccine will have the opportunity to be vaccinated at select pharmacies across the country through the Federal Retail Pharmacy Program for COVID-19 Vaccination. This program is a public-private partnership with 21 national pharmacy partners and networks of independent pharmacies representing over 40,000 pharmacy locations nationwide.
See the full fact sheet form a list of participating pharmacy partners: https://bit.ly/2MwN8nf
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Community Transit is deeply committed to providing a safe experience for all riders and our employees.
Health officials continue to advise us that the most effective way to slow the spread of COVID-19 is to wear a face covering to limit infected individuals from spreading the disease. Washington State has mandated mask wearing on public transit for several months and our customers have done a great job of keeping themselves and each other safe – nearly 99% of riders across are system are wearing masks on our buses.
A new federal order has been issued by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) that requires riders to properly wear face masks when using public transit vehicles and when on property where customers board, exit or wait for a transit vehicle.
To make the best effort to comply with the CDC Order, Community Transit will enforce customer mask compliance effective immediately. As noted above, 99% of our riders are already wearing masks on our buses. We will continue to offer free masks on all of our buses if customers do not bring their own. However, according to the order, refusing to wear a mask or face covering is a violation of the new federal order and passengers may be subject to penalties under federal law.
Failure to comply may also result in a denial to ride or removal from our vehicles or property unless the individual is exempt because they cannot wear a mask, or cannot safely wear a mask, due to a disability, as defined by the Americans with Disabilities Act (42 U.S.C. 12101 et seq.).
Full update at https://www.communitytransit.org/safety
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The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention late Friday issued an order for the Requirement For Persons To Wear Masks While On Conveyances at Transportation Hubs. It went into effect Monday at 11:59 p.m.
The order covers a wide range of transportation options, including planes, trains, ferries, and buses as well as airports and other transportation hubs.
The CDC posted information about its order, including questions and answers. It says in part:
Public transportation operators must use best efforts to ensure that any person on the conveyance wears a mask when boarding, disembarking, and for the duration of travel. Depending on the circumstances, public transportation operators must take the following actions:
- board only people who wear masks;
- instruct people that wearing a mask on the conveyance is a requirement of federal law and that not complying with the requirement is a violation of federal law;
- monitor the conveyance for any person who is not wearing a mask and seek compliance from such a person;
- at the earliest safe opportunity, disembark any person who refuses to comply; and
- notify people of the requirement to make sure they aware of and comply with the requirement to wear a mask. Examples of such notifications are messaging in apps, on websites or through email; posters in multiple languages with illustrations; and printing the information on tickets.
In case you wondered, one exception to wearing a face cover is “if, on an aircraft, wearing of oxygen masks is needed because of loss of cabin pressure or other event affecting aircraft ventilation.”
Wearing masks and keeping distance from others while using public transportation have been among the rules of the road in Washington for months.
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With COVID-19 rates remaining at high levels and vaccine roll out ramping up slowly, getting tested for COVID-19 and taking precautions to prevent the spread of the virus remain vital. Free, drive-thru events are scheduled to take place:
- Thursday, Feb. 4 from 8 a.m. – 2 p.m. at Meadowdale High School, 6002 168th St. SW, Lynnwood
- Friday, Feb. 5 from 8 a.m. – 2 p.m. at Mountlake Terrace High School, 21801 44th W, Mountlake Terrace
Coordinated by Medical Teams International and the Verdant Health Commission, with support from the Edmonds School District, City of Mountlake Terrace, and City of Lynnwood, these clinics are intended to reduce barriers to testing, including symptom checks, insurance requirements, and access for people with transportation challenges.
Pre-registration is not available for this testing. Testing is open to anyone in the community, however the goal is to ensure access for residents with barriers to testing in other locations.
See the Facebook posts for more information:
https://fb.me/e/MHL7MiLp
https://fb.me/e/150tzKzvv
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The City of Edmonds continues taking steps to make sure businesses know that thousands of dollars may be available from the new federal COVID-19 Relief Package. Loans, tax credits, and more. For more info, visit http://edmondswa.gov/covid-business
The site provides tools and links and will be updated as we get more information to share with you. If your question is not answered on this website or if you just want to talk to someone about your business, please call the city’s business hotline at 425-275-4823.
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La pandemia de COVID-19 ha cambiado nuestras vidas en muchas maneras. Estos cambios han afectado a nuestra comunidad Latinx que trabaja en apoyo a los negocios agrícolas. Y es posible que usted se esté preguntando acerca de algunos de estos cambios, cómo afectan su comunidad y lugar de trabajo y cómo mantenerse al día con toda esta nueva información.
Para ayudarle, varias organizaciones están trabajando en conjunto para compartir información y responder a sus preguntas sobre las medidas de salud de COVID-19 y información sobre pruebas y vacunas contra el COVID-19, a través de una nueva serie que se transmite por radio e internet. Los grupos que trabajaron juntos para traerle esta serie son Northwest Communities Education Center / Radio KDNA, El Proyecto Bienestar, Washington Growers League, Centro de Seguridad y Salud de Pacific Northwest (PNASH), el Departamento de Trabajo e Industrias y el Departamento de Salud.
“El propósito de esta campaña es asegurar que la comunidad de agrícola tenga acceso a información importante y oportuna de nuestro estado en español”, dice Elizabeth Torres, Coordinadora de Investigación, El Proyecto Bienestar y Radio KDNA, y gerente de la campaña. “También queríamos compartir mensajes de esperanza y alentar a todos a trabajar juntos para poner fin a esta pandemia”.
Más información: https://bit.ly/3pIGbhs
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The state Department of Health reports that it vaccinated more than 10,000 people during its first week of operation at its four COVID vaccination sites.
Thanks to the hard work of DOH, the Washington National Guard, and local and private sector partners, as of January 29, more than 10,000 people got their COVID-19 vaccine at mass vaccination sites, including:
- 2,509 in Spokane
- 3,060 in Ridgefield
- 1,550 in Wenatchee
- 3,817 in Kennewick
The goal of mass vaccination sites is to increase access to vaccine across the state, ensure our plans are equitable, and protect those most at risk.
Snohomish County began operating mass vaccination sites on Jan. 6. By the end of last week, more than 15,000 people had been vaccinated at those locations. The biggest challenge has been access to reliable vaccine supplies.
See the full press release for more details on the state’s vaccination sites.
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The latest detailed COVID-19 snapshot, report and maps have been posted to the Snohomish Health District website. The report provides detailed data on COVID activity, hospital capacity, testing, case and contact investigations, outbreaks, and deaths from Jan. 10 through Jan. 23. The maps show the level of COVID-19 activity for this same time period, as well as cumulative from January 2020. The reports and maps are updated every two weeks. The next editions of these reports should be published on Feb. 16.
Maps, reports, and snapshots are available at: https://www.snohd.org/547/Snapshots-and-Reports
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The COVID-19 pandemic has had a major effect on our lives. Many of us are facing challenges that can be stressful, overwhelming, and cause strong emotions in adults and children. Public health actions, such as social distancing, are necessary to reduce the spread of COVID-19, but they can make us feel isolated and lonely and can increase stress and anxiety. Learning to cope with stress in a healthy way will make you, the people you care about, and those around you become more resilient.
See https://go.usa.gov/xf82q for more information
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Cumulative from Jan. 2020 through February 2, 2021.
Please note: Due to a backlog in the DOH data system combined with the Health District’s routine review of cases to remove transfer or duplicate cases, case data may be incomplete. All daily data provided by Snohomish Health District is preliminary and should not be used to make programmatic or policy decisions.
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ESSENTIAL LINKS AND PHONE NUMBERS FOR UP-TO-DATE INFORMATION
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