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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
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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Two farms in Snohomish County are the first test bed for industrial applications of emerging 5G technology platforms that could transform how food is grown, distributed, and tracked, benefiting not only Snohomish County agriculture but farms everywhere.
The 5G Open Innovation Lab (5G OI Lab) — a group of technology developers, corporate enterprises that include Bellevue-based T-Mobile and Redmond-based Microsoft, academia, and government institutions — announced the launch of the test bed today.
Snohomish County Executive Dave Somers noted agriculture’s key role in the county’s economy.
“This last year has taught us how vital it is it to ensure we have a steady, local supply of food,” Somers said in the release. “Our partnership with 5G Open Innovation Lab can help safeguard our agriculture industry by providing farmers the tools they need for success, while securing fresh food for our community. We will continue to support innovation to strengthen and diversify our economy.”
Click here for the full article: https://425business.com/5g-open-innovation-lab-opens-agritech-test-sites-in-snohomish-county/
 Snohomish County Department of Emergency Management Director Jason Biermann and Snohomish Health District Health Officer Dr. Chris Spitters give updates on the response to COVID-19 in Snohomish County.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fkN13g4ZKYc
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