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Snohomish County Executive Dave Somers and Health Officer Dr. Chris Spitters provided updates Tuesday on the community’s response to COVID-19.
Executive Somers noted that VA Puget Sound Health Care System is now scheduling COVID vaccine appointments for veterans of all ages.
“We want Snohomish County’s veterans to take advantage of that service to ensure we are maximizing all available resources for getting our residents vaccinated,” he said. “We have many people who served at Naval Station Everett, Whidbey Naval Air Station, or further afield in Bremerton or Joint Base Lewis McCord who eventually settled here in Snohomish County. We are a veteran friendly county and we want to make sure you get vaccinated.”
Dr. Spitters focused on the continued decline in COVID case rates in the county, which now stands at 84 cases per 100,000 population. It is the first time in nearly five months the COVID case rate has been below triple digits
“I think we can all feel good about that but also yearn for more,” he said. “It’s good news and we’re continuing to move in the right direction as long-term care cases, hospitalizations for COVID, and deaths have also declined in parallel fashion.”
The decline in cases reflects the increasing number of vaccinations among residents and staff in long-term care facilities, and older adults in the community at large. As of Feb. 27, at least one-third of the county’s population over age 65 had received at least one dose of vaccine, the media briefing was told
Dr. Spitters also discussed new guidance from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, easing limits on social interactions for those who are fully vaccinated against COVID.
While those guidelines contain good news for families and the economy, the health district won’t immediately be endorsing them until after they are reviewed by other health officials in the state, he said.
“I’d also like to point out that the CDC recommendations do not eliminate the recommendation to wear masks when out in public venues – even if you are vaccinated,” Dr. Spitters added.
Watch the briefing: https://youtu.be/s7MI9Ocl0rs
Or read the transcript: https://www.snohd.org/DocumentCenter/View/6939/March-9-Media-Availability
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All mass vaccination sites operated by the Snohomish County Vaccine Taskforce are by appointment only for those eligible for vaccination in the current phase.
The Washington State Department of Health (DOH) established phases for vaccination that prioritize our most at-risk residents. These phases are crucial to ensuring equitable distribution of the limited vaccine supply, particularly to older adults and other vulnerable populations who are struggling to get appointments. Vaccinators must stay within these priorities in order to ensure that they continue to receive vaccine allocations from DOH.
To emphasize and better ensure Snohomish County’s mass vaccination sites remain within these priorities, the taskforce will begin conducting routine spot checks of eligibility at all of its mass vaccination sites for patients receiving their first dose. If someone arrives without an appointment, or if they have an appointment but are found to be ineligible at this time, they can be turned away from the site.
Those who are currently eligible are:
- Workers in health care settings
- High-risk first responders
- Residents and staff of nursing homes, assisted living facilities, and other community-based, congregate living settings where most individuals over 65 years of age are receiving care, supervision, or assistance
- All people 65 years or older
- People 50 years or older who live in multigenerational households (2 or more generations)
- Example: An older adult who cannot live alone and is being cared for by a relative or in-home caregiver, or an older adult who shares the home with a grandchild.
- Pre-kindergarten through 12th grade educators and staff and child care staff
The taskforce already requires people to attest they are eligible when they sign up for an appointment, and ID is checked to make sure the person arriving for the appointment is the same person the appointment was scheduled for. Verification of eligibility may be requested during spot checks of patients arriving at the sites.
To ensure they have proof of eligibility, people should use the PhaseFinder tool at www.findyourphasewa.org. Answer the questions and, if the PhaseFinder tool says you are eligible, save a screenshot, take a photo, or print off that page to provide upon arrival at your appointment. Other options to demonstrate eligibility include an ID showing age over 65 or a workplace ID or paystub showing employment in healthcare, long-term care, a school or child care.
The vaccine taskforce listened to concerns about people pursuing vaccination prior to becoming eligible under the phased approach. While the issue of people receiving vaccines out of turn is not unique to mass vaccination sites or to Snohomish County, it is something we continue working to address here.
Vaccine supply remains limited. A phased approach is key to prioritize doses for those who are most vulnerable and at greatest risk of serious illness and hospitalization due to COVID-19. The sooner our highest-risk population is vaccinated, the greater certainty we will have in reducing the future threat of a medical surge, and the greater confidence we can have in moving forward to open the economy and the rest of society.
Wait for your phase. If you do see an opportunity to register but are not currently eligible, share the information with someone who is eligible and may be struggling to get an appointment. There are many ways people can assist friends, family and neighbors – consider helping them with transportation to a vaccination site, or with navigating online tools like PhaseFinder or registration portals.
For elders and others lacking such assistance and needing help with determining their eligibility or securing an appointment, you can call the COVID-19 call center for Snohomish County at 425-339-5278.
It is a challenging task to vaccinate people on a mass scale with a limited supply and in the midst of a pandemic. The Snohomish County Vaccine Taskforce is committed to improving operations and to keeping the health and safety of the entire community at the core of this work. The taskforce will continue to seek the best policies and practices to vaccinate the people of Snohomish County efficiently, safely and equitably.
More information on mass vaccination site locations and registration links for first dose appointments are available at http://bit.ly/snocovaccine.
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There’s a lot of excitement around the arrival of a third COVID vaccine in Snohomish County. Our first doses of Johnson & Johnson were administered on Friday.
Here are some of the reasons we’re excited for the Johnson & Johnson vaccine, and you can learn more about COVID vaccination in the updated FAQ here: https://www.snohd.org/Faq.aspx?TID=46
Remember: In general, the best vaccine is the one you are able to get. All of the vaccines that have been authorized are shown to be safe and effective in multiple rounds of clinical trials, and the Centers for Disease Control & Prevention encourages people to get the first vaccine available to them. While people may have a preference on which vaccine they would like to get, it is best not to wait if another vaccine brand is available sooner, unless they have talked to their doctor and there is a medical reason to avoid a certain brand of vaccine.
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COVID vaccinations are being offered to elderly residents with low incomes at Everett Housing Authority properties in Everett and Snohomish County through on-site mobile clinics. The Snohomish County Vaccine Taskforce, local fire departments, and Everett Housing Authority (EHA) are partnering to offer on-site mobile clinics in EHA senior apartment buildings. Fire Department Emergency Medical Services workers are administering the vaccinations in the community rooms of the apartment buildings.
So far, nearly 500 residents have received both doses of either the Pfizer or Moderna vaccine. Fire Department EMS workers have also administered the vaccine in the apartment units of some residents who do not have sufficient mobility to come down to the community room for their shots.
This is an incredible effort in terms of equity and access to the vaccines. Many of the residents do not have internet access or private transportation. Some residents have limited mobility or English language fluency, making it difficult to compete for scheduling appointments with other elders who have ready access to the internet and private transportation. The mobile clinics are literally a lifesaver for these elderly members of the community.
One resident, 76-year old Mertle, living in an EHA senior building in the Delta neighborhood said of the clinic in her building, “[It] was kind of like a miracle to come in and scoop us all up and take care of us!”
This week mobile clinics will reach the remaining seven EHA buildings for seniors in the Silver Lake area, Lynnwood, and Lake Stevens. This week, the Snohomish County Vaccine Taskforce plans to administer the newly available Johnson & Johnson vaccine at these clinics.
Everett Housing Authority Executive Director Ashley Lommers-Johnson says of the mobile clinics, “The clinics represent the best in inter-governmental collaboration to bring a vital medical resource to high-risk senior populations who otherwise may not benefit for some time to come.”
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The YMCA of Snohomish County is proud to continue to provide affordable and accessible early childhood education and school age child care for families across the county in partnership with our county leadership.
While we assume that many families have established the care and support they need, we know that family situations change constantly. Additionally, with school district hybrid education models shifting, families may need new or different child care support.
Thanks to county support, financial assistance is always available, ensuring no child or family is denied the care they need.
More information can be found at https://ymca-snoco.org/programs/child-care/
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The Darrington School District is publicly thanking the Sauk-Suiattle Indian Tribe for providing COVID-19 vaccinations for school staff.
“The health and safety of students and staff is the district’s top priority and we would like to thank the Sauk-Suiattle Tribal Council for providing this opportunity,” the district wrote.
The district published the item in its March newsletter.
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The arrival of vaccines and the decline of COVID-19 cases are hopeful signs that we are nearing the end of the pandemic. But, like other moments in this pandemic, it can feel like every step forward has two steps backwards. This is especially true when we hear about new COVID-19 variants here in Washington state.
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 Las nuevas variantes del COVID-19 han llegado a Washington. ¿Qué hacemos ahora?
La llegada de las vacunas y la disminución de los casos del COVID-19, son señales de que estamos llegando al final de la pandemia. Pero al igual que otros momentos de esta pandemia, usted puede sentir que con cada paso adelante, damos dos pasos hacia atrás. Esto es especialmente cierto cuando nos enteramos de la existencia de nuevas variantes del covid-19, aquí en el estado de Washington
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The Washington State Department of Health online questionnaire to help people find out if they are eligible for the COVID-19 vaccine is now available in additional languages.
The tool can be found in: English, Amharic, Arabic, Brazil, Simplified and Traditional Chinese, Farsi, French, German, Hindi, Japanese, Khmer, Korean, Lao, Nepali, Oromo, Punjabi, Romanian, Russian, Somali, Spanish, Swahili, Tagalog, Tamil, Telugu, Thai, Tigrinya, Ukrainian, Urdu, Vietnamese.
Links to PhaseFinder in all of the available languages are available here.
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Vice President Kamala Harris took to Twitter over the weekend to decry acts of violence and discrimination targeting Asian Americans, while also calling attention to steps being taken by the Justice Department.
“Hate of any kind is simply unacceptable,” she wrote. “Right now, Asian Americans and Asian immigrants in our country are facing an increase in hate and violence.”
The COVID-19 pandemic has been accompanied by an escalation in xenophobia and bigotry. The California-based organization Stop AAPI Hate has documented nearly 3,000 incidents across the country since March 2020. Most (70%) involved some form of verbal harassment, but 8.7% included physical assaults and more than 6% involved coughing or spitting.
On Tuesday, Gov. Jay Inslee echoed Vice President Harris's tweet stating, “I stand in solidarity with members of the Asian community who continue to experience fear and intimidation. They deserve better, and we must do everything in our power to make their safety and security a priority and to eliminate racism in Washington.” Gov. Inslee encouraged any victims to come forward and report their experience to local law enforcement.
The Monroe Equity Council has organized a virtual rally for Friday, March 12 at 5:00 p.m. More information at: https://www.facebook.com/events/252140146448957/
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The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on Monday released new guidance for people who have been fully vaccinated against COVID-19.
Under the new guidance, fully vaccinated people can:
- Visit with other fully vaccinated people indoors without wearing masks or physical distancing
- Visit with unvaccinated people from a single household who are at low risk for severe COVID-19 disease indoors without wearing masks or physical distancing
- Refrain from quarantine and testing following a known exposure if asymptomatic
For now, fully vaccinated people should continue to:
- Take precautions in public like wearing a well-fitted mask and physical distancing
- Wear masks, practice physical distancing, and adhere to other prevention measures when visiting with unvaccinated people who are at increased risk for severe COVID-19 disease or who have an unvaccinated household member who is at increased risk for severe COVID-19 disease
- Wear masks, maintain physical distance, and practice other prevention measures when visiting with unvaccinated people from multiple households
- Avoid medium- and large-sized in-person gatherings
- Get tested if experiencing COVID-19 symptoms
- Follow guidance issued by individual employers
- Follow CDC and health department travel requirements and recommendations
See the CDC full guidance post for more information.
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The state Department of Health on Monday announced that more than 2 million doses of COVID-19 vaccine have been administered in Washington since rollout began in mid-December.
“I am so grateful for the tireless efforts of our partners on the ground, including local health jurisdictions, community health centers, hospitals, clinics, pharmacies and so many others. The successes we are seeing are a testament to their hard work over the past few months,” said Umair A. Shah, MD, MPH, Secretary of Health. “As our race to vaccinate Washingtonians as quickly and equitably as possible continues, these accomplishments are further proof that hope is on the horizon.”
See the full press release for more information.
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The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommends exercising care when it comes to pets and COVID. While only a small number of infected pets have been reported, and the risk of animal-to-human transmission considered low, the CDC recommends caution. Treat pets as you would other human family members – do not let pets interact with people outside the household. If a person inside the household becomes sick, isolate that person from everyone else, including pets.
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Cumulative from Jan. 2020 through Mar. 9, 2021.
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ESSENTIAL LINKS AND PHONE NUMBERS FOR UP-TO-DATE INFORMATION
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