Coronavirus updates: State passes 80k cases, 2k deaths
Updated at 8:50 a.m.
The Washington state Department of Health on Monday reported 312 new confirmed cases of COVID-19 and 15 deaths from the weekend. DOH does not report deaths on Saturdays and Sundays.
Pierce County reported 20 cases Monday and no new deaths. Pierce County has a total of 160 deaths likely caused by COVID-19 as of Monday, according to the Tacoma-Pierce County Health Department.
Statewide totals from the illness caused by the coronavirus are at 80,138 cases and 2,006 deaths, up from 79,826 cases and 1,991 Sunday. Washington’s population is estimated at about 7.6 million, according to U.S. Census figures from July 2019.
Twenty-two people with confirmed COVID-19 cases were admitted to Washington state hospitals on Aug. 26, the most recent date with complete data. Late March had two days with 88 people admitted, the highest numbers to date during the pandemic.
On Sept. 3, the most recent date with complete data, 13,338 specimens were collected statewide, with 3.8% testing positive. The average positive test rate for the seven days prior was 3.3%. More than 1.65 million tests have been conducted in Washington.
The test numbers reflect only polymerase chain reaction tests, which are administered while the virus is presumably still active in the body.
King County continues to have the highest numbers in Washington, with 20,912 cases and 747 deaths. Yakima County is second, with 11,171 cases and 251 deaths. Pierce is third with cases at 7,338.
All counties in Washington have cases. Eleven counties have case counts of fewer than 100.
On Monday, Washington had a 1,059-per-100,000-people case rate. The national rate is 1,984, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Louisiana has the highest rate in the United States at 3,399. Vermont is lowest at 269.
There had been more than 6.54 million confirmed coronavirus cases and 194,411 deaths from the virus in the United States as of Monday evening, according to Johns Hopkins University. More than 925,000 people have died from the disease worldwide.
You had COVID-19. Should you take the vaccine anyway? Scientists search for an answer
Updated at 8:50 a.m.
Scientists are looking at whether it will be safe to give a COVID-19 vaccine to previously infected individuals, since many of them may not be aware that they had the coronavirus.
Army scientists, the nation’s top clinicians and pharmaceutical researchers working on COVID-19 vaccines also want to know whether vaccinating individuals who have already recovered might boost their natural immunity, helping stave off a potential second infection.
Answering those questions will be critical to determining the effectiveness of a vaccine, the potency of naturally induced antibodies, and whether individuals who want to be vaccinated will require antibody testing beforehand to determine whether they had COVID-19.
According to government estimates, nearly half of all cases could be asymptomatic.
“Can you get a vaccine after you’ve been infected?” Dr. Kayvon Modjarrad, director of emerging infectious diseases at the Walter Reed Army Institute of Research, said in a recent interview with McClatchy. “We’re concerned that if you get infected, you may not have long-term immunity – that you may get reinfected.”
“If you get a vaccine boost after infection, will that give you better protection and longer protection than if you didn’t get a vaccine at all?” Modjarrad continued. “We are going to be looking at that. There are other companies that are going to be looking at that.”
Walter Reed scientists plan to conduct studies in animals — and eventually in people — on the impact of vaccinating those who have been previously infected, Modjarrad said.
That research is already underway with volunteers in Phase III clinical trials being conducted around the country with the leading vaccine candidates.
Dr. Larry Corey, who is co-leading the coronavirus vaccine clinical trials for the COVID-19 Prevention Network under the National Institutes of Health, told McClatchy that the trials have excluded individuals who said they already had COVID-19.
The primary goal of the trials is to get as much data as possible on whether the vaccine is safe and effective for those who have not yet been infected, Corey said. But if the individual did not report having COVID-19 they would continue in the trial.
“If they did not say that, and were found to be seropositive at entrance, they are continued in the trial, as we want to see if the vaccine is safe in people with prior evidence for infection,” Corey said, referring to blood testing that detects the presence of the virus.
Any finding that vaccines are not safe in individuals who have already been infected could create new challenges to the distribution of a vaccine.
Three vaccine candidates produced by Moderna, Pfizer and AstraZeneca are currently in advanced human trials in the United States.
Museums in Tacoma to reopen starting Sept. 25
Updated at 8:50 a.m.
Tacoma’s museums will be begin opening to the public starting Sept. 25 following a lengthy closure due to COVID-19.
The Washington State Historical Society, Tacoma Art Museum, Museum of Glass, LeMay - America’s Car Museum, and Foss Waterway Seaport reopen.
The decision comes after Gov. Jay Inslee released guidance last month allowing for the reopening of museums.
In a joint news release announcing the decision, the museums said they “recommend purchasing tickets online in advance” and that “the decision to reopen comes after thoughtful consideration for the safety of guests, staff, and volunteers, and in accordance with specific protocols established by Washington State, the Department of Labor & Industries, and the Department of Health.”
The release went on to say that protocols include mandated mask-wearing inside buildings, additional sanitizing stations, one-way routes to navigate the museums, enforcement of social distance by monitors and reduced capacities.
The museums also will operate on reduced schedules.
The Museum of Glass and the LeMay will open Sept. 25 with hours Friday to Sunday, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.
The Tacoma Art Museum will be open Oct. 9 with hours Friday to Sunday from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. The museum had previously hosted an online exhibit during their closure.
The Foss Waterway Seaport will open Oct. 16 with this schedule: Fridays, 3-7 p.m.; Saturdays, 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.; Sundays,noon to 4 p.m. The Seaport played host to programming from the Tacoma Ocean Fest that can be seen online.
The Washington State Historical Society does not have a set opening date, though when it does open, it will be on a schedule of Tuesday through Sunday, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., with seniors-only (65 and older) hours Tuesdays, 10 a.m. to noon.
The Tacoma Historical Society Museum announced it would be opening to the public on Sept. 23. Hours will be Wednesday through Friday, 11 a.m. to 3 p.m.
The Children’s Museum of Tacoma does not have any plans to open, citing the “hands-on, interactive nature of the galleries.”
This story was originally published September 15, 2020 at 8:57 AM.
