Coronavirus updates: State reaches 134,121 cases
Updated at 9:30 a.m.
The Washington state Department of Health reported an all-time daily high of 2,589 new confirmed cases of COVID-19 along with 23 deaths on Tuesday. The previous record case high was reported Sunday.
Pierce County reported 258 cases Tuesday and one new death. Pierce County has a total of 213 deaths likely caused by COVID-19 as of Tuesday, according to the Tacoma-Pierce County Health Department.
Statewide totals from the illness caused by the coronavirus are at 134,121 cases and 2,571 deaths, up from 131,532 cases and 2,548 deaths Monday. Washington’s population is estimated at about 7.6 million, according to U.S. Census figures from July 2019.
Hospitalizations of confirmed COVID-19 patients continue to climb with 64 people being admitted to Washington state hospitals on Oct. 29, the most recent date with complete data. Average daily hospitalizations peaked in early April at 78.
On Nov. 6, the most recent date with complete data, a record high 21,858 specimens were collected statewide, with 8.3% testing positive. The average positive test rate for the seven days prior was 7%. More than 2.8 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 35,669 cases and 845 deaths. Pierce County is second, with 13,461 cases, according to the state’s tally. That number differs from the Tacoma-Pierce County Health Department’s tally due to lags in reporting data. Yakima County has the second highest number of deaths at 289.
All counties in Washington have cases. Six counties have case counts of fewer than 100.
For the past seven days, Washington had a case rate of 24.6 per 100,000 people. The national rate for the same period is 47.5 per 100,000, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. North Dakota has the highest rate in the United States, at 180.9 Hawaii is the lowest, at 5.8.
There have been more than 11.3 million confirmed coronavirus cases and 248,424 deaths from the virus in the United States as of Tuesday afternoon, according to Johns Hopkins University. The United States has the highest number of reported cases and deaths of any nation.
More than 1.3 million people have died from the disease worldwide. Global cases exceed 55 million.
You can test yourself for COVID and get rapid results at home for first time, FDA says
Updated at 9:30 a.m.
Americans over 14 years old with a prescription from their health care provider can conduct their own COVID-19 nasal swab test and receive results within 30 minutes at home for the first time, officials say.
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration issued an emergency use authorization for the “Lucira COVID-19 All-In-One Test Kit” on Tuesday, paving the way for faster testing and contact tracing to help curb coronavirus spread.
The test was also approved for use in doctor’s offices, hospitals, urgent care centers and emergency rooms, the FDA said in a statement. Patients under 14 years old must be tested by a health care professional.
“While COVID-19 diagnostic tests have been authorized for at-home collection, this is the first that can be fully self-administered and provide results at home,” FDA Commissioner Dr. Stephen Hahn, said in the statement. “This new testing option is an important diagnostic advancement to address the pandemic and reduce the public burden of disease transmission.”
The test works similarly to rapid diagnostic tests conducted by professionals. Individuals must swivel a swab in each nostril for a certain amount of time then place the sample in the test unit. In 30 minutes or less, the results will appear on the unit’s display, the FDA says.
People who receive a positive test result should isolate themselves and seek additional care if needed, while those who receive a negative result but still feel COVID-19 symptoms should follow up with their primary care physician, “as negative results do not preclude an individual from SARS-CoV-2 infection,” according to the FDA.
Just like all other diagnostic COVID-19 tests, the new rapid at-home test requires individuals to contact a health care provider with their results so they can report it to local, state and/or federal health authorities, according to the FDA. Instructions will be provided on the test’s box to complete this process.
“Now, more Americans who may have COVID-19 will be able to take immediate action, based on their results, to protect themselves and those around them,” Dr. Jeff Shuren, director of FDA’s Center for Devices and Radiological Health, said in the statement.
Majority of Americans now say they would get a COVID-19 vaccine, new poll says
Updated at 9:30 a.m.
A majority of Americans now would choose to get vaccinated against COVID-19, according to the latest Gallup poll.
There was an increase in the willingness to get a COVID-19 vaccine in the Gallup Panel survey conducted Oct. 19-Nov. 1, with 58% saying they would get vaccinated compared with 50% who said the same thing in September. The poll is based on responses from 2,985 adults and has a margin of error of plus or minus 3 percentage points.
The survey comes as Pfizer/BioNTech and Moderna announced the effectiveness of their coronavirus vaccines. Pfizer said early results showed its vaccine is more than 90% effective, while Moderna said Monday that its vaccine’s efficacy is 94.5%, The New York Times reported.
The willingness to get a vaccine is also split along party lines:
- 69% of Democrats said they would get vaccinated
- 49% of Republicans and independents said the same
Democrats are more likely than Republicans and independents to say they’d get a vaccine, and Democrats have also shown the biggest increase in willingness. In the Gallup poll conducted Sept. 14-17, 53% of Democrats said they would get vaccinated.
The number of people who said they wouldn’t get a vaccine has gone down from 50% in September to 42%.
Men, younger people aged 18 to 44, white adults and people with a college degree were more likely to say they’d get a vaccine. Americans aged 45 to 64 had an uptick in willingness, with 49% of the age group now saying they would get one compared with 36% in September.
This story was originally published November 18, 2020 at 9:36 AM.
