Coronavirus updates: Case counts continue to spike; UW’s game against Oregon canceled
The Washington state Department of Health reported 3,538 new confirmed cases of COVID-19 while deaths dropped by 166 Thursday.
DOH said in a statement Thursday evening that it will now only report deaths that have an official registered cause and no longer use preliminary cause of death.
“These changes will streamline the process as death counts increase,” DOH said. “Deaths due to factors other than COVID-19 can be hard to definitively rule out. For many of these conditions, COVID-19 may have hastened the death. These are the deaths we are reviewing, along with local health jurisdictions, to assess COVID-19’s impact on the death.”
Pierce County reported 722 cases Thursday and two new deaths. Pierce County has a total of 256 deaths likely caused by COVID-19 as of Thursday, according to the Tacoma-Pierce County Health Department.
Statewide totals from the illness caused by the coronavirus are at 192,413 cases and 2,850 deaths, up from 189,625 cases and down from 3,016 deaths Wednesday. Washington’s population is estimated at about 7.6 million, according to U.S. Census figures from July 2019. The DOH revises previous case and death counts daily.
Hospitalizations continue to increase with 89 people with confirmed cases of COVID-19 admitted to Washington state hospitals on Nov. 21, the most recent date with complete data. Preliminary data indicates average daily admittances were 106 in early December. Average daily hospitalizations previously peaked during the April surge at 78.
Approximately 12.4% (1,166) of all staffed adult acute care hospital beds were occupied by COVID-19 patients on Thursday. In the state’s intensive care units, 22.2% (262) of staffed adult beds were occupied by suspected and confirmed COVID-19 patients.
On Nov. 29, the most recent date with testing data, 7,682 specimens were collected statewide, with 15.4% testing positive. The average positive test rate for the seven days prior was 15.8%. More than 3.2 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 51,596 cases and 894 deaths. Spokane County is second, with 20,194 cases. Snohomish County has the second highest number of deaths at 302
UW’s game against Oregon canceled due to COVID-19 issues in Huskies’ program
Washington’s game against Oregon on Saturday has been canceled, the Pac-12 announced on Thursday.
Due to an increase in COVID-19 positive tests within the program and the resulting isolation of additional players under contact tracing protocols, the Huskies did not have the minimum number of scholarship players available.
In order to play a game, the Pac-12 requires a minimum of at least 53 scholarship players — including seven scholarship offensive linemen, one scholarship quarterback and four scholarship defensive linemen.
The game will be declared a no contest.
“I’m so disappointed for everyone involved here,” UW athletic director Jen Cohen said in a statement. “Every year our student-athletes, coaches, staff and Husky Nation circle this game on our calendar and so look forward to this amazing rivalry.
“The student-athletes from both schools have worked so hard, and I’m just really disheartened we are at this point where we are unable to play due to our COVID-19 positives within the program, but we will always put the health and well-being of our students, coaches and staff as our greatest priority when making decisions. We will continue to work in collaboration with our medical professionals as they advise us on how to best move forward.”
This is the third game the Huskies have had canceled this season, but the first due to issues in their program. UW paused all team-related football activities on Wednesday.
“We are disappointed for our players and fans and for our opponent that our game will not be played this weekend,” head coach Jimmy Lake said in a statement. “We are doing everything we can to resume football activities as soon as we can safely do so.”
After UW’s loss to Stanford last week, redshirt junior wide receiver Ty Jones admitted to COVID-19 issues in the program, saying “it’s tough when we got guys coming out due to coronavirus.”
Several players missed last week’s game and weren’t visible on the sideline. Lake has consistently refused to comment on player injuries or illness, but he opened up about UW’s COVID-19 issues during his radio show Wednesday evening on KJR.
VA Puget Sound will be among first to get newly approved COVID-19 vaccine
The U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs announced VA Puget Sound is one of 37 VA medical centers that will receive its initial distribution of a newly approved COVID-19 vaccine.
The VA Puget Sound Health Care System runs two campuses in Washington, one at American Lake in Lakewood, the other on Beacon Hill, in Seattle, as well as seven clinics across the region.
The vaccine will first be provided to front-line VA health care workers and veterans residing in long-term care units in the 37 medical centers chosen, according to a statement released by the VA on Thursday.
The VA is among a handful of federal agencies that will receive direction allocation of the vaccine from the Centers for Disease Control, according to the COVID-19 Vaccination Program Interim Playbook published by the CDC in Oct. 2020.
On Thursday, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration announced that the Pfizer-BioNTech coronavirus vaccine became the first COVID-19 vaccine to be recommended for emergency use in the United States. A vaccine by Moderna is expected to receive a green light when the FDA reviews it on Dec. 17.
First COVID vaccine recommended for emergency use in US. What happens next?
A U.S. Food and Drug Administration panel recommended the Pfizer-BioNTech coronavirus vaccine for emergency use authorization Thursday after an advisory committee reviewed the latest clinical trial data, deciding that the benefits outweigh the risks.
It’s the first COVID-19 vaccine to be recommended for emergency use in the U.S for people 16 years of age and older. It’s unclear when the FDA is planning on officially authorizing the vaccine.
The FDA’s Vaccines and Related Biological Products Advisory Committee started its review of the vaccine’s clinical data on Nov. 20, when Pfizer and its partner BioNtech submitted their request for an emergency use authorization.
The same shot was first authorized by the United Kingdom on Dec. 2; the first two people were vaccinated on Tuesday. Canada was the second nation to authorize the vaccine Wednesday, with shots expected to roll out next week, according to the New York Times.
Chief Operating Officer of Operation Warp Speed General Gustave Perna said during a media briefing last week that states should receive allocated doses “within 24 hours” of the FDA’s authorization. Distributions are based on a state’s population size, rather than the number of people in groups that are at high risk of infection, McClatchy News previously reported.
Debbie Cockrell, Abbie Shull and Lauren Kirschman contributed to this report.
This story was originally published December 11, 2020 at 9:36 AM with the headline "Coronavirus updates: Case counts continue to spike; UW’s game against Oregon canceled."
