Pierce County sees COVID’s grip loosening as vaccine takes hold
Pierce County reported 28 new COVID-19 cases Monday and two new deaths.
The latest deaths involved a Tacoma man in his 80s and a Tacoma woman in her 70s.
The Tacoma-Pierce County Health Department no longer assigns underlying condition status to individual deaths it reports and instead counts underlying conditions as part of a percentage of the total number of deaths, which as of June 8 was 71.2 percent.
Over the weekend, 98 cases were reported; 53 cases on Saturday, 45 on Sunday.
The county’s totals are now 50,456 cases and 585 deaths since the first confirmed coronavirus case was reported in March 2020.
Pierce County’s 14-day case rate per 100,000 was 135.3 as of June 10, down from 140.3 as of June 9, with an eight-day reporting delay, according to the state’s Roadmap to Recovery metric. That compares with the state’s rate of 114.7.
The health department on Monday noted that the county’s case rate has dropped 74 percent since December, and 66 percent since April.
It also accounted for why recent totals have appeared higher as the 14-day rate continues to drop:
“Recently, we reported an increased number of daily cases as a result of a state backlog. Most of these cases dated back months. Because the state counts cases at the date of testing, these did not impact our 14-day case rate. The same will hold true if we see backlog cases in the future.”
The department credits vaccinations for the progress.
New hospitalizations per 100,000 over seven days was at 3.8, compared with the state’s rate of 4.3. The rate of new hospitalizations locally and statewide both are following downward trends.
Test positivity was at 6.5 percent from the week of May 23-29, the most recent data on the health department’s website and down from 7.3 the previous week, with the number of tests also down.
The department noted: “We’re seeing the county’s highest case rates in areas of low vaccination percentages. These areas include Parkland, Graham, Orting, South Prairie, Carbonado and some rural areas of south and east Pierce County.”
Pierce County, along with the rest of the state, moved into Phase 3 of the Healthy WA: Roadmap to Recovery reopening plan on May 18, which allows for 50 percent capacity for most indoor activities. The state plans to move to a full reopening (full capacity at all businesses) as of June 30, sooner if the rate of Washingtonians over age 16 initiating vaccinations hits 70 percent or more before that date.
Rollbacks are possible if statewide hospital ICU capacity reaches 90 percent at any time.
Testing is available at various places. Local libraries in Tacoma and Pierce County also have test kits available for curbside pickup. More information on testing is available on the health department’s website.
GEOGRAPHIC TOTALS
Monday’s cumulative geographic totals with Friday’s totals in parentheses:
▪ Bonney Lake: 1,486 (1,477)
▪ Central Pierce County: 2,271 (2,266)
▪ East Pierce County: 2,434 (2,428)
▪ Edgewood/Fife/Milton: 1,994 (1,986)
▪ Frederickson: 1,909 (1,904)
▪ Gig Harbor area: 1,554 (1,550)
▪ Graham: 1,724 (1,723)
▪ JBLM: No longer reported
▪ Key Peninsula: 452 (451)
▪ Lake Tapps/Sumner area: 1,952 (1,945)
▪ Lakewood: 4,007 (3,997)
▪ Parkland: 2,437 (2,432)
▪ Puyallup: 2,852 (2,844)
▪ South Hill: 2,977 (2,968)
▪ South Pierce County: 1,768 (1,761)
▪ Southwest Pierce County: 701 (700)
▪ Spanaway: 2,403 (2,397)
▪ Tacoma: 13,382 (13,348)
▪ University Place: 1,559 (1,558)
▪ Unknown: 2,594 (2,596)
VACCINES
As of June 9:
▪ About 748,542 total doses have been given to Pierce County residents, according to TPCHD. More than 7.3 million doses have been administered statewide.
In the county, 47.6 percent of the total population has initiated vaccination, and 38.4 percent is fully vaccinated, compared with 51.36 percent in the state initiating vaccines and 45.47 percent fully vaccinated.
Among those 16 and older statewide, 64.25 percent have initiated vaccination and 56.66 percent are fully vaccinated. In Pierce County, the health department said as of last week, 59.1 percent of those 16 or older have received at least one dose of COVID-19 vaccine.
You can view vaccine participation by census tract on the health department’s website.
TPCHD includes vaccines administered to Pierce County residents at Joint-Base Lewis McChord in its total. It does not, however, have access to Veterans Affairs vaccine totals, which are not entered into the Washington state Immunization Information System.
JBLM data is not included in any demographic information or on the health department’s vaccine map.
The state’s goal is to have at least 70 percent of those 16 and older having initiated vaccination by June 30. As of June 5, the state was at 64 percent.
Go to tpchd.org/vaxtothefuture or the county’s FindYourCovidShot.com website for information on local places offering vaccines and for vaccine registration. Walk-up vaccine sites run by the county and most TPCHD events now no longer require an appointment, and all TPCHD events are for first or second doses. Anyone age 12 or older can receive the Pfizer vaccine. Those younger than 18 need parent or guardian approval. Locations of individual vaccine sites also can be found on the state’s vaccine finder: vaccinelocator.doh.wa.gov.
▪ The health department’s call center to help those seeking vaccines is 253-649-1412.
▪ Pierce County also has a call center to help those searching for vaccines. Residents who need assistance signing up for an event can contact the call center at 253-798-8900 or email pcvaccine@piercountywa.gov for help.
