Pierce County COVID case rates headed in wrong direction. More than 270 reported Thursday
Pierce County reported 275 new COVID-19 cases Thursday and no new deaths.
The daily case numbers have been on the rise with the spread of the Delta variant in recent weeks.
Earlier this week, 533 cases were reported in one day as the result of a state case backlog, according to the Tacoma-Pierce County Health Department.
The county’s totals are 54,434 cases and 636 deaths since the first confirmed coronavirus case was reported in March 2020.
Two deaths have been reported so far this week:
▪ A South Pierce County woman in her 70s.
▪ A South Pierce County man in his 60s.
The county 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 July 27 was 70.2 percent.
Pierce County’s 14-day case rate per 100,000 was 209.2 as of Aug. 3, up from 145.7 as of July 28 and 67.1 as of July 14.
New hospitalizations per 100,000 over seven days for Pierce County is currently 3.6 per 100,000, compared with the state’s rate of 3.7.
Test positivity was at 7.8 percent the week of July 18-24 with the number of tests up over the previous week. The positivity rate for the county was lowest the week of June 13, when it hit 2.2 percent.
According to the state in its vaccination report Thursday:
▪ 96.5% of COVID-19 cases from February 1, 2021 – July 24, 2021 were not fully vaccinated in the state
▪ 96.0% of COVID-19 cases from February 1, 2021 – July 24, 2021 who were hospitalized were not fully vaccinated
▪ 94.6% of COVID-19 cases from February 1, 2021 – July 24, 2021 who died from COVID-19 were not fully vaccinated
▪ More than 94% of all cases, hospitalizations, and deaths in individuals 12 years or older from Washington state can be attributed to individuals who have not been fully vaccinated.
In Pierce County, the state says between February and June, 1,251 cases, or 92.9%, involved not fully vaccinated individuals.
OUTBREAKS
Two new publicly listed outbreaks were reported on the TPCHD website Thursday: the South Sound 911 Law Enforcement Communications Center in Tacoma with 15 cases, and a live event July 17, the Pretty by Pinks’ Woman in Color Fashion Show with 13 cases.
The county lists a total of 148 cases related to business outbreaks, up from 129 cases last week. Industries listed include child care, construction food service/restaurant, grocery, manufacturing, office and outpatient medical/dental, and public safety.
More information on testing is available on the health department’s website.
GEOGRAPHIC TOTALS
Thursday’s cumulative geographic totals with July 30’s totals in parentheses:
▪ Bonney Lake: 1,629 (1,568)
▪ Central Pierce County: 2,438 (2,380)
▪ East Pierce County: 2,610 (2,539)
▪ Edgewood/Fife/Milton: 2,155 (2,098)
▪ Frederickson: 2,099 (2,032)
▪ Gig Harbor area: 1,650 (1,618)
▪ Graham: 1,861 (1,826)
▪ JBLM: No longer reported
▪ Key Peninsula: 490 (475)
▪ Lake Tapps/Sumner area: 2,119 (2,064)
▪ Lakewood: 4,294 (4,203)
▪ Parkland: 2,564 (2,527)
▪ Puyallup: 3,078 (3,004)
▪ South Hill: 3,200 (3,135)
▪ South Pierce County: 1,937 (1,880)
▪ Southwest Pierce County: 777 (748)
▪ Spanaway: 2,586 (2,510)
▪ Tacoma: 14,353 (14,018)
▪ University Place: 1,662 (1,623)
▪ Unknown: 2,932 (2,823)
VACCINES
As of July 28:
▪ About 873,886 doses have been given to Pierce County residents, according to TPCHD. More than 8 million doses have been administered statewide.
In the county, 52.39 percent of the population has initiated vaccination, and 46 percent is fully vaccinated, compared with 57.7 percent in the state initiating vaccines and 52.9 percent fully vaccinated.
Among those 12 and older statewide, nearly 70 percent has initiated vaccination, and 62 percent is fully vaccinated.
You can view vaccine participation by census tract on the local health department’s website.
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 is eligible for 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.
This story was originally published August 5, 2021 at 3:33 PM.
