COVID-19 surge in full swing: Pierce County reports more than 500 new cases over 2 days
Pierce County reported 243 new COVID-19 cases Friday and no new deaths.
The daily case numbers have been on the rise with the spread of the Delta variant in recent weeks.
On Thursday, 275 new cases were reported.
The county’s totals are 54,677 cases and 636 deaths since the first confirmed coronavirus case was reported in March 2020.
Pierce County’s 14-day case rate per 100,000 was 222.8 as of Aug. 4, up from 209.2 the previous day and 67.1 as of July 14.
New hospitalizations per 100,000 over seven days for Pierce County is currently 4 per 100,000, the same as the state’s overall rate.
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 Feb. 1, 2021 – July 24, 2021 were not fully vaccinated
▪ 96.0% of COVID-19 cases from Feb. 1, 2021 – July 24, 2021 who were hospitalized were not fully vaccinated
▪ 94.6% of COVID-19 cases from Feb. 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.
The state updates its report of unvaccinated cases once a week.
More information on testing is available on the health department’s website.
GEOGRAPHIC TOTALS
Friday’s cumulative geographic totals with previous day’s totals in parentheses:
▪ Bonney Lake: 1,634 (1,629)
▪ Central Pierce County: 2,445 (2,438)
▪ East Pierce County: 2,627 (2,610)
▪ Edgewood/Fife/Milton: 2,165 (2,155)
▪ Frederickson: 2,113 (2,099)
▪ Gig Harbor area: 1,660 (1,650)
▪ Graham: 1,877 (1,861)
▪ JBLM: No longer reported
▪ Key Peninsula: 492 (490)
▪ Lake Tapps/Sumner area: 2,130 (2,119)
▪ Lakewood: 4,313 (4,294)
▪ Parkland: 2,568 (2,564)
▪ Puyallup: 3,089 (3,078)
▪ South Hill: 3,220 (3,200)
▪ South Pierce County: 1,945 (1,937)
▪ Southwest Pierce County: 781 (777)
▪ Spanaway: 2,595 (2,586)
▪ Tacoma: 14,399 (14,353)
▪ University Place: 1,667 (1,662)
▪ Unknown: 2,957 (2,932)
VACCINES
As of Aug. 4:
▪ 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 6, 2021 at 2:12 PM.
