COVID-19 surge intensifies in Pierce County with latest 3-day case total
Pierce County reported 419 new COVID-19 cases Monday and one new death, a Spanaway man in his 30s.
Over the weekend, the county reported 626 new cases, for a total of 1,045 new cases through Monday.
Monday’s one-day total was the highest seen in the county since Aug. 2, when 531 new cases were reported.
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 Aug. 10 was 71.8 percent.
The county’s totals are 57,753 cases and 639 deaths since the first confirmed coronavirus case was reported in March 2020.
Pierce County’s 14-day case rate per 100,000 was 379.6 as of Aug. 12, up from 355.4 as of Aug. 11 and 287.1 as of Aug. 8.
New hospitalizations per 100,000 over seven days for Pierce County is on an upward swing at 8.3. The state rate is 7.9.
Test positivity was at 14.6 percent the week of July 25-31 with the number of tests down 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 of Aug. 11:
▪ 95.5 percent of COVID-19 cases from Feb. 1, 2021 – July 31, 2021 were not fully vaccinated.
▪ 95.4 percent of COVID-19 cases who were hospitalized from Feb. 1, 2021 – July 24, 2021 were not fully vaccinated
▪ 94.3 percent of COVID-19 cases who died from COVID-19 from Feb. 1, 2021 – July 10, 2021 were not fully vaccinated
▪ More than 94.3 percent 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, 98 percent of all cases between February and June involved those not fully vaccinated.
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
Monday’s cumulative geographic totals with Aug. 13 totals in parentheses:
▪ Bonney Lake: 1,740 (1,718)
▪ Central Pierce County: 2,584 (2,542)
▪ East Pierce County: 2,812 (2,773)
▪ Edgewood/Fife/Milton: 2,281 (2,249)
▪ Frederickson: 2,244 (2,199)
▪ Gig Harbor area: 1,776 (1,732)
▪ Graham: 2,012 (1,963)
▪ JBLM: No longer reported
▪ Key Peninsula: 522 (511)
▪ Lake Tapps/Sumner area: 2,248 (2,208)
▪ Lakewood: 4,488 (4,408)
▪ Parkland: 2,682 (2,627)
▪ Puyallup: 3,223 (3,182)
▪ South Hill: 3,434 (3,353)
▪ South Pierce County: 2,070 (2,016)
▪ Southwest Pierce County: 830 (812)
▪ Spanaway: 2,706 (2,672)
▪ Tacoma: 15,083 (14,866)
▪ University Place: 1,746 (1,718)
▪ Unknown: 3,272 (3,159)
VACCINES
In the county, 59 percent of the population 12 and older has initiated vaccination, and 52.9 percent is fully vaccinated, according to state Department of Health.
Among those 12 and older statewide, 70.7 percent has initiated vaccination, and 62.5 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 16, 2021 at 2:04 PM.
