Pierce County’s COVID-19 case rate jumps 19 percent from last week as Omicron takes off
Pierce County reported seven new COVID-19 deaths for the past week amid increasing case and hospitalization rates.
“Omicron is spreading quickly and we expect these numbers to grow,” the Tacoma-Pierce County Health Department said in a statement Tuesday.
Due to a surge in testing, the county was unable to get complete case data from the state Department of Health. That agency reported 3,255 new cases statewide Tuesday and a pandemic record high of 6,235 on Christmas Day.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention now estimates that Omicron is the dominant variant in the state, TPCHD said.
The deaths, which occurred Dec. 19-24, include:
▪ A Puyallup woman in her 60s.
▪ A Tacoma woman in her 50s.
▪ A South Hill woman in her 90s.
▪ An Edgewood/Fife/Milton-area man in his 60s.
▪ A Tacoma man in his 60s.
▪ A Graham man in his 30s.
▪ A Tacoma man in his 50s.
Case, hospitalization and death rates
Pierce County’s 14-day case rate of 381 per 100,000 was up 19 percent from last week and up 44 percent in just over three weeks, TPCHD said.
The 7-day rate of hospitalizations per 100,000 is at 7.4 for Dec. 12-18, an increase of less than 10 percent than the previously reported 7-day period.
At the county and state levels, COVID-19 cases, hospitalizations and deaths are occurring at much higher rates in unvaccinated people compared with those fully vaccinated, according to the state Department of Health in its vaccine data report issued Dec. 21.
From February-November 2021, 78 percent of all cases in Pierce County (43,627) occurred in unvaccinated individuals, and 16.8 percent (9,423) were in fully vaccinated people.
Using statewide data, the report looked at the preceding seven-day period and found that, compared with the fully vaccinated, the COVID-19 case rate among the unvaccinated was:
▪ Four times higher in the 12-34 age group.
▪ Five times higher in the 35-64 age group.
▪ Seven times higher in the 65 and older age group.
Unvaccinated people were far more likely to be admitted to hospitals in the same period. Among the unvaccinated, hospitalization rates were:
▪ 19 times higher in the 12-34 age group.
▪ 18 times higher in the 35-64 age group.
▪ 12 times higher in the 65 and older age group.
Death rates were 13 times higher in the 65 and older age group for unvaccinated people. DOH did not provide death rates for under 65 due to smaller numbers.
More information on testing is available on the health department’s website.
Vaccines
Pierce County’s vaccination rate is at 65.4 percent fully vaccinated for those 12 and older, compared with the state’s rate of 73.5 percent for the same age category, according to the state DOH.
Among Pierce County’s total population, the county is 54.7 percent fully vaccinated, compared with King County at 73.5 percent and the state rate of 62.6 percent.
Percentage of those in each age range who have received at least one dose of vaccine in Pierce County as posted Dec. 8:
▪ 12-17: 46.2 percent
▪ 18-34: 56.6 percent
▪ 35-49: 65.6 percent
▪ 50-64: 68.2 percent
▪ 65 and older: 78.3 percent
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 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 5 or older is eligible for the Pfizer vaccine, and anyone 16 or older is eligible for a booster six months after completing a two-dose mRNA vaccine series (Pfizer-BioNTech or Moderna) or two months after receiving the single shot Johnson & Johnson COVID-19 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.
This story was originally published December 28, 2021 at 5:32 PM.
