After 675 Tri-Cities area COVID deaths, some good news this week
No recent deaths from COVID-19 were announced this past week by the Benton Franklin Health District for the first time in many months.
The last week that no deaths were announced, other than some holiday weeks when reports were not immediately compiled, appears to be nearly nine months ago at the end of July 2021, according to Tri-City Herald records.
Public health officials have been watching for a decline in the number of Tri-Cities area deaths due to COVID-19 this spring after seeing a dramatic drop in new cases.
As recently as the last full week of Feb., 17 recent deaths from COVID-19 were announced. Deaths from the disease in the two counties since the start of the pandemic have numbered 675, including six announced this month.
Another indicator of severe COVID cases, the number of people hospitalized for treatment, also is down in the Tri-Cities.
In the Puget Sound area of Washington state the rate of new COVID-19 cases is ticking up again.
Dr. Amy Person, speaking at the Benton Franklin Health District Board meeting Wednesday, said she also expects an increase in cases in the Tri-Cities area based on the pattern elsewhere where the BA.2 subvariant of omicron is the dominant circulating strain of the virus.
But public health officials continue to most closely monitor indicators of severe COVID-19 cases trends in COVID-19 — deaths and hospitalizations — and also the available capacity at hospitals.
In the Tri-Cities area, new case rates continue to hold fairly steady.
The new case rate reported this past week was about 22 new cases per 100,000 people in a week, compared to 20 new cases per 100,000 reported two weeks ago.
Just seven people were admitted to hospitals in Benton and Franklin counties during the last week for which data was available, which was down from 11 the previous week.
COVID vaccine
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says that 9 of 10 children hospitalized with COVID-19 from mid December through February, when omicron was prevalent, were unvaccinated.
Of those children ages 5-11, 33% had no underlying medical conditions and 19% were treated in an intensive care unit.
None of the vaccinated children hospitalized with COVID-19 required a high degree of support for breathing, such as nasal oxygen or mechanical ventilation.
The data underscores the importance of getting children vaccinated, the CDC said.
Just 32% of children ages 5-11 in Washington state are vaccinated, compared to 72% of all people eligible, according to the Washington state Department of Health
Vaccination rates are lower in the Tri-Cities area, with 59.8% of residents age 5 and older in Benton County receiving their initial series of COVID vaccine and 56.8% in Franklin County. That is an increase of 0.1 percentage points in each county in a week.
Free Tri-Cities COVID clinics
Upcoming free COVID vaccine clinics are scheduled at:
▪ Super Mex, 720 N. 20th Ave., Pasco, 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Sunday, April 24. Organized by Aristo Health Care Services and Tri-Cities Hispanic Chamber of Commerce. $50 gift cards for people getting their initial vaccines, while supplies last. Boosters also available.
▪ Care-A-Van at Richland Community Center, 500 Amon Park Drive, Richland, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Friday, April 29. Organized by Women of Wisdom Tri-Cities.
▪ Fiesta Foods, 115 S. 10th Ave., Pasco, 2 to 6 p.m. Friday, April 29 and Saturday, April 30. Organized by the Washington state Department of Health. $50 gift cards to the first 50 people each day getting their initial vaccines. Boosters also available.
