WA Detects More Variant Cases; DOH Updates Vaccine Outlook

OLYMPIA, WA — Washington health officials hosted their weekly coronavirus briefing Thursday, one day after the state reached a grim milestone of 5,000 COVID-19 deaths.

"I extend my deepest sympathy to all those who've lost a loved one," said Dr. Umair Shah, the state health officer. "Together we will heal, we will recover, we will never forget those we have lost, but we have to continue to remember the fight continues for COVID-19."

While Washington has shown steady progress in tamping down coronavirus metrics since early January, health officials said the declines are beginning to level off.

"There are definitely many reasons for hope for us, but we have to do everything we can to continue to fight this pandemic," Shah said. "Nationwide, the CDC earlier this week had indicated that while cause numbers continue to decrease across the country, there has been a plateauing or flattening in those numbers. We want to continue to do everything we can to make sure that we fight this pandemic."

As of mid-February, Shah said the average number of hospitalizations flattened to roughly 13 per day in Eastern Washington and 39 per day in Western Washington. The most recent federal report showed a slight increase in case counts over the final seven days of last month.

More infectious variants of the virus continue to be a top concern in Washington and across the United States. Earlier in the week, the Department of Health announced a new effort to help track their spread. State-of-the-art equipment headed to a state lab in Shoreline will help Washington genetically sequence thousands of samples each month, officials said Wednesday. The goal is to build enough capacity to analyze 5 percent of all positive test results for mutations.

As of Thursday, Shah said routine sequencing efforts had identified 70 cases involving the UK variant, up from 39 last week, and five cases of the variant linked to South Africa.

"These variants are believed to be more infectious and easier to spread, and they are now here in Washington," Shah said. "This makes our race to vaccinate Washingtonians, as quickly and as equitably as possible, even more important."

To that end, the state is within striking distance of its goal to administer 45,000 doses each day, with the most recent data showing nearly 44,000. In the last week, officials said that number soared even further, hitting between 50,000 and 60,000 doses on three different days.

The main obstacle continues to be the supply chain, which is on track to hit 330,000 doses by the last week of March. But progress is gradual, and next week's allocation includes 100,000 fewer doses than providers requested. Washington received roughly 61,000 doses of the new single-dose vaccine from J&J this week but is unlikely to receive more until April, officials said Thursday.

However, state leaders are optimistic deliveries will increase in the coming weeks and months, and Gov. Jay Inslee announced wider eligibility for essential workers, beginning March 22, and extending further for other groups through April.

Following a federal directive, all educators and child care workers now qualify for vaccine appointments, immediately adding an estimated 260,000 people to the queue. While teachers are welcome to book appointments through any provider, state officials recommended seeking out pharmacies.

"Right now, we can say for certain the best place for educators and child care workers to get the COVID-19 vaccine is through that federal pharmacy program," said Lacy Fehrenbach, the deputy secretary for COVID-19 response. "We've been told by the federal government that the providers in this program will prioritize educators and child care workers at their sites through the end of March."

The federal pharmacy program allocates vaccines separate from the state's regular allotment, with 65,000 doses expected this week and 72,000 next week. In Washington, the six participating pharmacy chains are Safeway/Albertsons, Walmart, Costco, Rite-Aid, HealthMart and Kroger.

Learn more about getting vaccinated in Washington on the Department of Health website.