Coronavirus In Pierce County: Week In Review

PIERCE COUNTY, WA — Last week Pierce County saw COVID-19 case counts climb for the first time in months, a trend that continued this week as the 14-day case rate continues to swell.

Last Friday, the Tacoma - Pierce County Health Department reported the county had seen 130.3 new COVID-19 cases per 100,000 residents over the past two weeks. Now, that 14-day case rate has grown to 147.5 — higher than the county saw at the peak of the second wave of infections last summer.

It's still nowhere near the peak in winter, when Pierce County logged a high of 545.2 cases per 100,000 residents, but health officials say decidedly it's not good news that case rates are climbing again.

"Since March 15, we’ve seen slight increases to the case rate most days. In less than two weeks, the rate increased 24%," writes Ingrid Friberg, an epidemiologist for TPCHD.

The increase in transmission locally echoes the growth in COVID-19 cases all across Washington. Thursday, the state's top health officials expressed concern that the rising transmission rate could create a fourth wave of coronavirus cases — something they say they desperately want to avoid until the vaccine rollout progresses further.

"The bottom line is that we are seeing some variability across the state and age groups, but this is time to proceed with caution," state epidemiologist Dr. Scott Lindquist said. "We need to really emphasize vaccinating as many people as possible."

Fortunately, the vaccine rollout is picking up steam. Friday, the state confirmed that 3 million COVID-19 vaccine doses have been administered in Washington, and that 1 million Washingtonians were fully inoculated. Nearly a tenth of those vaccinations have been in Pierce County alone: as of Wednesday, 307,423 vaccine doses have been administered to Pierce County residents. Nearly 38,000 were administered in the last week alone.

And this coming Wednesday, roughly 2 million more people will become eligible for vaccination when the state enters Phases 1B3 and 1B4. Those phases allow several more groups to get their shots, including:

• Anyone 16+ with two or more comorbidities.
• Employees in restaurants, manufacturing and construction.
• Anyone 16+ who lives in a congregate setting. Congregate settings include group homes, correctional facilities and shelters for residents experiencing homelessness.
• Everyone 60 to 64 years old.

Pierce County is getting ready for the rush of newly-eligible patients, and has set up a free, drive-thru vaccine clinic for that same day. This week the county also launched a COVID-19 vaccine call center, which can help residents struggling to find a shot sign up for a vaccine appointment.

At this point, health officials say vaccination is the best way to prevent further deaths and a dreaded fourth wave of infections — so until the vaccine rollout can progress further, they're urging everyone to buckle down, and keep following COVID-19 safety guidelines so we can see this pandemic through.

"Our case rate is still low compared to the peak we saw in January. That’s good. Right now, it’s a ripple," Friberg said. "You’ve heard warnings in national media stories about a fourth wave. No one wants that. And we don’t want to turn this ripple into a wave. We need your help to knock out this ripple and make sure it’s only a small upward blip in a continued downward trend. We know you do too."

Total coronavirus cases, hospitalizations and deaths in Pierce County:

Editors note: Patch is updating these totals on a weekly, rather than daily, basis. Readers should keep in mind that the increases below represent infections and deaths over a seven-day period.

The above numbers are provided by the Tacoma-Pierce County Health Department, and some numbers differ from the totals provided separately by the Washington State Department of Health.