By Aaron Allen, The Seattle Medium
Last Friday, Dr. Jeffrey Duchin, Health Officer of Public Health Seattle King County, provided an optimistic update about the County’s COVID-19 response on the two-year anniversary of the World Health Organization’s declaration of COVID-19 as a global pandemic.
“It was two years ago today on March 11, the World Health Organization first declared the COVID-19 outbreak to be a global pandemic,” says Duchin. “Today, we mark that anniversary with some relatively optimistic news for all of us.”
Looking at the data, optimism is appropriate as COVID levels across the board are declining. As of last Thursday, overall, over the course of the pandemic King County has reported 369,000 cases in King County, 11,000 hospitalizations and 2,629 deaths.
Duchin says that the current number of COVID cases show a downward trend that is very encouraging.
“Over the last seven days, 226 cases were reported each day which is down from 6457 reported daily since January 10,” said Duchin. “Cases have declined in all age groups, in all areas of the county.”
“Cases are at the same level as of last winter before the omicron surge, three to four times the levels reported in June and July before the Delta surge,” Duchin continued.
The seven-day incident rates have also seen a decrease in cases, hospitalization rates and hospital occupancy. With cases at 70 per every 100,000 persons, which is under the CDC’s threshold of 200 per every 100,000 persons, this trend defines the county as low-level verses moderate to high levels.
“Our seven-day incident rate are declining in all age groups,” says Duchin. “Currently it is slightly higher in younger age groups, young adults compared to older adults. With respect to hospitalizations, new COVID hospitalizations have experienced a downward trend over the last two months.”
Currently six people are hospitalized each day (one person every four hours) in King County. As the number of cases are declining health care partners are reporting hospital capacity is improving. Just under five percent of patient beds are occupied with COVID patients, down from twenty-one percent at the peak of the omicron surge.
According to Duchin, hospitals are beginning to treat a large backlog of patients whose procedures and surgeries were delayed when hospitals were overloaded during the omicron outbreak.
Yet, even with things trending in the right direction Duchin is still concerned about staffing and the burden that COVID continues to place on the overall health care system.
“Ongoing staffing concerns and high volumes of patients continue to challenge our health care system,” says Duchin.
“Unvaccinated people are about 13 times more likely to be hospitalized compared to someone who is vaccinated and boostered,” he added. “Our unvaccinated residence continues to represent a disproportionate number of those who require hospitalization.”
COVID-19 deaths have decreased by 55 percent from an average of nine deaths per day to four as of February. However, unvaccinated citizens are 24 times more likely to die from COVID than those who are vaccinated and boostered.
According to Duchin, “our numbers place us in the low community level, well below the cutoffs for medium or high levels.” In addition, he says that vaccines are continuing to be tracked based on vaccine status. 85 percent of eligible people in the county have completed their primary vaccine series and with a more infectious omicron variant, the county did see more people getting infected, even those who have been vaccinated.
“At these levels the CDC doesn’t recommend universal indoor masking,” says Duchin. “But does recommend vaccinations, enhanced ventilation, COVID testing, isolation, quarantine, immune-compromised persons have a plan with their health provider for rapid test and treatment, if necessary.”
