Pierce County Coronavirus: Review Week

Pierce County, Washington-Vaccines are no longer a rare product in Pierce County as the state continues to step up its vaccination efforts.

It’s hardly a scientific analysis, but the Tacoma-Pierce County Health Department’s Vaccine Clinic tells the story like most others. Their latest clinic registration on Friday took about 25 minutes to fill hundreds of booking slots. It’s fast and shows that there is still strong demand for vaccines throughout the county, but the first clinic that overwhelmed the entire registered website just a few weeks ago and filled more than 1,000 appointments with just a handful. There is nothing compared to. Minutes.

Hard data supports the anecdote. Tacoma’s latest update-Pierce County Health Department dashboard shows that 33,371 Pierce County residents were vaccinated during the week leading up to March 6, for a total of 218,382 Pierce County residents. I will.

And the vaccine should be more easily accessible in the coming weeks.Not only will Washington receive more allotted doses next week than it was a few weeks ago, but the federal retail pharmacy program Another 72,000 times Directly to pharmacies throughout Washington. The federal government has set up a website to help residents find these doses. Vaccine finder.org /, This allows residents to search by zip code and find vaccines in stock nearby.

On the other hand, the number of cases of coronavirus continues to decrease. According to the latest update to the TPCHD COVID-19 data dashboard, county case rates have dropped from 168.7 per 100,000 inhabitants last week to 153.7 in the last seven days. It’s starting to gain momentum.

Other key indicators are heading in the right direction, including a 14% reduction in hospitalizations over the past two weeks, with test positive rates remaining relatively low at 6%.

Last Saturday, it’s been a year since the first resident of Pierce County tested positive for COVID-19. It’s been a week since the coronavirus was officially declared a pandemic by the World Health Organization. Tuesday, Tacoma Director, Dr. Anthony LT Chen-Pierce County Health Department, I shared some thoughts How the community got together to survive the crisis.

“Last year brought great challenges and changes to our community,” Chen writes. “In Pierce County, there were more than 36,000 confirmed cases of the virus and at least 470 deaths. During that time, we stayed at home and learned to wear masks, changing the way we work, learn, socialize and do business. I had to … “.

He concludes his post with an optimistic view that the worst of this pandemic has passed.

“The darkest days of the pandemic tested us in ways we never imagined, but after a year of challenge, when we look to the future of hope and healing, ours The community is more resilient. It was difficult last year, but it looks bright a year ahead. “

He seems right.I’m worried Recent appearance Within Washington’s new COVID-19 variant, there are many positive changes we’re looking forward to in the coming weeks.

First, the next stage of vaccination is set to begin on Wednesday. This will bring several more groups to the vaccine, many of whom will be essential workers working in a collective environment.

And a few days later, on March 22, the whole of Washington Enter Phase 3 This of the state’s Roadmap to Recovery program offers many benefits, including the resurrection of indoor and outdoor events such as graduation ceremonies and concerts with up to 400 participants. Restaurants, gyms, cinemas and other businesses will also be able to reopen with 50% capacity.

“The pandemic isn’t over yet, but signs of hope are beginning to appear,” Chen said.

Total number of cases, hospitalizations and deaths of coronavirus in Pierce County:

Editor’s Note: The patch is currently updating these totals Weekly, Basic, not every day. Readers should keep in mind that the following increases represent 7 days of infection and death.

The above figures are provided by the Tacoma-Pierce County Health Department and some figures may differ from the totals individually provided by the Washington State Department of Health.