COVID-19 Vashon Situation Report
The Vashon Emergency Operations Center produces this briefing for our emergency workers and for the community. The situation report is published Tuesday and Friday and includes information on Vashon community response actions and support.
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Vashon Vaccine Availability:
Vaccination eligibility for Washington State currently includes those in tiers 1a and 1b1, including pre-K to 12 educators and staff as well as licensed daycare workers. For full definitions of eligibility visit https://www.doh.wa.gov/Emergencies/COVID19/Vaccine.
The Emergency Operations Center (EOC) recommends that you check the following four websites to see if there is updated information beyond what we compile in these Situation Reports, which are published Tuesday and Friday.
The Overview: Vaccination availability for new first dose patients has ebbed as Vashon has reached saturation for the current eligibility group. Second dose commitments are being met. No new vaccine shipments are anticipated this week.
Overall Vaccination Progress: The data dashboard published by Public Health -- Seattle and King County (PHSKC) shows that vaccination of the general population on Vashon, aged 16+, exceeds 37%. The vaccination rate of the island's seniors, aged 65+, has reached saturation level and is pegged at 105% on the PHSKC dashboard. It's important to understand that it is a challenge to be precise about vaccination rates. Vashon's vaccination metrics remain significantly higher than other areas of King County. One factor may be the older population on Vashon, which matches the current high priority 1b1 vaccination eligibility group.
Educators/Child Care Workers: Vaccination of employees of schools and license child care facilities may also have reached saturation. We estimate more than 300 people in that category -- newly added to the 1b1 group -- have received a first dose of vaccine.
Vashon Pharmacy: The Pharmacy did not receive any new doses this week and may not get any next week, given the very high vaccination rate on the island. State Department of Health (DOH) planners will likely send vaccine to other areas still trying to catch up before eligibility shifts to the 1b2 group around March 22. The drive-through operation at the Pharmacy reduced days of operation this week but is covering all second dose needs.
Sea Mar at Sunrise Ridge: The clinic at Sunrise Ridge currently has no plans to hold any public vaccination clinic this week. Sea Mar has been receiving small batches of vaccine on an irregular schedule but no new first dose allocations are currently expected.
Current Virus Statistics:
Vashon Island COVID-19 Case Count as of 3/9/21:*
- 108 confirmed positive cases, 0 new cases since last Situation Report on Friday
- Date of last positive test: March 3
- 0 new positives in past 7 days and 3 positives in the past 14 days
- 3 people have been hospitalized. Date of last hospitalization: December 28
- 3 Vashon deaths per the King County dashboard, last death reported 2/27/21
King County COVID-19 Case Count as of 3/9/21:*
- 83,274 confirmed positive cases, 911 new since last Situation Report on Friday
- 1,421 deaths, 9 new since last Situation Report on Friday
Washington State COVID-19 Case Count as of 3/7/21:*
- 345,731 confirmed positive cases, 2,641 new since last Situation Report on Friday
- 5,063 deaths, 31 since last Situation Report on Friday
*Note 1: The statistics above are from the Public Health – Seattle & King County dashboard as of the date listed. Numbers may not be complete, as data processing lags and the actual number of cases, hospitalizations, and deaths may not yet match the dashboard.
Note 2: Federal law prohibits Public Health - Seattle & King County (PHSKC) from releasing the names of patients (HIPAA Act). For consistency of day-to-day data reporting for Vashon, the EOC uses only the Zip code data from the Public Health – Seattle & King County dashboard
Health Tips:
The Vashon Medical Reserve Corps has analyzed the new CDC guidance that says small groups of fully vaccinated people can safely get together indoors. "We want to help Vashon folks implement the new CDC guidance. Everyone probably understands that there is no such thing as zero risk," said Dr. Zach Miller, the MRC's lead contact tracing investigator. "So, we suggest islanders do what we do. Since no vaccine can possibly provide perfect protection, ask yourself five simple questions to evaluate the small but real risk for even fully vaccinated people."
- Do I feel sure that everyone at the gathering has actually been vaccinated? Have they waited the necessary two weeks after their 2nd shot?
- How careful have the people been that I'll be seeing? Have they been traveling, working with the public, attending parties, or living with people who are not careful to avoid COVID exposure?
- How do I personally feel about the risk of the new COVID variants, knowing my vaccine might not cover some variants?
- How healthy am I? What's my personal risk? Do I have heart disease, lung disease, diabetes, high blood pressure, altered immunity?
- If I were to get asymptomatic COVID-19, would I pose a risk to people in my household or others I'm planning to see?
New Developments since Last Report:
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) on Monday issued guidance for Americans fully vaccinated against Covid-19. The CDC defines persons as being fully vaccinated 2 weeks after completing the COVID-19 vaccine regimen of two doses for the Pfizer or Moderna vaccines, or two weeks after a single-dose Johnson & Johnson vaccine. Fully vaccinated persons may gather indoors with fully vaccinated people without wearing a mask and can gather indoors with unvaccinated people from one other household. If you’ve been around someone who has COVID-19, you do not need to stay away from others or get tested unless you have symptoms. In public, vaccinated people must continue to wear masks, maintain social distance, wash hands often and follow any other protocols that are in place. You should still avoid medium or large-sized gatherings and avoid poorly ventilated spaces. CDC did not revise its travel recommendations, and continues to advise that all Americans refrain from travel unless absolutely necessary. Current COVID-19 vaccines are effective at preventing COVID-19 disease, especially severe illness and death, however researchers are still learning how effective the vaccines are against variants of the virus. Data is still being collected as to how well COVID-19 vaccines keep people from spreading the disease and how long COVID-19 vaccines can actually protect people. CDC studies have shown that wearing masks, social distancing, and frequent hand washing are effective against virus transmission, and should be continued in public places. Also see the Health Tips above, and read the full CDC guidance at https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/vaccines/fully-vaccinated.html
Vashon Island School District (VISD) has posted a number of documents for Vashon families and the community outlining the many safety protocols necessary to limit the spread of COVID-19. These documents provide important safety information related to VISD’s Healthy Start Return. To view the documents, visit https://www.vashonsd.org/Page/2517. Also join the VISD Healthy Start Q&A Zoom Meeting: March 10th, 5:00 p.m. - 6:00 p.m. at https://us02web.zoom.us/j/84647395398
State Employment Security Department data shows that Vashon’s unemployment active claims are at 387, a small drop from the last report of 402 claims one month ago. If you need assistance filing claims for unemployment benefits, or have questions on eligibility with the COVID-19 relief programs, the Chamber of Commerce’s Ask the Expert is available for free consultations, and will guide you on how to proceed with filing for unemployment, PPP loans, or tax returns. Email deborah@vashonbeprepared.org or call (206) 200-3236.
Career counseling is available free through the Chamber of Commerce’s Ask the Expert program. If you are struggling with COVID career transitions, need support to uncover your unique talents, or assistance crafting strategies to assure good job fit, Ask the Expert is available to support your efforts. Contact barb@mcmahonconsult.com.
The Washington State Department of Health (DOH) reports that the state has reached its goal of vaccinating 45,000 people per day. As of March 3, an average of 45,221 COVID-19 vaccine doses have been given over the past seven days. More than 1,865,640 doses of vaccine have been given across the state, which is more than 77% of the 2,414,000 doses that have been delivered to providers and long-term care programs. Over 2.3 million people are currently eligible for COVID-19 vaccine under phases 1a and 1b1 in the state of Washington, including roughly 260,000 educators. https://www.doh.wa.gov/Emergencies/COVID19/DataDashboard
Insurance Commissioner Mike Kreidler extended his emergency order until April 4, directing all state-regulated health insurers to make additional coverage changes to aid consumers during the coronavirus pandemic. The order continues coverage for providing telehealth, coverage of all medically necessary diagnostic testing for flu and certain other viral respiratory illnesses billed during a provider visit for COVID-19 with no copay, coinsurance or deductible, and for insurers to treat drive-up testing sites for COVID-19 as provider visits with no copay, coinsurance or deductible. https://www.insurance.wa.gov/sites/default/files/documents/emergency-order-20-02-eleventh-extension.pdf
Progress on Community Support Operations:
Emergency Operations Center (EOC): Four operational priorities established by the Incident Commander, Fire Chief Charlie Krimmert, and approved by the VashonBePrepared Board, continue to guide our work: health, food security, housing security and economic recovery. The EOC and other elements of our island emergency response coalition were activated in response to the pandemic emergency on March 12th, 2020. That was 11 months and 26 days ago (363 days).
Vaccination Operations: The major focus of our efforts has turned to the future high demand for vaccination, as new phases and tiers open up eligibility to more people, beginning with a move to tier 1b2 on March 22. At the same time, there are signs that vaccine availability will generally be increasing in the state. Those two factors will likely significantly increase the need for high volume vaccination operations..
- Analysis is underway for options to increase throughput at the Vashon Pharmacy drive-through vaccination operation. The steps may include additional adjustments of the traffic flow and the check-in process. At the same time, alternate locations are being evaluated for backup, in the event a move from the main part of town is required.
- If a new site location or design could fulfill project requirements and at the same time increase throughput, that could reduce the load on the MRC and CERT volunteer workforce by concentrating vaccination into fewer days of the week.
Community Engagement/MRC: As vaccination eligibility opens up for new, younger eligibility groups, we estimate there may be increased hesitancy about being vaccinated among that population. To help people make their personal choices, public education initiatives are being strategized and designed.
Community Care Team/Spiritual Resources Group: The Gratitude Project has launched. The teams have designed thank you cards that are being mailed to dozens of volunteers who have played a role over the last year of the emergency response to the pandemic.
Volunteers: Hours contributed by volunteers in the VashonBePrepared coalition continue to run at a high level as we operate both the drive-through vaccination site and the testing site, in addition to ongoing EOC and public information activities. For the most recent reporting period, 49 volunteers contributed 584 hours of work to VashonBePrepared's pandemic emergency response. That brings the total contributed hours to nearly 25,300 since the activation began. At the FEMA reimbursement grant rate of $31.72/hour, VashonBePrepared volunteers have logged more than $801,000 of in-kind value available to be applied to the 25% match requirement for reimbursement grants. VashonBePrepared gives thanks as well for the many hours of extra work logged during the pandemic in support of the Vashon community, by the staff and volunteers at local social services agencies.
