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Situation Report #165
March 23rd, 2021 - Posted in Alerts, Uncategorized
| 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. You can read the full text of today’s report as a PDF and access older ones at: https://vashonbeprepared.org/News/SitReps Sign up to receive these emails at www.VoiceofVashon.org/alertsignup =================================================== Vashon Vaccine Availability: The Overview: There are no first-dose vaccinations available on the island this week. The state Department of Health denied the supply request from Vashon Pharmacy, which also delayed second doses for many people. The Sea Mar clinic has been able to do second doses this week for their patients. There are some off-island alternatives to check and that information has been summarized below. Vaccination eligibility for Washington State currently includes those in tiers 1a, 1b1, and 1b2, including pre-K to grade 12 educators and staff, as well as licensed daycare workers. Vaccine eligibility will expand on March 31 to phases 1b3 and 1b4, which include: Anyone with two or more comorbidities (diseases or conditions) Anyone between the ages of 60 and 64 Anyone living in congregate settings (correctional facilities, group homes for those with disabilities, those experiencing homelessness, etc.) Additional workers in congregate settings (restaurants, manufacturing, construction) For full definitions of eligibility, visit https://www.kingcounty.gov/depts/health/covid-19/vaccine/distribution.aspx. The Emergency Operations Center (EOC) recommends that you check the following four websites to see if there is updated information about local vaccination opportunities beyond what we compile in these Situation Reports, which are published on Tuesdays and Fridays. VashonBePrepared.org/COVID-Vaccine VashonPharmacy.com/covid SeaMar.org/covid-vaccine VashonNaturalMed.com Overall Vaccination Progress: One reason Vashon is not receiving new vaccine shipments is the very high success rate the island has achieved at vaccinating our seniors. According to the data dashboard published by Public Health — Seattle and King County (PHSKC), Vashon has a better vaccination rate than any other region of the county. The general population on Vashon, aged 16+, is nearly 45%. According to the PHSKC data dashboard, the first-dose vaccination rate of the island’s seniors, aged 65+, has reached 114%, although that is clearly an incorrect number. Sea Mar at Sunrise Ridge: Sea Mar is holding four days of second dose clinics this week, but will not receive any vaccine allocated for first doses. Vashon Pharmacy: As indicated above, the Pharmacy’s request for vaccine supply was denied by the state Department of Health (DOH). The state’s allocations are going to areas that have not yet been as successful in vaccinating eligible populations. Going off Island for Vaccination: A number of sites within driving distance are accepting appointments from residents in King, Pierce and Kitsap counties. Here are some websites to check for vaccination opportunities: Vaccinate WA: vaccinelocator.doh.wa.gov WA COVID Vaccine Finder: www.covidwa.com City of Seattle Vaccination Notification List: bit.ly/VaxNotificationList Each of these sources lists some potential vaccination locations within a few miles of the mainland ferry docks. Check these websites frequently and refresh your browser to find the most convenient location for you, until the Vashon sites are back in action. Also, keep in mind that your mainland healthcare provider may be a vaccination resource (CHI Franciscan, Multicare, Kaiser, etc.). And all veterans enrolled in the Veterans Administration system are eligible at VA facilities. Current Virus Statistics: Vashon Island COVID-19 Case Count as of 3/23/21:* 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 0 positives in the past 14 days 4 people have been hospitalized. Date of last hospitalization: March 18, no information is available about the most recent hospitalization 3 Vashon deaths per the King County dashboard, last death reported 2/27/21 King County COVID-19 Case Count as of 3/23/21:* 85,733 confirmed positive cases, 660 new since last Situation Report on Friday 1,455 deaths, 5 new since last Situation Report on Friday Washington State COVID-19 Case Count as of 3/21/21:* 355,986 confirmed positive cases, 3,079 new since last Situation Report on Friday 5,183 deaths, 15 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: Gov. Jay Inslee issued a new advisory on Friday for Washington travelers, saying they should comply with guidance from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). “Current CDC guidance is more robust, thorough, and specific than my November 2020 travel advisory, and importantly, the CDC updates its guidance to reflect the latest science, optimal safety practices and protocols, and the current COVID-19 situation here and abroad,” Inslee said in a statement. As of March 20, this is the CDC travel guidance, which Washington will follow: Get fully vaccinated for COVID-19 if you are eligible. Get tested for COVID-19 one to three days before your trip. Wear a mask over your nose and mouth while in public. Avoid crowds and stay 6 feet apart from anyone who didn’t travel with you. Get tested for COVID-19 three to five days after your trip and self-quarantine for seven days after your trip. Alternatively, if you don’t get tested, quarantine for 10 days. Washington’s requirements for international travelers also comply with CDC guidance. Under CDC rules, international travelers returning to the U.S. must test negative for COVID-19 before getting on a plane to the states. https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/travelers/travel-during-covid19.html New Developments since Last Report: King County has increased variant sequencing to assess the risk of variants in our area. Variants are on the increase and signal a significant danger that disease will surge again.. Dr. Jeff Duchin, Public Health-Seattle & King County’s Health Officer has announced that the county is now sequencing approximately six percent of our SARS-CoV2 viruses. “The bad news is we’re finding an increasing number of variants each week,” Duchin said. According to Duchin, in King County alone there are 93 cases of the U.K. variant, also known as B.1.1.7, six of the South African strain, and two cases of the Brazilian variant. The U.K. strain spreads faster than the original form of COVID and has been found in 146 cases statewide. “We know this more common B.1.1.7 variant is more transmissible, it spreads more readily, it’s more contagious than the previous SARS-CoV2 viruses,” Duchin said. On the positive side, masks work against the variants. Physical distance works against the variants. Good airflow and indoor ventilation are especially important, and handwashing and all the things that should be second nature to us by now still work against these variants. https://publichealthinsider.com/2021/03/19/video-dr-jeff-duchin-on-covid-19-trends-vaccine-distribution-march-19-2021 Resilience in Difficult Times is an event hosted by The DOVE Project. The event instructor Liz Peterson will explore steps that will help keep us grounded and living our best days when things aren’t ideal. You can learn simple tips and tools for managing your emotional and physical being. The program will be held Tuesday, March 30 from 6 pm to 7:30. Register at https://www.vashondoveproject.org/events King County’s Department of Community and Human Services is asking for input from community members who live or work in rural areas of the county. They ask rural residents to take a survey to help guide mental health and substance use services in your community. The feedback will help identify unaddressed needs and gaps that are unique to people living or working in rural areas, as well as opportunities to expand services in those areas. The survey will be open through April 11. It’s available in the following languages at the link below: English, Chinese (simplified and traditional), Korean, Russian, Somali, Spanish and Vietnamese. https://www.publicinput.com/RuralKCBehavioralHealthNeeds Vashon Hwy SW will be CLOSED at Judd Creek Bridge from April 5 until April 28 and single lane closures are expected March 29 – April 2. Both directions of Vashon Highway SW at Judd Creek will be affected for necessary bridge repairs. Local access to homes and businesses north and south of the Judd Creek Bridge will be maintained throughout construction. For information and detour routes visit: https://kingcounty.gov/depts/local-services/roads/judd-creek-bridge.asp Learn how to talk about suicide and suicide prevention when people in our lives may be struggling. The risk of suicide, depression, hopelessness, and substance use is typically highest during the disillusionment phase of a disaster, and it’s what we’re seeing right now. A Washington State Department of Health (DOH) podcast on coping with COVID-19 features Kira Mauseth, PhD and Doug Dicharry, MD discussing suicide prevention with special guests Lizzie Cayden, MSc, CPP from the DOH Suicide Prevention Program Unit, and Jennifer Stuber, PhD at the University of Washington School of Social Work. https://soundcloud.com/user-718826213 The Washington State Department of Commerce will open applications for Working Washington Grants: Round 4 on March 29. Grants offer relief funds to small for-profit businesses, especially those that were required to close due to public health and safety measures. Awarded businesses must apply their funding toward expenses incurred between March 1, 2020 and June 30, 2021. The maximum grant award will be $25,000. The application portal will be open until 5:00 PM PDT on April 9. More information at https://commercegrants.com Progress on Community Support Operations: Emergency Operations Center (EOC): It has been more than a year (377 days) since the EOC and other elements of our island emergency response coalition were activated in response to the pandemic emergency on March 12th, 2020. Our four operational priorities were put in place shortly after activation, established by the Incident Commander, Fire Chief Charlie Krimmert, and approved by the VashonBePrepared Board. Those priorities continue to be health, food security, housing security and economic recovery. Vaccine Allocation: The drive-through vaccination site at Vashon Pharmacy remains shut down this week because the state Department of Health has not allocated vaccine supply to the drive-through operation for two weeks. We continue to provide information on mainland sources of vaccination for Vashon residents able to travel off-island. In addition, the EOC has sent a letter to Public Health — Seattle & King County, asking to see the supporting data, assumptions and calculations that have resulted in an estimate that Vashon has vaccinated 114% of its 65+ population, making the point that improved data would help the state Department of Health make better vaccine allocation decisions. Vaccination Operations: A study is under way to improve procedures at the drive-through vaccination site, based on lessons learned from a patient fainting episode at the site last week. The patient recovered almost immediately, but a VIFR aid car was called. A fact-finding process has now been completed, and potential improvements are being evaluated. Future Planning: The EOC Team is nearing completion of a draft framework for updating the Community Emergency Operations Plan (CEOP), last updated 12 years ago. When completed, the new plan will include detailed job aid sheets that will incorporate many lessons learned from the long activation for the pandemic response. In addition, planning has begun for the Cascadia Rising ’22 three-state earthquake exercise, and Vashon will be playing a full role in the effort, testing and refining a draft of the new Plan. Volunteers: Hours contributed by volunteers in the VashonBePrepared coalition were down last week due to lower activity at the drive-through vaccination site, although the testing site was somewhat busier. For the most recent reporting period, 41 volunteers contributed 468 hours of work to VashonBePrepared’s pandemic emergency response. That brings the total contributed hours to more than 26,200 since the activation began. At the FEMA reimbursement grant rate of $31.72/hour, VashonBePrepared volunteers have logged more than $831,300 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. |
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