The Overview: Activity has been light at the two island vaccination locations. with plenty of vaccine supply to meet the need.

Finish your vaccine: Both Sea Mar and the Pharmacy are providing second-dose vaccinations for anyone who wants one, even for people who got their first dose at an off-island provider. For details on how to complete your vaccination process, see below the information specific to the two vaccination locations.

Vaccination Pop Up Event: The first of a series of mobile vaccination events takes place tomorrow at the Food Bank from 10:00am to 12:30pm, coinciding with a busy time for distribution to Food Bank clients. No appointment is required. A Spanish-language interpreter will be there to assist anyone needing that help.

Vashon Pharmacy: You have two main choices to get vaccinated at Vashon Pharmacy. You can make an appointment online at VashonPharmacy.com/COVID. Or, you can just drop in without an appointment during the regular opening hours on Tuesday, Thursday, or Saturday from 9:00am to 12:00pm and 1:00pm to 4:00pm. Vaccinations will be available Saturday, May 29, even though most VashonBePrepared volunteers will be standing down for the Memorial Day weekend by order of the Incident Commander. Please go to the rear of the Pharmacy where the white vaccination tents are set up and you’ll be able to get your shot there, or you’ll see a sign directing you inside the Pharmacy.

Sea Mar Clinic: You also have two choices at Sea Mar for getting your vaccination. You can make an appointment by calling the Sunrise Ridge clinic at (206) 463-3671. Or, you can drop in without an appointment. Sea Mar vaccinates most weekdays, but it’s good to check availability on the Sea Mar website before dropping by, in order to find out what vaccine is on offer and to make sure they’ll be open: SeaMar.org/COVID-Vaccine. A Spanish-language interpreter is available for early visits on Wednesdays only, beginning at 7:30 am.

It’s Free: All COVID-19 vaccinations are free to all. If you have insurance, you’ll be asked for your information so providers can recover the cost of administering the free vaccine, but there’s no co-pay. If you do not have insurance, the cost is covered anyway and you will not be charged.

Current Virus Statistics:

Vashon Island COVID-19 Case Count as of 5/25/21:*

King County COVID-19 Case Count as of 5/25/21:*

Washington State COVID-19 Case Count as of 5/23/21 (vaccination data as of 5/22/21):

*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: The federal HIPAA Act prohibits Public Health – Seattle & King County (PHSKC) from releasing the names of patients. 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:

Dr. Jeff Duchin, King county Public Health Officer, discussed the directive he issued last week strongly urging continued use of face masks in indoor public spaces. “Some may wonder why they should wear a mask if they are vaccinated, especially since we agree that COVID-19 vaccines give high protection against infection and spreading the virus, and unvaccinated people are the ones at risk to acquire and spread COVID-19.” While COVID-19 cases and hospitalization have been dropping in King County, they are still high. He continued, “ From a practical and community health perspective, the most reliable way to ensure everyone is safe is for everyone to wear a face mask in indoor public spaces for a few more weeks, until we get vaccination rates higher and disease rates lower.” For more information visit: https://kingcounty.gov/depts/health/news/2021/May/20-indoor-mask-directive.aspx

Questions about the current King County directive on wearing masks indoors? Visit the updated frequently asked questions page on masks. This site covers types of masks, mask usage, and where masks are required or strongly recommended. https://kingcounty.gov/depts/health/covid-19/care/masks/FAQ.aspx

New Developments since Last Report:

Gov Jay Inslee updates Healthy Washington proclamation. The proclamation clarifies that business owners and local authorities have the option to require that customers wear a face covering, and that local authorities may not prohibit business owners from requiring that their customers wear a face covering. Included is a new rule that requires employers to obtain proof of vaccination or obtain a vaccination attestation from the employee before an employee may work at a worksite without wearing a mask. It further permits employers to continue to require that employees wear a face covering, regardless of vaccination status. https://www.lni.wa.gov/forms-publications/F414-179-000.pdf

Inslee also announced the Safe Workers proclamation, which protects workers who wish to get vaccinated, or who are in isolation or quarantine due to COVID-19, from adverse actions by their employer. The proclamation also aligns with the CDC recommendation that employers provide flexible options for worker vaccinations. https://www.governor.wa.gov/sites/default/files/proclamations/proc_21-08.pdf

COVID-19 trends moving in the right direction with the help of vaccination.  Washington State Department of Health (DOH) data shows virus activity is declining across the state. Vaccinations are helping to slow the spread of the virus and reduce its impact on the healthcare system. Vaccination efforts and other preventive measures (like wearing masks and maintaining distance if you’re unvaccinated) need to continue to keep trends from reversing. Getting vaccinated is protecting people from serious illness from COVID-19 that requires hospitalization, and helping to control hospital admission rates.  The hospital admission rate for COVID-19 in unvaccinated people ages 45-64 is about 18 times higher than people of the same age who are fully vaccinated. https://www.doh.wa.gov/Newsroom/Articles/ID/2798/COVID-19-trends-moving-in-the-right-direction-with-the-help-of-vaccination

King County is starting the next round of the Eviction Prevention and Rental Assistance Program (EPRAP). The program helps people experiencing financial hardship due to COVID-19 who are at risk of housing instability or homelessness. The tenant assistance program will help with past, current, and future rents. https://kingcounty.gov/depts/community-human-services/COVID/eviction-prevention-rent-assistance.aspx

The Washington State Department of Health (DOH) is monitoring a small number of mild cases of myocarditis or pericarditis in some post-vaccination patients. Myocarditis is an inflammation of the heart tissue, and is usually caused by a viral infection. Symptoms include chest pain, abnormal heartbeat, and shortness of breath. Pericarditis is swelling and irritation of the thin, saclike tissue surrounding the heart. Healthcare providers in Washington, Idaho and Oregon have been notified about this issue so they can be ready to quickly identify and report these patients. https://www.doh.wa.gov/Newsroom/Articles/ID/2803/Statement-from-Washington-State-Department-of-Health

A study of a rare but potentially severe condition in children with COVID-19 has released initial results. Known as multisystem inflammatory syndrome in children (MIS-C), most affected children experience symptom alleviation within 6 months, according to a small study published May 24 in The Lancet Child & Adolescent Health. Researchers followed 46 children initially admitted with COVID-19-related MIS-C—also known as pediatric inflammatory multisystem syndrome. Six months after discharge from the hospital, only 1 child still had systemic inflammation, 2 had heart abnormalities, and 6 had gastrointestinal symptoms. Eighteen of the children continued to have diminished exercise tolerance and 15 were experiencing emotional difficulties. The researchers emphasized that longer-term follow-up studies are needed to better characterize the natural history of MIS-C among children with COVID-19. https://www.thelancet.com/journals/lanchi/article/PIIS2352-4642(21)00138-3/fulltext

Progress on Community Support Operations:

Emergency Operations Center (EOC): Vashon’s pandemic emergency response was activated 14 months and two weeks ago (440 days). Our current operational priorities are health, food security, housing security, and economic recovery, as established by the Incident Commander, Fire Chief Charlie Krimmert, and approved by the VashonBePrepared Board.

EOC/MRC/CERT: Incident Commander Krimmert ordered a four day health, rest and safety stand-down of volunteers for the Memorial Day holiday weekend, Friday through Monday. Some critical activities will continue, but the volunteer work force has been asked to take the time off if possible. Saturday’s vaccination operation at Vashon Pharmacy will run in order to accommodate previously made appointments for second doses (see Vaccination Availability section for details). In addition, a skeleton crew will be available in case of any urgent needs. The Friday EOC Situation Report will not be published.

MRC/EOC: After several weeks of planning, and based on the experience of mobile vaccination clinics at the School District, plans are advancing for a series of vaccination pop-ups around the community. As dates and locations are set, they will be announced in these Situation Reports and as needed via the Emergency Alert System. The pilot event will take place tomorrow at the Food Bank (see Vaccination Availability section for details).

EOC: The Plans Section has been working with the currently activated units to look ahead to demobilization, as Vashon vaccination rates continue to rise and disease rates remain at a steady low level. The teams hope to be able to wind down activities to a monitoring/ standby level by the end of June, possibly pegging the date to the Governor’s full reopening order set for June 30th, or possibly sooner if the statewide first-dose vaccination reaches 70% before that date.

EOC: The first EOC Drill Night will take place next week on the traditional First Wednesday of the month. Attendance will be a hybrid between in-person and virtual, and details will be announced via email to the volunteer lists. The focus will be a lessons-learned After Action Review of the pandemic activation. The most recent of the traditional monthly EOC Drill Nights was held back in February, 2020, before the pandemic activation began.

Volunteers: For the last full week reporting period, 41 volunteers contributed 433 hours of work to VashonBePrepared’s pandemic emergency response. That brings the total contributed hours to nearly 30,200 since the activation began. At the FEMA reimbursement grant rate of $31.72/hour, VashonBePrepared volunteers have run up almost $957,850 of contributed in-kind value. VashonBePrepared gives thanks to the staff and volunteers of local social services agencies for their many hours of extra work logged during the pandemic.