Whitman County Public Health says breakthrough cases have made up about 20-25 percent of local confirmed COVID-19 cases in patients 12 and older since the Delta variant moved into the region in late July.
Public Health Director Chris Skidmore wrote in an email that Whitman County had seen “very few” breakthrough cases prior to this month. Genomic sequencing confirmed the Delta variant in local samples as of Aug. 2.
Health officials emphasize vaccines continue to provide strong protection against hospitalization and death. Overall, vaccinated individuals still have a significantly lower chance of becoming infected or transmitting the disease, but unvaccinated groups — including children under 12 still ineligible for vaccines — remain vulnerable.
The state Department of Health reported this week unvaccinated individuals made up 95.5 percent of the state’s COVID-19 cases from Feb. 1 through July 31. Whitman County had reported just 19 breakthrough cases through the end of June.
This New York Times piece outlines the latest information on breakthrough risks.
Skidmore wrote that his office continues to track vaccination status as part of their contact tracing efforts. With the new uptick in cases, he stated he also plans to restart posting updates on the ages, genders and hometowns of new cases.
The state Department of Health this afternoon issued a warning that Delta infections had exhausted some health facilities as caseloads approached levels not seen since the winter peak.
Government agencies and private businesses have scrambled this week to adapt to the potential risks of the Delta variant. Gov. Jay Inslee announced a vaccine mandate for a wide variety of state employees. Several local governments have followed suit.
Washington State University announced Thursday it would revoke the “personal and philosophical” exemption to its previous student vaccine requirement once the FDA issues final approval of any of the three vaccines in the U.S. It also moved up its vaccination deadline to Sept. 10.
“Discussions also are underway about changes to the faculty and staff vaccination policy,” the announcement noted.
Earlier this week, WSU also released its standards for classroom instruction that indicated faculty would not be able to check or ask about student vaccination status. WSU has held off on requiring masks indoors for all despite new recommendations from the CDC calling for masking indoors even if vaccinated.
The Pullman School District and the University of Idaho both announced universal mask mandates this week.
Skidmore did not indicate whether he expected to issue any new mask or gathering limitations, but noted the state could step in if cases keep rising.
“I would anticipate some kind of statewide restrictions to be coming if things continue to trend like they are with this Delta variant,” he wrote. “I am not sure what those restrictions will be, but I imagine they will be implemented if our healthcare system begins to get overwhelmed.”
Skidmore wrote local hospital capacity remained in good shape, but statewide outbreaks could limit transfers to other hospitals. Increased COVID hospitalizations and staff shortages have stressed bed capacity in other areas.
Find more information about getting vaccinated here.
WSU’s current approach to Covid is wrong.
There is a high likelihood that Delta is going to explode in Whitman County and yet WSU is “open for business.” The expectation is that instruction and meetings are to occur in person. WSU’s official rationale is that the students have been vaccinated. Their true rationale is obscure.
Having the students vaccinated is a very good thing and will decrease illness and death, but even a cursory glance at the news will tell you that vaccinated people are getting infected and are spreading the virus. Breakthrough infections are increasing throughout the world. In addition, unvaccinated folks—and there are many in the area—are at great risk. The Delta variant is both more infectious and possibly more virulent than the wild-type virus and previous variants.
In short, Pullman is set up for disaster.
It would be prudent to implement remote instruction and to cancel in-person meetings for the next several weeks. Universal masking and social distancing should be implemented. People should be able to work remotely.
WSU’s leaders should change course immediately.
Because it spreads so quickly and easily, Delta might increase in incidence very fast and then drop. It is quite possible that things will be much better in a couple months. But in the meantime officials need to act quickly.
Read the article again and pay special attention to the numbers. The likelihood of anything spreading through a vaccinated population is low.
Yesterday WSU revised its deadline for all students to be vaccinated, or exempted, to September 10. It previously was November 1. The mask policy is unchanged.
https://from.wsu.edu/covid-19/2021/student-vaccination-policy-update/email.html
WSU needs to mandate indoor masking for everyone just like University of Idaho. They need to stop gathering in groups larger than 10. Until our case count for Whitman county is in the low range, all meetings need to be held virtually.
WSU must change their stance immediately or the community will experience the same devastating effects that it did last year at the beginning of the 2020 Fall Semester.
There is NO arrival testing or quarantine. The “Week of Welcome” is a series of super spreader events. Students must pay for an appointment with a health care provider for a covid test referral or they will not get testing by the university.
All staff are required to attend in person meetings, including the staff and health care workers at the student health clinic. Employees of the student health clinic have been told that they must attend an in person, 3.5 hour meeting in the Cub junior ballroom on August 16, 2021. Employees are required to be physically present, regardless of the very large number of people and the limited indoor space which does not allow for social distancing. Student health clinic employees received an email in the late afternoon on Friday August 13 stating their in person attendance to this large indoor gathering is mandatory unless they apply for and obtain a disability accommodation through Human Resources before the Monday August 16 meeting at 8:30 am. Most of the staff at the student health clinic are 9 month employees, and do not return to work until Monday morning August 16. They have not accessed their email as they are hourly employees and not in paid status until 8 am on Monday August 16. Even those who were in paid status when the email was sent late Friday afternoon would likely be pressed to complete the disability application with their health care providers that would then have to be submitted and approved by Human Resources by 8:30 the next business day.
You can do better than this WSU. Look 8 miles down the road to U of I. WSU filed a 63 million dollar suit against their insurance company for losses due to Covid, yet the U of I had a functional plan in place that year that kept them open, safe and financially thriving.
There is no excuse. There needs to be a change in leadership from the top down.
Nope. The likelihood of Delta being spread by infected people is not negligible. You need to read more on this. Here’s a start for you:
https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-021-02187-1
https://www.nytimes.com/article/covid-breakthrough-delta-variant.html