As cases spike for all ages, boosters are recommended

Published 1:30 am Wednesday, June 8, 2022

Editor’s Note: For more news on the response to a COVID outbreak at Vashon High School, see bit.ly/3Q9JThw.

King County public health authorities notified Vashon Island School District (VISD) last week that the spike in COVID cases at Vashon High School meets the definition of an outbreak. Public Health — Seattle & King County (PHSKC) made a series of masking recommendations aimed at slowing the spread of COVID.

Based on the PHSKC advice, the School District has published new masking protocols that took effect this week. They apply regardless of vaccination status. For the month of May, the School District dashboard for all three schools recorded 143 cases for students and 26 cases among staff.

Vashon case count passes threshold for high transmission

Vashon’s Medical Reserve Corps (MRC) experts estimate the weekly count of new cases on the island for all ages has increased significantly in the last few weeks and there has been a 12-fold increase in Vashon cases since early March.

Based on monitoring multiple data sources, the MRC estimates the island’s new case count has jumped to more than 60/week. This translates to a case rate of 550 cases per 100,000 people per week or more than 2-1/2 times the CDC threshold for high transmission.

To estimate COVID trends on Vashon, the MRC monitors multiple parallel sources: the official statistical dashboard maintained by Public Health — Seattle & King County (PHSKC), the COVID dashboard posted by Vashon Island School District, test data from Vashon Pharmacy, and your reports to the MRC helpline. Please continue to help MRC track island COVID trends by reporting your positive home tests to the MRC helpline: (844) 469-4554.

For the first time since the pandemic began, it has become difficult to put a precise number on the island’s COVID case numbers, including the current spike. That’s because state and national public health authorities had to make a hard decision a few months ago, choosing between a testing strategy that allowed close data tracking of the pandemic versus an approach that made free home testing available to everyone. They chose home testing because knowing that you or someone in your household has COVID will help you take steps to prevent spreading the disease, all the more important now that we are in a new COVID surge.

Kids and Adults: It’s Booster Time

The current COVID spike means it’s time to get your booster shots. Earlier, the thought was that people could wait and time their boosters to maximize protection against a potential fall and winter spike but for most people, the time has now arrived.

“COVID cases have reached very high levels on Vashon and people should not wait any longer,” urged Dr. Zach Miller, an infectious disease specialist volunteering with Vashon MRC. “In particular, adults 50 years and older should act now. So should children aged 5- to 11-years old, who have just been authorized for boosters. And if your child has not yet completed the two primary vaccinations, please get them done now. We also strongly advise masking in indoor spaces, especially since the current surge has been so hard on Vashon’s kids with infections causing elevated absentee rates at our schools.”

Vashon Pharmacy has open appointment slots for pediatric boosters at VashonPharmacy.com/COVID. Many mainland healthcare providers and chain pharmacies provide COVID vaccinations as well.

Myth Buster: I’ve Had COVID, So I’m Safe, Right?

We’ve compiled a few myth-buster questions and answers with the help of our MRC experts and information from county and state public health agencies.

I’m vaxxed and I recovered from COVID. So, why bother with a booster?

It helps to think about today’s COVID as being a different disease than we saw a couple of years or even a few months ago. It’s still called COVID, but there are many variants, all evolved to outwit your immune system. Right now, the surge is dominated by the BA.2 variant. The BA.2.12.1 variant has arrived in Washington from the East Coast and has been growing rapidly in the case count, following the wave pattern we have seen in the past. In Africa and Europe, the BA.4 and BA.5 variants are lining up to head this way. Each of these variants has been more contagious than the last. There’s also the threat of Long COVID. You need all the immunity you can get. So, get boosted.

Aren’t chances of getting COVID about equal whether vaccinated or not?

Wrong metric. It’s not about whether you’ll get sick. It’s how sick you might get that matters. COVID vaccines help prevent COVID, but not 100% and not forever. However, vaccines have been enormously effective at preventing hospitalization and death. The Omicron variant hit in January of this year, a spike many times worse than any of the previous ones. Yet, hospitalization and death rates have been lower than they were in the days before we had vaccines. A CDC study shows that people who had a booster during that spike were 94% less likely to be put on a ventilator or die from COVID compared to people who weren’t vaccinated. Read more at bit.ly/OmicronBoosterResults.

An Example of Community Protection Action

In response to the COVID spike, Vashon Island Fire & Rescue has tightened its internal protocols for COVID prevention. The current protocols are a return to measures followed earlier in the pandemic. By order of the District’s Fire Commissioners, staff must test for COVID at the start of each shift. In addition, masks must be worn while on VIFR property, and masks must be worn while serving the public.

MRC volunteer physicians are working with VIFR to refine existing protocols so that additional protections can be quickly implemented when cases in our area are high, which can be relaxed as case counts recede.

The MRC has provided this kind of organizational consultation many times over the last two years. Businesses and other island groups may reach the MRC for advice by calling the helpline at 844-469-4554.

It’s Time for Your Check-in

For more than two long years we have been living with the pandemic. The Vashon Community Care Team (CCT) suggests you take some time to check in with yourself and think about what comes next.

What did you do to help you get through the past two years? Adaptation is how we survive. How did you adapt? Did you change your behavior? Your thinking? Are there things you do differently and may continue to do differently? Do you have a new sense of what matters in your life? How has this experience changed the way you think about the rest of your life?

Have conversations with friends or family members about these questions. It will be interesting to see what comes up.

Latest Vashon COVID Statistics

Source: Public Health — Seattle & King County (PHSKC) and Vashon Emergency Operations Center. New and historic case counts shown here reflect test results from the public health reporting system which does not capture results from home tests.

21 = New cases reported since the last weekly report (61 new cases in 14 days).

959 = Total COVID cases for Vashon residents since the pandemic began.

15 = Patients hospitalized since the pandemic began.

5 = Deaths since the pandemic began.

93.7% = percentage of Vashon residents age 5+ who have completed the primary series, compared to 86.0% of the King County 5+ population.

66.7% = percentage of Vashon residents age 5+ who have added a booster shot to their completed primary series.

For King County, the PHSKC dashboard for the last 30 days says people who are not fully vaccinated are 1.2 times more likely to get COVID, 7 times more likely to be hospitalized for COVID, and 12 times more likely to die of COVID.