COVID Update: Delta hits hard for island youth and children

In September, there were 43 new cases on Vashon and 22 of those were patients aged 19 and younger.

By VashonBePrepared • October 20, 2021 1:30 am
Rick Wallace Photo Linda Mather got her COVID booster vaccination on the opening day for the new COVID mass booster vaccination site. Medical Reserve Corps volunteer, Jim Hunziker, was on the line giving injections. “As soon as the booster was available, I planned to get it,” Mather said. “My friends are eager, too. Everybody’s worried about the increase in cases and now I’m better protected.”
Rick Wallace Photo Linda Mather got her COVID booster vaccination on the opening day for the new COVID mass booster vaccination site. Medical Reserve Corps volunteer, Jim Hunziker, was on the line giving injections. “As soon as the booster was available, I planned to get it,” Mather said. “My friends are eager, too. Everybody’s worried about the increase in cases and now I’m better protected.”

By VashonBePrepared

Note: The following is an updated version of a COVID update from VashonBePrepared, sent by email to community members on Friday, Oct. 15. The original email is available to read in Spanish and English at tinyurl.com/yan39zeh, and includes additional information on how to get maximum protection in terms of masking, as well as tips for mask hygiene and usage in different settings.

50% of new cases come from 20% of local population

In September, we had 43 new cases on Vashon and 22 of those were patients aged 19 and younger. That age group makes up less than 20% of the island’s population yet the island’s young people accounted for 50% of the COVID cases in September — a disproportionate burden of the new cases on Vashon.

“We know that unvaccinated people are eight times more likely to get COVID, so it makes sense that half of all our new cases this past month have been among children and teenagers. Anyone under age 12 has not yet been vaccinated,” said Medical Reserve Corps Co-Coordinator Dr. Jim Bristow.

Bristow went on to say that the case rate for Vashon kids in September was nearly three times the CDC-defined threshold for high transmission.

“This trend means families must be extra careful,” he said. “The Delta variant is extremely infectious, so an infected child very often leads to an infected family. And so as we look ahead to the holidays, it’s important to remember that travel and family gatherings remain one of the biggest sources of infection on Vashon.”

Vashon Medical Reserve Corps recommends that everyone gets vaccinated, and follow Public Health guidelines for masking indoors and outdoors.

School District: Largest Exposure Event to Date

Vashon Island School District has reported its largest significant exposure event since school started in September. The event, reported on Thursday, Oct. 14, primarily affects staff, as well as some students. A food services staff member, who is also a cross country coach, was identified as the index case and is isolating at home. The district administration identified a total of 22 close contacts, including 15 staff members and seven students. Vashon Medical Reserve Corps was notified by the district and is conducting family household and community advice and contact tracing. This is the 12th significant exposure event for the district since the beginning of the school year.

Get Your Booster Shot Now

The new mass booster vaccination clinic for Pfizer shots launched smoothly last week. A task force of volunteers from Vashon Medical Reserve Corps (MRC), the Emergency Operations Center (EOC), and VashonBePrepared set up the new clinic and are staffing it in support of Vashon Pharmacy.

The clinic is now up to full capacity with the ability to do 180 booster injections per day. That means there are plenty of appointments available (no drop-ins accepted). Booster vaccinations are free, so sign up online for an appointment at VashonPharmacy.com/COVID

Bring your vaccination card so the vaccination team can put a booster sticker on it. The card is also needed so the vaccination team can be certain to give you the correct vaccine and confirm that it has been six months or more since you completed the initial two vaccination shots. Only Pfizer boosters are available at press time, but plans are underway to soon provide Moderna and Johnson & Johnson boosters as well. You must be 18 or older to get the booster.

Immunocompromised patients have been eligible to get boosters for all three vaccine types, at Vashon Pharmacy, since August.

Vashon Community COVID Statistics

224 total COVID cases for Vashon residents since the pandemic began

108 new cases since early July when the Delta variant hit Vashon

6 patients hospitalized since the pandemic began

3 COVID-related deaths since the pandemic began

87.2% of Vashon residents (aged 12+) fully vaccinated, and more than 95% have first shot

Please, get vaccinated if you haven’t already done so. If you started and didn’t finish, please get full protection and get your second shot.

For more resources and information, visit VashonBePrepared.org. Sign up at tinyurl.com/4smk364m to receive updates from the group. VashonBePrepared can also be found on Facebook by searching the name, typed as one word.