Covid cases up in local towns

An additional 28 cases of COVID-19 have been reported in local towns since May 19, and an additional nine deaths were reported in Grant County this week.  

Grant County Health District Tuesday reported nine additional Covid deaths, including a man in his 30s from Royal City; a woman in her 40s from Moses Lake; a man in his 50s from Moses Lake; a man in his 60s from Ephrata; three men in their 70s from Moses Lake; and a man in his 80s from Moses Lake.

Nine of those recently confirmed dead from Covid were not vaccinated, the district said, and nine had underlying health conditions that made them more susceptible to severe illness from it.

The county’s total Covid death toll is now at 134.

There have been 48 COVID-19 cases in the Grand Coulee and Electric City areas of Grant County since the pandemic began over a year ago, with nine of those cases coming since May 19.

On that date, GCHD was reporting 39 cases in the Grand Coulee area.

Since then, it has listed cases in the local area on May 27, June 3, and June 21. GCHD recently switched to only reporting new cases on Mondays and Wednesdays, rather than every weekday.

Okanogan Public Health counts 67 total covid cases in Coulee Dam since the pandemic began, including one case reported since June 22. Elmer City has seen 20 total cases, including two reported since June 22, and Nespelem has seen 80 total cases. 

This shows an increase of 13 cases in Coulee Dam since May 19, along with four more cases in Nespelem, and two more cases for Elmer City. 

No covid deaths have been reported in those cities.

Concerning vaccinations, the Washington Department of Health reports that as of June 26, in Grant County, 49.2% of people 12 and older have had at least one dose of a covid vaccine, while 44.6% have been fully vaccinated.

That number is higher in Okanogan County where out of the total population of people 12 and older, 58.7% have had at least one dose of a vaccine, and 53.9% are fully vaccinated.

In Lincoln County, 45.6% have had at least one dose, and 42.1% are fully vaccinated. 

In Douglas County, 57.9% have had at least one dose, and 51.8% are fully vaccinated. 

All of these counties’ vaccination numbers are lower than for the state as a whole, which has 64.6% of people with at least one dose, and 58.5% fully vaccinated.

Age gap

In the state, the older a person is, the more likely they are to have been vaccinated. 

In Grant County, in ages 12-17, 11.4% of people have been fully vaccinated compared to 37.4% of 18- to 34-year-olds; 42% of those 35- 49; 52% of 50- 64-year-olds; and 68.3% of people age 65 and up.

Okanogan County shows a similar pattern, although some younger age groups are more vaccinated: 14.5% of 12- to 17-year-olds have been fully vaccinated; 57.4% of those 18-34; 56.4% of those 35-49; 50.4% of people 50-64; and 63.5% of those 65 and up. 

Statewide, 28.3% of 12- to 15-year-olds are fully vaccinated; 39.4% of those 16-17; 48.7% of people 18-34; 59.4% of people 35-49; 64.1% of those 50-64; and 76.5% of people 65 and older.

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration expanded the emergency use authorization (EUA) for the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 Vaccine to include adolescents 12 through 15 years of age May 10. The FDA amended the EUA originally issued on Dec. 11, 2020 for vaccine use for individuals 16 and older.