SEATTLE — On the day before mask restrictions ease across Washington, King County’s health officer hosted a news briefing detailing some promising signs in the ongoing fight against COVID-19, just as the globe reaches another pandemic milestone.
“It was two years ago, on March 11, when the World Health Organization first declared the COVID-19 outbreak to be a global pandemic,” Dr. Jeff Duchin said Friday. “Today, we mark that anniversary with some relatively optimistic news for all of us.”
The health officer said a steep decline in case counts have kept apace across all age groups and regions of King County since the omicron surge peaked in January, with new infections now close to the level they were before the winter surge began.
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“King County is emerging from our omicron surge and our situation is improving every day,” Duchin said. “Cases, hospitalizations and deaths are continuing to fall and, if we’re lucky, the arrival of warmer weather and more outdoor activity may further limit COVID spread.”
Related: Washington’s Indoor Mask Rules End Saturday: What To Know
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Daily case counts soared to 6,467 on Jan. 10, and over the last week have averaged 226 in King County. COVID-19 hospitalizations, which hit 60 in a single day at the height of omicron, have fallen to six per day, helping hospitals recover some capacity and start to make headway in providing deferred care from the last few months.
“At this time, hospitals are beginning to treat a large backlog of patients whose procedures and surgeries were delayed when hospitals were overloaded during the omicron outbreak,” Duchin said. “Ongoing staffing concerns and high volumes of patients continue to challenge our health care system, however.”
Duchin said King County’s seven-day case rate sits at 70 per 100,000 residents, which is comfortably within the low bracket in CDC’s updated community transmission framework. COVID-19 patients now account for 5 percent of hospital beds, down from the peak of 21 percent, and deaths have declined 55 percent since peaking in early February.
(Centers for Disease Control and Prevention)
“Our numbers place us in the low community level, well below the cutoffs for medium or high level,” Duchin said. “At this level, CDC does not recommend universal indoor masking but does recommend vaccination, enhancing ventilation, COVID-19 testing, isolation, quarantine, and that immunocompromised persons have a plan with their health care provider for rapid testing and treatment if necessary.”
With all COVID-19 metrics continuing to fall, state and county officials say they are comfortable with removing broad masking requirements Saturday but note some may choose to continue wearing masks based on their personal needs, particularly in crowded or poorly ventilated spaces.
“This does not mean that COVID-19 is over,” Duchin said. “It does not mean that COVID-19 is no longer a problem, and it remains very reasonable for individuals to make the choice to continue to mask indoor settings, based on their personal risk assessment and preferences.”
(Public Health – Seattle & King County)
The health officer pointed to strong community vaccination rates, including 85 percent of the eligible population having at least two doses, and added protection from the widespread number of omicron infections, which together should help guard King County against another surge in the short term. However, not all groups are equally protected.
“In addition not protection from vaccination, the large number of adults and children that were infected during the omicron surge will likely provide some additional community immunity for at least the near future,” Duchin said. “But COVID-19 is still circulating and some risks remain, especially for people with weakened immune systems from disease or medication, people with certain underlying health conditions that place them at increased risk for severe disease, advanced age, and those who are unvaccinated and unboosted.”
Though overall vaccination rates are high, booster participation is lower among younger age groups. While nearly 84 percent of residents 65 and older have received a booster, just 38 percent of people in the 18 to 34 age group are boosted.
(Public Health – Seattle & King County)
“People who have completed their primary series but have not gotten their booster dose are more likely to be hospitalized or die compared to people who have been boosted,” Duchin said. “For the best protection, please get your booster as soon as you’re eligible.”
For the unvaccinated, the county estimates they were 2.4 times more likely to test positive for COVID-19, 12 times more likely to be hospitalized, and 24 times more likely to die over the last month than residents up to date on their vaccinations and boosters.
(Public Health – Seattle & King County)
In closing out his Friday briefing, the health officer said successfully carving a path forward, with fewer restrictions in place, will require everyone to tap into the defenses that are available and for better systems to be established while transmission remains low.
“While we celebrate this progress today, it’s critical to understand that COVID-19 remains with us, both in the U.S. and globally,” Duchin said. “High levels of vaccination, with boosters, plus immunity from recent omicron infection in the population should protect us from another major surge coming soon. We need to use the time we have left now, while COVID is not surging, to build COVID preparedness and resistance.”
Some of the “system-wide efforts” named include reaching more age groups with booster doses, improving indoor air quality and filtration inside homes, businesses and other public spaces, ensuring access to testing and treatments, providing adequate sick leave for workers, and improving health care capacity across the region.
“I hope the worse days of the pandemic are behind us,” Duchin concluded. “Although much uncertainty remains, I’m optimistic that if we continue to take the necessary steps, and don’t take our eye off the ball, over time we’ll continue to decrease the damage this virus will do and its impact on our lives.”
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