||| FROM BRENDAN COWAN for DEPARTMENT OF EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT |||
Since the last update on Friday December 31, there have been 127 new confirmed or probable cases in San Juan
County. Current case count is now 657.
- LOPEZ ISLAND: There are seventeen new cases on Lopez Island since the last update.
- ORCAS ISLAND: There are sixty-six new cases on Orcas Island since the last update.
- SAN JUAN ISLAND: There are forty-three new cases on San Juan Island since the last update.
- SHAW ISLAND: There is one new case on Shaw Island since the last update.
OVERALL PICTURE:
- The large number of new cases is a vivid sign that the new Omicron variant spreads extremely easily and is moving quickly through the islands.
- To date, the County Health team is not seeing an equally dramatic spike in hospitalizations, but please note that some islanders are in mainland hospitals being treated for COVID- at least four at the time of this report. There may also be hospitalizations that the Health Department team has not been notified of.
- For WA overall, hospitalizations have been increasing sharply, and this is now having an impact on access to medical care for a wide range of patient needs, beyond just COVID. This current spike is in danger of overwhelming our healthcare system.
- Deaths in WA overall continue to decline, but it is too soon to assume that fatalities won’t increase as well, though there is some reason for optimism based on what has been seen elsewhere combined with San Juan County’s extremely high vaccination rate.
NEED TO KNOW:
- If you test positive via an over-the-counter test, please report that finding to the Health Department using this online form.
- COVID Positive? Note that the high case volume is preventing the Health Department team from performing standard case investigations. Please review this document carefully to ensure that you are taking all precautions and doing all you can to minimize community spread.
- Getting vaccinated is still your best move. Go here for registration links. And note that island kids age 12-15 are newly eligible for a Pfizer booster!
WHAT TO DO NOW:
Now is the time to dramatically dial back activities or events that facilitate spread. While strict limits on activities are unlikely at this point, islanders are asked to use good judgment and take reasonable precautions to minimize risk.
Any events that do not need to happen right now may be best postponed by a few weeks with hope that by the end of the month, cases will start to fall as dramatically as they have risen.
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I have noted before; protect the vulnerable and let the healthy youth develop “herd immunity”
With the current “leaky” vaccines which do not prevent transmission of disease, there is no way to “vaccinate” our way out of this. -At all.
I am a 2x Moderna guy, I am also taking magnesium, vitamins (C/D esp.), organic apple cider vinegar, turmeric, oregano oil, and black pepper.
Active and working outside every day.
The best case scenario, even for a “designer disease” is that the virus mutates into a less lethal form, which is the norm for naturally occurring virus disease. -That appears to be “Omicron”.
Here’s a bulletin from “Stat News”, which I believe is a reliable source
“Omicron cases rising no longer automatically means impending doom and gloom, nor does it require apocalyptic language like we’re hearing from the media and political leaders implying mass waves of death with rapidly increasing case rates”
https://www.statnews.com/2021/12/22/omicron-oddity-case-numbers-dont-predict-deaths/.
For a variant virus as transmissible as omicron, John, we would need to achieve at least 95% vaccination rates — or natural immunity due to infections — to achieve “herd immunity.” And that’s assuming that vaccinations are highly effective against infection, which they clearly are not. So the young are never going to achieve herd immunity against omicron.
Fortunately, the early results seem to indicate that omicron in general does not lead to as serious cases as Delta (or even Alpha), so the impact on hospitals may be (barely) manageable. But I can begin to see hospitalizations increasing in the Puget Sound area, and that will probably continue to be the case through January.
We can all do our part by trying our best not to become part of the problem — by getting booster shots, wearing our masks in indoor public spaces, and staying home unless we really need to go out. Especially here on Orcas Island, which now has the greatest number of active cases in San Juan County.
I think this is free to all:
https://www.theatlantic.com/health/archive/2022/01/omicron-mild-hospital-strain-health-care-workers/621193/
Hospitals Are in Serious Trouble
Omicron is inundating a health-care system that was already buckling under the cumulative toll of every previous surge.
By Ed Yong
The fat lady ain’t sung yet.
Though going by the holiday careless
gatherings and subsequent surge,
we’re fortunate that Omicron ( in the vaccinated) seems to be less likely to require hospitalization—or kill.
For heaven’s sake, people. what do you. or understand about taking precautions?
wear a mask whenever distancing isn’t possible.
Don’t be in contact with others -especially if they e been offisland or are in contact with lots of folks-
Just stay home.
Be careful.
We’re all in this together. Let’s not overwhelm our medical staff and hospitals, making routine care and emergent care impossible
carol Owens, CRNA
I often check the County hospitalizations on the state DoH web site. Since around Christmas, we’ve increased by three, from 14 to 17 today, but from what Brendan says above, they may be listing some islanders as mainlanders. It’s a worrisome number but not yet like what happened during the peak of the Delta surge in September — when I caught it myself on a mainland visit.