After 10 weeks of a declining COVID-19 case rate that dropped down to the lowest levels Clark County has seen in a year, the latest health department data marked an increase in cases.
In Clark County Public Health’s July 29 weekly update, the county’s recent COVID-19 case rate rose to 74.5 per 100,000 population in the past 14 days, up from a record low of 50.1 cases per 100,000 reported on July 22.
Health department data showed 320 new confirmed cases between July 22 and July 29, bringing the county’s total to 25,251 since the outbreak began.
Clark County Public Health also reported 62 more probable cases based on antigen testing between July 22 and July 29, bringing the county’s total to 1,688. There were 431 active COVID-19 cases in the county as of July 29, which are ones still in the isolation period.
The health department reported one new confirmed COVID-19 death in the July 29 update, which consisted of a man in his 60s with underlying health conditions. The death brings the county’s total to 293 deaths, including 261 confirmed to be due to COVID-19 and 32 suspected.
Clark County Public Health reported the county’s hospitalization rate rose to 4.6 per 100,000 population in the past seven days as of July 29, up from 2.8 per 100,000 on July 22. As of the latest report, there were 47 patients hospitalized in the county either with confirmed COVID-19 or awaiting test results, making up about 8.1 percent of hospital beds in the county.
The county’s share of confirmed COVID-19 cases and deaths in Washington remains about the same, as Washington State Department of Health data shows Clark County has about 5.9 percent of cases and roughly 4.9 percent of deaths statewide.
New analysis of COVID-19 hospitalizations in Southwest Washington shows vaccination can reduce an individual’s chance of ending up in the hospital by up to 90 percent, the health department reported last week.
Based on analysis from Clark, Cowlitz, Lewis, Pacific, Skamania and Wahkiakum counties on hospitalization between March 22 and June 27, the risk of being hospitalized due to COVID-19 was reduced by 90 percent among those 65 years and older who were fully vaccinated, and by 75 percent for those partially vaccinated. There were fewer than 10 fully vaccinated residents between 45 and 64, which made it “impossible to calculate an estimated rate that was statistically stable,” Clark County Public Health reported.
In that age group, 91 percent of COVID-19 hospitalizations in the area were unvaccinated, compared to 49 percent of 45 to 64-year-olds in the population as a whole.
“The COVID-19 vaccines are very effective, but they’re not perfect. A small number of people who are fully vaccinated may still get COVID-19,” said Alan Melnick, the county’s health officer and public health director. “But (these) data show that those who are vaccinated are far less likely to be hospitalized as a result of their illness. Getting vaccinated provides the best protection.”
Clark County Public Health and other health departments in Southwest Washington partnered with Cowlitz County Health and Human Services, who compiled the report, the release stated.
