COVID-19 Vashon Situation Report 
 
The Vashon Emergency Operations Center produces this briefing for our emergency workers and for the community. The situation report is published Tuesday and Friday and includes information on Vashon community response actions and support.

You can read the full text of today's report as a PDF and access older ones at:

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Local COVID Activity:

Casa Bonita restaurant has closed for two weeks as a voluntary COVID safety measure and the staff are in voluntary quarantine and being tested. Two staff at the restaurant tested positive earlier this week. The Vashon Medical Reserve Corps (MRC) and the owner of the restaurant issued an appeal for members of the public who may have been exposed to call the MRC phone line to be screened for possible testing. Please only call if you were served inside the restaurant on Thursday, Friday, or Saturday, March 25 through 27. You need not call if you were ordering or picking up to go orders unless you spent more than 15 minutes in the restaurant. The MRC number is: (844) 469-4554. So far, a total of 32 Vashon residents have been tested and only the two original cases have tested positive. 

Vashon Vaccine Availability: 

The Overview: First dose appointments have been available this week on island for the first time in a couple of weeks at both of the active vaccination sites. Second dose commitments are being met at both locations. The prospects are low for new first dose vaccination availability next week.

Vaccination eligibility for Washington State currently includes those in tiers 1a, 1b1, 1b2, 1b3 and 1b4. Vaccine eligibility will expand on April 15 to include all persons 16 and older.  For full definitions of eligibility, visit https://www.kingcounty.gov/depts/health/covid-19/vaccine/distribution.aspx. 

Sea Mar: The Sunrise Ridge clinic held a no-appointment-required vaccination day today, announced on the Sea Mar main website last night. The clinic had 200 doses for walk-ups at the start of the day. The local clinic has no word yet on whether Sea Mar headquarters will provide vaccine for first doses next week, but coverage for second dose appointments is assured.

Vashon Pharmacy: The drive-through site has operated at full flow this week and plans to continue using existing stock for a couple days next week, thanks to two large shipments of Pfizer and Moderna vaccine earlier in the week. Appointment slots scheduled for next week have already been taken. The Pharmacy's request for additional vaccine for next week has been denied by the state Department of Health so there will not be any new first-dose availability next week at the drive-through site, and the appointment booking portal will not be opening. Vaccine has been set aside for all currently booked second-dose appointments.

End-of-Day Waitlist/Cancellation: Vashon Pharmacy has added two features to its vaccination signup page. At the beginning of each day, up to twelve people can put their names in to be called if any vaccine doses are left at the end of the day. This morning the waitlist filled in 15 minutes. The waitlist of eligible persons is reset to zero each day. In addition, there's now an appointment cancellation feature that will help reduce the number of no-shows. Both features are available at the appointment signup website: www.VashonPharmacy.com/COVID  

Vax Access: The outreach to Spanish speaking residents of Vashon has so far helped more than 60 people book vaccination appointments. The Vax Access program helps promote access equity for people experiencing significant barriers to vaccination, such as physical challenges, lack of computer, and lack of English language skills. Work also continues on providing mobile vaccinations to homebound residents.

The Emergency Operations Center (EOC) recommends that you check the following four websites to see if there is updated information about local vaccination opportunities, beyond what we compile in these Situation Reports which are published on Tuesdays and Fridays.

Going off Island for Vaccination: A number of sites within driving distance are accepting appointments from residents in King, Pierce and Kitsap counties. Here are some websites to check for vaccination opportunities:
Each of these sources lists some potential vaccination locations within a few miles of the mainland ferry docks. Check these websites frequently and refresh your browser to find the most convenient location for you. Also, keep in mind that your mainland healthcare provider may be a vaccination resource (CHI Franciscan, Multicare, Kaiser, etc.). And all patients enrolled in the Veterans Administration system are eligible at VA facilities.

Current Virus Statistics: 

Vashon Island COVID-19 Case Count as of 4/2/21:*
  • 111 confirmed positive cases, 2 new case since last Situation Report on Tuesday
  • Date of last positive test: April 2
  • 2 new positives in past 7 days and 2 new positives in the past 14 days  
  • 4 people have been hospitalized. Date of last hospitalization: March 18
  • 3 Vashon deaths per the King County dashboard, last death reported 2/27/21

King County COVID-19 Case Count as of 4/2/21:*
  • 88,786 confirmed positive cases, 1,596 new since last Situation Report on Tuesday
  • 1,471 deaths, 9 new since last Situation Report on Tuesday

Washington State COVID-19 Case Count as of 4/1/21:*
  • 367,115 confirmed positive cases, 7,449 new since last Situation Report Tuesday
  • 5,278 deaths, 52 since last Situation Report on Tuesday

*Note 1:  The statistics above are from the Public Health – Seattle & King County dashboard as of the date listed. Numbers may not be complete, as data processing lags and the actual number of cases, hospitalizations, and deaths may not yet match the dashboard.

Note 2: Federal law prohibits Public Health - Seattle & King County (PHSKC) from releasing the names of patients (HIPAA Act). For consistency of day-to-day data reporting for Vashon, the EOC uses only the Zip code data from the Public Health – Seattle & King County dashboard

Health Tips:

How do I know if it’s allergies or covid?  As the pandemic continues and allergy season has started earlier than usual and there may be times when you’re not sure if your symptoms are COVID-19 or just allergies. If you have a fever and chills, which can indicate an infection, you should definitely get tested. Another key COVID indicator is if you lose your sense of taste or smell. If you have COVID, every time you cough, you’re spreading droplets that can infect others. Allergies, on the other hand, are not contagious.  A Mayo Clinic article reviews symptom differences between COVID-19, a cold, seasonal allergies and the flu, at https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/coronavirus/in-depth/covid-19-cold-flu-and-allergies-differences/art-20503981

CDC has a simple Venn diagram showing the overlap and differences of COVID-19 and allergy symptoms. Visit https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/need-extra-precautions/infographic-overlap-symptoms.html

Testing is still a critical tool in the battle with COVID-19.  If you have symptoms, or think you have been exposed to COVID-19, you can help prevent the spread of the virus to others in your home and community by getting tested. According to Vashon’s Medical Reserve Corps, this remains true even if you've been vaccinated. Vashon MRC recommendations are to stay in quarantine for 14 days after your last contact, staying at home, separating yourself from other people and animals. In addition to getting tested, It is important to maintain six feet of physical distance from others at all times, even if wearing a mask, and wash your hands often. For a list of symptoms, or questions about getting tested on Vashon, call 844-469-4554, or visit https://testing.vashonbeprepared.org.  

New Developments since Last Report:

“Disease transmission is increasing and we are seeing concerning signs.” said Dr. Umair A. Shah, Secretary of Health.  “Case counts are showing increases in King County, Pierce County, Snohomish County.” Shah said health officials believe people could be letting up on the measures known to prevent transmission, such as masking and distancing.  “We are not out of the pandemic until we’re out of the pandemic, meaning: Don’t let your guard down,” Shah said. And coronavirus variants of concern — which could spread more easily, cause more harm, or more readily escape treatment or immunity by vaccination — now make up a majority of most recent cases to receive genomic sequencing by Washington laboratories. Scientists believe two variants, named B.1.429 and B.1.427, are roughly 20% more transmissible. They may be resistant to some types of treatments, and could cause some reduction in vaccine performance. The B.1.1.7 variant, which scientists believe is about 50% more transmissible and could cause more severe COVID-19 symptoms, is also spreading, according to state data. https://www.doh.wa.gov/Portals/1/Documents/1600/coronavirus/data-tables/420-316-SequencingAndVariantsReport.pdf   

State health leaders are pleading for people to stay home for spring break.  COVID-19 cases are climbing, and this is not the time for Washingtonians to let down their guard.  “Don’t travel unless it’s absolutely necessary,” said Dr. Scott Lindquist, acting state health officer. He said to stay home even if you are fully vaccinated. “I know that’s a hard message to send to folks who want to go on spring break. But truly, we are seeing cases in vaccinated people that are breakthrough, that have done just that, people who traveled to spring break, etc.” The state is following Centers for Disease Control and Prevention guidelines, which state you should get tested for COVID-19 before you fly and when you get back. They want travelers to self-quarantine for a full seven days after travel, even if their test is negative.  https://wwwnc.cdc.gov/travel/page/spring-break-travel

"We are getting closer to knocking out the pandemic, but we are not there yet, and there are very concerning warning signs that we could be headed for a fourth major spike in infection. Our community has the lowest infection rate in King County, but all around us the numbers are rising" said Dr. Jim Bristow, Co-Coordinator of Vashon Medical Reserve Corps and leader of the island's COVID-19 testing effort. "For some weeks at the test site, a big percentage of our patients have been requesting testing so they can travel. It's easy to understand why, after more than a year of pandemic. Unfortunately, the number one source of infections for the past year has been people traveling off island and bringing the infection home with them. If we can hold out for another couple of months, many more people will be protected by vaccination and it will be much safer," he continued. His advice: stay home a bit longer, mask, distance, and wash hands to keep our community safe.

Mask-wearing is essential in preventing the spread of COVID, said King County Health Officer Dr. Jeff Duchin. Adding “COVID-19 spreads through the air, and the risk is highest in crowded and indoor spaces with poor ventilation.”  New data from King County from November to February found that 89% of county residents were following the state mandate and wearing a mask that covered their nose and mouth. One goal of the study was to identify any areas of lower mask usage to tailor messaging to those communities.  Masking was highest in grocery stores and hardware stores (94-97%) and lower for people entering convenience stores and at transit centers (76-84%). Children were less likely than other age groups to be wearing masks. “Wearing a well-made and snug-fitting mask is one of our best tools against COVID-19.” Said Duchin. https://publichealthinsider.com/2021/02/09/its-a-good-time-to-improve-our-masks-and-how-we-wear-them-as-more-contagious-covid-19-variants-emerge