Vaccinations and positive cases both increasing in Thurston County

Over a quarter of the Thurston County population has received at least one dose of the COVID-19 vaccination, as weekly allocations of vaccinations continue to increase.

Today, Thurston County Public Health and Social Services (PHSS) Director Schelli Slaughter said 27.69 percent of the county population has received at least one dose of vaccine and 16.78 percent have received two doses.

In the coming week, Thurston County — including licensed vaccine providers like pharmacies and healthcare facilities — is expected to receive 10,920 vaccine doses from the State Health Department. Vaccine allotments have steadily increased, and Slaughter said they plan to ramp up distribution at mass vaccination events that have been taking place on a recurring basis. On Friday, PHSS celebrated its 10,000th vaccine given at its South Puget Sound Community College drive-through clinic.

This coming week, a handful of mass vaccination events are scheduled. On Saturday and Sunday, there will be events for second doses only. On Friday and Monday, there will be events for first doses only. Check the PHSS Facebook page for updated information on times, locations and registration for the events.

County Health Officer Dr. Dimyana Abdelmalek noted an increase in COVID-19 cases, with 167 positive cases last week, compared to 115 cases the week prior. She encouraged everyone to continue using mitigation measures to curb the spread of the contagious virus-like wearing a mask, social distancing, staying home if you’re feeling sick and getting tested.

She noted that there have been no new recorded cases of the B.1.351 variant of the virus, although it takes a few weeks after testing to determine if a positive case is due to a variant strain. B.1.351 was first recorded in South Africa, and has been in the United States since January. Last week, county health officials announced two positive tests of the variant were recorded in Thurston County. It is easier to transmit than the initial virus strain but hasn’t been linked to more serious disease.