King County could be in the eye of the current viral storm – Slog



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The virus is sort of like an eye and a storm and an eye in a storm.

The virus is sort of like an eye and a storm and an eye in a storm. UNSPLASH / CDC

At a press conference Friday in Seattle and King County Public Health Chief Dr Jeff Duchin scanned the latest coronavirus data and concluded we may be in the eye of the viral storm , although we won’t know for sure until next week.

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His concern follows a week when many defied public health guidelines (and The foreigner‘s explicit commands) as they travel across the country to celebrate my birthday with their friends and family.

Although the The average daily number of cases in the county fell from the mid-700 to the lowest 500 this week, Duchin noted that testing volumes were down 25% from the week before Thanksgiving. Holiday closings and reduced capacity at testing facilities likely explain the drop, along with the lower number of people seeking testing during the second half of the week.

Meanwhile, positivity rates remain high, the number and size of epidemics are increasing, the average number of hospitalizations is increasing, and the number of deaths is increasing a bit, suggesting that transmission is occurring at much higher rates. than the current rate. case counts indicate, says Duchin. The county saw a similar pattern play out after July 4th and Labor Day, so it doesn’t look great!

Aside from the tragedy of unnecessary illness and death, a surge next week could overwhelm hospitals and prevent non-COVID patients from getting the care they desperately need. The influx of patients will also increase the stress on our already exhausted and increasingly ill healthcare workers.

Duchin welcomed the recent news about upcoming vaccines, but said we all need to continue to wear masks and stay as much as possible to limit the spread. Even after the government begins to distribute the vaccine, community immunization will take “many months” to complete, as doses will be rolled out in stages, some groups may not respond well to the vaccine, and some will not want to or might have difficulty accessing it.

Assuming everything is going well from a vaccine standpoint, Duchin assumed King County would receive between 130,000 and 150,000 doses, which would likely cover the 150,000 county health and long-term care workers, who will probably be the first to receive the vaccine.

Despite the need to start expanding a local immunization program and maintain testing and investigation staff, Duchin said somewhat alarmingly that his department should “consider reducing our response to COVID-19” as the Federal money will dry up at the end of the year unless Congress passes another stimulus package. Until then, the public health department is “actively seeking alternative sources” of funding and asking anyone with $$$ ideas to contact the department.

President-elect Joe Biden made “smirk” when asked today if he had spoken with Senate Majority Leader and Vampire King Mitch McConnell, a solution to the blockade of Congress is almost certainly imminent.

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