Covid-19 update

The number of covid-19 cases rose by seven over the last week for a cumulative total of 590 cases in Wahkiakum County, with 10 considered currently active.

According to Wahkiakum Health and Human Services Director Chris Bischoff, covid-19 case numbers remain high in the state and are actually increasing in some areas.

There were two more hospitalizations attributed to covid-19 in the county in the last week, bringing the total to 39. The number of deaths in the county stands at eight.

Disclaimer: With the easy accessibility of at home tests, the actual number of active covid-19 cases and actual cumulative numbers in the county, are hard to know.

While 68.9 percent of the population of the state of Washington is considered fully vaccinated, only 51.3 percent of the total population of Wahkiakum County is considered to be fully vaccinated.

The Pfizer vaccine, including a second booster, is available for anyone six months and older at the WHHS vaccine clinic on Mondays and Wednesdays, from 9 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. and 1:30-3 p.m. Call 360-849-4041 for more information.

The Moderna vaccine, including a second booster, is available at the Cathlamet Pharmacy. Call 360-795-3691.

In Washington state, 213 people have tested positive for monkeypox, including one person in Cowlitz County, one person in Lewis County, and three people in Clark County.

Monkeypox case numbers continue to climb around the world, Bischoff said, with cases of the disease in countries that have never had a case before.

Bischoff said that Washington Department of Health and local health departments have outlined a strategy to attack the spread using the limited amounts of vaccine available and getting them to those most at risk for contracting and spreading the virus.