SNOHOMISH COUNTY — COVID-19 case counts have been slowly creeping up since July, possibly caused by a combination of prior vaccine shots wearing off and the evolving mutations of the virus which only newer shots can effectively combat.
The branch of the COVID-19 virus circulating is still of the Omicron XBB type, but like Whack-A-Mole, new offshoot strains of mutated omicron seem to pop up in waves.
Four weeks ago, reformulated vaccines focused on fighting omicron were granted federal approval for use.
The strain circulating most today is a variant called omicron EG.5.
Being watched closely is a second, even more mutated variant called omicron BA.2.86 that was detected internationally in August, and detected in Washington state by health authorities sometime in the second half of September.
The BA.2.86 variant has scientists’ attention because it has more than 30 genetic differences in how it enters human cells compared to its siblings, according to Yale Medicine’s Dr. Scott Roberts, a medical director of infection prevention there.
Manufacturers Pfizer and Moderna both say their latest vaccines will respond to fight BA.2.86 and EG.5.
State health authorities are monitoring BA.2.86, too, but it’s not predictable what will happen, according to state epidemiologist Scott Lindquist. These days, “the amount of community immunity from vaccine and infection” has altered the course of happens with any new variant compared to past scares and spikes, he said. “We’re better off to watch this carefully.”
COVID cases started rising in the county just after July 4.
In the week ending Sept. 23, the rate of known COVID-19 infection in Snohomish County was 53 new cases per 100,000 people. Unreported at-home tests that show positive are not in these numbers.
For a snapshot comparison, throughout fall 2022, the rate of new cases each week hovered between 50 per 100,000 people and 100 per 100,000 people a week. However, this spring and summer, the case rate never went above 50 per 100,000.
Most people can get the COVID-19 vaccine at no cost through their insurance, said Michele Roberts, the assistant secretary of the state Department of Health.
Uninsured can get one from a community health provider, or a state “Care-A-Van” mobile vaccination program. The “Care-A-Van” is next in the area Thursday, Oct. 12 from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. at Everett Community College, 2000 Tower St., Everett.
Getting a flu shot, RSV vaccine the updated COVID shot is especially important for seniors, at-risk populations and people in congregate settings, and people should make plans now, said Dr. Umair Shah, the state’s secretary of health, at a Sept. 15 briefing.
RSV, an upper respiratory infection, is expected to become more prevalent later this fall.
Scientists have figured out how to inject antibodies into vaccines that target the areas of the COVID-19 virus spike protein which remain unchanged as the virus mutates.
The newly released vaccines are “monovalent” vaccines. “Bivalent” vaccines that fight omicron as well as the original COVID-19 variant are no longer being offered, because the original COVID-19 variant isn’t circulating.
Older coronavirus variants are wiped out of Washington state: The variant that sparked the pandemic hasn’t been seen since 2021; the highly transmissible Delta variant that overtaxed hospitals with sick patients in 2021 has been seen since summer 2022. The less severe but even more transmissible omicron variant became the dominant strain in winter 2022 and although offshoots of omicron keep appearing, no major seismic change has happened since.
The CDC says that “approximately 97% of the U.S. population has antibodies to (COVID-19) from vaccination, previous infection, or both,” which it calls hybrid immunity.
