The following is a summary of the presentation during the Public Health briefings at this week’s Board of County Commissioners meeting made by Jefferson and Clallam County Public Health Officer Dr. Allison Berry. Also Willie Bence, Director, Director of Emergency Management, gave a report. The summary below was provided by and used with the permission of Jefferson County Government.

As the rest of the county experiences surges in COVID-19 cases primarily due to the Delta and Omicron variants, Jefferson County remains steady with a case rate of 180/100. Three people are hospitalized and no new deaths have been reported. County Health Officer Dr. Allison Berry told the Commissioners this morning that the Omicron variant is “incredibly transmissible and that it is starting to overtake Delta in some parts of the country.” Dr. Berry said that she anticipates seeing this happen in January in Washington. There are cases reported in King and Clallam Counties, and she believes that it may be circulating in Jefferson, but the genetic sequencing that will tell her that has not been completed to confirm her suspicions. She also noted that prior COVID-19 infection alone is not enough to protect from Omicron. “We are definitely seeing increased reinfection and, unfortunately, increased breakthrough infection as well,” Dr. Berry said. “The good news is that even if you don’t get a booster, the vaccines are showing very strong protection against hospitalization and deaths from Omicron. And the boosters are showing very strong protection against symptomatic disease. So if you get a booster for for COVID-19, it really should protect you quite well against Omicron. We’re seeing about 70-80% protection against any disease at all if you get your booster. “We’re seeing that the majority of infections right now are among the unvaccinated. And that’s concerning because there was some initial thought that the Omicron variant would be less severe based on some early data coming out of South Africa. “If you haven’t been vaccinated, Omicron is showing the ability to be just as severe as prior variants,” she reported. “But if you are vaccinated, you are much, much less likely to get severe disease, much less likely to get hospitalized.” Dr. Berry strongly recommends being vaccinated and boosted for the best protection during the holidays. Her next report to the Commissioners will be on Monday, January 3. Note: The weekly deadline for these to be submitted is on Fridays at noon, to be answered at the following Monday’s BOCC meeting.

Submit your Public Health questions to Dr. Allison Berry and Willie Bence by emailing contactus@kptz.org.

The following is a summary of the presentation during the Public Health briefings at this week’s Board of County Commissioners meeting made by Jefferson and Clallam County Public Health Officer Dr. Allison Berry. Also Willie Bence, Director, Director of Emergency Management, gave a report.

Click here to read complete notes on the day’s briefings

The following is a summary of the presentation during the Public Health briefings at this week’s Board of County Commissioners meeting made by Jefferson and Clallam County Public Health Officer Dr. Allison Berry. The summary below was provided by and used with the permission of Jefferson County Government.

Public Health Officer Dr. Allison Berry Monday updated the Commissioners on COVID-19 saying that there is a winter surge occurring, with cases up 50% over one month ago. Nationally, 100,000 people are diagnosed each day and 1,200 people die every day. Washington is bucking that trend. Dr. Berry said the number of cases is not rising due to the sheer number of people who are vaccinated. In Jefferson, we have had a total of 1,324 cases reported, with 214 per 100,000 – a 5% positivity rate. There has not been a large outbreak from Thanksgiving gatherings. However, there are clusters of small children who have been infected. Contact tracing is underway in the schools.

Dr. Berry said the biggest health news of the week is the rise of the Omicron variant. It has been detected in Washington state, not yet in Jefferson, but it is in King County. She said we are following King County by two weeks so she feels it is likely to be here soon. “We don’t know about the severity of this variant,” Dr. Berry said. She said public health officials are seeing early indications of reinfections, especially if your only immunity comes from prior infections. Omicron seems to be taking hold in under-vaccinated communities and is more transmissible than the Delta variant. She encouraged all to get their booster now before the holiday surge and winter season.

Submit your Public Health questions to Dr. Allison Berry and to Willie Bence by emailing contactus@kptz.org. Note: The weekly deadline for these to be submitted is on Fridays at noon, to be answered at the following Monday’s BOCC meeting.

This month on Through Science to Health, KPTZ host Chris Bricker speaks with Dr. Joseph Mattern, Chief Medical Officer for Jefferson Health Care. Dr. Mattern is also charged with overseeing the distribution of COVID-19 vaccines for JHC. Today, Dr. Mattern joins us to recap Jefferson Health Care’s journey over the past twenty months.  He talks about current challenges and issues, vaccines and immunity, and the importance of our children in the big picture. He also gives us his thoughts about the status of health care providers at hospitals and clinics, along with his predictions for the future of health care in our community.

The following is a summary of the presentation during the Public Health briefings at this week’s Board of County Commissioners meeting made by Jefferson and Clallam County Public Health Officer Dr. Allison Berry. Also Willie Bence, Director, Director of Emergency Management, gave a report.

Click here to read complete notes on the day’s briefings

The following is a summary of the presentation during the Public Health briefings at this week’s Board of County Commissioners meeting made by Jefferson and Clallam County Public Health Officer Dr. Allison Berry.

Click here to read complete notes on the day’s briefings

The following is a summary of the presentation during the Public Health briefings at this week’s Board of County Commissioners The following is a summary of the presentation during the Public Health briefings at this week’s Board of County Commissioners meeting made by Jefferson and Clallam County Public Deputy Health Officer Dr. Tom Locke. Also Willie Bence, Director, Director of Emergency Management, gave a report. The summary was provided by and used with the permission of Jefferson County Government.

Click here to read complete notes on today’s briefings

The following is a summary of the presentation during the Public Health briefings at this week’s Board of County Commissioners meeting made by Jefferson and Clallam County Public Health Officer Dr. Allison Berry. Also Willie Bence, Director, Director of Emergency Management, gave a report. The summary was provided by and used with the permission of Jefferson County Government.

Health Officer Dr. Allison Berry this morning said Jefferson County is “plateauing” with a COVID-19 case rate of 251 per 100,000, and a positivity rate of 4.6. Three hospitalized COVID patients were discharged over the weekend and only one person is currently hospitalized. No deaths were added; the count remains at 17. Dr. Berry said that 74% of COVID cases are among the unvaccinated. “I think the biggest news of late is that we have seen the Pfizer COVID-19 vaccinations approved by the FDA for kids 5 to 11,” she reported “We’re very excited about that. We’re very hopeful about seeing this age group vaccinated soon.” She said the vaccine will be reviewed by the CDC and others before distribution can be scheduled. “This is the first time in a while that we actually have a new formulation of a vaccine to be shipped throughout the country,” Dr. Berry said. “If this gets CDC approval, most likely we will see vaccinations in this age range next week.” Pfizer’s pediatric formulation of the COVID-19 vaccine is a third of the dose given to adults or older children. She also addressed misinformation surrounding the vaccine for children. “What we do see is COVID-19 blessedly is less severe in children than it is in adults, but it still can be incredibly severe,” she said. Dr. Berry cited some statistics, reporting that nationwide, approximately 67,000 children have been hospitalized and over 650 have died due to the COVID virus. Among those who are hospitalized, 30% had no underlying conditions at all. And, for the other 70%, the vast majority of them actually had relatively mild underlying conditions, things like asthma. “I really would encourage parents to use this incredible resource to protect their children, especially as we move into the holiday season,” Dr. Berry urged.

The following is a summary of the presentation during the Public Health briefings at this week’s Board of County Commissioners meeting made by Jefferson and Clallam County Public Health Officer Dr. Allison Berry. Also Willie Bence, Director, Director of Emergency Management, gave a report.

Click here to read complete notes on today’s briefings

KPTZ’S Chris Bricker speaks with Dr. Allison Berry, Health Officer for Jefferson and Clallam Counties, and also with Bonnie Obremski, who fills the newly created role of COVID-19 Communications Specialist. We live in a world where there is also a pandemic of misinformation, and Bonnie explains the importance of communicating accurate and vetted information through the many communication platforms that exist today. Doctor Berry shares and clarifies the good news about vaccine boosters, and we talk about our children and what’s on the horizon for them as we balance their need to be in school, supported by the hard work of our education administrators and professionals. Dr. Berry also gives us advice for our fall and winter concerns, travel, and holiday gatherings.