Community Health & Wellness

Public health leaders urge people to get COVID vaccines this fall

After the Kitsap Peninsula and its neighboring communities saw an uptick in COVID-19 hospitalizations this summer, public health officials are encouraging everyone receive an updated immunization this fall.

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The Centers for Disease Control recommends everyone 6 months or older get a 2024-2025 COVID vaccine. The Food and Drug Administration approved the new Pfizer and Modern mRNA vaccines in late August. Immunization puts people infected with coronavirus at a lower risk of serious illness, hospitalization or death.

Shots are covered at no cost by most insurance plans. They are free for state residents 18 or younger through the Childhood Vaccine Program. The Washington State Adult Vaccine Program is also available for those without insurance.

Doses should be available at pharmacies or primary care facilities. Providers can be found at vaccinelocator.doh.wa.gov.

Less than 20% of Washingtonians received an updated vaccine last year, according to the Washington Department of Health.

Summer wave

The percentage of hospitalizations and emergency room visits involving COVID-19 rose statewide during the summer, according to data from the DOH. The uptick mirrored trends seen during the winter. 

“While we often think of respiratory viruses as affecting us in the winter, COVID-19 still doesn’t fully behave like other common respiratory viruses,” Dr Jay Miller, Tacoma-Pierce County Health Officer, wrote in a July blog post. “This year, as well as last year, we have seen higher COVID-19 levels in both the winter and summer months.” 

The Olympic Health Reporting Region, comprising Kitsap, Jefferson and Clallam counties, saw visits involving COVID drop in April. During the week of April 7, only 0.5% of emergency department visits and 0.2% of hospital visits involved COVID-19.

Over the following months rates rose steadily, peaking at 3.3% in late August. They have since dropped about a percentage point in September.

Pierce County followed a similar trend. In April, 0.2% of emergency room visits involved COVID-19. That rose to 2.4% by late August; It is now down to 2.1%.

Those results remain well below levels seen during the worst of the pandemic. During the Omicron wave peak in early 2022, around 16% of emergency department visits involved COVID.