By Pepper Fisher
PORT ANGELES – After 65 weeks, Friday morning was the final scheduled Covid briefing by the County Emergency Operations Center.
The meeting started on a sad note with a twelfth death reported, a woman in her 80s who had not been vaccinated.
Since March of last year when health care workers couldn’t get enough masks and gloves, debates were raging about how exactly the virus was spread, no tests were available and no one knew whether a vaccine was possible, Clallam County now has over 60% of its population vaccinated with at least a single dose.
Health Officer Dr. Allison Berry said higher vaccination rates are correlating with lower transmission rates, but added that the variants in our community are more contagious and the cases she’s seeing are much more severe.
Dr. Berry ended her talk by reminding us that Clallam County led the state in its Covid response by working together.
“We acted early and we got everybody on board. So we didn’t see the large fire outbreaks that other places did, and it was because we were able to coordinate this response so early, and so many people took it seriously from the start. So I just want to acknowledge the incredible work we’ve done as a community. When I look at our mass vaccination events and just the shocking number of human beings who had to come together to get that done. This tiny community that has nearly no resources compared to most of our neighbors that have done mass vaccinations. We set the bar for mass vaccination for the entire state. And so I just want to acknowledge that we have done incredible things as a community and we’ve done it by coming together.”
Vaccine clinics are happening Friday at Port Angeles High School for anyone 12-and-over, and downtown from 1-5:00 where the ice rink was on Front Street.
Saturday they’ll be in Sequim at the Farmer’s Market. You can also get vaccinated at nearly every pharmacy and clinic in the county.
(Photo: Dr. Allison Berry)