By Pepper Fisher
PORT ANGELES – There’s been another death due to Covid reported Thursday in Clallam County. Health Officer Dr. Allison Berry says it was a man in his 70s who was not vaccinated and was part of one of the recent church outbreaks.
“This case is a stark reminder of the fact that this virus is still circulating and it’s still dangerous. In fact, it is more dangerous than it was before. The variants we are seeing or more severe, more easily transmissible. We’re seeing people in the ICU who are in their thirties and forties now, which we never used to see. If you are not yet vaccinated, it’s a very dangerous virus to contract.”
Dr. Berry says there is another church outbreak that they are tracking at this time. Most of the other cases are less concentrated in terms of spread, but they’re also more severe.
We asked about the recent news from Olympic Medical Center staff they had reached capacity in there ability to admit more patients, which has since gotten a little better but still a strain on healthcare workers.
“One of the hard things I’m seeing is, Olympic Medical Center has been on high census alert for a couple of weeks now. And what I’m seeing among these health care workers, that have really been our heroes for a year and a half, they are tired. And it’s really hard for them to see us going back to the level of strain for something that is now entirely preventable. I think we all need to do our part. Our health care workers have certainly done theirs. More than their part. And we, as a community really need to step up and do our part. Which means we need to get vaccinated.”