VANCOUVER, Wash. — The number of new COVID-19 cases in Clark County is shrinking. COVID-19 transmission activity is measured in new cases per 100,000 residents over a 14-day period. Clark County is at 67.5 cases, which is down from about 95 per 100,000 last week.
The current case rate is as low as it has been since September, 2020. In February, new cases reached a high of 473 per 100,000.
The big decline in cases now is directly connected to people getting vaccinated over the past few months.
“Our numbers have been declining consistently over the past few weeks at a good rate,” said Clark County Deputy Health Officer Dr. Steven Krager. “It's one thing to go down and it's another thing to go down quickly, and we've gone down quickly which is great."
Despite declining COVID-19 case rates, Krager said the virus is present at what is considered moderate levels.
“Just still trying to be cautious because everything is kind of opened up and we have a variant that is extremely contagious spreading, so cautiously optimistic," said Krager, referring to the the delta variant, which is spreading quickly across the country, particularly in parts of states where vaccination rates are lower.
The COVID-19 vaccines provide protection and are proving to be effective against the delta variant as well.
As of July 7, more than 462,000 doses of vaccine have been administered in Clark County. About 61% of those 16-years and older have had at least one dose and more than 55% are fully vaccinated.
While mass vaccination sites are now a thing of the past, doctors’ offices, clinics and pharmacies have plenty of vaccine doses. The Clark County Public Health continues to work with the community to reach underserved and vaccine-hesitant populations.
Krager said he hopes over the summer more people take advantage of vaccine availability.
“It's still really easy to get vaccinated if you want to make that choice so I think it's the right thing for you to keep yourself healthy, to keep our community safe and hopefully we can get those numbers higher… 55% is good. It’s not great. I’d like to see it higher.”
Washington reopened on June 30. Gov. Jay Inslee had said the state would reopen by that date, or when the state reached a 70% vaccination threshold. As of July 12, 69.6% of people 16 and older in Washington have had at least one dose.