PORT TOWNSEND — While COVID-19 cases and hospitalizations are continuing in a downward trend, there been a rise in emergency room visits and hospitalizations due to influenza in Clallam and Jefferson counties.
“We are moving into the flu season,” Dr. Allison Berry, the public health officer for both Peninsula counties, said in her monthly update to the Board of Jefferson County Commissioners on Monday. “We do expect that to come around this time of year, and it is here with us now.”
Due to the federal government shutdown and decisions around prioritization, the flu is not being tracked nationally, Berry said.
“So we don’t really know what’s going on in the rest of the country, but we strongly suspect that it’s similar to what we’re seeing here,” she said.
Washington state and Clallam and Jefferson counties continue to track the virus, she said. Generally, surges are seen elsewhere before they come to Washington state, she added.
“The best thing you can do to prevent severe disease from influenza is to get vaccinated,” Berry said.
The vaccine is safe for anyone 6 months and older, Berry said, or for anyone with someone 6 months or younger or immunosuppressed who can’t fully respond to the vaccine.
The vaccines are widely available in local pharmacies, clinics and at public health departments, although some shortages of the flu vaccine have been noted in Clallam County, she said.
Berry also noted that masking works for the flu.
“If you are feeling ill at all, and you can’t stay home, we strongly recommend masking if you have to go into public places,” she said.
The counties haven’t seen much RSV activity yet, but those tend to come on later in November or in December, Berry said.
Now is a good time for children, elders and pregnant people to get their vaccination, she said, noting that there have been reports of shortages of some vaccines.
“We’re hearing from local providers of shortages in multiple childhood vaccines, that the programs at the federal level, which used to distribute vaccines smoothly to all of our kids, are now starting to have problems, that we’re seeing shortages, not getting our full orders,” she said.
The county’s public health departments have heard from parents in both counties who went to get their children’s vaccine updates who arrived at their doctor’s office only to learn that they do not have the needed vaccine.
There are shortages of COVID-19 vaccines for children in both counties, and Clallam County is seeing shortages in influenza vaccines as well as basic vaccinations like pneumococcal and tetanus, Berry wrote in an email. Local clinics and the health department have both reported that, when they order vaccines from the state, they only receive partial orders, and those orders often are delayed, she continued.
Berry noted that she sees this as a trickle-down effect from the federal government.
“I want to acknowledge that, as a parent myself, taking time off work, getting your kid out of school, getting them to the doctor’s office, and then finding out they don’t have a vaccine for you is profoundly frustrating,” Berry said.
It shouldn’t be this way and never has been in the past, Berry said.
“Please know that our local providers are doing everything they can to make sure they can access vaccines, and we at the public health department are doing everything we can as well,” Berry said. “We’re moving vaccines around the community, we’re doing a lot of advocacy with the state to try to release what vaccine they do have more freely to our community so we can get kids vaccinated.”
Berry implored parents to keep trying, stating the importance of being up to date.
Berry continued her update by addressing the loss in funding to Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) food benefits, which were cut Saturday.
“That is actually one of the most effective anti-poverty and public health programs that we’ve ever had in the history of this country,” she said.
Berry shared an anecdote from a weekend apple cider pressing event.
“I was speaking to a gentleman who said he was OK with the program being cut, because those people should go get jobs,” she said.
That is a fundamental misunderstanding, Berry said.
The majority of people on SNAP benefits are either children, elderly or disabled, she said. Those who receive SNAP who do not fall into those categories are largely working, but they do not make enough money at their jobs to feed their families, she added.
“It is one of the most effective things that we can do,” Berry said. “If we want to make our population more healthy, if we want to prevent chronic diseases down the road, funding programs like SNAP are a critical way that we do that. In this intervening time, a lot of families are struggling. Most families who rely on SNAP don’t have a lot of wiggle room in their budget, so even going a week or so without their benefits can leave families and kids going hungry.”
In the 2024 fiscal year, the program served nearly 42 million Americans, according to SNAP data hosted on the U.S. Department of Agriculture website.
While two federal judges ordered that the federal government resume paying benefits using contingency funds, according to a Monday news report, the Trump administration said it would pay benefits at roughly half its usual amount.
Further confusion came when the president posted on Truth Social that he would withhold the benefits until after the shutdown is over.
Hours after Trump’s Tuesday post, White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said she had spoken with the president and the administration would comply with the court order, according to Politico.
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Reporter Elijah Sussman can be reached by email at elijah.sussman@peninsuladailynews.com.
