Three Clallam County residents have died due to COVID-19, raising the total number to 72 in the county and 91 for the North Olympic Peninsula since the pandemic began, public health officials said.
The most recent deaths include a man in his 80s who was unvaccinated; a man in his 60s who had one dose of a Johnson & Johnson vaccine and had underlying conditions; and a man in 40s who was unvaccinated and had no underlying conditions, said Dr. Allison Berry, health officer for Clallam and Jefferson counties.
All three deaths were reported Monday and occurred over the weekend, Berry said.
Jefferson County did not report any new deaths Monday. The county has had 19 residents die from COVID-19 since the pandemic began.
When the man in his 40s was admitted to the hospital, he had talked to health care workers about how he wished he had been vaccinated, Berry said.
“I have been seeing some unfortunate comments online saying, ‘If you die and you were unvaccinated, you kind of had it coming,’ and I think it’s important to remember that everyone makes mistakes and no one deserves to die for their mistakes,” Berry said. “I think what we can do is learn from these kinds of tragedies.
“This gentleman really wanted folks to go out and get vaccinated so this wouldn’t happen to them or their families. I think we can honor his memory by doing what we can to reduce the risk that we get COVID or we spread it to others.”
According to the latest data from the state Department of Health, 82.7 percent of the population 12 and older in Jefferson County have started vaccinations, with 78.4 percent fully vaccinated.
Of the entire population, 76.1 percent have begun vaccination and 72.1 percent are fully vaccinated, according to the state’s dashboard.
In Clallam County, 77 percent of the population 12 and older have started vaccinations, with 72 percent fully vaccinated.
Of the total population, 68.4 percent have begun vaccinations, with 64 percent fully vaccinated, according to the state’s dashboard.
Health officials continue to work to vaccinate children 5 to 11 years old, Berry said.
Jefferson County Public Health and the Department of Emergency Management will host two Pfizer vaccination clinics in December for first and second doses for children 5 to 11.
The first clinic will be from 9 a.m. to noon Dec. 4 at Blue Heron Middle School, 3939 San Juan Ave. in Port Townsend. Appointments can be scheduled at prepmod.doh.wa.gov//appointment/en/reg/9124679067.
The second clinic will be from from 9 a.m. to noon Dec. 18 at Chimacum Junior/Senior High School’s multi-purpose room at 93 West Valley Road in Chimacum. Appointments can be made at prepmod.doh.wa.gov/appointment/en/reg/9069924918.
For those without internet access, appointments for the two clinics can made by calling the Department of Emergency Management at 360-344-9791.
In Clallam County, Olympic Medical Center is spearheading the vaccinations for children, with walk-in appointments available on Wednesdays, Fridays and Saturdays from 8:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. at the hospital’s Front Street Clinic, 901 E Front St. in Port Angeles.
More information on OMC vaccinations can be found at olympicmedical.org/covid-19-vaccine-information.
Residents can also use the state’s vaccination locator at vaccinelocator.doh.wa.gov/?language=en to find children’s vaccinations, booster doses and initial vaccinations.
New cases
On Monday, Clallam County added 39 new cases of COVID-19 that have been confirmed since Wednesday, as both county public health departments did not update their numbers over the Thanksgiving holiday. The county has confirmed a total of 5,257 cases since the start of the pandemic, county health data said.
Jefferson County added 15 new cases since Wednesday. The county has confirmed a total of 1,297 cases since the pandemic began, according to county public health data.
Clallam County had a case rate of 167 per 100,000 population for the past two weeks as of Monday, according to county public health data.
Jefferson County will update its case rate on Friday, due to last week’s holiday. Health officials recorded a case rate of 192.61 per 100,000 for the two weeks prior as of Nov. 17.
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Jefferson County reporter Zach Jablonski can be reached at 360-385-2335, ext. 5, or at zjablonski@peninsuladailynews.com.
