STANWOOD, Wash. — As Snohomish County grapples with dozens of outbreaks at nursing homes, residents and staff are promised some of the first doses of the vaccine.
There are roughly 500 COVID-19 cases at 44 Snohomish County long-term care facilitates.
Josephine Caring Community in Stanwood is dealing with one of the largest nursing home outbreaks in the state.
“Through the 28th, there were 118 cases at Josephine. I think there’s certainly more in the subsequent week,” Dr. Chris Spitters, the health officer of the Snohomish Health District.
As of Friday, more residents and staff tested positive, according to an update posted on the facility’s website.
“The outbreak there is not over, but they are working well with our staff and doing their best to try and control it,” Spitters said.
Outbreaks like the one in Stanwood are the reason the Snohomish Health District is putting long-term care facilities at the top of the vaccine priority list, just behind high-risk healthcare workers in direct contact with COVID patients.
“Clearly, these facilities are a multi-focal epicenter of the outbreak particularly a source of severe disease, hospitalization and death,” said Spitters.
As vaccines are hoped to be the answer, the county is still working to ease the number of COVID cases in nursing homes.
Long-term care facilities have moved back to Phase One, meaning no in-person visits as the holidays approach.
“That’s a huge burden on residents I think especially, but I think also their families. I regret that we have to go there but I just don’t see another way to mitigate the introduction of COVID into these facilities,” he said.