BELLINGHAM, Wash. — Vaccine availability will broaden in Whatcom County soon.
The health department said last night the distribution plan will advance to Phase 1B “in a matter of days.”
Tier 1 of the new group includes people 70 and over and multi-generational household residents 50 and older.
They will be followed in Tier 2 by high-risk critical workers 50 years and older who work in certain congregate settings such as ag, food processing, and groceries.
This as the rate of new daily coronavirus infections continues to be elevated county-wide, while the number of open ICU beds in the region is still holding up.
The state health department notched 141 new first time positives in county residents Wednesday, the most recent data available.
North region hospitals reported about 13% of beds in use for COVID patients.
As far as availability, the percent of open ICU beds increased to 32%, while adult acute care beds have dropped to 12% availability as of Wednesday for Whatcom, Skagit, San Juan, and Island counties.