Buttons sit on a table ready to be handed over to the first volunteers to receive a COVID-19 vaccine at UW Medicine Tuesday, December 15, 2020 in Seattle. (AP Photo / Elaine Thompson)
Washington state is in the top five for the lowest coronavirus rates in the nation.
“We’re 46 over the line,” said Dr. Francis Riedo of EvergreenHealth Medical Center in Kirkland on Monday. “There are only a small number of states that are doing a little better than us.”
Dr. Riedo specializes in infectious diseases in the hospital, where coronavirus patients were seen early in the pandemic. Many patients came to Kirkland Hospital from the nearby Life Care Center, a nursing home believed to be one of the first epicenters in the United States.
Kirkland nursing home, which was the first epicenter of the US COVID outbreak, is getting a vaccine
Dr. Riedo says the ranking is determined by the number of cases per 100,000 residents.
He says comparing Washington’s cases with other states shows him that the precautions being taken in Washington are working and should be continued until there is a significant drop in the number of new positives.
“I think it’s a stand that we do as well as we are,” said the doctor. ‘Can we do better? Sure. And we have to do better for just a little bit more until we get this under control. “
Riedo says hospital admissions in Washington are close to the highest number ever, and many medical providers are already struggling to have enough people to report to work. But better treatment means more people survive COVID-19.
In fact, the New York Times ICU tracker indicates that there is an average occupancy rate of 71% in hospitals in Washington State. That number is higher in densely populated cities such as Seattle.
Riedo believes vaccines are still the best hope of getting the pandemic under control.
Washington State is expected to receive more than 100,000 doses of the COVID-19 vaccine this week. That includes 57,000 doses of Pfizer’s vaccine and 44,000 doses of Moderna. More than 30,000 doses have been administered so far statewide.
Diane Duthweiler of KIRO Radio contributed to this report.