'A more powerful and dangerous threat': Officials urge vaccinations as Washington faces fourth wave

Gov. Jay Inslee struck a dire tone Thursday as he warned Washington was facing a fourth wave in the COVID-19 pandemic — one that represented a whole new threat, he said.

Even as vaccinations continue in the state, new variants of the virus — thought to be more infectious — are spreading rapidly in the community. 

"We have simultaneously a new weapon in the fight against this pandemic, mainly this incredibly safe and effective vaccine. Simultaneously we have effectively a new threat, a more powerful and dangerous threat," Inslee said during a news conference Thursday. "And that's what I think we can call COVID 2.0. This is not your grandmother's COVID."

The state has been seeing a rise in cases and hospitalizations for weeks. 

According to the most recent complete data as of April 20, the state was seeing a rate of about 245 new cases per 100,000 people over the previous 14 days. As of mid-March, the state was seeing a rate of about 125 new cases per 100,000 people over the previous 14 days.

Hospitalizations were also trending up, at about 5.6 new hospitalizations per 100,000 people over the previous seven days as of April 17. Incomplete data in the days following show hospitalizations are continuing to rise, reaching about seven on April 24.

Inslee attributed the rise to the spread of new variants of the virus. 

"There is a series of new variants, of mutant strains, that are much more transmittable ... than the original strain of the virus, and that means that every person who is infected now is much more dangerous of infecting other people around them," Inslee said. "There is considerable evidence that these variants also are more dangerous, particularly to younger people potentially, to have more severe illness."

Officials estimated a majority of cases in the state are of the B.1.1.7 variant. A significant portion are also of the P.1 variant, and just a small number are of the original strain of the virus.

"We are up against a fourth surge that is very dangerous that has the capacity to overwhelm our hospitals as these numbers continue to rise," Inslee said. "At the moment, the thing that has the capability of breaking this rise, is increasing vaccination rates."

Inslee urged people to get vaccinated. Recently, officials have been advertising thousands of open appointments for the vaccine — a change from just a few weeks ago when people were vying for a limited number of open slots. Inslee said there has been a slowdown in the demand for the vaccine.

And still, the majority of people across the state are not yet fully protected from the virus. So far, nearly 42% of people in Washington have received at least one dose of the vaccine and nearly 29% are fully vaccinated. That means more than 70% of people in Washington are not yet fully protected from the virus and could get the virus or spread it.

"If you're not vaccinated, you're still at risk for this virus," Secretary of Health Umair Shah said. "Why take that risk? It's just not worth it."

People who are vaccinated are not only protecting themselves and their families, but they will also be able to engage in more activities with other vaccinated people — safely. 

"I'm not asking people to listen to the governor. I'm asking them to listen to the facts here," Inslee said. "And the facts are, if we don't want our hospitals to be overrun, we need to continue to do what we know works, and that's to get ourselves vaccinated."

Health officials have been warning people for months not to let their guards down, even as vaccinations increase across the state. With new variants spreading across the state and more activities opening up, the virus has even more opportunities to spread. 

The state still has a long way to go in reaching the thousands of people eligible for the vaccine who have not received it. During a news briefing earlier this week, health officials encouraged people not only to sign up for an appointment for themselves as soon as they could, but to ask for people to help their friends, family and neighbors find open appointments. 

"Vaccinations are working," Secretary of Health Umair Shah said during a news briefing Wednesday. "It's not just about people getting vaccinated but also helping their loved ones getting vaccinated ... vaccines really do provide a pathway to getting back to normal."

State officials will reevaluate where each county stands and announce on Tuesday which counties might be moving back a phase in the state's reopening plan. Many counties are at risk of having to move back because they are exceeding both metrics on case rates and hospitalizations needed to stay in Phase 2.

"We'd like to say that this is resolved and no one has anything to worry. That is not the case, unfortunately," Inslee said. "Quite a number of counties have had their numbers go up quite significantly."