Clark County reported 31 new COVID-19 cases and no new deaths Wednesday as Public Health officials adjusted previous counts of total cases and deaths.
The new cases were all confirmed by molecular (PCR) testing, according to Public Health data.
Public Health reported that it had eliminated 28 cases reported on Tuesday from its total, putting the running total of confirmed cases to date at 24,157 and probable cases at 1,493 to date. Public Health said 24 cases were identified as duplicates in the state’s database and four had since been transferred to other counties’ tallies.
Combined, the county has averaged 37 new cases a day since Friday, down from about 49 cases a day last week and about 95 cases a day during the first week of May, when the pandemic’s fourth wave was at its peak.
Public Health also found a duplicate death in records, which allowed the total number of deaths from COVID-19 to be reduced to 279 to date.
There were 299 active cases still in their isolation period on Wednesday, down from 346 on Tuesday, according to Public Health data.
Hospitalizations were little changed, with 32 people hospitalized with COVID-19, up from 30 on Tuesday, and no people hospitalized awaiting test results, down from three on Tuesday, according to Public Health data.
The latest numbers come as new data shows the percentage of COVID-19 tests coming back positive continues to drop as disease activity wanes as the number of vaccinated county residents increases.
Public Health reported that the positivity rate was 5.21 percent for the period of May 23-29, with 350 positive tests out of 6,724 tests administered. That’s down from a rate of 5.82 percent for May 16-22 and 7.76 percent for the period of May 9-15.
Vaccination information
Data for Clark County and the state show that COVID-19 vaccines are extremely effective at preventing COVID-19 infections as well as hospitalizations and deaths. According to county data, there were only 124 cases of COVID-19 in vaccinated people reported as of May 25, the same day the county reported a total of 24,327 COVID-19 cases.
Anyone age 16 or older is eligible to be vaccinated against COVID-19, and anyone age 12 or older is eligible to be vaccinated with the Pfizer vaccine, though a parent or legal guardian must accompany minors ages 12 to 15. Underage teens are advised to check with vaccination sites about what sort of parental consent might be needed.
Vaccinations are available without an appointment in Clark County, including at the Tower Mall vaccination site, 5403 E. Mill Plain Blvd. in Vancouver, though it will close at the end of June.
