GRANT COUNTY, Wash — The Grant County Health District reported 5 new COVID-19 deaths on Wednesday, bringing the total to 125 since the pandemic began.
The deaths did not all occur over a specific time period. The health district waits to report each death until a death certificate confirms it was caused by COVID-19. However, the loss of so many people in a smaller county carries a lot of weight regardless.
"Every death is pretty impactful in our community," said Laina Mitchell, Communicable Disease Coordinator for GCHD. "Particularly when we look at those ages. It's a wide range of ages. So I know that the community might be a little bit numb to it, but with each death there's a story behind that person and that case."
One of the people who died was a man in his twenties. His passing is a reminder that, although the virus is typically more damaging with older adults, its real impact can seem truly random.
"We see some young folks with very mild symptoms, we see some folks that have fevers for seven days straight," Mitchell said. "And you don't know if you'll be that person that ends up just being wiped out by it, or if you'll be one of those mild cases."
The best way to combat that randomness is the COVID-19 vaccine but Grant County is lagging in that area. Only 27% of the population is fully immunized, compared to 37% statewide.
Mitchell said one reason is demographics. Grant County leans younger and has many people who only recently became eligible for the vaccine. But another reason is vaccine hesitancy.
"We have pockets of the community, where they're not anti-vaxxers. They do believe in vaccines. They vaccinated their kids to get into school. They vaccinated themselves. They might get a flu shot every year," Mitchell said. "But somewhere along the way there was some piece of information about the COVID-19 vaccine that just jarred them. And so we're working on acknowledging that, legitimizing their concerns, and hopefully meeting them where they're at with appropriate information and education."
There are also many agricultural workers in Grant County, making up nearly a quarter of the county's jobs. There are also a lot of people whose first language is not English; more than a third speak another language at home.
Both are groups who may not have easy access to healthcare and, as a result, the vaccine. That's why the health district is running pop-up clinics across the county.
"Areas where they might be underserved with medical care, or areas where we know they might not seek out medical care, they might not have a primary care medical provider, so with taking our team to that specific site or that workplace, we're hopefully making it more accessible to them," Mitchell said.
Mitchell said hospital capacity in Grant County fluctuates frequently. Some days it seems to be overwhelmed, has more capacity again after discharges a few days later.