Pierce County lawmaker calls for more COVID vaccine amid risk of Phase 1 rollback
TACOMA, Wash. — Amid the threat of being ordered to rollback to Phase 1 because of its worsening COVID-19 metrics, a Pierce County lawmaker on Monday issued an urgent plea for his county to receive more doses of the vaccine.
State lawmakers introduced a bill in the state Senate that would require the Washington Department of Health to really focus on helping counties in trouble.
In Pierce County, COVID cases and its hospitalization rates continue to head in the wrong direction, raising concern that it could be forced to return to a lower phase.
Last Friday, the county rolled back from Phase 3 to Phase 2 and could go lower if it can't reverse its case and hospitalization numbers.
“That could be the difference between a business keeping its doors open or having to close again,” said state Sen. Chris Gildon, a Republican from the 25th Dist. Puyallup. “That could be the difference between someone having a job or not having a job.”
The threshold is 350-cases-per-100,000 population. Pierce County currently is at 281 cases.
For hospitalizations it is 10 with Pierce is at 7.8.
A fallback to Phase 1 would mean no indoor dining, no indoor gatherings and more restrictions on gyms, although retail outlets would stay the same as Phase 2 with 25 percent indoor capacity.
“That’s something we’re always concerned about," said Nigel Turner, director of the Tacoma-Pierce County Health Department. "We don’t know where this is going. This could well be a fourth wave. We still have the opportunity to bring this down over time if we put in place the measures we know have been effective in the past.”
He said that includes masks, social distance and limited gatherings even as more people get vaccinated.
Gildon said Pierce County has received fewer vaccines than the state average, prompting him to introduce a bill that says in part, “Should an at-risk county’s distribution be less than the statewide average, DOH must then surge additional doses to that county. The bill would also prohibit a county from reverting to a more restrictive phase if their allocation is not at least equal to the statewide average.”
“We’re just looking for an equitable allocation and the thrust of my message is not necessarily that Pierce County is hurting," Gildon said. "I want each county moving forward to have an equal chance of success."
Although there are only six more days left in the legislative regular session, Gildon said he hopes the body can take emergency action on the plan.
