Jefferson County selected for antibodies study

COVID-19 cases rise by 2 on Peninsula

Jefferson County was randomly selected along with eight other rural counties to be the focus of a University of Washington zero prevalence study that is recording the number of people with antibodies for COVID-19.

The selection of people to be tested is random. Residents of the county may receive a letter and/or phone call from the university asking for them to participate by providing a blood sample to be tested for antibodies, said Dr. Tom Locke, Jefferson County health officer, on Tuesday.

Antibody studies like this one help officials understand how many people have been infected with COVID-19 even if they earlier tested negative for the virus or had been asymptomatic and didn’t get tested at all, Locke said.

The study should be starting soon, if people haven’t already started to be contacted, said Locke, who was briefed on it three weeks ago.

He said he was told the university planned to begin the study two to three weeks from that time.

“These things are always more logistically difficult to pull off than they think at the beginning, but they do have the funding and the testing capacity, they have all the ingredients,” Locke said. “So the way it was presented I anticipated it would begin sometime during the month of October.”

Two new cases of COVID-19 were confirmed in Jefferson County on Tuesday, while Clallam County held steady with no new cases.

The means of transmission for the new cases in Jefferson County remained under investigation on Tuesday.

The new case rate in Clallam County rose to 21 cases per 100,000 residents for the last two weeks, due to delays in test reporting, so it now officially counts Monday’s cases, said Dr. Allison Unthank, Clallam County health officer.

Jefferson County calculates its case rate once a week. As of Monday, the case rate was about 22 cases per 100,000 for the two weeks prior, according to Jefferson County Public Health data.

Locke and Unthank attended a meeting with health officers from around the state Monday evening. They expected to discuss the state’s Safe Start plan and whether applications to enter an upgraded phase would be accepted again soon, but that was not the case, Locke said.

Instead, the conversation focused on the status of the state, where rising numbers of the virus are being reported, and how the different health districts are doing in light of that, Locke said.

“What we’re doing right now is not enough to suppress a slow growth of cases,” he said.

However, Jefferson and Clallam counties are currently in better positions than many parts of the state that are seeing significant rises in case numbers, Unthank said.

Unthank cited a combination of community members following COVID-19 prevention guidelines such as mask wearing and social distancing, as well as contact tracing for helping keep case numbers lower than in many parts of the state.

“We have seen pretty good adherence to guidelines in the communities — we could always do better — but the vast majority of citizens are working hard to follow guidelines,” Unthank said.

“The nice thing is once you get to numbers this low…we have the ability in the health department to contact-trace those cases and really try to shut down outbreaks before they start. Whereas in many parts of the state, they’re just kind of trying to stop the bleeding when they catch a case.”

The contact tracing the counties are able to do can focus on possible sources of the infection as well as preventing future cases, Unthank said.

Clallam County has confirmed 267 cases of COVID-19 since March, with 10 active cases and one death, according to Clallam County Public Health data.

Jefferson County has confirmed 83 cases of COVID-19 since March, with 12 active cases and no deaths, according to Jefferson County Public Health data.

________

Jefferson County reporter Zach Jablonski can be reached at 360-385-2335, ext. 5 or at zjablonski@peninsuladailynews.com.

More in News

A tanker truck overturned into Indian Creek west of Port Angeles, according to the State Patrol and the state Department of Transportation. U.S. Highway 101 was closed Friday afternoon at milepost 238 near Herrick Road, and traffic was being diverted to state Highway 112. (Katherine Weatherwax via X)
Highway 101 closed after tanker truck overturns into creek

Port Angeles asks utility customers to conserve water

Lisa Hansen of Port Angeles, center, takes a cellphone photo of her son, Cooper Hansen, 3, as Hansen’s mother, Tracy Hansen, right, looks on during a warm day at Hollywood Beach on the Port Angeles waterfront on Wednesday. The trio were enjoying a sunny summer afternoon next to the water. (Keith Thorpe/Peninsula Daily News)
Picture perfect

Lisa Hansen of Port Angeles, center, takes a cellphone photo of her… Continue reading

Claim against First Fed alleges $100M fraud

First Fed plans to ‘vigorously defend’ loans

Olympic Medical Center CEO says Medicaid cuts will hit hard

Darryl Wolfe tells board entire state will feel impact

Joseph Wilson, left, and Kevin Streett.
Jefferson PUD names new general manager

Wilson comes with 30 years of experience

Firefighters from Clallam 2 Fire-Rescue oversee a brush fire Wednesday in the area of Baker Farm Road. (Clallam 2 Fire-Rescue)
Woman airlifted to hospital following bicycle crash

U.S. Highway 101 was closed for about 45 minutes… Continue reading

Firefighters put out 5-acre Belgian Fire

The Belgian Fire, a 5-acre wildland fire which claimed two… Continue reading

Navy security exercises set for next week

Naval Magazine Indian Island will conduct harbor security training… Continue reading

Marius Gerber, 13, front, and his sister, Tirza Gerber, 12, both of Zurich, Switzerland, examine information boards after a hike on Tuesday at the Dungeness National Wildlife Refuge northwest of Sequim. The main trail through the refuge provides access to Dungeness Spit and Dungeness Bay. (Keith Thorpe/Peninsula Daily News)
Dungeness hike

Marius Gerber, 13, front, and his sister, Tirza Gerber, 12, both of… Continue reading

Jefferson County library to host community conversation

Jefferson County will continue its Community Conversations series from… Continue reading

Budget goals discussed at Port Angeles council meeting

Ideas sorted into short- and long-term goals

Chimacum drainage district is reactivated

Next steps are to appoint an interim board, adopt assessment system