VashonBePrepared Weekly Newsletter

Newsletter #161 Friday, December 6, 2024: (full newsletter)

  • Respiratory Virus Season: Just Around the Corner
  • First Defense: Vaccination
  • Deploy Layers of Protection
     
  • Temporada de Virus Respiratorios: A la Vuelta de la Esquina
  • Primera Línea de Defensa: Vacunación
  • Implemente Capas de Protección

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VashonBePrepared is a coalition of some 10 disaster preparedness organizations on Vashon-Maury Island in Washington's Puget Sound region. We work closely with local and county organizations.

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VashonBePrepared provides training and educational opportunities to keep the island community prepared for the next emergency.

Latest Updates

Vashon Infection Rate Worst Since Pandemic Began

Jan 2

Written by:
1/2/2022 3:55 PM  RssIcon

COVID-19 Update from Vashon Emergency Operations Center & VashonBePrepared


In the past week, Vashon Medical Reserve Corps (MRC) recorded 60 new COVID-19 cases (out of 258 tests performed). Five additional positives came from testing Vashon High School (VHS) boys' varsity basketball team members. Those results put the count at over 65 cases for this week by the MRC (not including any tests received by Vashon residents at other testing facilities).

In a single week:

  • Vashon logged over 20% of all its cases recorded since the start of the pandemic, 94 weeks ago.
  • Spiked to a case rate six times the CDC threshold for "high transmission."
  • Reached a positive test rate twice that of Vashon's previous high rate in November 2020.
  • Lost its status as the safest community in Puget Sound, from a spike equal to the case rate on the mainland.

Testing at Vashon High School

Vashon Island School District (VISD) has announced a 2.5 hour late start on Monday, January 3, to allow time to test students, staff members, and school-age children from 7:30am to 9:30am at the Vashon High School gym. All testing is free and funded by the Learn to Return program. New cases are occurring at the same rate in school-age children as in the general population. MRC will help VISD with both rapid antigen testing and PCR testing on Monday. The all-out effort is aimed at testing as many students, faculty and staff as possible, with the hope of slowing community spread.

Community Testing

Testing for Vashon adults unaffiliated with VISD is available from Vashon MRC and Vashon Pharmacy. Anyone who has symptoms or was exposed to a positive case should get tested. Call Vashon MRC’s Helpline at (844) 469-4554 for advice and to schedule an appointment.

Follow the link below to Vashon Pharmacy’s test appointment form if you need a test for a medical procedure or travel. https://tinyurl.com/vashoncovidtest

Vashon Pharmacy now has a supervised rapid PCR test available, as well as over-the-counter rapid antigen tests to take home. These new services are not covered by insurance as yet, and will require payment of a fee.

You Can Help Flatten the Spike

    Vashon Medical Reserve Corps continues to encourage people to take preventative actions:
  • GET VACCINATED- it is the best protection against getting severely ill or dying.
  • GET TESTED FOR ANY SYMPTOMS- you don't have to be very sick to spread COVID
  • QUARANTINE IF EXPOSED- you may get sick up to 10 days after an exposure, and infect others before symptoms appear
  • AVOID GATHERINGS OUTSIDE OF IMMEDIATE FAMILY- most recent cases can be traced to large family gatherings

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