As BA.2 Becomes Dominant, WA COVID Metrics Remain Low

SEATTLE — The more infectious omicron subvariant BA.2 has become dominant among new COVID-19 infections sequenced in Washington and across the United States, but so far, the Evergreen State is not seeing signs of an impending wave of new cases and hospitalizations, officials said Wednesday.

The state Department of Health hosted a media briefing Wednesday morning to outline Washington's most recent pandemic data, noting that most areas are still reporting downward trends in their key COVID-19 metrics.

"In Washington, the trajectory of cases continues to be on the decline, and that is fantastic news and welcome news," said Dr. Umair Shah, state Secretary of Health. "It's not just cases in the community, but we're continuing to see hospitalizations also decrease as well. That said, we're also watching BA.2 across the county and across the globe. BA.2 has now become the dominant strain for COVID-19 positive cases in the state of Washington."

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention announced this week that BA.2 was responsible for 55 percent of new cases in the United States. In Washington, state health officials said sequencing flagged BA.2 in 51 percent of new cases. While new surges have already begun in parts of Europe, Asia, and some parts of the U.S., a similar trend has yet to take hold in Washington.

"Those declines have slowed down, but they are very low; they're similar to our summer 2021 load," said Lacy Fehrenbach, the state's deputy secretary for prevention, safety and health. "Daily deaths in Washington state are again, finally, in the single digits. Currently, only 6 percent of hospital beds are occupied by COVID-19 patients."

Some areas of the state, however, have reported a recent uptick in new infections, including King and Snohomish counties. On Wednesday, Public Health - Seattle & King County reported a 42 percent increase in its average number of cases, rising to 250 per day up from around 170 daily the week before. Hospitalizations remained flat, averaging three per day, while deaths kept up a steady decline.

King County's latest trends remain below where they were in the lead up to the delta surge and stand in stark contrast to the height of the omicron surge when daily infections surpassed 6,400 and hospitalizations averaged 60 patients per day. Speaking to The Seattle Times, King County's health officer acknowledged "a clear change in the trend direction," but noted the relatively small increase should not be cause for alarm, yet.

Still, with plenty of pandemic uncertainty left and more normal activities resuming, state officials recommend residents take the steps they can to limit the impact of future surges.

"This is an interim period," Shah said. "We're hopeful that we do not see a surge, that we continue to see declines, and that COVID-19 fades into the horizon. But this is also a time to at least remember that we need to have those tools available and make sure that we and our families, and those around us are prepared."

That includes things like considering wearing masks voluntarily in certain settings, like crowded indoor spaces, having test kits on-hand and staying up to date on vaccinations and boosters. Everyone 50 and older recently became eligible for a second booster shot, and the state's chief science officer also highlighted the growing availability of the Evuheld antibody treatment, which can help better protect people who are immunocompromised or allergic to the vaccine.

"Evusheld is a treatment that could really be a lifesaving game-changer for these two groups of people," said Dr. Tao Sheng Kwan-Gett. "When it first came out in Dec. 2021, it was very difficult to get because of limited supply, but fortunately supply has improved greatly. We now have thousands of doses of Evusheld that are sitting on the shelves unused, so we want to make sure that everyone who is eligible for Evusheld and could benefit from it knows that it's available."

As Washington looks ahead to spring and summer, the Secretary of Health said he was hopeful people could get out and enjoy activities, without fully abandoning basic health precautions.

"Think about this as another phase of the pandemic," Shah said. "Things are absolutely better, we continue to see that. We want to continue to see that. But don't let off the guard completely and say we're done, we're out of this, we're moving forward. That's when people may get into trouble."