Newsletter
22 February 2024
Spotlight
Creative test distribution in a remote community.
Ferry/Okanogan Fire Protection District #14 does their best with what they’ve got.
Supplies
Q&A: Test expiration extensions.
Your questions answered.
Trends
Respiratory Virus Season.
COVID-19, Flu and RSV in Washington.
Spotlight
Creative test distribution in a remote community.
Ferry/Okanogan Fire Protection District #14 does their best with what they’ve got.
Mario D’Lerma, the EMS Chief at Ferry/Okanogan Fire Protection District #14, known locally as north Ferry County Ambulance, prefers to avoid the spotlight.
But the services he and his team provide to the North Ferry County community deserve to be acknowledged and celebrated.
Ferry/Okanogan Fire Protection District #14 is located in the Okanogan Highlands of Northeast Washington. The District is geographically isolated by high mountain passes, narrow valleys, and many steep drainages. The District covers 322 square miles of rugged, intense terrain, serving a community of 2,000 people (seasonally variable), many of whom live off grid in remote and often inaccessible areas.
Chief D’Lerma and his team face a number of challenges providing fire, EMS, and COVID-19 test distribution services to north Ferry County, but they navigate these challenges with creativity and determination.
Suppliess
Q&A: Test expiration extensions.
Your questions answered.
The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) issues extended expiration dates for many COVID-19 rapid antigen tests, including the InteliSwab over-the-counter (OTC) tests that we now offer through WA COVID-19. The extensions are based on data from the manufacturer about the accuracy of the test over time. The extended dates differ from those printed on the box but can be easily found on the FDA or manufacturer website.
There are still lots of questions around expiration dates that may be coming up either within your agency or from your community members who get these tests. We’ve compiled a shortlist of the most frequent questions we’ve heard from WA COVID-19 members and provided brief answers below.
The Washington State Department of Health (DOH) has also created a one-page fact sheet with key messages about test expiration dates that you can share with your community.
Please let us know if you have any questions that aren’t covered below.
Q: What kind of test will I receive if I place an order through WA COVID-19 today?
We offer two types of tests:
- OTC (over-the-counter) rapid antigen tests that people can administer themselves. If you order an OTC test, you will receive the InteliSwab rapid antigen test. These tests expire in July 2024.
- POC (point-of-care) rapid antigen tests that EMTs are authorized to administer for clients. Our POC test is the BD Veritor Plus “Triplex” test for COVID-19 and Flu A+B. These tests do not receive an extended expiration date from the FDA and expire at the end of April 2024 according to the date printed on the box.
Q: What are the key messages we should share with our community members about expiration dates?
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- OTC tests, like InteliSwab, may show “expired” dates on the box, but these have been extended by the FDA.
- The FDA allows manufacturers to extend this date if they have data confirming the tests remain accurate beyond the expiration date.
- Tests can be used up to the extended expiration date.
- Unless the FDA has extended the shelf life of your COVID-19 tests, DOH does not recommend using them. This is because tests may degrade over time, leading to invalid results.
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This one page fact sheet on expiration dates from DOH has key messages around expiration dates that you can share with your community.
Q: I’ve heard that you can use tests past their extended expiration date. Is that true?
No. DOH does not recommend using tests past the extended expiration dates set by the FDA. Tests may degrade over time, leading to invalid results.
The FDA looks at manufacturer data to determine the time-frame in which tests will accurately detect COVID-19.
Q: What do we do with tests when they have passed their extended expiration dates?
Expired POC COVID-19 tests that have passed the expiration date printed on the box or OTC tests that have passed their FDA extended expiration should not be used and should be disposed of immediately. They can be thrown out with the regular garbage.
WA COVID-19 agencies can order free tests anytime through the First Responder Test Request Form.
Please note: All available BD Triplex tests expire at the end of April 2024. Our InteliSwab OTC rapid antigen tests expire in July 2024.
Q: We have the BD Triplex analyzer for COVID-19 and Flu+B. Do the analyzers have the same shelf life as the test cartridges?
No, the analyzers do not have the same shelf-life as the cartridges and do not need to be replaced when you order new BD Triplex tests.
The BD analyzer has a maximum lifetime of 3,500 tests or 24 months of use, whichever comes first. A warning message will appear on the analyzer screen during the final 300 tests OR the final 60 days, whichever comes first.
Do not use an analyzer beyond the expiration date printed on the outside carton.
Trends
Respiratory Virus Season.
COVID-19, Flu, and RSV in Washington.
Respiratory Illness Activity in Washington:
We seem to be past the worst of respiratory virus season nationwide and in Washington state. Disease activity for all three viruses is trending down after peaking in late December and early January. Flu and RSV surged this winter, but never got close to peaks from the 2022-2023. At this point last winter, there were 248 deaths caused by Flu compared to 86 so far this Flu season. Similarly, RSV deaths last year hit 102 by late-February; this year the total is 72 so far.
See our statewide snapshot below and jump to sections on COVID-19, Flu, and RSV for more details on each virus.
STATEWIDE SNAPSHOT
Current year, for the week ending February 17, 2024.
| Week ending February 17, 2024 | % of hospitalizations | 7-day change | % of ER visits | 7-day change |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| COVID-19 | 1.8% | ⬇28% | 1.7% | ⬇19% |
| Flu | 0.6% | ⬇33% | 1.2% | ⬇14% |
| RSV | 0.3% | ⬇50% | 0.4% | ⬇20% |
Compared to last year (week ending February 18, 2023).
| Week ending February 18, 2023 | % of hospitalizations | 7-day change | % of ER visits | 7-day change |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| COVID-19 | 4% | 0% | 2.6% | ⬇7% |
| Flu | 0.1% | ⬇50% | 0.1% | ⬇50% |
| RSV | 0.2% | 0% | 0.2% | 0% |
COVID-19 IN WASHINGTON
COVID-19 hospitalizations in Washington have declined by 7% over the week ending February 10, falling from a rate of 4.68 admissions per 100k population the week before and from a winter peak of 5.69 admissions per 100k population in early January.
Washington state has thus far remained in the low category for hospitalizations (less than 10 admissions per 100k population per week) throughout the winter. As of February 10, all but two Washington counties have a low rate of hospitalizations, according to the CDC. Asotin and Garfield counties are in the medium category, both with 10.6 hospitalizations per 100k over the week ending February 10.
Although rates remain low in almost all counties, the change in hospitalization rates for the week ending February 10 shows increased activity in 10 counties: Asotin, Benton, Clallam, Columbia, Franklin, Garfield, Jefferson, Kittitas, Walla Walla, and Yakima These counties had a weekly increase in hospitalization rates of 20% or more over the week ending February 10.
NEW METRIC – WASTEWATER
People infected with COVID-19 can shed the virus in their feces and sputum even if they are not symptomatic. The shed virus can then be detected in wastewater, enabling wastewater surveillance to capture the presence of SARS-CoV-2 shed by people with and without symptoms. Viral activity in wastewater can provide an accurate account of viral transmission in a community.
Viral activity levels of COVID-19 in wastewater nationwide is currently HIGH. Levels in Washington are also HIGH, but we should note that only one site (serving Snohomish county) has reported over the most recent cycle. High levels of activity in wastewater suggest that transmission of COVID-19 is still elevated even as indicators of virulence (hospitalizations, ED visits, and death) have been in decline.
COVID-19 Hospitalizations by ACH region
A note on this data: County data is grouped by regions called “Accountable Communities of Health (ACH)”. According to the Washington State Department of Health, “instead of showing data by individual counties, the DOH dashboard uses larger regional areas called Accountable Communities of Health (ACH), because sometimes there is not enough data reported from the county level to display publicly while maintaining an individual’s privacy.”
In the table below, each county is listed under its ACH.
| For week ending February 17, 2024 | Percent of all hospital admissions | Change over previous week |
| Washington state | 1.8% | ⬇28% |
| Better Health Together (Ferry, Stevens, Pend Oreille, Spokane, Lincoln, Adams) | 1.9% | ⬇14% |
| Cascade Pacific (Grays Harbor, Mason, Thurston, Pacific, Wahkiakum, Cowlitz, Lewis) | 2.1% | ⬇38% |
| Elevate Health (Pierce) | 1.1% | ⬇48% |
| Greater Health Now (Kittitas, Yakima, Benton, Franklin, Walla Walla, Columbia, Garfield, Whitman, Asotin) | 2.6% | ⬇24% |
| Healthier Here (King) | 1.7% | ⬇29% |
| North Sound (Snohomish, Skagit, Whatcom, San Juan, Island) | 1.9% | ⬇24% |
| Olympic (Clallam, Jefferson, Kitsap) | 3.1% | ⬇6% |
| Southwest (Clark, Skamania, Klickitat) | 1.5% | ⬇17% |
| Thriving Together (Grant, Chelan, Douglas, Okanogan) | 2.8% | ⬆22% |
FLU IN WASHINGTON
For the week ending February 10, 2024, flu activity is LOW in Washington state.
Here’s the latest on flu activity for Washington state:
- There have been 86 lab-confirmed flu deaths (one child, 85 adults) in Washington since October 1*. That’s an increase of 44 deaths since our last newsletter in late January.
- For the week ending February 10, 2.1% of outpatient visits were for influenza-like illness, above the baseline of 1.9%.
- For the week ending February 17, 0.6% of hospital admissions were for flu, down from 0.7% of admissions the previous week.
*DOH monitors flu activity throughout the year, but data resets on October 1. All flu data for the 2023-2024 season will be aggregated from October 1 onward.
Make sure to stock up on our BD Triplex tests which detect Flu and COVID-19 in minutes using one sample.
RSV IN WASHINGTON
The percentage of hospitalizations and ED visits caused by RSV have fallen steadily since the start of the year, but the rates remain higher than they were at this point during the previous two years.
Here’s what to know:
- For the week ending February 17, 0.3% of hospital admissions were for RSV, down from 0.6% of admissions the previous week.
- For the week ending February 17, 0.4% of ED visits were for RSV, down from 0.6% of admissions the previous week.
- There have been 72 deaths in Washington state caused by RSV so far this season. There were 102 deaths at this point last year.
So what do you think?
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We provide resources and one-to-one technical assistance to help you educate community members on why testing matters and how they can test themselves for COVID-19. Knowing when to isolate, especially when other vulnerable individuals may be involved, is critical to protecting community health.
The Washington State Department of Health and Heath Commons periodically reviews the contents of WACOVID19.org to keep information content of WACOVID19.org as up to date as possible during guidance changes and program expansion. The content of WACOVID19.org does not necessarily represent the official views of WA State Department of Health.
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