COVID-19 cases and hospitalizations are on the rise yet again, but COVID-19 emergency proclamations expired in October. First responder agencies are asking, “can we still provide the same COVID-19 services, like testing and vaccinations, that we did during the state of emergency?” The answer is YES.

State and federal law covers the administration of tests and vaccinations by authorized  health care workers outside of a state of emergency.

Reach out to us to discuss your ongoing COVID-19 response before the winter surge peaks this year. We can provide free COVID-19 tests and funding to support your COVID-19 response strategy. 

Continue reading to learn more about these policies: 

  Here’s the fine print: 

• The PREP Act authorizes immunity from legal liability for the “manufacture, testing, development, distribution, administration, and use” of covered countermeasures. 
• Covered countermeasures include “any antiviral, any other drug, any biologic, any diagnostic, any other device, or any vaccine, used to treat, diagnose, cure, prevent, or mitigate COVID-19.” 
• The immunity applies to all covered persons as defined in the PREP Act, including any person authorized by state and local public health agencies (or an EUA) to “prescribe, administer, deliver, distribute or dispense” covered countermeasures. 
• PREP Act immunity is applied “without geographic limitation” beginning on February 4, 2020, and ending as late as October 1, 2025. 

COVID-19, flu, and RSV. State of the “tripledemic.”

COVID-19 and flu cases are on the rise heading into the holiday season. Hospitalization rates for RSV, and even more so for flu, are the worst they’ve been in years. Here is where things stand for the three respiratory diseases that are circulating. 

COVID-19

Cases and hospitalizations have jumped after Thanksgiving, though so far rates remain below peaks in summer 2022. 

• COVID-19 cases in Washington state increased by 64% between November 5 and December 5, 2022, up from 50 to 82 cases per 100k population.  

• • Due to an increase in at-home testing, many positive cases may not be reported, distorting the data. Test positivity rates in Washington are steadily increasing after a lull earlier in the fall suggesting that many infections are not being reported. 
• COVID-19 hospitalizations in Washington are rising steadily, up to 6.7 per 100k population for the week ending December 3, but remain below summer peaks (~10 per 100k population).  

• In Washington, 95% of inpatient beds are currently in use, around 7% are in use for COVID-19 patients.  

• As of Wednesday, December 14, 2022, two Washington counties, Garfield County and Asotin County, have a COVID-19 community level of HIGH, according to the CDC. Whatcom and Stevens counties have a community level of MEDIUM. You can find your COVID-19 community level here.  

• The new COVID-19 bivalent booster has been shown to be effective against omicron variants that are driving new cases and hospitalizations, but only 25% of Washingtonians have received the booster as of Thursday, December 8th. 

FLU

• In the US, flu hospitalizations are the highest they’ve been in ten years at this point in the season at 26 per 100k population.

• Around 25,906 people were hospitalized with the flu in the week ending December 3, up from 19,738 hospitalizations the week before.  

• According to the CDC, flu-like illness activity in Washington state is currently VERY HIGH.  

• In Washington state, there have been 26 lab-confirmed flu deaths (3 children, 23 adults). In comparison, there were a total of 20 flu deaths over the past 8 years combined at this point in the season. 

RSV

• RSV hospitalization rates nationwide are much higher than previous years at this point in the season (30.4 per 100k population), according to CDC surveillance network data.  

• The number of positive weekly RSV tests reached 19,364 in the week ending November 12 but have dropped to 12,571 weekly cases in early December, signaling a potential peak in the RSV surge.

Related: The FDA clears updated COVID-19 vaccines for kids under age 5

The Washington State Department of Health has approved the use of all rapid antigen COVID-19 tests past expiration if:  

• The built-in quality controls (QC) are intact and correct results are obtained from QC tests. 

• On rapid antigen tests, a QC test is making sure the control line – the line that shows up next to the “C” on the test cartridge – shows up when the specimen is added. 

These tests also regularly receive shelf-life extensions from the FDA, which monitors test performance data to inform expiration date extensions. 

This one-page information sheet has expiration details by test type, as well as helpful information on quality controls to ensure the test is working properly.

Questions? Reach out to us at [email protected].