COVID-19 rates on Whidbey Island are increasing while vaccinations guidelines are creating confusion among residents, according to Island County health officials.

The county is navigating a challenging 2025-2026 vaccine rollout due to conflicting recommendations, coupled with limited FDA approval for the new vaccine, Dr. Howard Leibrand, Island County’s health officer, told the Board of Health last week.

At the same meeting, Island County Public Health Director Shawn Morris explained that wastewater-based epidemiology shows viral activity levels for COVID are high in Oak Harbor and Stanwood, while lower in Coupeville, as of Aug 29. Island County Public Health works with the state Department of Health to take regular samples at the sewage treatment facilities in Oak Harbor, Coupeville and Stanwood.

Rates of flu and RSV remained low in the three communities.

The emergency department at WhidbeyHealth Medical Center has also seen an uptick in COVID cases, with a daily average of four to eight patients, according to hospital spokesperson Conor O’Brien.

The advice from the health director should be very familiar to those who lived through the pandemic.

“Simple ways to reduce germs make a difference, like staying home with a fever, covering coughs and sneezes, and washing hands with hot water and soap regularly, or using hand sanitizer on the go,” Morris wrote in an email to the News-Times.

Updated COVID vaccines are starting to arrive at different community pharmacies and clinics on Whidbey. Morris encourages people to call ahead to confirm availability and contact insurance providers for eligibility questions.

Last Friday, a Centers for Disease Control and Prevention panel voted to abandon the previous universal recommendation for annual COVID vaccines for everyone 6 months and older, saying the decision should now be based on personal choice. At the same time, the panel recommended against advising states to require a prescription for the shot.

Also last week, the Washington state governor’s office released a news release providing winter virus vaccine recommendations through the West Coast Health Alliance, which include the 2025-2026 COVID-19, influenza and RSV vaccines. WhidbeyHealth and the hospital district are following this guidance, as it provides the baseline for the state Department of Health recommendations, according to O’Brien.

The state Department of Health has issued a statewide standing order, authorizing qualified health care personnel to vaccinate individuals against COVID for all people ages 6 months and older, including pregnant women who do not have contraindications to the vaccine, according to its website. These recommendations are backed by scientific guidance from the American Academy of Pediatrics, the American Academy of Family Physicians and the American College of Obstetrics & Gynecology, the release states.

For those interested in receiving a COVID or influenza vaccine, both are available without an appointment at WhidbeyHealth’s Community Pharmacy in Coupeville, O’Brien wrote.

Leibrand said at the meeting that he highly recommends the vaccine and that he has gotten it himself.

“We keep doing what we have proven works,” Leibrand said. “And I’m not saying vaccines don’t cause any problems, because we do have some reactions to vaccines, but it is nothing compared to what will happen if we cut back even a little bit on our vaccinations.”

The West Coast Health Alliance immunization recommendations for the 2025-2026 respiratory virus season are available at governor.wa.gov/sites/default/files/2025-09/FILE_5257.pdf.

Find an immunization location in Island County at islandcountywa.gov/1072/Immunizations.