The COVID-19 pandemic has disrupted our community in myriad ways and exacerbated long-standing health inequities. As a public health crisis, it has tested our public health and health care system as never before. It put strain on our economy, our education and child care systems, and the social fabric of our community. The Whatcom County Health and Community Services, along with the Public Health Advisory Board, initiated this assessment to better understand exactly how this pandemic affected our community's health and well-being. Our last Community Health Assessment was conducted in 2018, and this COVID-19 Community Health Impact Assessment serves as a timely update. It looks beyond the direct disease impacts of COVID-19 and focuses on five foundational community health priorities, identifying a mixture of positive and negative health effects due to the pandemic.

Read the full 2021 COVID-19 Community Health Impact Assessment.

Read the Executive Summary.