Health

The United States has so far made significant progress in vaccinating adults. At least 25 states, plus Washington, DC, have now fully vaccinated at least half of their adult residents, data published Sunday by the CDC shows. But many experts have identified young Americans as a critical age group for inoculation success -- the key to getting the pandemic under control in the country.

“Since opening January 26, our four state-led mass vaccination sites have administered nearly 300,000 doses of vaccine,” said Secretary of Health Umair A. Shah, MD, MPH. “This remarkable achievement could not have been attained if it wasn’t for the hard work of DOH staff, the Washington National Guard, our local and private sector partners, as well as our community members who visited these sites to get vaccinated. This transition isn’t closing a door to vaccine opportunity but opening several new ones that will allow for more equitable vaccine access in the future.”

King County Health Officer Dr. Jeff Duchin has issued a Local Health Officer Directive that strongly urges residents to continue wearing a face mask in indoor public settings, whether or not they are vaccinated. Public Health – Seattle & King County recommends that businesses who serve the public continue policies to ensure customers and employees wear masks indoors.

“We are excited to see trends improving, but we are not out of the woods yet,” said Acting State Health Officer Scott Lindquist, MD, MPH. “We still have work to do on vaccinations if we want to continue to see declines in disease and make progress toward full reopening. Getting vaccinated is the best way to protect yourself, your family and your community from the virus.”

According to officials, SFD will offer the Pfizer vaccine to every SPS middle and high school, and all three charter schools in Seattle by May 27, 2021. On Monday, May 17, SFD began hosting 52 in-school vaccination clinics, including four hosted by UW Medicine or Swedish, and three in-school clinics at charter schools.

Dr. Rachel Issaka, a gastroenterologist and assistant professor with UW Medicine and a health services researcher with the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center, said she is not surprised by the new recommendations. But she added she’s also a bit worried about health-care system capacity, and how this might affect the Black and underserved communities.

Pure Eire Dairy is working with the state Department of Agriculture to identify and recall all affected products. Anyone who has PCC Community Market brand yogurt at home should not eat it and should throw it away.

“Seattle’s road to recovery starts with vaccinations. We can’t safely come together again as a city and a community until the vast majority of us are vaccinated, and that includes our younger residents,” said Durkan. “The City is proud to immediately begin offering the Pfizer vaccine to youth throughout our region, and we’ll continue to come up with creative ways to bring the vaccine directly to our communities.”

The Washington State Department of Health (DOH) has expanded COVID-19 vaccine eligibility to everyone 12 and older following recommendations that the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine is safe and extremely effective for 12 to 15-year-olds.

"FDA has done everything we can to ensure that the Covid-19 vaccines we have authorized have met the agency's high standards for quality, safety and effectiveness. We know that every time an American, including members of our own families, receives a Covid-19 vaccine dose, you are putting your trust in us."