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After months of waiting for Washington’s most vulnerable residents to be vaccinated, Gov. Jay Inslee said on Wednesday he was relaxing eligibility requirements to include all people 16 and older, effective 15 April.
So far, around 3.3 million doses of the Covid vaccine have been administered statewide, Inslee said. More than a million people are fully vaccinated in Washington state.
However, 28% of people over 65 have still not received a vaccine, Inslee said.
Inslee’s announcement comes after public health officials continue to emphasize the importance of social distancing and wearing masks, and warn of a potential fourth spike in Covid cases. KUOW reports revealed that Covid cases rose 31% on March 22 in King County.
“We are seeing a worrying increase in cases in Washington state,” Inslee said. “If we are to avoid a rollback … we have to do all we can to keep those numbers low now.”
Health Secretary Umair Shah urged Washingtonians to maintain social distancing practices, even during the upcoming spring and Easter recess.
“I want to remind everyone to be emotionally together but physically separate,” Shah said. “We must do all we can to fight this pandemic together.”
Vaccine distribution began in Washington state on December 15, and only the most vulnerable – including health workers, the elderly, and people living in long-term care facilities – were eligible. On March 31, Washington state opened eligibility for the Covid vaccine to an additional 2 million people, bringing the total number of qualified people to 5 million, according to the Washington State Department of Health. It’s almost all adults in the state.
Washington state follows a wave of other states that relaxed eligibility constraints or announced state plans to provide the vaccine to the general public in April. On March 11, President Joe Biden ordered states to expand vaccine eligibility to all adults by May 1 – and set a target on July 4 to get things back to normal.
The Washington State Department of Health has created an online tool to help people find vaccines.
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