Public Health — Seattle & King County is monitoring changes in key economic, social, and other health indicators resulting from strategies to slow the spread of COVID-19. Just as the pandemic has had disparate impacts on parts of our population, mitigation measures present more hardship for some members of our community than others. The economic, social, and health impacts data project helps inform strategies and policies to minimize those harms and maximize outcomes for all residents of King County.

How are you using the data? Share your feedback via this brief survey.

Below are highlights, but you can view the entire dashboard here..

Increase in 2-1-1 crisis calls during early 2021  

• 2-1-1 is a referral and information hotline connecting individuals to health and human services resources.

• Once the general population was eligible for COVID-19 vaccines in mid-January, there was large spike in calls to 2-1-1 related to health care and COVID-19. 
• Since the early months of the pandemic, at least 40% of calls to 2-1-1 have been related to housing.   
• Calls to 2-1-1 for income support/assistance increased in the first part of 2021.  

ECONOMIC

Housing continues to comprise most of the 2-1-1 calls in August 2021

53% of 2-1-1- callers were looking for information on housing between 8/9/2021 and 8/15/2021. 

SOCIAL

Family violence: rates of emergency department visits for domestic violence have been steady   

In July 2021 there were 133 emergency department visits involving domestic violence among King County residents. This is a 7% decrease compared to July 2019.

Family violence: emergency department visits for suspected child abuse and neglect have been steady   

In July 2021 there were 41 emergency department visits involving suspected child abuse and neglect among King County residents.

HEALTH

Calls to the behavioral health crisis line: increasing

In June 2021, there were 8,609 behavioral health crisis calls to the King County Crisis Line. This is a 32% increase compared to 2019.

Emergency visits for suspected suicide attempts: increasing 

In June 2021, there were 228 Emergency Department visits involving suspected suicide attempt among King County residents ages 10 and older. This is a 37% increased compared to 2019.

This work is funded by Public Health — Seattle & King County, the Washington State Department of Health, and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’ s (CDC) Epidemiology and Laboratory Capacity for Prevention and Control of Emerging Infectious Diseases ( ELC) Cooperative Agreement (CK19 - 1904 ).

For questions, please write to: COVIDevaluation@kingcounty.gov

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