COVID-19 weekly email alert for February 17, 2022

King County, Washington sent this bulletin at 02/17/2022 08:17 PM PST

Vaccination verification policy to end as of March 1, 2022, Public Health Insider blog

King County is ending the local health order requiring proof of COVID-19 vaccination or a negative test for entry into restaurants and bars, indoor recreational events and establishments, or outdoor events. The vaccination verification policy will no longer be in effect as of March 1. Businesses and organizations may continue to implement their own vaccination verification rules for their establishments.

Have questions about the ramping down of King County's Vax Verify? Hear from experts on how this requirement ending on Mar. 1 affects your business & new ideas for how to keep customers & employees safe at our FREE #WeGotThisWA webinar, Feb. 22 at 2 p.m.

We are grateful to the King County businesses and community members that have complied with this policy and appreciate their continued efforts to slow the spread. Slides available to download in multiple languages at kingcounty.gov/verify.

COVID-19 Vaccines for Moderately or Severely Immunocompromised People, CDC

Also posted on our COVID-19 Vaccine homepage, the CDC recommends that anyone ages 5 and older who have moderately or severely weakened immune systems (immunocompromised) get a third dose of vaccine. Immunocompromised children should get third dose of Pfizer vaccine 28 days after the second shot. The third shot is part of their initial vaccine series, not a booster. Learn more from the CDC linked above.

Video and FAQ: Dr. Ben Danielson answers kids' questions about COVID vaccines

Local pediatrician Dr. Ben Danielson answers some common questions from kids about the vaccines. This is a great video for parents to watch with their children before going to get the shot.

For King County health care providers: Quarantine guidance updated

Open the menu item midway down the page for, "Quarantine guidance for health care settings after exposure" which has been updated to include a link to CDC "Work Restrictions for Healthcare Providers with SARS-CoV-2 Infection and Exposures".

New isolation and quarantine visual infographic (PDF)

This visual resource shows the isolation and quarantine guidance to follow if you test positive for COVID-19 or have symptoms after being exposed. For additional information see the Isolation and quarantine guidance page.

Guidance for businesses and workplaces in King County updated

Updates include additional resources and links for the business task force. Please share with community business partners.

COVID-19's Wide Ranging Impacts, Public Health Post, Boston University

It's important to track the impacts of the community prevention measures we've relied on to reduce the spread of COVID-19. How do these measures affect our community's health? Three of Public Health — Seattle & King County's data experts dig into these questions in this article.

  • Level of community transmission: High
    • 324 cases per 100,000 residents over the last 7 days

  • 362,254 total positive cases in King County
    • 7,326 new cases over the last 7 days (-26% decrease)

  • 11,097 total hospitalizations
    • 161 hospitalizations over the last 7 days
    • 23 daily average new hospitalizations (-5% decrease over last 7 days)
    • 7.1 hospitalizations per 100,000 residents over the last 7 days
    • 2.1% of cases hospitalized over the last 7 days

  • 2,515 overall deaths
    • 101 new deaths over the last 14 days (-12% decrease from the prior 14 days)
    • 111.2 overall deaths per 100,000 residents
    • 4.5 deaths per 100,000 residents over the last 14 days
    • 0.7% overall cases died
    • 0.5% cases died over the last 14 days

All other COVID-19 dashboards are posted at www.kingcounty.gov/covid/data

View this COVID-19 weekly email alert online