COVID-19 Data Updates
Dr. Jeff Duchin, King County’s Health Officer, held a press conference on Tuesday afternoon to provide an update on both COVID-19 and Monkeypox in King County. The conference began with updates on COVID and then transitioned to a discussion on Monkeypox. You can watch a recording of his briefing here. He also said earlier this week that the BA.5 wave appears to have peaked in King County. More information on that wave is available here.
For up-to-date information on cases, hospitalizations, and deaths in the County, see the Daily COVID-19 outbreak summary dashboard. The links to the data by demographics and geography are on the same page.
View all County COVID-related Data Dashboards here, including vaccination rates and outcomes according to vaccination status
View the most recent statewide COVID-19 data from the state Department of Health (DOH).
Monkeypox update
Cases continue to double each week. As of Tuesday, August 9th, there were 183 cases in King County. Our region’s case count is updated each weekday here: Monkeypox - King County
We continue to contend with scarce vaccine supply; King County received no new doses until last Friday morning, August 5th, when 4,400 new doses arrived at the Vaccine Depot. Prior to this shipment, most of our providers were out of vaccine and some had to turn away clients.
Because our supply of vaccines is still extremely limited, Public Health continues to prioritize vaccine for the highest risk individuals: 1) people who have been exposed to a confirmed case, or 2) gay, bisexual, or other men or transgender people who have sex with men AND having at least one of the following:
- More than 10 sex partners in the prior 3 months
- History of early syphilis or gonorrhea in the prior year
- Methamphetamine use in the prior month
- Attendance at a bathhouse, other public sex venue, or group sex (sex including at least 3 people at the same time) in the prior 3 months
- Experiencing homelessness/unstable housing AND currently living in a congregate setting AND had any sexual activity in the prior 3 months.
As a reminder, the data indicate that there are at least 20,000 people at highest risk for monkeypox exposure and likely an additional 20,000 people who may be at elevated risk.
If you need monkeypox testing and/or vaccine and do not have a health care provider, call Public Health’s PICC line at 206-477-3977. Given vaccine availability, there may be limited options for referrals at this time. For more updates from Public Health – Seattle & King County, visit this page.
Next week at the King County Council
King County Council
The next meeting of the King County Council is on Tuesday, August 16th at 1 p.m. in-person at the Council Chamber and on Zoom. The meeting will include a briefing on COVID-19 from Public Health – Seattle and King County. The agenda is still being finalized, but the meeting will also likely cover the King County Parks Levy grants, the extreme weather event operational plan, and several appointments to the Gender Identity and Sexual Orientation Inclusion Task Force and the Citizens’ Elections and Oversight Committee. The bulk of the Council meeting will focus on the omnibus supplemental budget, which was discussed prior to recess and will likely have action taken on it at the meeting. When available, the agenda will be accessible here.
Committee of the Whole
Next week’s meeting will be held on Wednesday at 9 a.m. and will highlight the third part of a series on gun violence prevention. At previous meetings, committee members were presented with a bird’s eye view of the scope of gun violence in the County and the current laws and regulations in place to help prevent gun violence. Members also heard emotional and powerful testimony from people who have had their lives impacted by gun violence, suicide, homicide, and domestic violence. At next week’s meeting we will hear from experts, lobbyists, and government agencies on potential next steps and what we as a Council can do to advance gun violence prevention measures.
Prior to the panel on gun violence, members will also consider confirmation of the appointment of Allen Nance as Director of the Department of Adult and Juvenile Detention. This will be followed by an ordinance pertaining to employee referral bonuses for non-represented county employees for referring employees to the positions of deputy sheriff, corrections officer and detention officer. The agenda is available here and meeting materials will be accessible here.
Keep in touch
Thank you again for taking the time to read my updates, which I am now sending out once a week. Feel free to forward them to others who can subscribe by clicking here. And you can click here to visit the archive page where you can find all of my previous enews updates.
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