May is Mental Health Awareness Month!

Find behavioral health resources on our website. Find toolkits in English and Spanish from Mental Health America.

Washington State Department of Health (DOH) launched a new 988 Suicide and Crisis Lifeline website. 988 is the nationwide dialing code that connects anyone experiencing a mental health or substance use crisis with a trained counselor. The 988 Lifeline is free, confidential, and available 24 hours a day through a phone call, text, or online chat.

Vaccines

Get childhood vaccines before the back-to-school rush!

Encourage families to get vaccinated. Families don’t have to wait until the new school year when it might be hard to get an appointment. This is especially important for students going into kindergarten or 7^th grade. Parents and guardians can view their child’s vaccine records on MyIR Mobile.

Find vaccines

• Visit the Kid's Vaccine Page and Adult Vaccine Page for vaccine clinics and events.
• Visit the COVID-19 vaccine finder.
• Some vaccines are available at Adult Vaccine Provider locations for adults without insurance.
• Most pharmacies and doctor’s offices offer vaccines. Call ahead for availability.

Protect yourself and others

• Get vaccinated. Vaccine preventable diseases like measles, pertussis (whooping cough), and chickenpox are in Washington.
• Children and adults should be up to date with routine vaccines.
• Everyone 6 months and older should get flu and COVID-19 vaccine.
• Vaccines are safe and effective.

• Make sure you and your kids are up to date by registering for MyIR Mobile.

• Cover your coughs and sneezes.
• Wash your hands.
• Limit time around sick people.
• If you are sick, stay home.

Test Kits for Schools

• DOH will close its ordering portal this month. DOH will stop supplying tests to schools May 31, 2024, or earlier, depending on resources.
• You’ll receive notice the portal closed.
• Look at expiration dates printed on the box or the FDA-approved extended expiration dates to see if  inventories are good for use.

What to expect in the 2024-2025 school year:

• DOH will not provide schools with COVID-19 or multiplex tests.
• DOH will monitor respiratory illnesses and provide guidance.

Respiratory illness testing

DOH offers FREE COVID-19 and flu tests with new self-serve kiosks around the state. Find info at the kiosks available in 11 languages.

What’s in the kiosks?

At-home COVID-19 rapid antigen tests, COVID-19 and influenza (flu) PCR tests with results available within 48 hours for both.

Free Naloxone Kits are available to all public high schools

• Find out more. 

Additional Resources

• Sign up for School Environmental Health & Safety Updates from DOH.
• Access school environmental health & safety web pages at DOH.