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What you need to know about COVID-19 vaccines in Washington Friday

Here's what you need to know about COVID-19 vaccines in Washington state on Friday, March 19.

Can Washington's vaccinations stay ahead of the spread?

With more virulent variant strains of COVID-19, such as the one from the U.K. that spreads faster and can do more damage, King County health leader Dr. Jeff Duchin said his growing fear is with younger people, who likely will have to wait until May before being eligible for the shots.

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Clallam County far outpaces state, with nearly 25% fully vaccinated for COVID-19

A quarter of Clallam County’s population is fully vaccinated against COVID-19. That’s double the state’s percentage.

About 21% of Washingtonians have had at least one dose of the vaccine, and 12% are fully vaccinated. Clallam County has 34% with at least one dose and 24.43% of its population is fully vaccinated. 

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US hits Biden's goal of 100 million COVID shots 42 days ahead of schedule

The U.S. on Friday cleared President Joe Biden's goal of injecting 100 million coronavirus shots, more than a month before his target date of his 100th day in office, as the president prepared to set his sights higher in the nationwide vaccination effort.

With the nation now administering about 2.5 million shots per day, Biden, who promised to set a new goal for vaccinations next week, teased the possibility of setting a 200 million dose goal by his 100th day in office.

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Seattle mayor responds to flaws, inequities found at Lumen Field's mass vaccination site

The City of Seattle is hosting the largest civilian-led mass vaccination site in the country, but community leaders are finding flaws that highlight inequities among certain population groups, specifically Asian American seniors.

The eventual goal is to vaccinate roughly 22,000 people a day, but some leaders in the Asian community say if inequities go unchanged, many older people may be left without a vaccine as more people become eligible to receive them.

The office of Seattle Mayor Jenny Durkan said the city will re-emphasize protocols and ways to help residents who need language access help. The city provides devices that have the ability to do real-time interpretation services in more than 200 languages. 

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Washington nursing homes allowed to safely resume indoor visits

Washington state now says indoor visits to long-term care and nursing home facilities are permitted for visitors or residents who are fully vaccinated.

The Washington State Department of Health said COVID-19 cases are plummeting in nursing homes and assisted living facilities, thanks to the effectiveness of vaccines, infection control procedures and previous visitation restrictions.

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COVID-19 vaccine eligibility expanding to 2 million more people March 31 in Washington state

COVID-19 vaccine eligibility will expand to include anyone 60 and older and people working in congregate settings, including restaurant and food service workers, starting March 31.

Approximately 2 million additional Washingtonians will be eligible with the expansion. The decision to expand vaccine eligibility is due to an increase in doses and the vaccination rate, according to Gov. Jay Inslee's office.

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Will you soon need a 'vaccine passport' to travel?

Airlines and others in the travel industry are throwing their support behind so-called vaccine passports to boost pandemic-depressed travel, and authorities in Europe could embrace the idea quickly enough for the peak summer vacation season.

Technology companies and travel-related trade groups are developing and testing various versions of the vaccine passports, also called health certificates or travel passes.

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How to get a COVID-19 vaccine in Washington

The Washington State Department of Health (DOH) released an online portal to check your eligibility for the COVID-19 vaccine. Use the Phase Finder tool to input personal information like age, health conditions and essential worker status to determine if it's your turn.

As of March 17, Washington is in Phase 1B, tier 2 of vaccination. This group includes:

  • High-risk health care workers and first responders
  • Long-term care residents
  • People 65 years old and older
  • People 50 years old and older in multigenerational households
  • Teachers, school staff and childcare workers
  • Employees in certain congregate settings, such as grocery stores, agriculture, corrections, transit and law enforcement
  • People age 16 years and older who are pregnant
  • People age 16 and older who have a disability that puts them at high risk 

If you are eligible, find a list of vaccine providers on the DOH website and information on how to make an appointment. 

LIST: Mass COVID-19 vaccine sites in western Washington

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