News for the Week of April 12

News highlights for the week of April 12.

Latest Numbers. In Mercer Island, there have been 529 positive cases reported as of April 15. DOH reported a total of 355,387 confirmed cases as of April 14. There have been 5,362 COVID-19 deaths in Washington. For the latest city and county data, click here.

Statement on pausing J&J vaccine. DOH will pause the use of the Johnson & Johnson (J&J) vaccine statewide starting immediately, following the guidance of the FDA/CDC. Use of that vaccine will be put on hold until we receive further recommendations from our federal partners about how best to move forward. Read the full statement here.

Inslee announces three counties to roll back to Phase 2. Cowlitz, Pierce, and Whitman counties do not meet the Phase 3 Healthy Washington metrics for reopening activities. Read the full news release here.

Situation Reports. The City has moved to monthly Situation Reports (SitReps), available the first Friday of the month. The next SitRep will be available the afternoon of May 7. Click here to catch up on the latest information and reports.

Information for Businesses

New "SSTAR Phase 3 update webinar" video for King County food establishments. This is an information-sharing webinar for food establishments to operate safety in King County. Click this link to watch the video.

Vaccine News

Everyone over 16 is becoming eligible for COVID-19 vaccine, but supply is still catching up. Public Health Insider blog – Starting April 15, all people in Washington age 16 and older are eligible for COVID-19 vaccination. However, limited vaccine supply continues to be our number one challenge to vaccinating everyone who is eligible and who wants to be vaccinated. Click here to read the post.

King County COVID-19 Vaccine Data At-a-Glance. Page updated daily here.

COVID-19 vaccine distribution update. As of April 10, more than 4,189,884 doses of vaccine have been given across the state, which is more than 82 percent of the 5,094,380 doses that have been delivered to our providers and long-term care programs. We're currently averaging 57,577 vaccine doses given each day, and more than 22 percent of people in Washington are fully vaccinated against COVID-19. Read the full news release here.

Resources

Inslee issues proclamation on the Family Emergency Assistance Program (FEAP). The proclamation allows for the expansion of the FEAP to assist families who continue to suffer economic hardship during the pandemic. Read the full news release here.