News for the Week of July 12

News highlights for the week of July 12.

Latest Numbers. In Mercer Island, there have been 615 positive cases reported as of July 16. DOH reported a total of 420,921 confirmed cases as of July 14. There have been 6,036 COVID-19 deaths in Washington. For the latest city and county data, click here.

FDA adds warning to J&J vaccine label about rare Guillain-Barré syndrome. On July 12, the Food and Drug Administration announced it is adding a warning label to the Johnson & Johnson COVID-19 vaccine, noting increased risk of Guillain-Barré syndrome (GBS). The FDA and CDC take vaccine safety very seriously, which is why they closely monitor all vaccines. The identification of any possible risks, like the low risks associated with the Johnson & Johnson vaccine, is a sign that the nation's safety monitoring system for COVID vaccines is working.

Situation Reports. The City will be concluding its monthly Situation Reports (SitReps). The final SitRep will be available the afternoon of August 6. Click here to catch up on the latest information and reports.

Information for Businesses

State launches SmartWA dashboard to help small businesses reopen safely. To help small business owners identify the safety protocols most likely to be important to customers, the state Department of Commerce recently launched a new SmartWA business decision support system and COVID-19 dashboard. Watch this short online demo.

Vaccine News

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

Need vaccine support? Call the DOH support line 1-833-VAX-HELP for assistance.

Last Call…

Washington reaches 70% vaccination initiation milestone. As of July 12, 70% of people 16 and older have received at least one dose of COVID-19 vaccine. This percentage includes vaccination rates from the Washington State Immunization Information System and aggregate data from the U.S. Department of Defense and U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs. Read the full news release here.