Seattle hits major milestone, becomes ‘most vaccinated city’ in US
Jun 9, 2021, 3:17 PM | Updated: Jun 10, 2021, 6:57 am
Seattle's Lumen Field vaccination site.
Seattle has officially crossed a major vaccination milestone, having become the first major U.S. city to have 70% of its residents ages 12 and up fully vaccinated.
Poll: Seattle metro area most eager in country to get the COVID vaccine
That 70% benchmark is one that Mayor Jenny Durkan has been targeting for months now, having been neck-in-neck with San Francisco on the way to that goal. In late April, over 60% of eligible adults in Seattle had received at least one dose. As of publishing, 78% of residents ages 12 and up have now started the vaccination process.
“When we launched our vaccination effort earlier this year, I said that I wanted Seattle to become the first major American city to fully vaccinate 70 percent of its residents. Today, I am incredibly proud that we have reached that goal,” Durkan said in a written release. “Seattle is America’s most vaccinated major city, and it would not have been possible without our residents’ commitment to protecting themselves, their loved ones, and our entire community.”
San Francisco remains just behind Seattle for its own efforts, sitting just under 70% for fully vaccinated residents 12 and older. San Jose, Boston, and Portland round out the top five, all of which are between 60% and 70%.
Statewide, over 63% of Washingtonians ages 16 and up have received at least one dose, while over 55% in that demographic have been fully vaccinated.
‘Will take time’ for Washington state, feds to align on vaccine totals
This comes as Seattle has begun to shift its vaccination strategy away from fixed sites to instead focus on mobile clinics. On Wednesday, the city officially shuttered its West Seattle vaccine site, with Lumen Field’s mass vaccination site scheduled to shut down on Saturday. A third location in Rainier Beach is set to close on June 23.
Moving forward, the city will turn its attention toward helping small retailers, restaurants, and arts and culture venues reopen, as well as “bolstering transit use.” The Seattle Fire Department’s mobile vaccination teams will still host pop-up vaccination clinics across the city.
