Jake blames ferry shortage on ‘short-sighted and stupid’ COVID-19 vaccine policy
May 22, 2025, 2:00 PM
MV Salish with Washington State Ferries. (Photo: Jim Culp, Flick Creative Commons)
(Photo: Jim Culp, Flick Creative Commons)
Washington State Ferries (WSF) is adding three vessels to its fleet next month, boosting the number of operating ferries to 18. The expansion comes ahead of the busy summer season and restores near-full service across Puget Sound.
RELATED STORIES
“The whole conversation has been around boats,” Jake Skorheim, co-host of “The Jake and Spike Show” on KIRO Newsradio, noted. “We don’t have boats and now we have boats. We just don’t have people for the boats.”
Spike O’Neill, co-host of “Jake and Spike” on KIRO Newsradio, expressed frustration that these boats haven’t been put into service sooner.
3 ferries return, but staffing remains short
The move follows Governor Bob Ferguson’s decision in March to delay hybrid electrification on two large ferries. This allowed vessels to return to service earlier than planned—three years ahead of schedule. The state still plans to launch its first hybrid-electric ferry by 2029.
Jake says the wait will still be too long and blames the vaccine policy that was in place during the pandemic.
“Now, the reason for this is that during the pandemic, they fired a bunch of people who didn’t want to take the vaccine, which was short-sighted and stupid,” Jake said.
Listen to the full conversation below.
Listen to “The Jake and Spike Show” weekdays from noon to 3 p.m. on KIRO Newsradio 97.3 FM. Subscribe to the podcast here.
