State Sec. of Health: We’re ‘seeing the benefits of getting fully vaccinated’

Similar to concern expressed by local health officials in counties across Washington, state Secretary of Health Dr. Umair Shah is also worried about a fourth wave of COVID-19 impacting the state before vaccines have been distributed to everyone.

“We absolutely know that the safety and preventive precautions need to continue for a bit longer,” he said, noting that immunity against COVID-19 is not yet high enough to stop transmission.

Washington state to align mask rules with new CDC guidance ‘as soon as possible’

That said, Dr. Shah says we know vaccinations are working and are preventing severe illness. He pointed to the lifting of the pause of the Johnson & Johnson vaccine and the updated mask guidance from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention announced this week as examples of moving forward.

“Vaccines really do provide a pathway for getting back to normal,” he said.

Dr. Shah recommended that everyone get vaccinated and to encourage loved ones and even people you don’t know to get vaccinated as well so that the state can “get back to normalcy.”

In addition to the possibility of a return to normalcy once safely vaccinated, there’s evidence that being vaccinated reduces the risk of being hospitalized for COVID-19. The Washington State Department of Health is looking at hospitalization rates for those vaccinated and those unvaccinated. The department does not have the data for all age groups yet, but Dr. Shah did share findings in those over the age of 65.

“For those persons who are over the age of 65 who are unvaccinated, those individuals are being hospitalized 9.7 times higher than the rates in those who are fully vaccinated or fully protected,” he said.

So, as he repeated for clarification, that means those age 65 or older who are unvaccinated are hospitalized at a rate almost 10 times higher than those who are vaccinated.

“I think this really underscores the point of why vaccines work, why vaccinations are important, and why we want to make sure that everybody, including and especially those who are still thinking about it, for those individuals, [this is a] reminder  to don’t hesitate, vaccinate, and we want to make sure people are getting their vaccines,” Dr. Shah said.

“Even as the need for caution continues, we’re seeing the benefits of getting fully vaccinated,” he added, referring in part to the updated guidance on masks from the CDC and evolving science that shows us what can be done safely.

The state continues to make progress each week with vaccine administration, and Dr. Shah says that progress moves us closer to ending the COVID-19 pandemic. While it took 53 days to reach the milestone of one million doses administered, it only took half that amount of time to reach the next million, and reaching the fourth and then the fifth million took just about two weeks.

“We are continuing to make progress but we can only make that progress if we have adequate supply,” Shah added, though he did say the state believes it has an adequate capacity to administer doses.

Statewide, more than five million vaccines doses have made it into arms. Dr. Shah reports that 84% of doses that have been delivered to the state have been administered. More than three million people, about 40% of the state population, have at least one dose, and almost 30% of the state is fully vaccinated.

‘No question’ Washington is in fourth wave even as vaccinations pick up

Vaccinations have certainly slowed down transmission of the virus in Washington, Dr. Shah says, but transmission is still increasing and the majority of counties are seeing rising case counts. He says cases are increasing in all age groups, except those who are older than age 60.

“The concern that we do have is this fourth wave, so we have to keep working together to fight this pandemic on behalf of Washingtonians everywhere,” he said.

As of April 15, everyone in Washington state age 16 or older is eligible for the COVID-19 vaccine. Find a vaccine location near you online here or call 800-525-0127 to get help finding an appointment.