Tag Archives: PHSKC

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PHSKC Issues Health Directive for Everyone to Keep Masks On in Indoor Spaces

May 20, 2021 Editor Leave a comment

by Carolyn Bick

Stating in no uncertain terms that the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s most recent masking recommendations are “uncoordinated and counterproductive,” Public Health — Seattle & King County Health Officer Dr. Jeff Duchin announced in a May 20 press conference a new local health directive for all King County residents. The directive — which is effective immediately, regardless of vaccination status — asks that everyone continue to wear a mask in public indoor spaces, such as grocery stores.

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Seattle and King County 12-15-Year-Olds Become Vaccine-Eligible

May 12, 2021 Editor Leave a comment

by Carolyn Bick

There was nothing but good news at the Public Health – Seattle & King County COVID-19 briefing on Wednesday, May 12.

Public Health – Seattle & King County (PHSKC) Health Officer Dr. Jeff Duchin announced in the press conference that the data suggests that not only has the County started to “turn the corner” on its most recent surge of COVID-19 cases, but that the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s (CDC) Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) has officially approved the Food and Drug Administration’s (FDA) emergency use authorization (EUA) for the Pfizer vaccine to be administered to young people aged 12-15.

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Helping Under-Served Communities Navigate Health Barriers During the Pandemic

March 17, 2021 Editor Leave a comment

by Ben Adlin

A year into a pandemic that has killed half a million people in the U.S. and magnified deep inequities in the country’s core institutions, it’s extraordinary that Vicky Navarro and Thyda Ros aren’t more exhausted.

A typical week might find Navarro crisscrossing King County with boxes of face masks and public health pamphlets in three different languages — English, Spanish, and Tagalog — while Ros plans a socially distanced dinner dropoff of deep-fried fish and green mango salad to a Khmer community elder. Then it’s off to the next webinar, the next worried call from a neighbor, the next social media rumor to bat down.

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King County, With Second-Lowest COVID-19 Rate in U.S., Still Needs More Vaccines

March 5, 2021 Editor Leave a comment

by Jack Russillo

Acquiring additional doses of the COVID-19 vaccine is the main constraint for getting King County residents vaccinated, King County Public Health Director Patty Hayes said at a virtual Town Hall on the evening of March 3.

The virtual Town Hall event came less than a week after New York Times analysis showed that, of the top 100 most populous U.S. counties, King County has the second-lowest COVID-19 infection rate in the entire country, after Honolulu County in Hawai‘i. Snohomish County to the north has the third-lowest rate in the country while Pierce County to the south has the sixth-lowest rate. King County is seventh on the list for the lowest number of deaths from the virus. As a state, Washington has the fifth-lowest COVID-19 case rate despite being the country’s epicenter of the pandemic more than a year ago.

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Elders of Color Face Major Hurdles Getting COVID Vaccine

March 4, 2021 Editor Leave a comment

by Carolyn Bick

Every day, Lynda Greene and her fellow staffers at the SouthEast Seattle Senior Center field about 30–45 phone calls from community elders trying to schedule an appointment to get vaccinated against the novel coronavirus.

Most of these callers are crying. Most of them are Black.

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News

South King County Residents 65 and Older Eligible for Vaccination at Mass Vaccination Sites

March 1, 2021 Editor Leave a comment

by Carolyn Bick

South King County residents aged 65 and older are now eligible to be vaccinated at Public Health — Seattle & King County’s two South King County mass vaccination sites starting today, March 1.

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BREAKING: King County Jail System to Begin COVID Surveillance Testing on Incarcerated Adults

January 12, 2021 Editor Leave a comment

by Carolyn Bick

The King County Jail system will begin surveillance testing of its incarcerated adult population starting as soon as tomorrow, Jan. 13, according to an internal Jan. 12 email shared with the Emerald.

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King County Commits $7 Million to Increased Vaccination Efforts, Won’t Change Jail COVID Protocols

January 8, 2021 Editor Leave a comment

by Carolyn Bick

King County will be committing $7 million to ramp up vaccination efforts to prevent against COVID-19, with two high-volume vaccination sites slated for South King County in the near future, King County Executive Dow Constantine announced in a public health briefing on Jan. 8.

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BREAKING: Four New COVID Cases Detected at King County Jail

January 4, 2021 Editor Leave a comment

by Carolyn Bick

Four new cases of COVID-19 have been detected at the King County Jail in downtown Seattle, according to an internal email shared with the Emerald on Jan. 4.

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Even With Incoming Vaccine, PHSKC Warns Against Relaxing Masking, Social Distancing Practices

December 11, 2020 Editor Leave a comment

by Carolyn Bick

Though a vaccine is on the way, the COVID-19 situation throughout the state, including in King County — particularly in South King County — appears as though it is going to get much worse, before it gets better.

In a press conference on Dec. 11, Public Health – Seattle & King County (PHSKC) Health Officer Dr. Jeff Duchin laid out the increasingly bad situation the County is facing. Over the past seven days, he said, the County has seen an average of 650 new cases of COVID-19 per day. The number of COVID-19-related deaths per day have ceased to gradually rise, and instead are rapidly rising, currently standing at seven deaths per day. This is up from two deaths per day in September.

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