The vaccination situation tops March’s final roundup of local/state pandemic headlines:

ELIGIBILITY EXPANDS, AND WILL EXPAND AGAIN SOON: On the day that 2 million more people in our state became eligible to get vaccinated, Gov. Inslee announced that instead of May 1st, April 15th will be the date everyone is eligible. (No vaccine is approved for children yet, so that’ll be everyone 16 and up.)

CITY ADDS ANOTHER COMMUNITY VACCINATION HUB: The city is now running four sites – West Seattle, Rainier Beach, Lumen Field, and now North Seattle. The new site at North Seattle College is mostly drive-up, and instead of being staffed by Seattle firefighters, the Seattle Visiting Nurse Association is the clinical partner.

NEWEST KING COUNTY NUMBERS: From the Seattle-King County Public Health daily-summary dashboard, the cumulative totals:

*88,067 people have tested positive, 341 more than yesterday’s total

*1,464 people have died, 2 more than yesterday’s total

*5,331 people have been hospitalized, 2 fewer than yesterday’s total (data adjustment)

*969,956 people have been tested, 594 more than yesterday’s total

One week ago, the four totals we track were 86,037/1,456/5,241/953,472.

STATEWIDE NUMBERS: Find all the numbers, county by county, on the state Department of Health data page,.

WORLDWIDE NUMBERS: See them, nation by nation, here.

BACK TO SCHOOL: Seattle Public Schools and the Seattle Education Association are still negotiating about middle- and high-school students’ return to in-person learning. SEA says it thinks a tentative agreement can be reached this week. Its update is here; SPS’s update, including links to recent counterproposals, is here.

MASS MASKING: University of Washington research found that 89 percent of people in King County are wearing masks in public.

STATE HEALTH OFFICIALS’ BRIEFING: The weekly briefing by Secretary of Health Dr. Umair Shah and other top state health officials is scheduled for 9:30 am tomorrow. It’ll be livestreamed here.

IF YOU’RE VACCINE-ELIGIBLE AND LOOKING FOR IT … here are links to try:

*Check for West Seattle city-run site appointments here; sign up for the city’s notification list for all three of its sites here.
*Health-care providers (particularly bigger ones like UW Medicine, Franciscan, Swedish, Kaiser Permanente, etc.)
*covidwa.com (volunteer-run aggregator) – you can also follow its tweets for instant notifications
*The state’s Vaccine Locator (as mentioned above)
*The CDC’s Vaccine Finder
*Pharmacies big and small – Safeway, Rite Aid, QFC, Pharmaca, Costco
*Sea Mar clinics

GOT INFO? Email us at westseattleblog@gmail.com or phone us, text or voice, at 206-293-6302 – thank you!

3:47 PM: The governor has just announced that all Washingtonians – 16 and up, since no vaccine is yet approved for younger people – will be eligible for vaccination as of April 15th, 2+ weeks earlier than previously announced. This comes on the day 2 million more became eligible. He also warns of a “disturbing uptick” in cases, so he urges everyone to continue precautions such as mask-wearing and social distancing. Updates as the briefing goes.

3:54 PM: He says he’s very concerned about the 28 percent of people over 65 – more than 333,000 in our stqte – who have not yet been vaccinated and so are “living in the danger zone.” So if you know someone that applies to, he says, do everything you can to urge them to go get it. …. Secretary of Health Dr. Umair Shah says the state is now vaccinating 54,000 people a day, beyond its goal, and that 3.2 million doses have now been administered. If internet use is a barrier to someone making an appointment, he notes there’s a hotline, 800-525-0127. He also echoes the warning that “the pandemic’s not over until it’s over.”

4:07 PM: Before getting to media Q&A, the governor moves off the pandemic for a bit and talks about climate legislation in Olympia and DC, as well as hate crimes targeting Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders. “We have to stand up against (hate),” he urges. Today, he also notes, is César Chávez Day. … On to Q/A: Asked if vaccine allocation needs to be moved around because of uneven demand by region, he says there’s only an “infinitesimal” number of wasted doses in the state – “doses are getting into arms.” … Asked about supply to match the increase in eligibility, the governor says yes, supplies are increasing … He was also asked about the national report of 15 million doses of Johnson & Johnson vaccine lost to some kind of factory mistake, but didn’t think that would affect our state much … He also says the state is in the “top third” nationwide in terms of “efficiency” in getting vaccine administered.

4:30 PM: So how long will it take, at current supply levels, to get everyone vaccinated? Dr. Shah reiterates that supplies are continuing to increase – though after a 400,000+-dose week this week it’s going back down under 400,000, pending future increases – they can’t make a specific prediction, as it could change further. … The briefing ends at 4:34 pm; the archived video should be available in the same window above shortly. Here, meantime, is the news release about the eligibility-expansion announcement.

Tonight’s pandemic toplines:

ELIGIBILITY EVE: At midnight, 2 million more people in our state become eligible for COVID-19 vaccinations. Some providers were allowing the almost-eligible to book in advance; others weren’t. To recap, here’s who’s eligible starting Wednesday, in addition to everyone else already eligible:

*Anyone with two or more comorbidities

*Anyone between the ages of 60 and 64

*Anyone living in congregate settings (correctional facilities, group homes for those with disabilities, those experiencing homelessness, etc.)

*Additional workers in congregate settings (restaurants, manufacturing, construction)

If you’re still not eligible, you have one month at most to wait, as the state has said it will comply with the federal decree to make everyone eligible by May 1st. How long it’ll take after that to get enough vaccine for everyone who wants it – too soon to tell. Later in this roundup, you’ll find our nightly list of links for seeking vaccination appointments. But first:

NEWEST KING COUNTY NUMBERS: Checking today’s daily summary from Seattle-King County Public Health – here are the cumulative totals:

*87,726 people have tested positive, 159 more than yesterday’s total

*1,462 people have died, 1 more than yesterday’s total

*5,333 people have been hospitalized, 30 more than yesterday’s total

*969,362 people have been tested, 4,553 more than yesterday’s total

One week ago, the totals were 85,733/1,455/5,232/950,579.

STATEWIDE NUMBERS: See them here.

NATIONAL/WORLDWIDE NUMBERS: 128.2 million cases worldwide, 30.3 million of them in the U.S. – see other nation-by-nation stats by going here.

‘BREAKTHROUGH’ CASES: The state confirms that about 100 people out of the 1 million-plus who are fully vaccinated have gotten the virus anyway.

NEED FOOD? Here’s another place to get it free this Friday.

NO GARAGE SALE DAY: Canceled by the pandemic again this year.

LOOKING FOR A VACCINATION APPOINTMENT? Here’s our ongoing list:

*Check for West Seattle city-run site appointments here; sign up for the city’s notification list for all three of its sites here (that form was down for a while earlier today but appears to be working now).
*Health-care providers (particularly bigger ones like UW Medicine, Franciscan, Swedish, Kaiser Permanente, etc.)
*covidwa.com (volunteer-run aggregator) – you can also follow its tweets for instant notifications
*The state’s Vaccine Locator (as mentioned above)
*The CDC’s Vaccine Finder
*Pharmacies big and small – Safeway, Rite Aid, QFC, Pharmaca, Costco
*Sea Mar clinics

GOT SOMETHING TO REPORT? westseattleblog@gmail.com or 206-293-6302, text/voice – thank you!

Big week – with vaccine eligibility expanding dramatically on Wednesday. But first, here’s our nightly roundup of local pandemic news:

NEWEST KING COUNTY NUMBERS: From the Seattle-King County Public Health daily summary:

*87,567 people have tested positive, 185 more than yesterday’s total

*1,461 people have died, unchanged since Saturday

*5,303 people have been hospitalized, 15 more than yesterday’s total

*964,809 people have been tested, 5,251 more than yesterday’s total

One week ago, those totals were 85.629/1,452/5,220/949,161.

STATEWIDE NUMBERS: See them here.

WORLDWIDE NUMBERS: 127.5 million cases, 2,791,000 deaths – 550,000 in the U.S. See the other stats – nation by nation – here.

STILL IN THE DANGER ZONE: Here’s county health officer Dr. Jeff Duchin‘s advice, in a Twitter thread, on working to hold off a fourth wave.

TEST SITE NOT CLOSING AFTER ALL: One week after we learned the West Seattle testing/vaccination site was set to become vaccination-only as of this Wednesday, the city changed the plan today, and will continue offering testing there (Southwest Athletic Complex parking lot, 2801 SW Thistle) at least through April 17.

KING COUNTY VACCINATION MILESTONE: More than 1,000,000 doses administered.

VACCINE ELIGIBILITY: Announced today by the state Health Department:

Phase Finder, the state’s online vaccine eligibility tool, will no longer be required to verify COVID-19 vaccine eligibility starting March 31.

That means that people who want a vaccine should check DOH’s prioritization guidance webpage to see when they are eligible to get vaccinated. Those who are eligible can then use Vaccine Locator to find an appointment. After March 30, those who visit the Phase Finder site will be directed to Vaccine Locator. The Washington State Department of Health (DOH) has informed vaccine providers of this change. DOH has asked that providers no longer require Phase Finder to schedule an appointment or ask for it when patients arrive for their appointment.

LOOKING FOR A VACCINATION APPOINTMENT? Here’s our ongoing list:

*Check for West Seattle city-run site appointments here; sign up for the city’s notification list for all three of its sites here.
*Health-care providers (particularly bigger ones like UW Medicine, CHI Franciscan, Swedish, Kaiser Permanente, etc.)
*covidwa.com (volunteer-run aggregator)\
*The state’s Vaccine Locator (as mentioned above)
*The CDC’s Vaccine Finder
*Pharmacies big and small – Safeway, Rite Aid, QFC, Pharmaca, Costco
*Sea Mar clinics

NEED FOOD? This week’s nearest Food Lifeline distribution is 2-5 pm Friday (April 2nd) at 815 S. 96th.

GOT SOMETHING TO REPORT? westseattleblog@gmail.com or 206-293-6302, text/voice – thank you!