PANDEMIC UPDATES: Weekly check-in #15, 10/17/2021

As the weekend wraps up, here’s our weekly collection of local pandemic updates, starting with the newest numbers.

KING COUNTY CUMULATIVE NUMBERS (as of Friday – they’re not updated on weekends):

*158,593 people have tested positive – 3,267 more than a week ago (5,685 total in West Seattle, up 126)
*8,249 people have been hospitalized – 95 more than a week ago (242 total from West Seattle, unchanged)
*1,942 people have died – 22 more than a week ago (73 total in West Seattle, unchanged)

VACCINATION RATE

81.9% of King County residents 12+ have completed their vaccine series (up .5% in the past week)

By West Seattle zip code (note: all zip codes have risen at least one full point since last week, more than previous weeks):
98106 – 83.8%
98116 – 87.5%
98126 – 79.5%
98136 – 89.4%
98146 – 79.2%

(Find more COVID-related King County stats here)

NOT VACCINATED YET?

Go here to see where you can change that. Also note the South Park Senior Center is hosting a pop-up clinic on Tuesday, 9 am-1 pm – details are in our calendar listing.

THE WEEK’S PANDEMIC HEADLINES

Vaccine-mandate deadline – Monday is the deadline for many government workers in our state to show proof of vaccination. How many won’t? The City of Seattle, for example, released some stats on Friday:

As of Thursday, October 14th, more than 25 departments have 95%+ of employees vaccinated.

As of October 15, the Seattle Fire Department is at 88% vaccinated, SPD is at 82% vaccinated, Seattle Department of Transportation is at 91% vaccinated, Seattle City Light is at 90%, and Seattle Public Utilities is at 90%.

Briefings – Two this past week, both with some encouraging news. State health officials held theirs on Wednesday:

And the governor on Thursday:

NEED TO GET TESTED IN WEST SEATTLE?

The UW Medicine testing service at the Nino Cantu Southwest Athletic Complex parking lot (2801 SW Thistle) continues to operate; you can make an appointment here, though readers report walk-ups have been accepted. Meantime, the Curative testing kiosk at Don Armeni Boat Ramp (1222 Harbor SW) is also still operating. In addition, both West Seattle Walgreens stores are offering drive-up testing (35th/Morgan and 16th/Roxbury) – more info here.

8 Replies to "PANDEMIC UPDATES: Weekly check-in #15, 10/17/2021"

  • Friend O'Dinghus October 18, 2021 (7:41 am)

    May I ask about the 3267 new cases in King county? I followed the link above to the King county Department of Health and they seem to indicate that the number of cases over the last seven days is 2818. Am I misunderstanding their website, or is there a problem with the 3267 value? Thanks for the extra eyes; scratching my head here.

    • WSB October 18, 2021 (9:19 am)

      My math is week to week what we reported on Sunday nights. I don’t just parrot whatever difference they publish, I do the math myself. Previous Sunday, they had 155,326; this Sunday, 158,593. Their math’s been wrong before, and that’s why I stopped just citing their “difference” number long ago during the time of the nightly updates. – TR

      • Friend O'Dinghus October 18, 2021 (10:01 am)

        I have seen you say this a number of times, but I don’t think I have ever noticed the difference in values being so far apart. I wonder what causes this because as a percentage it is a significant difference. I appreciate the consistency in your methodology. May I ask if the difference in values is increasing slowly each week, or does it vary? Thank you also for all of your pandemic coverage for the last two years. Nothing short of heroic in your own right.

        • WSB October 18, 2021 (10:43 am)

          I don’t check the dashboard daily, and the county doesn’t archive it, so I don’t have that. All I can tell you is that we consistently report on Sunday nights what the dashboard shows (which is the last of its Monday-Friday updates for the week) and compare that to what we reported a week earlier. If you’re curious about the evolution, you can watch it this week – I don’t know the regular daily weekday update time but the update for Monday is already up. – TR

  • Jeepney October 18, 2021 (11:03 am)

    I am going to get tested at the Nico Cantu complex parking lot soon.  How long will I have to wait to get results?  I have researched on various websites and have not found any useful information.

  • Grateful October 18, 2021 (2:16 pm)

    Your for hard work in keeping West Seattle informed and up to date is appreciated. Thank you 

  • Mj October 18, 2021 (4:29 pm)

    Hoping Delta is the last big wave, either people are vaccinated or Delta will have gotten you and provide natural immunity presuming it did not put you 6′ under.

    • nice October 19, 2021 (9:55 am)

      What a nice sentiment.  

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