VACCINATION VERIFICATION: Seattle Parks facilities starting Monday, too

| Coronavirus | West Seattle news | West Seattle parks

Monday, October 25th, is the date set for vaccination-verification requirements at many establishments/facilities in King County. This morning Seattle Parks has a reminder about what that means for people using its facilities:

As directed by Seattle King County Public Health, Seattle Parks and Recreation will require proof of vaccination, or proof of a negative test, for entry to all recreation facilities starting Monday, October 25. 

These facilities include: 

-All community centers 
-All public pools 
-Amy Yee Tennis Center 
-Volunteer Park Conservatory 
-Environmental Learning Centers 
-And all indoor rental facilities owned by Seattle Parks and Recreation (community centers, pools, and event facilities) 

For visitors ages 12 and above, staff will check for the following acceptable forms of vaccination upon each entry to a recreation facility: 

CDC vaccination card or photo of vaccine card. 
Documented proof of vaccination from medical record or vaccine provider. 
Printed certificate or QR code (available at the end of September) from MyIRMobile.com.
You do not need to show identification with proof of vaccination. 

People who are unvaccinated or cannot prove vaccination status will be required to show proof of a negative PCR COVID-19 test taken in the last 72 hours. Documentation must be from a testing agent such as a laboratory, health care provider, or pharmacy. Self-administered rapid tests (also called at-home tests) will not be accepted. 

Vaccination exemptions will not be accepted. Proof of a negative test can be shown for those who cannot be vaccinated.

Proof of vaccination will be required for each entry to a recreation facility, for every visit. Vaccination proof will not be stored.

Read the full announcement here.

Pessoa October 21, 2021 (12:42 pm)

I hope the irony of this guidance hasn’t escaped anyone: Given the prevalence of breakthrough infections, those with a negative PCR test – presumably unvaccinated- are far less of a risk than the vaccinated.

s October 21, 2021 (1:39 pm)

But both of those groups are far less of a risk than unvaccinated people w/no PCR. That’s the whole point.

Wseattleite October 21, 2021 (12:51 pm)

Not requiring ID seems to make this endeavor completely worthless.

jissy October 21, 2021 (8:05 pm)

Yep, no teeth at all, what’s the point?
- Wseattleite October 22, 2021 (11:22 am)
  
  Exactly…..What’s the Point?

Buttercup October 21, 2021 (1:13 pm)

I’m glad people are given the choice to vaccinate or not, also glad they must accept the consequences of choice so all of the rest of us are further protected. It a fair undertaking for all of us.

Gill October 21, 2021 (1:56 pm)

Those who are not vaccinated are many times more likely to carry and develop COVID than those with a vaccination who have “breakthrough” infections. This is all over the reliable medical and news sites.

Pessoa October 21, 2021 (3:13 pm)

Perhaps you didn’t comprehend my comment. A PCR test is extremely accurate and and as such one can have complete confidence that they are virus- free if they test negative. The same cannot be said for someone who has been vaccinated but has not been tested recently.
- Brian October 21, 2021 (4:33 pm)
  
  No everyone comprehended it, it wasn’t like you said anything difficult to understand. It’s just misleading and leans heavily on 1) people having reliable access to PCR tests (most don’t) and 2) the assumption that between the test being taken and the need to prove a negative result that the individual in question hasn’t taken part in any number of activities that would render them a risk.
  - Pessoa October 25, 2021 (4:57 pm)
    
    I’m not following you, Brian.
- Brian October 21, 2021 (4:34 pm)
  
  No everyone comprehended it; it wasn’t like you said anything difficult to understand. It’s just misleading and leans heavily on 1) people having reliable access to PCR tests (most don’t) and 2) the assumption that between the test being taken and the need to prove a negative result that the individual in question hasn’t taken part in any number of activities that would render them a risk.
- KM October 21, 2021 (5:01 pm)
  
  That would maybe hold weight if the test wasn’t a snapshot in time, but it is. A vaccine provides a continuous barrier, a test result is a temporary status–who knows about the exposure or status within those 72 hours.
  - G October 24, 2021 (8:59 am)
    
    I’m not exactly sure when one becomes contagious after exposure but I’ve always thought the 72hr testing is ridiculous considering you can be Covid negative this moment and Covid positive a few moments after testing all depending on behavior just after testing. I’m thinking at some point the getting tested 72hrs in advance will not be an option.

Shawn October 21, 2021 (2:29 pm)

I really don’t feel this is anywhere near good enough. Testing is a joke. Unvaccinated people should be denied entry entirely. There is no excuse for endangering your neighbors lives by not getting vaccinated (extremely tiny number of legitimate medical exemptions excluded of course).

Wseattleite October 21, 2021 (6:43 pm)

Do not worry, anyone who can save a picture of a vax card off the internet can “prove” that they have been vaccinated. You will be surrounded by “vaccinated” people if that makes you feel better.
- And no ID October 22, 2021 (12:06 pm)
  
  Right, and having no ID verification makes it entirely ridiculous. If we’re just going to rely on the honor system why have the policy at all? Just put signs up that say you have to be vaccinated to enter. We can trust everyone to comply.
SpencerGT October 22, 2021 (1:40 am)

What makes testing a joke?
- S.A. October 23, 2021 (10:22 am)
  
  As The Atlantic puts it: ” A weather report isn’t an umbrella.” You can get tested for COVID, receive a negative result, and literally contract it seconds later, then be spreading virus (asymptomatically, even) by the time you go to your event.
Canton October 22, 2021 (7:22 am)

Shawn. Name one virus/disease that has given you the same anxiety about others personal health. Has the flu done this to you? Be wary of the nipah virus.
Noelle October 24, 2021 (7:21 pm)

Live & let Live.

James Lidden October 21, 2021 (8:28 pm)

I bring my vax card every where I go .

SpencerGT October 21, 2021 (11:40 pm)

They can’t store your vaccination status?

Mj October 22, 2021 (10:01 am)

1984

Jor October 22, 2021 (10:56 am)

Are you referring to 1984, when a person born in 1979 would have had to show their vaccination records to enter kindergarten? Or are you making a clumsy, ham-fisted comparison between a proven public health and safety measure and the usual conservative paranoid outrage du jour?
- Pessoa October 25, 2021 (6:17 pm)
  
  Jor: One doesn’t need to be a conservative or a polymath to be alarmed about the potential of vaccine mandates to be used to deny basic services that we consider human rights. And yes, reasonable people can reasonably debate the inherent contradictions between the so-called “public good” and the rights of the individual.

Sorry, comment time is over.