The data update is back tonight, so that’s where we’ll start:

NEWEST KING COUNTY NUMBERS: Here’s what’s in today’s daily summary from Seattle-King County Public Health – the cumulative totals – note that there was no update yesterday:

*72,600 people have tested positive, 618 more than Sunday’s total

*1,185 people have died, 6 more than Sunday’s total

*4,617 people have been hospitalized, 24 more than Sunday’s total

*801,551 people have been tested, 5,299 more than Sunay’s total

One week ago, the totals were 69,522/1,148/4,488/780.231.

STATEWIDE NUMBERS: See them here.

NATIONAL/WORLDWIDE NUMBERS: 96.1 million cases worldwide, 24.2 million of them in the U.S. – see other nation-by-nation stats by going here.

VACCINE DASHBOARD: The state dashboard now has a tab for vaccination stats. From the announcement:

In the new tab, you can view the number of doses given in each county and statewide in a map view or by date. For the state level, you can also see the number of doses delivered to providers and the number of doses delivered through the federal long-term care program. The new tab also shows the population percentage and number of people who have received at least one dose of vaccine and completed the recommended number of doses in each county and the state.

All healthcare providers in our state (including hospitals, pharmacies and primary care providers) are required to report when they give a COVID-19 vaccine to a patient within 24 hours of doing so. Most vaccination data should appear in the dashboard within seven days of when the vaccine was given. We will update the dashboard three times per week on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays.

VACCINE-INFO LINKS: The PhaseFinder is here – to determine whether you’re eliglble yet – and known vaccination locations are here. (Check with your health-care organization/provider first, once you’re eligible.)

BRIEFING TOMORROW: State health officials will present their weekly briefing at noon Wednesday – here’s the link for the live stream.

NEED FOOD? Food Lifeline‘s South Park HQ offers emergency food boxes 2-5 pm Friday (January 15th), at 815 S. 96th.

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Expanded vaccination eligibility tops tonight’s pandemic roundup:

400,000 MORE ARE ELIGIBLE: As reported here during the governor’s mid-afternoon briefing, the “everyone’s eligible” age in our state has just dropped five years, to 65. But that doesn’t mean everyone 65 and older can get vaccinated immediately – not enough doses have been delivered. However, only 42 percent of what’s been received in Washington so far has been administered, so it’s hoped that broadening the eligibility will raise that percentage. The governor also says there’s a deadline now – vaccine has to be given within a week of a provider receiving it.

WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW: Are you eligible? This website will tell you. If you are, it should also point you to places that have received vaccine. Also, this website has a list. In general, though, you’re urged to consult your health-care provider first.

COUNTY COUNCIL PROPOSAL: When the King County Council meets tomorrow, accelerating vaccination is on its agenda. Here’s the announcement:

With vaccination rollouts hitting snags nationwide, the King County Council will on Tuesday consider legislation to ensure all the resources of King County can be brought to bear in ensuring everyone has access to the COVID-19 vaccine.

Sponsored by King County Councilmembers Rod Dembowski, Jeanne Kohl-Welles, Reagan Dunn, and Pete Von Reichbauer, it would require the Executive to lay out a detailed and robust plan to deliver the vaccines countywide, lower barriers to access, and have most King County residents vaccinated by June, with priority for older people and others at higher risk of death. The legislation will be considered and could be approved at the full council meeting Tuesday.

The 1 pm meeting will be livestreamed here.

NEWEST KING COUNTY NUMBERS: No update today (and we haven’t yet found an explanation – the county has not skipped holidays previously) – so no daily summary from Seattle-King County Public Health.

STATEWIDE NUMBERS: See them here.

WORLDWIDE NUMBERS: 95.5 million cases, 2,022,000+ deaths. See the other stats – nation by nation – here.

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

3:04 PM: Right now, many pandemic-related questions are focused on vaccination availability – people wondering when and how they will get vaccine access. Viewable above (live and archived afterward), Gov. Jay Inslee is providing updates. We’ll add notes as it goes.

Inslee says it’s “the start of what we think of as the second stage of our vaccination initiative” – and says he has six announcements. First, the state is moving into Phase 1B of vaccinations, and changing the first tier so all Washingtonians 65 and older are eligible to get vaccinated immediately.

Also, those 50 and over who are living in “multigenerational households” are eligible immediately. (Note: This does not apply to parents living with children, but rather people giving cqre to someone such as a grandchild or niece/nephew, the state says.) Once about half the 1B “first tier” is vaccinated, they’ll move to the next tier.

2nd announcement: A statewide goal to make 45,000 vaccinations a day available in Washington as soon as possible. That’s three times the current rate. “Over the next several months we’ll be building toward that goal.” That’s dependent on receiving “more doses from the federal government,” he cautions.

3rd announcement: “We’re going to set up mass vaccination sites statewide,” with National Guard and other support. He lists four sites for starters, none in Seattle or King County (though as he notes, King County has some under development).

4th announcement: New criteria to ensure health-care providers are administering the vaccine appropriately – 95 percent of vaccine doses must be given within a week of being received by a provider. Any doses already received have to be given by next Sunday.

5th announcement: PhaseFinder is being launched so you can figure out where you are in terms of eligibility. He says that’s supposed to help you figure out where to get vaccinated, too. Here’s the link.

6th announcement: A public-private partnership to help marshal vaccination efforts. “We are going to mobilize thousands of people to save people from this virus.” He introduces pre-announced guests including reps of Microsoft, Starbucks, Kaiser Permanente, Sea Mar Community Health, and SEIU Local 1199.

3:24 PM: So far the execs haven’t offered specifics on their roles except that they’re supporting the effort. Kaiser Permanente Washington’s president notes that her company has mass-vaccination experience and is “all in.”

3:33 PM: Now speaking, new Health Secretary Dr. Umair Shah. He says the state has given more than 294,000 vaccine doses so far – 42 percent of what the state’s received – a better percentage than last week’s briefing. He stresses again that starting Phase 1B-1 means everyone 65 and older is eligible. He says those in 1B-1 should start hearing from their providers,. If you’re not in 1B-1, “continue to be patient.” But he also says they’re stressing measures to ensure leftover vaccine will not go to waste – giving providers some discretion (stand by for details on that).

3:45 PM: Now Q&A. First question about how many wasted doses – no specific number yet but “very minimal.” … The governor says “partners'” strategy previously might have been “we’ll wait for the doses and then figure out how to get them out” (paraphrasing), but now the plan is to plan to be ready for whatever arrives. He also noted that 2,400 pharmacies are now going to be part of the delivery system. … Next question observes, as we noted above, that it’s not clear what the “partners” will be doing, so they’re asking for elaboration. Also: How do you find out? Dr. Shah says providers have plans for contacting their members/patients; also, PhaseFinder is supposed to show locations near you “where the vaccine has been delivered.” He adds that another tool will be launched within two days – a dashboard with more info on how much vaccine has been received and administered, by county. … State officials promise they’ll make it easier to find out where the vaccine is. The governor adds that “the goal is to give people many kinds of opportunities.” But he cautions that 1.5 million are now eligible – and they only have a tenth of the supply that would require – so be patient. (Added: The state is getting 100,000 “first doses” each week right now.)

3:57 PM: Now that the governor’s eligible (69 years old), he says he plans to get vaccinated within several days (along with wife Trudi Inslee). … How can the state get more vaccine? Pfizer has assured the state that they’re increasing production, the governor says, for one. “We should have high confidence that the numbers of doses will increase in coming months.” He also urges providers to make appointments rather than holding back for fear they won’t have vaccine. … The briefing wraps up at 4:13 pm; the archived video should be available above shortly.

BOTTOM LINE: Though many more people are eligible, there’s not enough vaccine available – yet – for them all to get it immediately. Public Health Seattle/King County elaborates on this here. … Here’s what the governor’s website has published about all this.

Big data corrections top tonight’s pandemic updates:

KING COUNTY’S NEWEST NUMBERS: The cumulative totals from the Public Health daily-summary dashboard are all below last night’s numbers, due to this data correction:

Now, the numbers:

*71,982 people have tested positive, 292 fewer than yesterday’s total

*1,179 people have died, 9 fewer than yesterday’s total

*4,593 people have been hospitalized, 72 fewer than yesterday’s total

*796,252 people have been tested, up 5,256 from yesterday’s total

One week ago, the King County totals were 68,472/1,140/4,447/773,510.

STATEWIDE NUMBERS: See them here.

WORLDWIDE NUMBERS: 95 million cases and 2,030,000+ deaths, 397,000 of them in the U.S. – see the nation-by-nation breakdown here.

VACCINE NEWS: Dr. Anthony Fauci says two more vaccines – one the single-dose Johnson & Johnson vaccine – are within weeks of seeking federal approval for use.

NEED FOOD? The Delridge Grocery Cooperative is able to offer essential food boxes to Delridge-area families in need through donations – contact DGC to find out more.

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