Coronavirus updates: State moves into Phase 1B of vaccine plan
This page includes coronavirus developments around Washington state for Tuesday, Jan. 19.
Inslee announces changes as vaccine distribution moves into Phase 1B
Updated 9 a.m.
Washington state has moved into the next phase COVID-19 vaccine distribution.
The vaccine is now available to residents in Tier 1 of Phase 1B, which includes people 65 or older, people who are 50 or older and live in a multi-generational household (where individuals from two or more generations live) and people who were already eligible in Phase 1A, according to the state Department of Health. Phase 1A included health care workers, first responders and long-term care facility workers and residents.
Washington Gov. Jay Inslee announced changes to the state’s vaccine distribution plan Monday with a goal to accelerate the pace.
“Today we are announcing the start of what we think of as the second stage of our vaccination initiative,” Inslee said during virtual press conference Monday. “We are now moving from a limited number of Washingtonians to a rather broad scale, where mass vaccinations are now possible, called for, and are going to be implemented.”
The changes included expanding who is eligible in Phase 1B and setting a goal of 45,000 vaccinations per day.
Previously, the first tier of Phase 1B only included residents 70 and older.
The second, third and fourth tiers of Phase 1B will remain the same, but Inslee said they will have more flexibility, including allowing those in the second tier to receive the vaccination once about half of the first tier have received the shots.
The second tier of Phase 1B includes high-risk essential workers 50 and older who work in congregate settings such as agriculture, food processing and grocery stores, educators and staff who work at schools, child care workers, workers at corrections centers, prisons, jails or detention centers, public transit workers, firefighters and law enforcement.
The third tier includes people 16 or older with two or more co-morbitities or underlying conditions.
The fourth tier includes high-risk essential workers younger than 50 who work in congregate settings, as well as staff or residents living in congregate living settings.
Residents can determine eligibility through the state’s Phase Finder tool.
Inslee also announced a new public-private partnership called the “Washington State Vaccine Command and Coordination Center,” which will begin coordinating resources to get the vaccine distributed as efficiently as possible.
Partners involved include Kaiser Permanente, Starbucks, Microsoft, SeaMar, Costco, SEIU 1199 NW, UCFW 21 and the Washington State Nurses Association.
Record number of Washington residents sought health insurance last year
Updated 9 a.m.
A record number of Washington residents sought health insurance in 2020 through the state’s HealthPlanFinder.
“The numbers reflect the need of Washingtonians losing their employer-sponsored health coverage because of the pandemic,” Washington Health Benefit Exchange CEO Pam MacEwan said in a statement.
About 2 million of the state’s residents received free or low-cost coverage through Washington Apple Health, which provides “preventative care, like cancer screenings, treatment for diabetes and high blood pressure, and many other health care services,” and is available to apply for year-round.
Another 215,000 residents enrolled in qualified health plans.
In December, an average of 1,500 residents per day enrolled in Apple Health, per the state’s health benefit exchange.
State nearing 290K cases, will resume reporting Tuesday
Updated 9 a.m.
The Washington State Department of Health reported 3,969 new cases of COVID-19 and one death Sunday, in its latest count since Friday.
Deaths are no longer reported on weekends.
The state did not update its dashboard Saturday citing “technical challenges” processing COVID-19 data.
Statewide totals have reached 289,939 cases and 3,903 deaths, up from 285,970 cases Friday. The new case total includes 12,535 cases that are listed as probable.
The state’s dashboard cautions that total case counts “may include up to 950 duplicates” due to incomplete negative test results data From Nov. 21-30 and Dec. 30-Jan. 17.
“Therefore, percent positivity and case counts should be interpreted with caution,” the dashboard says.
“Due to data system issues this weekend, local health jurisdictions were not able to reconcile hospitalization numbers this weekend. Therefore, hospitalization numbers should be interpreted with caution.”
Previous case and death counts are revised daily by the DOH.
King County continues to report the state’s highest counts for cases (73,015), hospitalizations (4,603) and deaths (1,152).
Pierce County reported 142 new cases Monday and one death, passing 30,000 cases and bringing its totals to 30,087 cases and 360 deaths since the first confirmed case was reported in March.
Spokane County (30,756 cases, 415 deaths) and Snohomish County (26,267 cases, 442 deaths) have each reported more than 400 deaths, while Yakima County has reported 22,988 cases and 345 deaths.
Each of the state’s 39 counties have reported positive cases and all but three have reported more than 100. Only two counties have not reported a virus-related death.
More than 4.2 million tests have been administered in the state since the pandemic began.
The state will not update its counts Monday in observance of Martin Luther King Jr. Day. Regular daily reports will resume Tuesday.
Sarah Gentzler, Andrew Hammond and Craig Sailor contributed to this report.
This story was originally published January 19, 2021 at 9:01 AM with the headline "Coronavirus updates: State moves into Phase 1B of vaccine plan."
