West Seattle, Washington
15 Sunday
Seattle Public Schools just announced progress in its talks with the Seattle Education Association, in the dispute over the district’s unilateral declaration that some staff is “essential” and must return to campuses this week to offer in-person learning for Special Education “intensive pathways” and preschool. The district just tweeted that it’s canceling that order, as the union had asked. Here’s the text of the tweets:
It is in the best interest of our students, staff, and families that SPS and SEA are unified in our approach to a return to in-person learning. We are close to a tentative agreement on the return of PreK and Special Education Intensive Service Pathways.
Together, we commit to bargaining an agreement so these students can begin in-person learning services on March 29th. In response to this joint commitment, SPS is rescinding its order from February 25 designating additional staff as “essential.”
Staff that support these students will return to buildings as early as March 22 to receive health and safety training, set up classrooms, and prepare for students. SPS and SEA will continue negotiating the return of K-1 grade students as directed by the School Board.
SPS and SEA also said in an emailed, jointly issued news release:
Today, Washington State Department of Labor & Industries and an independent HVAC contractor, together with SPS and SEA leaders, reviewed the readiness of multiple SPS school buildings. While this was not a required reopening step, it was an important one to help ensure staff and families are confident in the district’s adherence to Washington State Labor & Industries, Washington State DOH, Public Health – Seattle & King County, and federal CDC guidance and recommendations.
At the conclusion of this walkthrough there were no major issues identified. However, SPS and SEA together agreed that school staff could benefit from additional time to prepare to offer the safest, most equitable in-person learning environments possible in every SPS building. SPS and SEA’s bargaining teams are negotiating in good faith to reach an agreement this week and allow the time needed to ratify the agreement.
So bottom line, the first group of students to return won’t do so before March 29th.
The vaccination situation once again tops tonight’s pandemic headlines:
VACCINATION MILESTONE: 2 million doses have been administered in our state (which has 7.6 million residents). The announcement notes, “The state has enrolled almost 1400 provider facilities to give COVID-19 vaccines. As of March 8, providers have given more than 80% of the vaccine doses delivered in the state—up from 29% in early January.” Most of those providers haven’t gotten vaccine yet, though.
IF YOU KNOW SOMEONE 65+ WHO’S NOT VACCINATED … you might still be able to get them an appointment this week. The city has just – as we write this – sent an announcement that it’s opened the West Seattle and Rainier Beach sites to ALL Seattle residents 65+, for the rest of this week (through Saturday). Both sites’ registration forms are at seattle.gov/vaccine.
FOR THOSE WHO ARE FULLY VACCINATED – here’s what the CDC says you can do.
NEWEST KING COUNTY NUMBERS: Here are the key points of the daily summary from Seattle-King County Public Health:
*83,196 people have tested positive, 93 more than yesterday’s total
*1,416 people have died, 1 more than yesterday’s total
*5,147 people have been hospitalized, 2 more than yesterday’s total
*918,491 people have been tested, 3,995 more than yesterday’s total
One week ago, those totals were 82,303/1,393/5,103/907,357.
STATEWIDE NUMBERS: See them here.
WORLDWIDE NUMBERS: 117.1 million cases, 2.6 million deaths – 525,000+ in the U.S. See the other stats – nation by nation – here.
HAZARD PAY VOTE: The King County Council may take a final vote on its version of the hazard-pay-for-grocery-workers bill during its meeting at 1 pm tomorrow. The agenda explains how to watch/comment.
NEED FOOD? This week’s nearest Food Lifeline distribution is 2-5 pm Friday (March 12th) at 815 S. 96th. … Looking ahead, Highland Park Elementary (1012 SW Trenton) will be offering free food boxes 3-5 pm Friday, March 19th.
GOT SOMETHING TO REPORT? westseattleblog@gmail.com or 206-293-6302, text/voice – thank you!
The vaccination situation is back atop the roundup tonight:
WEST SEATTLE VACCINATION SITE: As reported earlier, the city’s new vaccination site at Southwest Athletic Complex has openings this week for West Seattle residents 65+, and they asked us to help get the word out. Start here. When the new site – alongside the city’s ongoing testing site – was announced a week ago, the city said it was “partnering with over 50 community-based and faith-based organizations” to get referrals for the new site. The continued emphasis on seniors is in the context of these vaccination rates from the county website – note in particular the 75+ stats:
Meantime, not long before we received the announcement from the city, we heard at a meeting that one of West Seattle that among those who will be vaccinated at the site this week are residents of the Arrowhead Gardens senior-living complex.
KING COUNTY’S NEWEST NUMBERS: From the King County daily-summary dashboard, the cumulative totals:
*83,103 people have tested positive, 162 more than yesterday’s total
*1,415 people have died, unchanged from yesterday’s total
*5,145 people have been hospitalized, 8 more than yesterday’s total
*914,496 people have been tested, 319 more than Friday’s total
One week ago, the King County totals were 82,215/1,393/5,100/901,467.
WEST SEATTLE TRENDS: Here’s our weekly check of this stat – first time in two weeks because the county’s site was malfunctioning a week ago – with numbers shown in two-week increments via the “geography over time” tab on the daily-summary dashboard, combining the totals from the West Seattle and Delridge “health reporting areas” (HRAs). For the past two weeks, 69 positive test results; 67 in the 2 weeks before that; 121 in the two weeks before that. … We also are noting WS death totals each week. The total deaths for the entire pandemic in the two HRAs comprising West Seattle: 61, unchanged from last check.
STATEWIDE NUMBERS: See them here.
WORLDWIDE NUMBERS: 116.8 million cases and 2,593,000+ deaths, 525,000+ of them in the U.S. – see the nation-by-nation breakdown here.
GOT SOMETHING TO REPORT? westseattleblog@gmail.com or 206-293-6302, text/voice – thank you!
We just received word from the Mayor’s Office that the West Seattle vaccination site in the Southwest Athletic Complex parking lot (2801 SW Thistle) has “several hundred openings” for the week ahead, tomorrow through Saturday, March 8-13. Eligibility for these appointments: West Seattle residents, 65 and up. They’ll be administering the two-dose Moderna vaccine, and you’ll get the second appointment while you are scheduling the first one. Here’s the registration link.
ADDED MONDAY NIGHT: Still openings, and the city now says ALL Seattle residents 65+ are welcome to make an appointment at this site or its Rainier Beach site this week.
In the pandemic-delayed high-school football season, both Chief Sealth International High School and West Seattle High School played their first games on Saturday. Sealth, at home, lost to Roosevelt, 41-28, and WSHS, at Memorial Stadium downtown, beat Cleveland, 45-6. The two local teams face off next weekend, 7 pm Friday at Southwest Athletic Complex. No spectators, though. If you’re wondering about overall health protocols, the state spells them out in detail here. Other sports being played right now include girls’ soccer and volleyball.
Now, our mid-weekend pandemic update:
NEWEST KING COUNTY NUMBERS: Here are the cumulative totals from Public Health‘s daily-summary dashboard:
*82,941 people have tested positive, 123 more than yesterday’s total
*1,415 people have died, 3 more than yesterday’s total
*5,137 people have been hospitalized, 12 more than yesterday’s total
*914,177 people have been tested, 373 more than yesterday’s total
ONE WEEK AGO: Last Saturday, those numbers were 82,092/1,393/5,091/901,122.
STATEWIDE NUMBERS: See them here.
WORLDWIDE NUMBERS: 116.5 million people have tested positive, and more than 2,587,000 people have died; U.S. deaths exceed 524,000. Most cases: U.S., India, Brazil, Russia, UK. See the breakdown, nation by nation, here.
STIMULUS BILL – WHAT DO YOU GET? You’ve probably heard by now that the next stimulus bill got a key approval in Congress today. Assuming this bill is finalized, you might wonder what’s in it for you. Here’s a breakdown.
NO NEW VACCINE NEWS: Nothing to report tonight.
GOT SOMETHING TO REPORT? westseattleblog@gmail.com or 206-293-6302, text/voice – thank you!
We have vaccination news as usual, but let’s start with the numbers:
KING COUNTY NUMBERS: Here are the latest stats from the Public Health daily-summary page, cumulative totals:
*82,818 people have tested positive, 102 more than yesterday’s total
*1,412 people have died, 1 more than yesterday’s total
*5,125 people have been hospitalized, 12 more than yesterday’s total
*913,804 people have been tested, 1,776 more than yesterday’s total
Now, our weekly check of key numbers on the COVID Vaccination Among King County Residents dashboard:
*393.154 people have received one dose
*218,184 people have received both doses
*622,155 doses have been allocated to King County
One week ago, the first four totals were 81,918/1,380/5,084/900,647, and the vaccination totals were 327,087/166,236/546,035.
STATEWIDE NUMBERS: See them here.
WORLDWIDE NUMBERS: 116 million cases, 2,580,000+ deaths – see the nation-by-nation numbers here.
COUNTY HEALTH OFFICER’S BRIEFING: In his weekly briefing, Dr. Jeff Duchin said trends are still “better” than a few months ago, but warned that the case drop has plateaued, so precautions remain important to hold off a “fourth wave.” He said he’s “cautiously optimistic” that we can be “much closer to normal” by summer’s end. He also noted that variants are still active in the county; while very little genome sequencing is done, 43 cases of the UK variant have been found, and 5 of the South Africa variant.
VACCINATION SITUATION: The state says the short-term goal of 45,000 shots a day has been achieved. Some other numbers:
Due to an increase in weekly allocations, DOH has been able to provide more and more vaccine to our partners across the state. Washington’s 3-week forecast from the federal government helps DOH develop a multi-week strategy that supports consistency and predictability. The forecast is subject to change as vaccine availability from the federal government may change.
Week of March 7: 309,770 total doses (163,660 first doses, 146,110 second doses)
Week of March 14: 320,300 total doses (163,660 first doses, 156,640 second doses)
Week of March 21: 327,320 total doses (163,660 first doses, 163,660 second doses)Although we are moving in the right direction, we still are not able to provide all the doses our providers request. Next week’s allocation is about 100,000 fewer doses than our providers requested.
WEST SEATTLE VACCINATIONS: No open public process announced for the week ahead at the new West Seattle site alongside the testing site at Southwest Athletic Complex‘s parking lot (2801 SW Thistle), but a reader forwarded an announcement about the plan for Thursdays, from the Equity in Education Coalition, which is signing people up for those days:
This site is prioritizing Black/Indigenous/People of Color who are:
– 65 years of age or older
– 50 years of age or older AND who live in a multigenerational household (with a grandparent or a grandchild)
– childcare providers over the age of 18
– live-in homecare providers over the age of 18
– paid or unpaid caretakersWe are currently not prioritizing teachers, as Seattle Public Schools is developing a plan for vaccinating SPS staff. We also encourage teachers to access the vaccine through their primary care providers or through their local neighborhood pharmacy/drug store.
* Folks will not be asked for your Social Security Number,
* Folks will not be asked about your immigration status,
* This is not zip-code locked (you can be from any zip code to get an appt slot)
For those who qualify, here is the link to sign up.
ALSO FOR VACCINE-SEEKERS … other places to check, as previously featured:
*Volunteer-compiled covidwa.com
*Pharmaca Integrative Pharmacy in The Junction – check here for appointments
*Local Safeway pharmacies – check here
*Local Rite Aid pharmacies – check here
*Local QFC pharmacies – check here
*Sea Mar‘s walk-in availabilities (White Center and South Park are their nearest locations)
*Veterans of any age who get health care from the VA can check for appointments
*The city’s standby list for people 65+ who would be able to drop everything and go to a city-run clinic if there are leftover doses at day’s end – the registration page explains
*City Councilmember Lisa Herbold‘s weekly newsletter again focuses on vaccine info
SCHOOL STANDOFF: Seattle Public Schools and the Seattle Education Association remain at loggerheads over the former’s unilateral announcement that staff for Special Education “intensive pathways” and preschool students must return to schools next week. SEA is urging members to “stay the course”; the district says it’s ready to resume some in-person learning.
Of note, district and teachers in Highline Public Schools immediately to our south haven’t reached an agreement yet, either.
IF YOU NEED TESTING SATURDAY: The city’s West Seattle test site (2801 SW Thistle) continues to be open on Saturdays.
GOT INFO OR PHOTOS? westseattleblog@gmail.com or text/voice 206-293-6302 – thank you!
The vaccination situation tops pandemic headlines again tonight:
ELIGIBILITY-EXPANSION PLAN: Provided enough vaccine is available, Gov. Inslee laid out more eligibility additions, starting March 22nd, continuing April 12th and April 26th. The plan – described as “tentative” – is detailed briefly here, in more detail here. Inslee said he’s hopeful those are achievable goals, because the pace of vaccinations keeps speeding up – averaging almost 44,000 a day statewide, with two 60,000+ days in the past week – and the supply is projected to increase too.
BACK TO SCHOOL? Though the state’s biggest district, Seattle Public Schools, is in a standoff with its teachers, the governor opened and closed his briefing by saying it’s imperative that students get back in the classroom, after a year away. He insisted it can be, and is being, done safely. Asked specifically about the SPS disagreement, Inslee said he’s talked to both sides. While not specifically saying he was talking about Seattle, he expressed frustration at what he called “excuses” for not getting back to in-person learning. Next week marks one year since he ordered schools to close.
NEWEST KING COUNTY NUMBERS: From the Public Health daily-summary dashboard, here are today’s cumulative totals:
*82,716 people have tested positive, 209 more than yesterday’s total
*1,411 people have died, 7 more than yesterday’s total
*5,113 people have been hospitalized, 4 more than yesterday’s total
*912,028 people have been tested, 1,657 more than yesterday’s total
One week ago, the four totals we track were 81,786/1,373/5,088/899,466.
STATEWIDE NUMBERS: Find them, county by county, on the state Department of Health page.
WORLDWIDE NUMBERS: 115.6 million cases worldwide, 28.8 million of them in the U.S. See the nation-by-nation breakout here.
IF YOU’RE STILL SEEKING VACCINE … If you’re 65+, check to see if that city clinic has any Friday spaces left … We learned from Seattle-King County Public Health reps at tonight’s North Highline Unincorporated Area Council meeting that the VA is offering vaccinations to any enrolled veteran, no matter their age; call 206-716-5716 … Your neighbors continue recommending covidwa.com – which is also now tweeting new openings at @covidwashington – as well as Sea Mar‘s walk-in clinics
NEED FOOD? All welcome at the weekly distribution of food boxes 2-5 pm tomorrow at Food Lifeline (815 S. 96th).
GOT PHOTOS/TIPS? 206-293-6302, text or voice, or westseattleblog@gmail.com – thank you!
3:15 PM: Governor Inslee has just announced tentative dates for expanding COVID-19 vaccination eligibility in our state. They’re tentative, he said, because it depends on vaccine supply meeting (or beating) current projections. They include (but are not limited to):
*March 22nd – second tier of Phase 1B, also to include “critical” workers including grocery, farm, food processing, public transit, law enforcement, firefighters
*April 12th – ages 50+ with two or more co-morbidities
*April 26th – ages 16+ with (CORRECTED) two or more co-morbidities
More details to come – we’ll link and update as soon as it’s available in writing. The governor also spent part of his briefing (update: archived video will be here soon) urging that schools get back to in-person learning, insisting that it can be done safely; we’ll have a separate update on the Seattle Public Schools situation later.
ADDED 4:08 PM: Here’s the governor’s graphic with the key points we noted above:
ADDED 6:03 PM: Here’s the state document with full details about current and future (tentative) expansion.
The vaccination situation tops tonight’s pandemic headlines again:
WEST SEATTLE APPOINTMENTS: Earlier this evening, the mayor’s office told us they had hundreds of appointments to fill for the next two days at the new city-run vaccination site that’s alongside the testing site in the Southwest Athletic Complex parking lot. We don’t know if they’re filled yet, but read our story and the comments before giving it a try.
NEWEST VACCINE GETS BONUS THUMBS-UP: Every vaccine OK’d by the feds has gotten an extra review/approval from the Western States Scientific Safety Review Workgroup; Gov. Inslee announced today that they’ve authorized use of the one-dose Johnson & Johnson vaccine.
INSLEE BRIEFING TOMORROW: The governor plans a media briefing/Q&A updating the pandemic response at 2:30 pm tomorrow; here’s the livestream link.
NEWEST KING COUNTY NUMBERS: Now, from the Seattle-King County Public Health daily-summary dashboard, the cumulative totals:
*82.507 people have tested positive, 144 more than yesterday’s total
*1,404 people have died, 5 more than yesterday’s total
*5,109 people have been hospitalized, 11 fewer than yesterday’s total (data adjustment)
*910,371 people have been tested, 301 more than yesterday’s total
One week ago, the four totals we track were 81,525/1,365/5,090/896,855.
STATEWIDE NUMBERS: Our state has passed 5,000 deaths. Find all the numbers, county by county, on the state Department of Health page,.
WORLDWIDE NUMBERS: See them, nation by nation, here.
HAZARD PAY FOR GROCERY WORKERS: A proposal to expand it in King County won approval by county councilmembers meeting today as the Committee of the Whole; it’s expected to get a full-council vote next week.
RETURNING TO IN-PERSON LEARNING: Waiting for word on what’s next with Seattle Public Schools, which has ordered staff for special-education “intensive pathways” and preschool to return to buildings Monday, without having reached agreement with the Seattle Education Association, which planned a meeting tonight to discuss the situation.
GOT INFO? Email us at westseattleblog@gmail.com or phone us, text or voice, at 206-293-6302 – thank you!
5:30 PM: Just got word of this from the mayor’s office:
Because of the significant percentage of folks 65 and older in the West Seattle area who have yet to be vaccinated, we are focusing on folks 65 and older in ZIP codes in West Seattle, Delridge, and South Park that have been disproportionately impacted by the pandemic.
The site is at Southwest Athletic Complex‘s parking lot, 2801 SW Thistle, same place the city’s been offering testing, which continues.
9:27 PM: If you’re 65+ but hit an “ineligible” screen, commenters below have advice.
THURSDAY 8:22 AM: Still appointments, the mayor’s office says, and now open to all WS zip codes.
Metro has announced the plan for its March “service change,” which takes effect March 20th. Changes include:
*Adding/restoring some trips “to address travel demand that at times exceeds COVID-19 passenger limits,” including, in West Seattle, Routes 50, 60, and 128.
*Suspension of some trips on certain routes, described as “peak commuter routes where ridership has not yet returned,” including, in West Seattle. Routes 21X, 55, 56, 57,.
Metro also says some suspended routes will continue that way at least until the fall service change “due to lower ridership demand and available financial resources,” including, in West Seattle, Routes 22, 37, 113, and 116.
See the full announcement here. You can get the route-by-route details here.
In case you’ve lost track of the status of the plan to re-start some Seattle Public Schools in-person learning: Though the goal voiced by the district back in December was to return preschool, kindergarten, 1st grade, and special-education “intensive pathways” students to campuses on March 1st, the district and the Seattle Education Association are still negotiating. Last Friday, the district announced that it had declared the “intensive pathways” and preschool staff as “essential,” and would expect them back on campus next Monday (March 8th), with those students starting in-person classes (with their families offered the option to remain remote) on Thursday, March 11th. The district’s latest update on this is here. Meantime, SEA’s latest update is here. The union’s board considers the unilateral “essential” declaration illegal and “unionbusting,” and is recommending that those covered by it continue working remotely. SEA is having a 5 pm meeting tonight to consider that and other recommendations, and another meeting tomorrow for the members who the district has declared “essential.” The union’s update from Monday includes both district and SEA links to proposals, counterproposals, and comparisons.
Vaccination news tops tonight’s pandemic headlines:
ELIGIBILITY EXPANDS: President Biden proclaimed that educators and licensed child-care workers should be eligible for vaccination now, and Gov. Inslee subsequently announced that now they are. He also said he’ll announce “soon” when “critical” workers – from grocery stores, farms, more – will be eligible.
BUT WHAT ABOUT THE SUPPLY? The president also said today that there should be enough vaccine for all adults in the U.S. by the end of May – though that doesn’t mean all those shots will, or can, be administered by then. Our state, county, and city continue to contend that they have far more shot-giving capacity than vaccine, and they could be inoculating many more people every day if only the vaccine were available.
NEWEST KING COUNTY NUMBERS: Checking today’s daily summary from Seattle-King County Public Health – the cumulative totals:
*82,363 people have tested positive, 60 more than yesterday’s total
*1,399 people have died, 6 more than yesterday’s total
*5,120 people have been hospitalized, 17 more than yesterday’s total
*910,070 people have been tested, 2,713 more than yesterday’s total
One week ago, the totals were 81,379/1,357/5,083/895,001.
STATEWIDE NUMBERS: See them here.
NATIONAL/WORLDWIDE NUMBERS: 114.7 million cases worldwide, 28.7 million of them in the U.S. – see other nation-by-nation stats by going here.
GETTING AN APPOINTMENT: Back to the topic of vaccination – if you’re eligible, here are some places to look:
*Your health-care provider (particularly bigger ones like UW Medicine, CHI Franciscan, Swedish, etc.)
*Pharmacy chains big and small – Safeway, Rite Aid, QFC, Pharmaca, Costco
*covidwa.com (volunteer-run aggregator)
GOT SOMETHING TO REPORT? westseattleblog@gmail.com or 206-293-6302, text/voice – thank you!
Many West Seattle independent and parochial schools have offered hybrid programs this year, as we reported last fall – some in-person learning, some online. One of them, Seattle Lutheran High School, has just announced it’s adding a fourth day of in-person learning starting this week.
The Seattle Lutheran High School Board of Directors is pleased to announce the approval of a fourth day of in-building learning for all students in grades 9-12 beginning the week of March 1, 2021. Students will now attend classes in the building Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, and Friday, with Wednesday being fully remote and the last Wednesday of each month being an asynchronous workday.
“The Seattle Lutheran Board and I are excited about moving to four days a week of in-building classes. Our protocols have worked flawlessly and with the continued infection rate reductions, we are confident this is the right move for our students,” commented Tim Morgan, Interim Executive Director of Seattle Lutheran High School.
In the fall, students had the option of attending classes remotely or in-person. Safety protocols have been strictly enforced on campus with students and staff screened every morning before entering the building, including temperature checks and required mask wearing. When asked what she thought of the additional day of in-building learning, ASB SLHS President Melina Menashe replied, “I really enjoy going to school every day to be with my best friends, as well as asking teachers questions and receiving answers in person so you can get more than just a visual experience.”
Senior Emma Freeman added that she feels “adding Friday to the list of in-person days will help increase engagement in whatever classes in-person students have for that day. I know for me personally it is sometimes easier to slide off on Zoom on a Friday afternoon, but being in the building helps keep me on track.”
Seattle Lutheran High School is still accepting applications for Fall 2021, and more information can be found here or contact the Admissions Director Sally Heit at 206-937-7722, or visit www.seattlelutheran.org.
The SLHS campus is at 4100 SW Genesee, just north of The Junction. We asked if they’ve had any COVID cases; the response, “SLHS has had only one positive Covid-19 case but it was not contracted at the school nor transmitted within the school community.”
Just in from the governor’s office:
Gov. Jay Inslee issued a statement today following President Joe Biden’s directive that all states must prioritize vaccinations of teachers and childcare workers.
“Like President Biden, I am grateful for the hard work and sacrifice of educators every day, and especially during this pandemic. The president has directed us to add preK-12 educators, school staff and licensed child-care workers to our current vaccine prioritization. This directive will be carried out through existing providers and the Federal Retail Pharmacy Program, which operates through national pharmacies and independent pharmacy chains.
“Therefore, we are adding educators and licensed child-care workers to Washington’s Phase 1B-1 immediately. The Washington State Department of Health will have more specific information soon on how those workers can access vaccines. Phase Finder may take time to reflect these changes, but educators and licensed child-care workers can schedule with providers right away.
“The good news is that schools will be able to open and we are pleased that teachers will be back in the classroom very soon. This should give educators more confidence to return to in-person learning and that it can be done with the safety protocols that are being used by 1,400 other schools in our state right now.
“We will continue the current state plans and goals to focus on those most at risk, including older adults and those facing the greatest equity gaps.
“To that end, I will soon be announcing when our state vaccine prioritization will be moving to include critical workers in certain congregate settings including those who work in grocery stores, farmworkers, food processors, bus drivers, corrections workers and others.
“We will continue our progress in getting every Washingtonian vaccinated. I am grateful for the partnership of the federal government and their efforts to help move educators up in the prioritization.”
If this means you’ll be looking for vaccine for the first time: Places to look for appointments, as we’ve continued reporting in our daily pandemic coverage, include covidwa.com, as well as multiple-location providers such as Sea Mar clinics and Safeway, Rite Aid, and QFC pharmacies.
Tonight’s pandemic headlines:
NEWEST KING COUNTY NUMBERS: Here are the key points of the daily summary from Seattle-King County Public Health (note: the totals are exactly as posted by King County, but their “changed from yesterday” numbers were wrong for all but the death count, so the “more than” number is from our calculations, comparing to the Sunday update):
*82,303 people have tested positive, 88 more than yesterday’s total
*1,393 people have died, unchanged from Saturday
*5,103 people have been hospitalized, 3 more than yesterday’s total
*907,357 people have been tested, 5,890 more than yesterday’s total
One week ago, those totals were 81.277/1,345/5,082/892,520.
STATEWIDE NUMBERS: See them here.
WORLDWIDE NUMBERS: 114.4 million cases, 2,538,000+ deaths – 514,000+ in the U.S. See the other stats – nation by nation – here.
VACCINATION SITUATION: The city-run Southwest Athletic Complex testing site is now a permanent vaccine clinic too, as announced this morning. However, appointments aren’t open to the public yet, so the only advice seems to be – sign up for all the lists you can get on, from health-care providers to social-service agencies. And if you have transportation and the ability to drop everything and run, there’s the city standby list, too.
NEED FOOD? This week’s nearest Food Lifeline distribution is 2-5 pm Friday (March 5th) at 815 S. 96th.
GOT SOMETHING TO REPORT? westseattleblog@gmail.com or 206-293-6302, text/voice – thank you!
(WSB photo from ‘pilot’ vaccination clinic at SWAT, February 18th)
After “pilot periods,” West Seattle now has a permanent city-run vaccination site.
One big catch, though – no public appointments yet – it’s referral-only TFN.
The city announced this morning that the Southwest Athletic Complex parking lot site where it’s been giving COVID-19 tests six days a week is now one of two Community Testing and Vaccination Clinics, along with Rainier Beach.
For starters, the city announcement says, each of the two clinics will administer about 1,000 doses of vaccine weekly. The Seattle Fire Department-run sites could give up to 1,000 doses a day if and when that much vaccine becomes available. But for now, here’s how the city announcement says eligibility will work:
Because supply remains limited, registration for both vaccination clinics will be focused on referral-only registrations, with no public registration option available. Due to limited supply, walk-ins cannot be accommodated. Vaccination rates of people 65 and older in West Seattle and Rainier Beach continue to lag behind the rest of King County. Less than half of people ages 65 or older have been vaccinated in these ZIP codes. The disparities are especially pronounced for Black, Indigenous, and People of Color (BIPOC) communities.
The City’s Aging & Disability Services division, Department of Neighborhoods, and Office of Immigrant and Refugee Affairs have been partnering with over 50 community-based and faith-based organizations primarily serving BIPOC communities, older adults, and immigrants and refugees to register people for the clinics. During its initial pilot period in February, 83 percent of those who registered for the Rainier Beach clinic identified as BIPOC; 40 percent of those who registered for the West Seattle clinic identified as BIPOC.
(The pilot periods at the West Seattle site (2801 SW Thistle) included this one and this one.)
The city also announced today that it will open a mass-vaccination site soon at the Lumen Field Event Center, run by Swedish, with about 5,000 doses each week in the beginning, with the ability to scale up to 150,000 a week if and when vaccine is available. The announcement says this clinic will offer public appointments to eligible recipients once it opens around the middle of the month.
One year ago tonight, we reported on the first King County COVID-19 case – schools closed two weeks later, and the statewide stay-home order came three weeks later. Here’s where we are now:
KING COUNTY’S NEWEST NUMBERS: From the King County daily-summary dashboard, the cumulative totals:
*82,215 people have tested positive, 174 more than yesterday’s total
*1,393 people have died, (corrected) unchanged from yesterday’s total
(corrected) *5,100 people have been hospitalized, 7 more than yesterday’s total
*901,467 people have been tested, 475 more than Friday’s total
One week ago, the King County totals were 81,175/1,345/5,072/888,341.
WEST SEATTLE TRENDS: We can’t present the usual set of numbers because the “geography over time” tab on the daily-summary dashboard isn’t functioning right now. (We’ll check it again before night’s end and add the data if it starts working again.) But our weekly check of WS total deaths for the entire pandemic is available – for the two HRAs (Health Reporting Areas) comprising West Seattle: 61, one more than a week ago.
STATEWIDE NUMBERS: See them here.
WORLDWIDE NUMBERS: 114 million cases and 2,530,000+ deaths, 513,000+ of them in the U.S. – see the nation-by-nation breakdown here.
VACCINATION SITUATION: No new developments to report tonight but a couple of notes – A reader called this morning to recommend pointing eligible people who don’t have computer access to the Virginia Mason hotline, so if you know someone still looking, the number and other info can be found here … The unofficial covidwa.com lookup also now offers a phone option, new since we looked at that site last night: “Call or text 425-292-1727 with your ZIP and we will list three nearby clinics with availability.”
TOWN HALL ON PANDEMIC & MORE: Our area’s King County Councilmember Joe McDermott is one of four councilmembers who will lead a town hall addressing pandemic questions and other issues this Wednesday, 6-7:30 pm. You can send a question in advance using this form. Here’s how to watch/listen.
GOT SOMETHING TO REPORT? westseattleblog@gmail.com or 206-293-6302, text/voice – thank you!
For the first time in three weeks, King County has updated its stats on Saturday, so that’s where we start:
NEWEST KING COUNTY NUMBERS: Here are the cumulative totals from Public Health‘s daily-summary dashboard:
*82,092 people have tested positive, 174 more than yesterday’s total
*1,393 people have died, 13 more than yesterday’s total
*5,091 people have been hospitalized, 7 more than yesterday’s total
*901,122 people have been tested, 475 more than yesterday’s total
(The county did not post updates on either of the past two Saturdays, so we have no “one week ago” stats tonight.)
STATEWIDE NUMBERS: See them here.
WORLDWIDE NUMBERS: 113.7 million people have tested positive, and more than 2,525,000 people have died; U.S. deaths exceed 511,000. Most cases: U.S., India, Brazil, Russia, UK. See the breakdown, nation by nation, here.
THIRD VACCINE: The FDA has OK’d the one-shot Johnson & Johnson vaccine. Next step before tens of thousands of doses are sent to our state: The Western States Scientific Safety Review Workgroup will meet Monday for an “extra layer of review,” Gov. Inslee says.
FINDING VACCINE: Thanks again to WSB readers offering tips on where they’re finding appointments. This morning, we heard again from Ann, though a commenter says that clinic does not appear to be offering appointments as widely as the one she sent news of last week … Recommendations are continuing for checking the volunteer-run covidwa.com lookup frequently …
DONATION DRIVE: If you can help those in need – here’s a chance Sunday.
GOT SOMETHING TO REPORT? westseattleblog@gmail.com or 206-293-6302, text/voice – thank you!
WSB reader Ann, who shared news last weekend of a West Seattle vaccination clinic, just got another email about one and forwarded it to share. The eligibility mentioned in the email she received from a UW Medicine mailing list: West Seattle/South Park residents, 65 and older. The clinic is happening next week, the email says, and will again be at the Southwest Athletic Complex parking lot. While last time she got a registration link, this time it’s by phone – the number in the email she received is 206.520.8758. Caveat: No indication of what hours they’re taking calls, nor of whether you have to be on their list. Meantime, please note that we’re continuing to feature vaccination info in our nightly roundups (last night, thanks to reader tips, we mentioned Pharmaca in The Junction will be offering vaccine); you can always find the most-recent roundup in our archive of pandemic coverage.
4:51 PM NOTE: See Bill‘s comment before you try calling.
52 weeks have now passed since the Friday night when the first King County case of COVID-19 was announced – February 28 2020. Here are tonight’s updates:
ONE YEAR LATER: King County Executive Dow Constantine joined County Health Officer Dr. Jeff Duchin‘s weekly briefing. They looked back and ahead. Though the pandemic has taken a tragic toll, Constantine also noted that while ours is the 13th largest out of the nation’s 97 large metropolitan areas, it is 96th in per-capita case count, behind only O’ahu, HI. Dr. Duchin declared, “The light at the end of the tunnel is getting brighter.” You can watch the video here.
KING COUNTY NUMBERS: Here are the latest stats from the Public Health daily-summary page, cumulative totals:
*81,918 people have tested positive, 132 more than yesterday’s total
*1,380 people have died, 7 more than yesterday’s total
*5,084 people have been hospitalized, 4 fewer than yesterday’s total (data adjustment)
*900,647 people have been tested, 1,181 more than yesterday’s total
Now, our weekly check of key numbers on the COVID Vaccination Among King County Residents dashboard:
*327,087 people have received one dose
*166,236 people have received both doses
*546,035 doses have been allocated to King County
One week ago, the first four totals were 80,859/1,345/5,062/887,461, and the vaccination totals were 301,938/125,444/466,575.
STATEWIDE NUMBERS: See them here.
WORLDWIDE NUMBERS: 113.4 million cases, 2,517,000+ deaths – see the nation-by-nation numbers here.
JOHNSON & JOHNSON VACCINE ON BRINK OF APPROVAL: As soon as tomorrow, the U.S. could have a third vaccine option, the one-shot Johnson & Johnson vaccine, which cleared another hurdle today.
IF YOU’RE SEEKING VACCINE … thanks to everyone who continues to message us with things to check out. Pharmaca Integrative Pharmacy in The Junction expects to get vaccine within the next few weeks, its manager told us by phone, so check there for appointments … Local Safeways notified mailing-list subscribers today that they will be offering appointments … Daily options continue changing on volunteer-compiled covidwa.com … The city now has a standby list for people 65+ who would be able to drop everything and go to a city-run clinic if there are leftover doses at day’s end – the registration page explains.
IF YOU NEED TESTING SATURDAY: The city’s West Seattle test site (2801 SW Thistle) continues to be open on Saturdays.
GOT INFO OR PHOTOS? westseattleblog@gmail.com or text/voice 206-293-6302 – thank you!
Lots of pandemic news tonight:
PHASE 2 AND HOLDING: During his briefing this afternoon (see the video here), Gov. Inslee said the entire state will remain in Phase 2 for at least the next two weeks, “paused” without any chance any region could fall back into Phase 1. He said that so much progress has been made, the possibility of a “circuit-breaker’ isn’t necessary, for now. So what about a Phase 3? That will be answered “in the next several weeks,” he said. In Q&A, he allowed it could be sooner.
NEWEST KING COUNTY NUMBERS: From the Public Health daily-summary dashboard, here are today’s cumulative totals:
*81,786 people have tested positive, 261 more than yesterday’s total
*1,373 people have died, 8 more than yesterday’s total
*5,088 people have been hospitalized, 2 fewer than yesterday’s total (data correction)
*899,466 people have been tested, 2,611 more than yesterday’s total
One week ago, the four totals we track were 80,635/1,331/5,042/884,554.
STATEWIDE NUMBERS: Find them, county by county, on the state Department of Health page.
WORLDWIDE NUMBERS: 112.9 million cases worldwide, 28.4 million of them in the U.S. See the nation-by-nation breakout here.
STATE HEALTH OFFICIALS’ BRIEFING: This morning, the weekly briefing by state Health Department leaders included the latest vaccination overview – 1.4 million doses given statewide so far, “making up for lost time” now that weather delays are over. Next week the state’s getting 280,000 doses, and if the Johnson & Johnson vaccine gets approval, 60,900 doses could be sent to our state next week. The virus variants were discussed a bit too – in the past month, the state has had 39 reported cases of the B.1.1.7 variant, for example. Watch the briefing here.
CITY CLINIC FOLLOWUP: Last Sunday, we published word of a city-run pop-up clinic that at the time had appointments available for West Seattle and South Park residents 65+ Friday-Saturday. Today, the city finally officially announced it in a news release (though the appointments are long since all booked), calling it a “pilot” of a “Community Testing & Vaccination Site” that will be operated long-term once the vaccine supply allows. So thanks again to reader Ann for sharing the news of the short-term clinic in time for people to get appointments!
IF YOU’RE STILL SEEKING VACCINE … your neighbors highly recommend covidwa.com as well as Sea Mar‘s walk-in clinics
NEED FOOD? Along with the weekly distribution of food boxes tomorrow at 2-5 pm tomorrow at Food Lifeline (815 S. 96th) HQ, there’s also a Snack Pack distribution at Highland Park Elementary (1012 SW Trenton), drive-thru, 3-5 pm tomorrow.
GOT PHOTOS/TIPS? 206-293-6302, text or voice, or westseattleblog@gmail.com – thank you!
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