2 million more people in Washington eligible for COVID-19 vaccines starting March 31

Restaurant workers to be eligible for COVID-19 vaccine

A Black Diamond bakery and restaurant owner weighs the option to soon be eligible to receive the COVID-19 vaccine. Q13's Franque Thompson reports.

OLYMPIA, Wash. - Restaurant workers, prisoners, people over 60 and those with two or more underlying health conditions are among the two million more Washington residents eligible for a COVID-19 vaccine starting March 31.

Gov. Jay Inslee announced the accelerated timeline at a news conference Thursday afternoon.

Inslee announces new group eligible for vaccination

A new tier of people are able to get vaccinated.

The new vaccine tiers also include manufacturing workers, construction workers and people in congregate settings, such as prisoners, group home residents and people experiencing homelessness.

Inslee said the new tiers are opening up earlier than expected because of increasing doses and a higher vaccination rate. So far, the state has administered more than 2.52 million doses, according to the state health department's website, with 1.3 million people receiving their first shot.

The underlying conditions that qualify are based on guidelines from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

According to the CDC, the following conditions are considered an increased risk for severe COVID-19 illness:

Cancer
Chronic kidney disease
COPD (chronic obstructive pulmonary disease)
Down Syndrome
Heart conditions, such as heart failure, coronary artery disease, or cardiomyopathies
Immunocompromised state (weakened immune system) from solid organ transplant
Obesity (body mass index [BMI] of 30 kg/m2 or higher but < 40 kg/m2)
Severe Obesity (BMI ≥ 40 kg/m2)
Pregnancy
Sickle cell disease
Smoking
Type 2 diabetes mellitus

Shireesha Dhanireddy is a professor of medicine at the University of Washington. She said the new vaccine tiers can help those with underlying health risks lower their risks of COVID-19 hospitalizations.

"People with heart problems, lung problems, cancers, people who have suppressed immune systems—those people are vulnerable people in our community. So, we want to get them vaccinated because they are at risk for getting more severe disease and ending up in the hospital," said Dhanireddy.

The news comes a day after the state opened up vaccines to pregnant women over 16, as well as high-risk critical workers in certain group settings, including grocery store workers, public transit workers and people who work in food and agriculture.

Dhanireddy, also the medical director of the Infectious Disease Clinic at Harborview Medical Center, encourages people to be mindful that COVID-19 case numbers are still significant.

"Even though they’ve plateaued, we’re still above where we were last summer. So, this is not going away yet and we need to continue to increase our vaccination efforts and also continue masking and our social distancing mandates," said Dhanireddy.

Eviction Moratorium Extended

Inslee also announced Thursday that the state's eviction moratorium, which was set to expire at the end of March, has been extended through June 30.

The ban on shutting off utilities for nonpayment has been extended through July 31, and the governor also signed a proclamation prohibiting debt collectors from garnishing federal stimulus payments.

Long-term Care Visitation Reopens

Visitation at nursing homes and long-term care facilities can resume in Washington for residents who are fully vaccinated, though state health officials said outdoor visitation is still the safest.

Compassionate care visits are still allowed, regardless of vaccination status.

More help for people seeking vaccines

Public-private partnerships have helped the state to provide more resources for people who are seeking vaccines, Inslee said Thursday. These new resources include:

A new Vaccine Locator tool launched by the state Department of Health meant to simplify the scheduling process
More people working the state vaccine hotline (1-800-525-0127) thanks to support from Amazon
A playbook for mass vaccination sites provided by Challenge Seattle

President Biden has pledged to make vaccines available for all Americans by May 1, though officials have not said yet whether Washington will be ready to fully open up vaccines by then.

For information on eligibility, visit the Phase Finder tool on the state Department of Health’s website.

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