Washington State is still uncertain about the future of the COVID-19 pandemic, especially now that they are entering the fall season.
According to reports, there is significant progress in Washington since the case and hospitalization rates dropped exponentially.
However, the state still has fears because the active COVID-19 cases and hospitalizations across Washington remain too high.
Since it's already the fall season, residents will spend most of their time indoors, and doing so can increase their susceptibility to contracting the deadly virus.
Many Washington state residents haven't received their COVID-19 vaccinations either, and they are still being urged to do so.
Washington state COVID-19 cases and hospitalization rates not low enough
Washington State Secretary of Health Dr. Umair Shah acknowledged the declining numbers of active COVID-19 cases. He said that the current data is incredibly heartwarming, and he hopes that the patients and hospitalization rates will continue to decline in the coming months.
However, even with this decline, the numbers are still too high to sustain Washington's current system in place.
Lady Fehrenbach, Deputy Secretary for COVID-19 response at the Washington State Department of Health, also chimed in. She said that hospital admissions in Washington are still significantly higher than the admissions at the peak of the third wave. There are also new admissions due to COVID-19, so hospital occupancy is also high.
In order to keep up with the demand, hospitals in Washington are forced to delay non-urgent surgeries of their other patients to accommodate those with COVID-19 first.
Dr. Daniel Getz, Chief Medical Officer for Providence Sacred Heart Medical Center and Holy Family Hospital, urges non-vaccinated qualified individuals to get the jab.
"Going into fall we have a lot of uncertainty. We are planning for the worst and hoping for the best," Fehrenbach said via Komo News.
Washington state vaccination rates increased between August and September
According to the Seattle Times, the vaccination rates in Washington saw a 25 percent increase in the last month.
As of writing, over 4.9 million residents of Washington already received at least their first dose of vaccine, which is more than 76 percent of the state's eligible population. On average, about 15,000 people have been vaccinated in Washington every day over the past week.
Michele Roberts, acting Assistant Secretary of the State Department of Health, said that the state has started to close the gap.
Schools statewide are also under close watch for COVID-19 outbreaks, especially since youth aged 12 to 17 have lower vaccination rates. About 46 percent of children ages 12 to 15 in Washington are fully vaccinated, and those aged 16 to 17 are about 53 percent fully vaccinated.
On the other hand, adults aged 35 to 49 are 69 percent fully vaccinated, and those aged 65 and older are about 82 percent fully vaccinated.
Washington state workers at risk of losing their jobs
Despite these figures, hundreds of Washington state workers are still at risk of losing their jobs even though they are fully vaccinated.
State agencies previously granted nearly 800 accommodations to state workers after their religious or medical exemptions were approved. But they could still lose their jobs because agencies cannot accommodate workers with non-public positions, according to King 5.
