The COVID-19 pandemic and efforts to slow its spread brought a number of social, economic and overall health impacts for communities throughout King County. Public Health – Seattle & King County, in partnership with the Disability Empowerment Center and Lifelong Aging And Disabilities Services, interviewed and listened to local people from disability communities to shed light on how these impacts were experienced by people living with disabilities in King County.
A ten-year review of sudden and unexpected deaths among people experiencing homelessness offers a heartbreaking reminder: The median age of death was 51. That compares to an overall median age of 79 for all deaths of King County residents.
For years, Indigenous communities have been sounding the alarm about missing and murdered Indigenous women and people in their communities. It results from harmful responses and policies at multiple government levels that ignore Indigenous people’s lived experiences across the U.S. and Washington state.
Public Health – Seattle & King County created a social and economic risk index in 2020 to help leaders and managers direct resources and prevention efforts to communities with the greatest COVID-19 inequities. Now, that data is available to the public through a new data dashboard and a report with analysis and key takeaways.
The data shows how multiple interconnected structural and systemic factors are associated with COVID-19 disease rates across King County neighborhoods over the course of the pandemic.
Just before the COVID-19 pandemic began, King County communities showed both promising health improvements, as well as new areas for concern. A new Community Health Needs Assessment report produced by The King County Hospitals for a Healthier Community in partnership with Public Health – Seattle & King County provides insight into health and social issues affecting local communities just before the pandemic. It also describes some key impacts of COVID-19.
