On April 30th, in his weekly press briefing, Health Officer Dr. Jeff Duchin emphasized the importance of vaccination to protect those who are most vulnerable to infection and lift pandemic restrictions:

“It’s clear that our best path out of COVID-19 restrictions and resurgences… is by rolling up our sleeves and getting vaccinated. Getting vaccinated is important for ensuring not just our own health, but the health of our family, friends, coworkers, and others we come in contact with.

With COVID-19, we depend on one another for community protection, including for highly vulnerable people who might not respond to vaccination because they’re immunocompromised with a weakened immune system from disease or treatment or medication.

We all know people like this, whether we realize it or not. There are tens of thousands or more of immunocompromised people in King County alone. The more people who are vaccinated, the less COVID-19 will circulate, and the safer we will all be.” – Dr. Jeff Duchin

For more on COVID-19 data trends, visit our data dashboards: https://www.kingcounty.gov/depts/health/covid-19/data.aspx

For more on COVID-19 vaccine planning in King County: www.kingcounty.gov/covid/vaccine

Originally posted April 30, 2021