King County Reaches New Vaccination Milestone

KING COUNTY, WA — King County reached another vaccination milestone this week, becoming the first large county in the United States to reach 70 percent of its eligible population with at least one dose of a COVID-19 vaccine across all age groups. Officials announced the achievement Tuesday, shortly after King County crossed the 3 million dose mark.

Back in June, King County became the largest U.S. county to reach the 70 percent mark for residents 16 and older. Now, King County has reached the same milestone for every eligible age group, including its youngest sectors, and across all races and ethnicities.

"As I've said all along, this pandemic will end one shot at a time, and no community would be left behind," said King County Executive Dow Constantine. "Our community outreach, school clinics, and partnerships across King County have helped save lives and keep more people safe from the Delta variant. From young people to community organizations that reach communities of color, everyone in King county is stepping up to do their part and keep one another safe from this dangerous virus."

The welcome achievement arrives as Washington contends with a record-breaking surge in COVID-19 cases and hospitalizations, fueled by the delta variant. Last week, state hospital officials reported most facilities at or nearing capacity as COVID-19 admissions reached their highest point in the pandemic. Fortunately, one metric that has remained relatively flat is deaths, which officials credit to exceptionally high immunization rates among the oldest residents.

With the Pfizer vaccine now fully approved by the Food and Drug Administration, health officials are also hopeful they can reach more people who have been hesitant to get a shot.

"This is an important milestone and remarkable achievement, but as the current Delta surge shows, we still have too many eligible and unprotected," said Dr. Jeff Duchin, health officer for King County. "The full approval of the Pfizer mRNA vaccine by FDA should reassure anyone who has been reluctant to be vaccinated with the emergency use authorization. This vaccine now officially meets the same safety and effectiveness standard as all other routinely available vaccines."

Find the latest COVID-19 trends and vaccination rates via Public Health - Seattle & King County.