The Washington State Department of Health (DOH) continues to make progress with our COVID-19 vaccine distribution and administration efforts.

As of May 22, more than 6,749,266 doses of vaccine have been given across the state, which is nearly 86% of the 7,875,030 doses that have been delivered to our providers and federal partnership programs. More than 50% of people in Washington 16 years and older are fully vaccinated against COVID-19 and nearly 61% of people 16 and older have received at least one dose. This information can be found on the DOH data dashboard under the vaccines tab, which is updated three times per week.

Study: Moderna COVID-19 vaccine extremely effective for teens

This week Moderna announced its COVID-19 vaccine is safe and highly effective in children and teens ages 12 to 17 following a clinical trial that included more than 3,700 people. The company plans to submit its data to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in early June and request its vaccine be authorized for 12 to 17-year-olds. Moderna is currently authorized for people 18 and older. In March, Moderna began trials for children between the ages of 6 months to 11 years old.

If authorized, Moderna would be the second COVID-19 vaccine available for adolescents and teens. Washington expanded vaccine eligibility to those 12 and older on May 13 after the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine was authorized and recommended for those as young as 12. Since then, more than 76,000 adolescents between the ages of 12 to 15 have received their first dose of the vaccine, which is more than 20% of the age group.

Milestone: State-led mass vaccination sites administer 300,000 doses of COVID-19 vaccine

More than 300,000 doses of COVID-19 vaccine have been given out at DOH’s state-led mass vaccination sites over the past four months. The milestone comes the same week DOH will begin transitioning its efforts from stationary vaccination sites to mobile vaccination clinics to take vaccine directly into communities and help serve those disproportionally impacted by COVID-19.

Friday the state-led mass vaccination sites in Ridgefield and Kennewick will close. DOH will transition leadership of its Wenatchee site to the Chelan-Douglas Health District. The Spokane site will remain open. For more information visit the mass vaccination web page.

Get vaccinated today

Now that vaccine supply has caught up with demand, getting vaccinated is easier than ever. If you have questions about the COVID-19 vaccine please reach out to your healthcare provider or visit our Frequently Asked Questions page. To find vaccine near you, you can use the state’s Vaccine Locator website, text your zip code to GETVAX (438829) or VACUNA (822862) to receive addresses of nearby available vaccination sites, or you can call our COVID-19 vaccination number 833-VAX-HELP. Language assistance is available.

The above is a press release from WA Department of Health. The Auburn Examiner has not independently verified its contents and encourages our readers to personally verify any information they find may be overly biased or questionable. The publication of this press release does not indicate an endorsement of its content.