(Image: City of Seattle)

Seattle and King County is ending COVID-19 vaccine requirements for its employees ending a 16-month mandate.

“The vaccine mandate was an effective and necessary tool for protecting the health and safety of City workers and the public we serve,” Mayor Bruce Harrell said in the announcement. “The City’s actions then and now have always been informed by the science of the pandemic and recommendations of public health officials – an approach based on data and dedicated to saving lives. Rooted in our shared values of safety and health equity, we will continue to follow this approach as we respond to next steps in the pandemic and continue to advance efforts to ensure a thriving and equitable recovery for all Seattle residents and neighbors.”

Instituted in October 2021, the requirements are some of the last vestiges of restrictions and protections put in place during the pandemic. October 2022 brought the official lifting of the civic emergency around the virus as Capitol HIll residents and businesses went through new restrictions and requirements including social distancing, mask, and vaccination mandates as officials tried to fine tune the public response to slowing the spread of the virus. The Inslee administration says the state of emergency orders resulted in Washington “having one of the lowest COVID death rates across all 50 states for the pandemic.”

Officials this week said the requirement can now be lifted for civic employees due to King County “high level of vaccination booster uptake and lower levels of community spread.” COVID-19 hospitalizations also are at a “safe level,” the announcement said.

Officials continue to urge people to keep up on their vaccinations, “the most important way to protect against severe influenza and COVID-19 infections.” In December, the county said an estimated 84% of King County residents had completed the primary COVID-19 vaccination process but only 65% received the original booster and around 31% received an updated booster meaning only about 27% of the population was considered up to date on their COVID-19 vaccination. Getting a flu shot is also highly recommended.

The Seattle Times reports that officials are now sorting out what the lifting of the requirement could mean for employees terminated because of the vaccine mandate. Vaccine terminations and retirements and leaves related to the vaccine mandate “disproportionately impacted a few departments, including the already staff-burdened Seattle police and fire departments,” the Times notes.

The county said that reductions at Metro due to staffing shortages will also remain in effect.

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