Washington Just 2.2 Percent From Vaccination Threshold

SEATTLE — The finish line is in sight.

The Washington State Department of Health confirms that, as of Monday, more than 7,528,340 doses of the COVID-19 vaccine had been administered to more than 4.1 million people across the Evergreen State. That means Washington is under 2.2 percent shy of reaching the 70 percent vaccination threshold, and 2.2 percent shy of finally reopening.

Gov. Jay Inslee previously announced that, if 70 percent of Washingtonians 16 and older initiate vaccination, the state will lift most of the remaining COVID-19 restrictions. Last Saturday, the state's vaccination rate was around 64 percent. On Tuesday, the state said it was at 67.2 percent.

Now we've hit 67.8, so if the rate of new people seeking vaccination holds steady it could just be a matter of days before we reopen.

If, for whatever reason, the state does not reach that 70 percent threshold by the end of the month, the state will reopen on June 30 regardless.

Related: When Washington Reopens, Some Restrictions Will Remain

The state remains optimistic that we won't need to wait that long, and there are a few reasons to be optimistic with it.

The first, is that the "Shot of a Lifetime" lottery has helped sustain the vaccination rate, which had been declining nearly 50 percent per week before the program's announcement.

"We essentially had fallen off a cliff," Inslee said at a news conference Thursday.

The state has also announced a vaccine lottery for military members, in the hopes that it will also help boost that vaccination rate.

The other reason for optimism is a new medical outreach plan. Organized in pat by the State Office of the Insurance Commissioner, the program will reimburse medical providers for making the effort to reach out to unvaccinated patients.

The governor says the hope is that this program will help convince those who are hesitant about vaccination to make the safe choice.

"Unfortunately, a lot of our citizens have been exposed to deception and outright falsehoods that have given them undue concerns about the vaccine," Inslee said. "What we have found is that, when they get the truth, when they get the real low-down from their doctors, they then realize getting this vaccine makes sense."