500 Days Of COVID: As Pandemic Wanes, Health Leaders Look Back

ACROSS WASHINGTON — Friday marked the 500th day of Washington's COVID-19 response, and state health leaders are using the occasion to look back at all that's changed in that time, and how close the state is to the finish line.

Washington Secretary of Heath Dr. Umair Shah says it's been a staggering endeavor for everyone.

"500 days of response to COVID-19 in this state. An incredible amount of work across all governments and partners in the private sector, in our health care sector, and I know people are legitimately tired and tired of this pandemic," said Shah.

On Tuesday, January 21, 2020, Washington began official response to the coronavirus. In the 500 days since, the Evergreen State has seen more than 439,000 cases of COVID-19, 5,836 Washingtonians have died, and 24,440 have been hospitalized with the illness.

And, crucially, more than 7 million COVID-19 vaccines have been administered.

That last part is going to be key as we close out what are hopefully the final months of the pandemic, the DOH says. Washington's final remaining COVID-19 restrictions are set to be lifted on June 30 — earlier if 70 percent of Washingtonians 16 and older take their first dose of the vaccine. As of Thursday, that figure was at 62.7 percent.

"Our focus remains on vaccinations, and we are hopeful we are going to be able to reach the 70 percent mark before June 30th, but it's going to take all of us to be able to do that," Shah said.

And the vaccine rollout is having an impact. Looking back at the fourth wave of infections in April you can see the tipping point where case counts begin a slide. A slide that the DOH says could continue indefinitely— as long as vaccination rates remain high and residents can continue following safety guidelines until they are lifted.

Despite supply difficulties early in the vaccine rollout, the COVID-19 vaccine is now more available than ever before.

Plus, there are more incentives now to get vaccinated than ever before, from the state's recently-announced vaccine lottery, to the Seattle Mariners offering free tickets to fans who get a shot at T-Mobile park.

Of course, for many people the story of the pandemic isn't just health and vaccines. It's also the economic fallout caused by the resulting safety restrictions and regulations.

The week of ending March 21, 2020, Washington's Employment Security Department saw a 811 percent increase in unemployment claims over the week before. No spike in unemployment has been as bad since, but the unemployment rate remains significantly higher than it had been pre-pandemic, with 381,640 total unemployment claims filed last week.

Since the pandemic began in March 2020, the Employment Security Department has paid out more than $18.6 billion in unemployment claims to over one million Washingtonians.