WASHINGTON — The Washington State Department of Health (DOH) announced 70% percent of the state population that is 16 and older has been vaccinated as of Monday morning.
To reach this number, the department included data from the Department of Defense and the Department of Veterans Affairs. This number is still higher than the number on the DOH dashboard.
Washington Secretary of Health, Dr. Umair A. Shah also announced that 8 million doses of the vaccine have been given out. Almost 4.3 million people have received the shot.
Dr. Shah also tweeted that there have not been any significant variants or breakthroughs so far in the state but, officials are monitoring cases.
According to Shah, the delta variant is becoming increasingly dominant in the state. It now represents just over 40% of the confirmed COVID-19 cases in Washington.
However, Shah said that because the vaccines are holding up to the variants, delta's rise is not an immediate cause of concern.
He continued to urge everyone who hadn't been vaccinated to go get their shot.
"The best protection, no matter the variant, is to get vaccinated," Shah said. "Please champion vaccines for those around you."
The state's economy reopened on June 30 as vaccination efforts continue becoming more focused on mobile outreach, especially for parts of the population that was most impacted by the pandemic.
The last winners of the state vaccine lottery were chosen on Tuesday. They will be contacted on Wednesday.
The DOH said that the state saw a vaccination rate increase of 24% following the lottery announcement. "A Heroes Thanks," the state's vaccine lottery for military members and veterans, will make its first drawing next week.
Hospitalization rates for unvaccinated Washingtonians remain high. Those who are 45 years old and up are between 11-18 times more likely to be hospitalized due to the virus compared to those who are fully vaccinated.
"We are going to live with this virus for a long time coming. We need to be ready for that." Shah said.