As vaccination rates stagger and delta looms, Washington's road out of the pandemic remains uncertain

Washington state passed another Covid-19 milestone this week. More than 500,000 cases have been reported here since January of 2020, but with vaccines now readily available, new case numbers are no longer the most important metric. KUOW reporter Eilis O’Neil covers the pandemic. She told Paige Browning what she's watching instead.

This interview has been edited for clarity.

Paige Browning: What is the current status of the pandemic in Washington and in King County?

Eilis O’Neil: In the county and statewide — there are a lot of new cases. We're seeing many more new cases every day now than we were during last summer's peak. In King County, for example, we're averaging more than 500 new cases every day, which almost puts us back to where we were last fall or winter in terms of cases. The thing is, if a vaccinated person tests positive for the coronavirus, they almost surely will be fine. The most important thing to watch now is hospitalizations and deaths.

And where are we in terms of hospitalizations and deaths?

In King County, hospitalizations and deaths are not increasing as rapidly as they did last fall, because so many people here are vaccinated. But there are hospitals in other parts of the state where fewer people are vaccinated, most notably in Walla Walla (and) in the Tri-Cities. Hospitals there are filling up and starting to send Covid patients out. That actually could start to affect King County's hospitals as well, if we start to absorb some of that overflow.

Many of us got excited about reopening. There was a sense of relief that the pandemic was waning, but it seems more out of reach now. What is slowing us down?

Many people, both here in Washington state, nationwide, and also globally are still unvaccinated. That means not only that the coronavirus is continuing to transmit — but it's continuing to evolve. Now we're seeing that this new delta variant is highly transmissible, so even vaccinated people can test positive for the coronavirus — especially for the Delta variant.

Young children are heading back to school soon and many of them are not eligible for vaccines yet. Do we know when that might change?

The emergency use authorization — that the FDA allows the vaccine to be used for children — should come for the Pfizer vaccine for 5-to-12-year-olds in late October or maybe early November; then all the way down to six months old shortly after that. Moderna and Johnson & Johnson are behind that timeline, but we should have at least one vaccine available for children, and soon infants and toddlers, by late this year or early next year.

What's the latest advice on masking and how to gather with people?

There is a statewide recommendation to wear masks in indoor public places like movie theaters and grocery stores. Just this week, both Thurston and Snohomish counties issued a mask mandate. I wouldn't be surprised if other mask mandates followed close behind. In terms of private gatherings, it's still a matter of is everyone who's attending fully vaccinated? People who are fully vaccinated are still very well protected from severe illness, hospitalization, and death.

In terms of preventing transmission, especially if there are children or other unvaccinated people at the event, outdoors is still safer than indoors, and masks and ventilation can also help prevent the spread of the virus.

Listen to the interview by clicking the play button above.