Have you gotten your omicron booster yet?: Today So Far

• Only about 10% of folks eligible for a shot have gotten the omicron booster in King County.
• Hospitals worried about capacity when Washington's pandemic emergency orders end.

This post originally appeared in KUOW's Today So Far newsletter for October 6, 2022.

Be honest: Have you gotten your Covid booster shot yet?

I'll be honest, I haven't. But I'm aiming to soon. I try to get the shot before I have an open day. Given the last couple experiences, I know that the shot will catch up with me the following day and I'll spend a few hours with bad movies, vitamin C, and crackers.

The latest Covid booster is upgraded for the omicron variant, which is a big deal as we head into fall and winter (seasons of sick). It seems like a lot of folks are like me, either planning for the right time, or perhaps are just putting it off entirely. KUOW's Eilis O'Neill reports that only about 10% of folks eligible for a shot have gotten the omicron booster in King County. Statewide rates are even lower.

If you need to find a place to get the booster shot, check here. There's some pretty good reasons why folks should get the shot (along with flu shots), starting with hospital capacity.

Life is not really going to be the same after Covid, for many reasons, but if you take a visit to your local market, bar, restaurant, or friend's BBQ, daily life has pretty much ramped back up. I know I have been playing more pinball these days. Step through the doors of a hospital, however, and it's a different story.

Washington state's emergency orders for Covid-19 are going to come to an end later this month. Of course, a lot of these measures have already ended, like mask mandates. But there are some orders that most of us don't see, like how the state has waived rules around hospital capacity during the pandemic. Seattle's Harborview Medical Center has remained severely full in recent months, and has even turned some patients away. There are concerns about what will happen when state capacity rules kick back in.

"In some ways, the end of the emergency orders is going to be smooth in other ways, it will be continuing to be bumpy, particularly on the topic of hospital capacity," Taya Briley with the Washington State Hospital Association told KUOW's Soundside.

"We are honestly worried about the ability to care for patients right now, being able to access the emergency department care, being able to access in-patient care is going to continue to be a challenge until we get in-patient opened up," she said.

We already know omicron spreads harsher than previous strains. Flu season is expected to hit hard this season, leading some to worry about a "twindemic." That all adds up to more hospital visits at medical facilities that are already strained. What can you do? Be extra careful when deep-frying that turkey, or putting up that massive X-mas light display. And get a booster shot.

More on Soundside.

AS SEEN ON KUOW

Mexican-American “charros,” a group of skilled horse riders in costume, were a highlight of the 2022 Sunfair Parade in Yakima. The usual gaggle of parading politicians was there too, aiming to attract the Latino vote in upcoming elections. (Enedeo Garza III)

DID YOU KNOW?

Prost! October is German American Heritage Month, at least it is for parts of the country like Germantown, Pennsylvania that was founded in 1683. Some folks today call it "Philadelphia." The first presidential proclamation honoring October as German American Month was in 1987, with Oct. 6 being noted as German American Day each year. Here's Biden's most recent proclamation. So go grab a maß of helles today and celebrate.

More than 42 million Americans cite German ancestry on their census forms, including this writer (though really, I'm most of Europe all blended up). You can thank the influence of German heritage for things like hamburgers, Meryl Streep, beer, kindergartens, Larry David, pretzels, beer, Boeing, Levi's, Einstein, beer, David Hasselhoff, beer, and most of Christmas.

Another influence of German immigrants happened in the 1800s with a large group called the "Forty-Eighters." These were folks who supported revolutions in Europe in 1848 and ultimately moved to the United States, bringing certain political ideals with them. Those stances included: anti-slavery, pro-journalism, pro-arts, and pro-education. Generally, they promoted human rights and became an influential force in America's politics and culture moving forward.

ALSO ON OUR MINDS

NPR poll shows Biden's approval rating is up but there are warning signs for Democrats

Biden's approval rating is up to 44%, which marks a third straight month of improvement. He had bottomed out in July at about 36%. Democrats are also largely keeping pace with Republicans on enthusiasm about the elections this fall, a continued trend after the Supreme Court's June Dobbs decision, which overturned the guaranteed right to an abortion in this country.

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