Seattle & King County Expand COVID Testing And Booster Efforts

SEATTLE — Seattle Mayor Jenny Durkan hosted what is likely to be the final major news conference of her administration Monday, closing out her tenure with a call for everyone across the region to seek out COVID-19 booster shots and testing as the omicron variant surges through King County over the holidays.

The mayor was joined Monday afternoon by Dennis Worsham, director of Public Health - Seattle & King County, and Dr. Alex Greninger, assistant director of the UW Medicine Clinical Virology Lab. The trio walked through some of the latest metrics and shared a few pointers for staying healthy into the new year.

Greninger said omicron was detected in 70 percent of the samples sequenced at UW Virology last Thursday, and it's likely gained an even stronger foothold in the days since. A similar trajectory is taking place across the nation, and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on Monday confirmed the highly transmissible variant was responsible for about three-quarters of new cases across the United States.

According to Worsham, case counts doubled over the last week, bringing King County back into the CDC's high transmission range and averaging more than 500 cases each day. Public health officials expect the exponential growth will continue in the coming days, with new infections poised to topple previous records before the new year.

"I know this news of a new surge in cases is coming after two long and exhausting years of our community working so hard to protect one another," Worsham said. "As we reconnect with family and loved ones over the holidays, now is an important time to take steps to reduce our risk to get through this unprecedented surge as safely and healthy as possible."

To aid in that effort, both the city and the county are working to expand access to testing and boosters to keep up with the renewed demand. Durkan noted that Seattle boasts one of the nation's highest vaccination rates, with 90 percent of residents having at least one dose, and nearly half of those who were vaccinated have already received their booster shots.

Those still searching for an appointment for themselves or their family members may see limited scheduling through the upcoming holidays, but many have hours leading up to Christmas Eve.

As omicron infects more people in the weeks to come, and residents travel or host guests for the holidays, demand for testing has rapidly risen. To help keep pace, King County and Seattle have boosted capacity to facilitate tests across the region. In Seattle, a new testing city recently opened at City Hall, and Curative testing kiosks will run extended hours between Tuesday and Thursday at Northgate, Gas Works Park and Mount Baker.

UW Medicine operates several testing sites across King County, and most will remain open on Christmas Eve. Greninger said the two best bets for the shortest wait times are the high-volume sites in Shoreline, along with the recently opened testing location at Lake Sammamish State Park. Pre-registration is highly encouraged to reduce wait times, but appointments are not required for most locations.

Here are some helpful resources to seek boosters and COVID-19 tests in the coming days:

COVID-19 testing

• Check the hours and book an appointment at a testing site operated by Public Health - Seattle & King County, UW Medicine, or Curative.
  • Sites operated by King County will be closed on Christmas Eve, Christmas Day, New Year's Eve and New Year's Day.

Vaccinations and boosters:

• Check for appointments at one of King County's high-volume vaccination sites, and sign up for a countywide waitlist online.
• Secure a booster or pediatric vaccination appointment via UW Medicine's waitlist.
• Search for openings near you at local pharmacies, including QFC, Fred Meyer, Bartell Drugs, Walgreens and CVS.
• Use the state's official VaccineLocator tool to find nearby locations with potential openings.