City of Seattle to close Lumen Field, West Seattle and Rainier Beach mass vaccination sites

The city of Seattle announced Wednesday that it will close three of its mass vaccination sites starting in June and pivot to more targeted mobile outreach.

The vaccine site in West Seattle is set to close on June 9, followed by the Lumen Field site on June 12. The Rainier Beach hub will close on June 23. The Seattle Fire Department will convert its testing site in SODO to a drive-through vaccination clinic with the capacity to administer 700 doses a day, according to the city.

"Now that the vast majority of Seattleites have begun the vaccination process, we are able to safely reopen and recover as a city – without the need for our fixed sites,” Seattle Mayor Jenny Durkan said in a statement Wednesday.

More than 60% of Seattle residents have been fully vaccinated against the virus, according to the city, and 76% have gotten their first dose. In King County, over 1.15 million residents are fully vaccinated according to the most recent data from Public Health, equating to approximately 59% of the entire county, 

Despite declining cases and the upcoming closure of the city's vaccination sites, the county's mask directive that "strongly urges" residents to continue wearing masks indoors remains in place. Businesses are being asked to voluntarily comply with the directive, which will apply until 70% of the county is fully vaccinated against the virus.

"If unvaccinated people do not wear masks, the risk for COVID-19 spread increases. From a practical and community health perspective, the most reliable way to ensure everyone is safe is for everyone to wear a face mask in indoor public spaces for a few more weeks, until we get vaccination rates higher and disease rates lower," said Dr. Jeff Duchin, health officer for Public Health – Seattle & King County.