Washington hits 70% COVID-19 vaccination rate for ages 16 and older

Washington health officials announced that 70% of the population ages 16 and older have received at least one dose of the COVID-19 vaccine as of Wednesday morning. That number includes people vaccinated by the Department of Defense and the Department of Veterans Affairs.

The vaccination milestone comes two weeks after the state's economy fully reopened, ending capacity restrictions for bars, restaurants, gyms and other indoor activities.

"This is great news. We knew we were going to get here," said Secretary of Health Umair Shah. "We had already met the national goal that the president and the federal government had set for 70% of 18 and up receiving one dose."

Seattle hit the 70% vaccination rate for residents 12 and older earlier in June, becoming the first major U.S. city to achieve the milestone. King County reached the 70% vaccination threshold just one week later.

State officials have said that life can resume as normal for fully vaccinated Washington residents who are protected against the virus. However, Shah has repeatedly warned of a "tale of two societies" where one portion of the population is vaccinated and another is not. Shah emphasized Wednesday that the state's work is not done.

"We want to do everything we can to recognize that those who are unvaccinated remain unprotected," Shah said during a news briefing when the state reopened. "And, unfortunately, if they continue to partake in certain behaviors they are going to be at risk for hospitalization."

Even though the state's economy has reopened and many restrictions have been lifted, there are still some limits on large indoor events with over 10,000 attendees. Those events will be limited to 75% capacity under the current plan unless vaccine verification is occurring, in which case there will be no capacity limits. Those restrictions will be reevaluated by the state on July 31.