Over the past few months, UW Medicine has administered over 20,000 bivalent boosters. A bivalent booster is the latest COVID-19 vaccination that contains both strains of the original virus and the omicron variant to increase protection against infection.
Over the past few years, UW Medicine clinics, hospitals, and partner sites have provided COVID-19 vaccinations to more than 650,000 people throughout Washington state.
Cynthia Dold, interim president of UW Medicine Hospitals & Clinics, said: “They have made a huge impact on so many lives.”
In addition to providing vaccinations, UW Medicine is involved in many other aspects of the pandemic response, from treating and assisting patients at UW hospitals. Developing alternative COVID vaccines When Booster testing in progress.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recommends that everyone 6 months and older stay up to date with the COVID-19 vaccine. vaccines, and recent COVID infections. In general, a bivalent booster is recommended 2 months after the last vaccination, booster dose, or COVID infection for ages 5 and older. The exact recommendations are CDC website.
according to Washington State Department of HealthThese figures are slightly higher in King County, where 23.7% of those eligible received a bivalent booster and 83.1% completed the first series.
When compared to national data provided by the CDC, booster vaccination rates in Washington state are higher than the national average. His 10.1% of eligible Americans have received her bivalent booster nationally and 68.6% have completed the primary series. Despite this, Washington’s medical facilities are still very busy.
“[UW Medicine’s] Hospitals remain fairly full,” Dordo said. “[The] The staff work really hard. ”
She predicts that fall and winter will be a tough season for staff dealing with influenza, respiratory syncytial virus (RSV), and COVID-19 infections.
RSV has hit young people hard, especially this season, especially when combined with other infectious diseases such as COVID-19, and as a result, emergency and pediatric departments in hospitals across the country are already suffering from understaffing. increase. Dold told people to “wear masks where appropriate, [they] obtain [their] Use ‘vaccines’ to protect yourself and reduce stress on the healthcare system.
Book your vaccination UW Medicine website.
Contact contributor Chaitna Deshmukh [email protected]Twitter: @Chaitna_d
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