Friends— Over the past year, we’ve been grateful to write Endemic for our community. As you may have noticed, we’ve been quiet lately. Part of that is because, over the past two months, we’ve thankfully seen COVID transmission decline from the high levels we saw in summer. Currently, the Washington Department of Health (DoH) shows most WA counties as experiencing ‘moderate’ transmission. Some counties are still experiencing ‘high’ transmission, such as King County, but they’re at the bottom end of the ‘high’ range. The recent decline in cases is encouraging, but we shouldn’t let our guard down fully.
We don’t know exactly what will happen with COVID-19 this winter as everyone shifts indoors to keep warm, and into 2023. But with all that said, for now, Endemic is going on hiatus.
Before we go, here’s a round-up of currently available, excellent resources, from free masks to testing to COVID medication, should you ever need them:
- For up-to-date data on COVID case counts and hospitalizations in Washington, including by county, you can always visit the WA DoH COVID-19 Data Dashboard.
- For information on where you can get vaccinated or boosted, check out the Washington Vaccine Locator.
- If your community goes through a high rate of spread, we recommend wearing an N95 mask indoors, especially if it’s crowded or has poor ventilation. An N95 mask offers a much greater level of protection than surgical or cloth masks. You can find pharmacies that offer free N95 masks here.
- You can still order free at-home rapid COVID tests from the Say Yes COVID Test program, sponsored by the WA DoH. But keep in mind that the accuracy of at-home rapid tests are much lower than PCR tests.
- If you test positive for COVID and have a health condition that exposes you to greater risk or are older, we encourage you to quickly take advantage of antiviral medications, like Paxlovid. You can find medication through the Test to Treat program ( or call 1-800-232-0233).
- If you’ve tested positive for COVID and are quarantining, but need help getting groceries, personal care kits, or other necessities, you can contact the Care Connect Washington program (or call 1-800-525-0127).
- If you are struggling with long COVID symptoms, the University of Washington has a program dedicated to helping with post-COVID recovery.
Thank you for sticking with us. Stay safe out there! ❤️
What do you think? Have any questions? Tweet us your thoughts @WACommAlliance.
Keep up on Washington’s latest COVID-19 trends, new research, and more through our Endemic newsletter.
