Officials with the Washington State Department of Health held a briefing Wednesday and said the BA.2 variant of COVID-19 has become the dominant strain in the state.
There’s also been a 42% increase in COVID-19 cases in King County in the last week, according to the COVID-19 summary dashboard from Public Health — Seattle & King County.
DOH said more than 13 million doses of the COVID-19 vaccine had been administered in Washington, which propelled the state to one of the highest vaccination rates in the country. It also helped to lower the death rate.
COVID cases are down in the state, which means the briefings could become less frequent.
“Overall, (we are) continuing to see positive trends in our state, which remains very hopeful news and continuing good news for all of us,” Dr. Umair Shah, the Washington Secretary of Health, said during a briefing. “In Washington, the trajectory of cases continues to be on the decline, and that again is fantastic news.”
“We’re also watching BA.2 across the country and across the globe, and it is true now that BA.2 has become the dominant strain for COVID-19, positive cases, in the state of Washington,” said Shah.
The DOH still stressed the best way to prevent the spread of COVID-19 is through vaccines, tests and mask wearing.
Although some mandates have dropped across the state, DOH said people should hold on to their masks.
“It is true that with low numbers and (a) lower potential for exposure that we do have the situation where many folks are saying, ‘I don’t need to wear a mask ever,’ and what we are continuing to remind people that it’s an additional layer of safety,” said Shah.
DOH said that masking in crowded indoor spaces or older buildings will still provide some prevention.
The agency said spring break travel to a hot spot during COVID-19 could also mean wearing a mask in certain instances.
“Wear masks, have tests on hand. If you need any tests, you can order from sayyescovidhometest.org,” said Lacy Fehrenbach with DOH.
“We want to make sure that those people who have moderate or severe immunocompromised, who are at higher risk of hospitalization or death from COVID-19, know about a preventive monoclonal antibody treatment called Evusheld that can provide six months of protection from COVID-19,” DOH Chief Science Officer Tao Sheng Kwan Gett said.
DOH said this new monoclonal antibody treatment is available to people as an injection that could be obtained from a doctor.
“We are hopeful we do not see a surge and that we continue to see declines,” Shah said.
While there is a fourth booster shot option for those over 50, it has proven to be controversial.
In the last few days, medical experts at the University of Washington have said they have not seen the data on whether a fourth shot would work or offer more protection.
The experts said they want to wait and see the data to determine its effectiveness.
They also said the focus should be on getting unvaccinated people vaccinated and getting others boosted.