WASHINGTON — Gov. Jay Inslee released a statement on Tuesday that said Washington will reopen on June 30 or when the vaccination rate reaches 70%, whichever comes first.
As it stands, Gov. Inslee said Washington is nearly 68% vaccinated among those 16 and older. He also noted 98% of people hospitalized in the state have not been vaccinated.
In the statement, Inslee clarified how the data collection works in the state.
“I said this last week, but it bears repeating: We need to compare apples to apples. Many on social media have chosen to compare data that don’t belong together, giving Washingtonians incomplete or misinformed data on our progress," Inslee said.
The state of Washington uses data for everyone 16 years and older. The federal government uses data for ages 18 and up. Washington also uses the most recent Census data from 2020, while the federal government uses older data from the 2019 Census.
Inslee added that the vaccine data also differed between the Department of Health and the Veterans Administration.
"Additionally, the Department of Defense and Veterans Administration federal vaccination programs do not share person-level data with the Department of Health, and the state can only rely on data it has access to and can verify," Inslee said.
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Inslee ended the statement by reiterating the importance of getting vaccinated.
“I encourage all Washingtonians to get vaccinated. Not only is it the right thing to do, but the Shot of a Lifetime vaccine lottery is ongoing and those who initiate vaccination are automatically entered,” Inslee said.
