State worker vaccination increases ahead of mandate deadline

OLYMPIA — As a crucial deadline for Gov. Jay Inslee’s COVID-19 vaccine mandate approaches, state data shows vaccination numbers for workers subject to the requirement are about 20 percent higher than earlier this month.

The Seattle Times reported more than two-thirds of state workers have gotten their shot.

By Oct. 4, most workers must show they have gotten all their shots in order to be considered fully vaccinated by Oct. 18.

Meanwhile, state agencies have granted nearly 800 accommodations to state workers whose religious or medical exemptions were approved.

The accommodations allow workers to avoid getting fired for not being vaccinated, and they allow them to work in a role that does not put others at potential risk.

Inslee said in a news conference last week that he was holding firm to the Oct. 18 deadline.

While confirmed cases and hospitalizations have recently begun to drop, hospitals remain stressed. About 30 Washingtonians are dying from the virus daily.

As of Sept. 20, a little more than 68 percent of the nearly 63,000 workers subject to the mandate have been verified as vaccinated, up from 49 percent as of Sept. 6, according data from the state Office of Financial Management.

State workers have protested Inslee’s mandates, with several thousand seeking religious or medical exemptions to avoid the shots.

But an exemption alone is not enough to save a worker’s job. Those whose exemptions are approved must still be granted an accommodation that allows them to keep working in a role acceptable to both the agency and the worker.

A hearing was conducted Monday in a lawsuit by hundreds of workers opposed to the COVID-19 vaccine mandate, with a judge in Walla Walla granting the Inslee administration’s request to move the case to Thurston County.

More in News

Frank Lowenstein was hired as the Dungeness River Nature Center’s executive director in September 2024. (Frank Lowenstein)
River center director dismissed

Board is looking for candidate to fill role

Weekly flight operations scheduled

There will be field carrier landing practice operations for aircraft… Continue reading

A demonstrator carrying an American flag walks the sidewalk in front of the Clallam County Courthouse on Saturday. (Keith Thorpe/Peninsula Daily News)
Demonstrators march at courthouse

A demonstrator carrying an American flag walks the sidewalk in front of… Continue reading

Port Angeles High School twin graduates Kaylie Mast, left, and Kendall Mast, communicate with their friends by text while waiting for the start of the 2025 graduation parade on Friday. The parade began at Ediz Hook and culminated with a formal ceremony Friday evening at Port Angeles Civic Field. (Keith Thorpe/Peninsula Daily News)
Graduation parade

Port Angeles High School twin graduates Kaylie Mast, left, and Kendall Mast,… Continue reading

Suzy Ames.
College pivoting to meet deficit

School cuts more than $2 million in expenses

Pleasant Harbor Resort still seeking approval

Disagreements lead to delays and layoffs

Retiring Port Angeles School District Superintendent Marty Brewer, right, shares a career experience as his replacement, Michelle Olsen, listens during a retirement gathering on Thursday at Lincoln Center in Port Angeles. (Keith Thorpe/Peninsula Daily News)
Olsen sworn in as PASD superintendent

Stevens Middle School name change proposed with four options

Two hospitalized following head-on collision

Two people were transported to Olympic Medical Center following… Continue reading

Royal Canadian Navy to conduct exercises

The Royal Canadian Navy’s Maritime Forces Pacific will conduct… Continue reading

Power outage scheduled in Freshwater Bay area

Clallam County Public Utility District No. 1 has scheduled power… Continue reading

Slope repair work slated for Highway 19 on Tuesday

Maintenance crews from the state Department of Transportation will… Continue reading