City of Seattle testing and vaccination efforts transitioning to partners at the end of July

Mayor Jenny Durkan announced on Wednesday that the city of Seattle will transition testing and vaccination efforts to partners on July 31. 

UW Medicine will carry out efforts by providing free testing at Aurora and SODO hubs with continued access to curative kiosks. Vaccination is also available at pharmacies and health care providers including the Downtown Public Health Center.

"UW Medicine, which has provided laboratory testing capacity for the region since the beginning of the pandemic, will be partnering with the City of Seattle to take over responsibility for their test collection sites to ensure testing remains broadly available in our community," said Dr. Geoffrey Baird, Professor and Chair, Laboratory Medicine and Pathology at UW Medicine.

With a surge in more dangerous variants, Mayor Jenny Durkan urged residents to go back to the basics: wearing masks indoors, washing hands, and getting tested when experiencing symptoms. 

"Seattle was the first city in America to feel the devastating effects of the COVID-19 pandemic. We worked quickly to launch programs to curb the spread of the virus and keep our communities healthy and safe," said Mayor Durkan. 

RELATED: Washington state recommends wearing masks indoors, requires masks for K-12 schools

"Our City departments took on new roles to create a nation-leading free testing infrastructure, and then to launch a citywide vaccination effort."

In January 2021, the Seattle Fire Department became the first Emergency Medical Services agency in the state to administer COVID-19 vaccines and on June 9, Seattle was the first major U.S. city to vaccinate 70% of its residents above the age of 12. 

"It has been a true honor and privilege for the Seattle Fire Department to play an integral role in vaccinating the community we serve over the past seven months," said Fire Chief Harold Scoggins.

"I am proud to work and live in a community where so many of our neighbors have chosen to get vaccinated to protect themselves, those around them and ultimately help us recover from this pandemic. While SFD’s work on the vaccination front will come to a close, our commitment to serving you remains strong and will continue on."

SDF will continue to administer the vaccine through Mobile Vaccination Teams and its SODO Vaccination and testing hub until 5:30 pm on July 31. 

Seattle has now administered 259,315 vaccinations and 786,131 COVID-19 tests. As of July 27, 82% of Seattle residents had begun the vaccination process. 

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