What Covid-19 & Vaccine phase is Washington State in?

At the Enrollment Center,  have been seeing quite a few questions about where are we at with COVID-19 in Washington State. We enroll people into Medicare and Health Insurance so we have been on the front lines since last March. So here we go with questions. 

1. First and foremost we are in a Special Enrollment Period for Healthcare. If you don't have healthcare then set an appointment and we can get a plan going as soon as possible. We have this Special Enrollment Period until May 15th. It may take a little while longer as there are some approvals in the background that occur during Special Enrollments. 

1B Tier 1 currently

2. We are in Phase 2 of reopening in the state using the Roadmap to Recovery. We are not scheduled to be evaluated for another six days.  The key metrics are Trend in Case Rates, Trend in hospital admission, Percent ICU Occupation and Percent Positivity. Currently we have the highest rate of ICU Occupancy at 87%. The lower the Percent Positive the better off we are in a couple weeks as that his the early indicator. 

3. How do I get a vaccine to support small business and the healthcare workers? 

Print step A it or put it on your phone.

    a. Find out what is the order that you can recieve your vaccine. There is a limited supply so some of us are going to have to wait. 

    b. Schedule and appointment. https://bit.ly/3ulCJfi 

4.  Did you know that over 1 million doses have been distributed in Washington State? Ruby received the Pfizer vaccine in Wenatchee on February 12th, 2021. The goal is 45,000 per day and the Department of Health has a great site to track the progress.  

     We are looking at over 86K Doses distributed in North Central Washington. So it is going to take time. 

5. What should I expect when I receive the vaccine that millions have already gotten? It is not uncommon for the four vaccines to produce side effects like pain at the site of injection, tiredness or headache. Severe allergic reactions are estimated to occur at a rate of 11 per million which is incredibly rare. In addition to the Centers for Disease Control declaring them safe, you have Harvard, John Hopkins Medicine, and the Washington Department of Health along with the Western States Pact. 

6. What is it like operating under restricted conditions?  We operate under the Professional Services state requirements. At the Enrollment Center, we have been operating since last march with limited and restricted capacity. We have canceled events and encouraged remote access to services. Masks and disinfecting everything becomes a habit with us. We even ripped out carpets and fabric covered chairs to reduce spread.  We recognize that social distancing & vaccinations are a tremendous tool in reducing the impact that COVID has on business operations. 

7. If you see a business that is violating the orders then report it. 

Not everyone has been for small business. It's like drilling holes in the bottom of a boat that you are bailing out, and wondering why you are still taking on water. We had a candidate host events contrary to the safety measures.  With events like the Nov 7th Ritzville wedding linked to 24 deaths, we have done a poor job of keeping each other safe. We just had another super spreader event with a Pateros Basketball tournament February 6th.