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State Avoids Post-Holiday Surge, Won't Share Personal Information With Federal Government in Vaccination Plan

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by Carolyn Bick

Washington State has avoided a post-Thanksgiving surge in COVID-19 cases, but the state — particularly its hospital system — isn't in the clear yet.

In a press conference on Dec. 16, Washington State Department of Health (DOH) Health Officer Dr. Kathy Lofy shared graphs from the DOH's COVID-19 tracking dashboard that show case counts and hospitalizations, including ICU bed occupancy, are levelling off. The Emerald has shared these graphs below. But the trends aren't yet level, and the state must go beyond just flattening the curve, DOH Health Sec. Dr. John Wiesman said.

"We are not out of the woods yet, because disease activity has been so high this fall. We don't just need to flatten the curve, we need to bend it down and lower the level of transmission," Wiesman said. "We are still seeing new daily case numbers that are far higher than our peaks in the spring and summer, and our hospital system is still very strained."

Screenshot of graphic included in the CDC document that appears to show what data will be shared with federal government and how more personally identifiable data will be redacted and encrypted.