Not vaccinated? You're not alone in Eastern Washington

CHENEY - If you haven't gotten vaccinated against the 2019 Wuhan coronavirus, you're not alone, at least not in Eastern Washington.

Overall in the 20 counties here east of the Cascades, only about 1 in 3 residents have been fully vaccinated with the experimental inoculation.

Comparing state Department of Health coronavirus vaccinations to the U.S. Census' 2021 projected populations in each county, only one Eastern Washington county has a vaccination rate topping 50%. Meanwhile, five counties here have vaccination rates at or below 30%.

Using the state and federal data available July 7, Chelan County - which boasts a large Western Washington influx in the towns of Leavenworth and Chelan - had a 50.4% completed vaccination rate.

Minority of residents

On the other side of the spectrum, less than one in four residents of Garfield and Stevens counties are vaccinated. Those two counties logged a vaccination rate of only 23.9% and 24.2%, respectively, the data shows.

Pend Oreille County checks in at 27.1%, Asotin County at 29.4% and Franklin County at 30.0%, the data shows.

Even Spokane County, the most populous county in Eastern Washington, only has a 39.3% vaccination rate, according to the most recent data.

So why then is Gov. Jay Inslee and his administration saying the vaccination rate here is nearing 70%? To begin with, his administration isn't evaluating only those who are fully vaccinated. And his administration is only looking at residents older than 16.

When looking only at fully vaccinated residents, the state Department of Health reports only a 59.5% full-inoculation rate statewide.

The statewide figure is skewed by metropolitan data.

For example, the state reports a fully vaccinated rate of 61.7% in King County, whose population is more than all 20 Eastern Washington counties combined.

Here are the Eastern Washington county vaccination rates, comparing to data available July 7 from federal and state agencies:

Adams - 35.6%

Asotin - 29.4%

Benton - 37.1%

Chelan - 50.4%

Columbia - 29.8%

Douglas - 43.0%

Ferry- 32.4%

Franklin - 30.0%

Garfield - 23.9%

Grant - 36.8%

Kittitas - 40.7%

Klickitat - 37.7%

Lincoln - 36.1%

Okanogan - 46.3%

Pend Oreille - 27.1%

Spokane - 39.3%

Stevens - 24.2%

Walla Walla - 44.2%

Whitman - 32.4%

Yakima - 39.0%

Author Bio

Roger Harnack, Publisher

Roger Harnack is the co-owner/publisher of Free Press Publishing. Having grown up Benton City, Roger is an award-winning journalist, photographer, editor and publisher. He's one of only two editorial/commentary writers from Washington state to ever receive the international Golden Quill. Roger is dedicated to the preservation of local media, and the voice it retains for Eastern Washington.

• Email: [email protected]
• Phone: 5092356184
• Twitter: @RogerHarnack