After nearly two years, King County and the City of Seattle will no longer require proof of vaccination against COVID-19 as a condition of employment. Mayor Bruce Harrell and Executive Dow Constantine said the vaccine mandate will be dropped as a requirement, starting Monday. The decision was made after Public Health – Seattle and King County indicated that immunity has reached a high enough level to relax restrictions. Redmond Mayor Angela Birney said the city was also terminating its order requiring city firefighters and paramedics to be vaccinated following the announcement from King County and Seattle. Health officials said King County’s high level of vaccination boosters and lower levels of community spread has helped COVID-19-related hospitalizations to stabilize at a safe level. Almost 90% of King County residents between 18-64 years of age have completed the primary vaccination series, but many still need updated boosters to reduce the risk of serious infections, according to health officials. There have been 544,594 COVID-19 cases, 15,385 hospitalizations and 3,457 deaths in King County since the start of the pandemic, according to the latest Department of Health dashboard. King County and Seattle's vaccine mandate was in place since mid-2021 until it expired on Monday. All county and city employees, contractors and volunteers were required to show proof they received the initial COVID-19 vaccination series, according to the mandate. Officials said more than 98% of King County’s nearly 15,000 employees provided proof of vaccination at the time the mandate launched, along with nearly 4,000 employees hired since the mandate was instituted. Less than 2% were separated at that time due to the requirement. King County Metro had the most terminations of any department, with 103 workers who left, including 51 transit operators. The King County Sheriff's Office had the second with 51 terminations. The Department of Natural Resources and Parks had 50 terminations. READ THE FULL STORY: https://www.king5.com/article/news/health/coronavirus/seattle-king-county-covid-19-vaccination-employment/281-5e031557-d2b5-40d0-929e-d398c4fa46de