The Latest on the COVID-19 Vaccine & Police Accountability

January 27, 2021

11th District Legislative Priorities

Thank you to the more than 200 respondents who participated in the survey I sent out in my last e-newsletter! I asked you to share your opinion on issues being considered this session, and your responses told me that the issue of greatest concern for our district is the public health response to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. Other top priorities are also pandemic related, including economic recovery and small business assistance.

For more information, check out the 2021 Session Priorities Survey results.

Survey Button

As we navigate the global COVID-19 pandemic – a public health crisis unprecedented in my lifetime – I want to know more about how you and your families are engaging with our state’s public health response. Please take a few minutes to respond to this survey.

An Update on COVID-19 Vaccination Efforts

There have been bumps in the road as vaccines have become available, but with the right federal support and learning from mistakes, we can work toward better outcomes in 2021. I hope and expect that vaccine production and distribution will be vastly improved with the new administration.

As a lawmaker, I am always open to discussions and laws that will make this process smoother.

What is the plan for distributing and administering COVID-19 vaccines in Washington?

  • Vaccines are being administered in phases. As of last week, we are currently in Phase 1B-Tier 1.
  • This visual timeline shows phase 1a and phase 1b and the estimated dates for each.

When and where can I get vaccinated?

  • Visit the Phase Finder website and fill out a questionnaire to determine what Phase you qualify for.  You can choose to be notified when your Phase is activated.  The notification will also include information about where you can receive the vaccine locally.
  • Contact your healthcare provider to find out when and where you can receive the vaccine.

Vaccine Phases updated

Healthy Washington – Roadmap to Recovery

At the beginning of the month, Governor Inslee’s Healthy Washington: Roadmap to Recovery took effect. The plan lays out a path to recovery that follows key public health metrics so we can reopen safely.

Under this plan, the state is divided into eight regions based mostly on Emergency Medical Services regions and all of them begin in Phase 1 this week. To move to Phase 2, regions must meet all four of the following metrics:

  • Decreasing trend in two-week rate of COVID-19 cases per 100,000 people;
  • Decreasing trend in two-week rate of new COVID-19 hospital admission rates per 100,000 people;
  • ICU occupancy of less than 90%;
  • COVID-19 test positivity rate of less than 10%.

These phases look similar to the ones we used earlier last summer, but there are some key differences. Our phased approached helped us to flatten the curve early on in the pandemic, and we hope it does so again now. You can read the full plan here.

So far, we’ve made the hard personal and community decisions necessary to avoid overwhelming our hospitals. I’m proud of the ways we’ve stepped up to plate to fight this pandemic. It’s painful to see that other communities in our nation are not faring as well.

This new roadmap charts a course forward to safely ease restrictions and reopen parts of our economy based on shared, scientific standards. We may be exhausted by the pandemic and the toll it’s taken on us, but lives are still at stake and we can save them by masking up and keeping our physical distance.

Police Accountability & the Policing Policy Leadership Team

When someone is shot or killed by police and the law doesn’t offer a pathway to justice, it damages the community, the reputation of law enforcement, and the entire concept of justice. After the killing of George Floyd by Minneapolis police officers, historic protests against racism and police brutality broke out across the country. As policymakers it is our responsibility to listen to the anguish and righteous anger of thousands of peaceful protestors and work with Black, Brown, and Native American communities to create laws that truly hold police accountable and create equal justice in our state.

Recognizing that a more diverse Legislature can yield better policy, House Public Safety Committee Chair Rep. Roger Goodman put together a leadership team to examine current policy and come up with a plan to rebuild our communities’ trust in our police. The leadership team is made up of members from the Black Members Caucus, Reps. Debra Entenman, Jesse Johnson, and John Lovick; and the Members of Color Caucus, Reps. My-Linh Thai, Bill Ramos, and Debra Lekanoff.

Starting last June, the leadership team met with families of victims of police violence, community representatives, members of law enforcement, academics, young people, and other stakeholders. Working closely with these stakeholders as well as the Governor’s Task Force on Independent Investigations on Police Use of Force, and Senate Democrats, the leadership team has developed a comprehensive package of bills to:

Rebuilding our communities’ trust in law enforcement is of paramount importance. Police officers are the first and often only interaction the public has with our government. We must ensure that preserving human life is the highest priority for our law enforcement and that they are being held to the highest standards. This will be one of the Legislature’s top priorities this year.

Save the Date for Telephone Town Halls

The 11th District delegation has two telephone town halls planned for the 2021 remote session:

  • Tuesday, February 16 from 6 – 7 p.m.
  • Wednesday, March 17 from 6 – 7 p.m.

You should receive a phone call on your landline at 6 p.m. on the designated days. If you only have a cell phone, or otherwise want to join, watch for more details coming soon, as we’ll be sending out additional sign-up information. We hope you can take the time to join us!

Sincerely,

Bergquist signature

Rep. Steve Bergquist