Washington requires vaccines for health care, state workers

PORTLAND, Ore. (KOIN) -- Washington Governor Jay Inslee announced a new vaccine requirement for state workers and other groups on Monday.

"We will be requiring our state workers and contractors who come onto our sites and workers in private health care and long term care settings to be vaccinated as condition of further employment," Inslee said.

Inslee set an October 18 deadline, saying a person's last shot would have be by October 4 in order to be fully vaccinated by the deadline.

"It's never too late to make the right choice, and we're confident that people will," Inslee said.

The press conference comes while cases are surging in the state and around the country as the COVID-19 delta variant takes hold of the population.

Several local health centers recently announced they are now requiring their caregivers to be vaccinated. Meanwhile, restaurants and bars across the region are stepping up their efforts to mitigate the spread, by requiring proof of vaccination at the door.

Despite mandates and various incentives to get a COVID-19 shot, Washington still has less than 70% of its 12 and up population vaccinated.