King County Health Officer Dr. Jeff Duchin held a media briefing on September 6, 2022, to share information and take questions about the new COVID-19 booster, as well as the local monkeypox outbreak.

A transcript of the briefing is now available, and the video of the briefing is below.

Dr. Duchin discussed the latest on local COVID-19 transmission and emphasized the importance of vaccination combined with layered prevention measures:

Although no one wants to hear it, I don’t like saying it, and many don’t want to accept it, it’s clear that COVID-19 is not disappearing. It is changing. It appears less severe in important ways, but it’s persistent, it’s insidious and it remains somewhat unpredictable. So, we need to continue to focus on effective strategies that we can use to decrease our risk…

The updated booster vaccines are an important step in improving our ability to limit the ongoing impact of COVID-19 on our lives, on our community, and on our economy …

But vaccination alone is not sufficient to optimally protect our community from COVID-19. Public Health – Seattle & King County continue to recommend wearing high quality respirators and masks like N95, KN95 and KF94 in indoor public spaces when transmission is high. We continue to recommend improving air quality in our public spaces, our businesses, and our schools, using ventilation, filtration and or U/V technologies where that technology is appropriate. We continue to recommend testing after exposure to COVID-19 and when symptoms develop, isolating when infected, and wearing a high-quality mask after isolation in accordance with CDC guidance. And, knowing if you’re eligible for Paxlovid treatment and how to get that treatment quickly if you become infected.

– Dr. Jeff Duchin

Originally published September 7, 2022.