With the recent end of the federal public health emergency, federal funding for a variety of pandemic-related programs has dried up
Glenn Minnis
The Center Square Washington
The Washington State Department of Health has officially pulled the plug on a program that alerted residents by phone that they may have been exposed to COVID-19 by sending a message directly to their phones.
With the recent end of the federal public health emergency, federal funding for a variety of pandemic-related programs has dried up, including WA Notify.
“The reason we’re having this media briefing is we wanted to answer questions providing clarity to the end of latest health emergency,” Dr. Umair Shah, secretary of health, said at a May 5 media briefing. “We wanted to provide guidance on where we’re moving as a state. As you know, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention confirmed the first case of COVID-19 in the continental U.S. right here in the state of Washington.”
State officials said that over time the technology came to be used by almost 4 million devices across Washington, including nearly 2.5 million exposure notifications.
“This has not been easy; this has been a long, tiring road,” Shah added. “Washingtonians did their part and for that we should be incredibly proud of how our state, how our community, and how our people all came together in the midst of this public health emergency.”
Lacy Fehrenbach, deputy secretary for prevention and health for the Department of Health, said extra pandemic deaths were avoided because of the program.
“Since the statewide launch of WA Notify way back on Nov. 30, 2020, 235,000 COVID-19 cases have been confirmed in WA Notify,” she said. “And that generated more than 2.5 million exposure notifications and those notices allowed people to more quickly take action to isolate themselves away from others and help us avoid further spread of the disease. WA Notify prevented thousands of COVID cases in Washington state and helped us save more lives over the duration of the pandemic.”
This report was first published by The Center Square Washington.
Also read:
- Washington Gov. Jay Inslee tests positive for COVID-19 for the third time
Washington Governor Jay Inslee tests positive for COVID-19 for the third time, the first in May 2022 and again this February. - Fauci secretly visited CIA to ‘influence’ findings on COVID origins
The CIA brought in Dr. Anthony Fauci to its headquarters “without a record of entry” to help “influence” the agency’s review of the origins of the COVID-19 pandemic, according to a letter from the chairman of the Select Subcommittee on the Coronavirus Pandemic. - Cancers erupting in ways ‘never before seen’ following COVID shotsAnother possible side effect of those COVID-19 shots demanded for Americans by many governments and employers during the pandemic has shown up, and it’s not good.
- Doctor censored by Biden administration calls out scheme of threats and ‘coercion’Francis Collins demanded a ‘swift and devastating takedown’ when experts in the field of medicine suggested that the Biden administration’s lockdowns, shutdowns, social distancing and masking demands weren’t really needed to deal with COVID-19.
- COVID skeptic Dr. David Martin: WHO is a ‘criminal cartel’In a recent video, COVID-19 skeptic Dr. David Martin states his opinions about the pandemic.
- CCRP adopts resolution affirming its support of individual informed consentThe Clark County Republican Party (CCRP) has adopted a resolution meant to tell politicians that they are serious when it comes to informed medical consent.
- WA DOH replaces COVID-19 data dashboard with respiratory illness data dashboardThe Washington State Department of Health on Monday announced the retirement of its COVID-19 dashboard, with a replacement that shows data about multiple respiratory illnesses.
- State’s surgeon general issues COVID booster warningFlorida’s surgeon general, Dr. Joseph Ladapo, advised that anyone under 65 years of age should not get COVID-19 booster vaccines.
