Gov. Jay Inslee began a Thursday visit to Grays Harbor County at the Coastal Community Action Program in Aberdeen. The organization helps low-income residents with housing, health, employment, nutrition, and emergency services. The program benefitted from a Commerce Solar Deployment Grant to build a solar installation that now powers their buildings.

Inslee then broke ground at the Fry Creek Pump Station in Aberdeen, which will reduce flood risk for local homes and businesses. The pump station is just one part of a larger Aberdeen-Hoquiam Flood Protection Project that will protect more than 5,100 properties and 1,354 businesses. The project was funded by $8.75 million from the 2021-2023 state capital budget.

Gov. Jay Inslee visited Washington State Department of Natural Resources hand crews completing a practical exam last Tuesday (June 28). The exam brought the crews one step closer to attaining their "Red Cards" certifying them as wildlands firefighters.

"Don't be the spark," said DNR's Wildfire Communications Manager Thomas Kyle-Milward. "Roughly 90 percent of wildfires are human-caused. Take care when you're out recreating in natural spaces."

Once the weather heats up and fuels dry out, so begins another wildfire season. DNR provides wildfire prevention reminders including checking for burn restrictions before starting campfires, not parking hot vehicles in dry grassy areas, and using nylon or plastic weed whackers instead of metal ones.

California, Oregon and Washington will continue to be a safe haven for all people seeking abortions and other reproductive health care services in these states.

The Western States Scientific Safety Review Workgroup Sunday completed its review of the federal process and has unanimously concluded that the Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna vaccines are safe and effective for children as young as 6 months old. The Workgroup provided its confirmation to the governors of Washington, California, Nevada and Oregon this afternoon.

The Moderna two-dose vaccine series and the Pfizer three-dose vaccine series are now available to children as young as 6 months old. The Washington State Department of Health last week said once vaccines were approved they will begin supplying healthcare providers with vaccines for children ages 6 months to 4 years.

On Friday, June 17, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) authorized the use of the vaccines in children as young as 6 months old, and the CDC affirmed that decision on Saturday. The Workgroup reviewed the federal decisions on Saturday and affirmed them today.

The Workgroup thoroughly reviewed safety and efficacy data for the vaccines. The Workgroup found that completion of either vaccine series produced antibody levels similar to those achieved in individuals aged 16-25 years. Observed vaccine reactions among infants aged 6-12 months and children aged 1 through 5 years were consistent with reactions to other vaccines routinely recommended for these age groups.

The Workgroup concluded that the benefits of completing either vaccine series substantially outweigh any known or likely risks. Immunization can be expected to reduce the numbers of COVID-19-related serious illnesses, hospitalizations, and deaths in young children while facilitating their participation in normal educational, social and recreational activities.

Booster doses of the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine are now available for children ages 5-11.

The expansion of booster eligibility comes as COVID-19 cases are continuing to steadily rise across the county. The myth that COVID-19 is always a mild disease in children is untrue. Since the beginning of the pandemic, more than 4.8 million children ages 5-11 have been diagnosed with COVID-19, with 15,000 hospitalized and 180 deceased.

The Washington State Department of Health recommends children ages 5-11 should receive a booster dose five months after completing their primary vaccine series of Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine. Immunocompromised children should receive their booster at least three months after their primary series.

More Policies Needed
to Stop Gun Violence

The violent tragedy at Robb Elementary School in Uvalde, Texas, once again highlights the overwhelming need for policies to reduce gun violence. As the Associated Press reports, it also highlights how state leaders in Washington stand in contrast to Congress and Republican leaders.

During the past several years, Washington voters and the Legislature have passed policies to reduce and prevent gun violence related to domestic violence, suicide, community violence and mass shootings. Policies include universal background checks, an increase in the purchasing age for semi-automatic weapons, liability for people who don't secure their firearms, and extreme risk protection orders - sometimes called "red flag laws."

Last Wednesday, a national investigative report was released by the U.S. Department of the Interior identifying more than 400 federally-run schools for Native American children, including 15 in Washington state. Beginning in the 1880s and continuing into the 1960s, federal officials forcibly removed children from their families and placed them with educators who suppressed the use of Native language and any learning of Native cultures and beliefs. This included changing their Native names, cutting their hair, wearing uniforms and more.

The report is the first step for the Federal Indian Boarding School Initiative launched by Secretary of the Interior Deb Haaland last June following stunning revelations of hundreds of unmarked graves at Indian residential schools in Canada.

"The federal and state governments of the United States have dealt tremendous loss and suffering to the Native and Indigenous people throughout generations, including the horrific and systematic erasure of their culture and their children," Inslee said in response to the report. "It is difficult to confront such hard truths about our past, but it is necessary for healing and progress. Washington state stands ready to do what we can to acknowledge the trauma and harm these schools caused, and uplift the efforts of those who fight to ensure the many Tribal languages, cultures and knowledge persist and flourish."

Last Wednesday, a national investigative report was released by the U.S. Department of the Interior identifying more than 400 federally-run schools for Native American children, including 15 in Washington state. Beginning in the 1880s and continuing into the 1960s, federal officials forcibly removed children from their families and placed them with educators who suppressed the use of Native language and any learning of Native cultures and beliefs. This included changing their Native names, cutting their hair, wearing uniforms and more.

The report is the first step for the Federal Indian Boarding School Initiative launched by Secretary of the Interior Deb Haaland last June following stunning revelations of hundreds of unmarked graves at Indian residential schools in Canada.

"The federal and state governments of the United States have dealt tremendous loss and suffering to the Native and Indigenous people throughout generations, including the horrific and systematic erasure of their culture and their children," Inslee said in response to the report. "It is difficult to confront such hard truths about our past, but it is necessary for healing and progress. Washington state stands ready to do what we can to acknowledge the trauma and harm these schools caused, and uplift the efforts of those who fight to ensure the many Tribal languages, cultures and knowledge persist and flourish."

This (May 2-9) a draft decision of the Supreme Court of the United States indicated its intent to overturn the country's decades-old constitutional right to an abortion guaranteed by the 1973 ruling in Roe v. Wade.

Every year the Washington State Department of Labor & Industries hosts a memorial ceremony for workers who lost their lives on the job.

L&I records show 26 people passed away in 2021 after contracting COVID-19 while working in hospitals, prisons, manufacturing jobs, or other workplaces. Another 15 workers died following long battles with other occupational illnesses. This makes COVID-19 fatalities the highest work-related deaths for the second year in a row.

A total of 106 fallen workers were lost. They were all honored in L&I's annual Worker Memorial Day this week.