Our health advisories have the latest information.
Closely monitor health advisories for updated guidance, situational awareness and resources for providers and patients.
To report, call Call (253) 649-1412, press 0 (M-F, 8 a.m.-4:30 p.m.). Or call the 24 hour Reporting Line: (253) 649-1413 and leave a message with the patient\'s first name, last name, date of birth..
Vaccine
Everyone 6 months or older is eligible to get ta COVID-19 Vaccine.
For the latest information, visit our COVID-19 Vaccine Information for Providers page. Find a printable COVID vaccine schedule here.
Testing
People with COVID-19 report a wide range of symptoms, from mild to severe. Symptoms may appear 2 to 14 days after exposure and include:
- Cough.
- Shortness of breath or difficulty breathing.
- Fever.
- Chills.
- Muscle pain.
- Headache.
- Sore throat.
- Loss of taste or smell.
People with mild to moderate illness can test at home or go to a COVID-19 test site in our community. Emergency departments are not for routine COVID-19 testing unless the patient needs emergency care.
Follow Washington State Department of Health’s (DOH’s) updated testing criteria. For more information, view:
Teach your patients
- How to access, use and interpret at-home COVID-19 test kits.
- They must report positive test results to Washington State Department of Health (DOH) at (800) 525-0127.
- How to care for their mild to moderate illness at home and when to go to the emergency department.
Isolation and quarantine
- Interim guidance for managing healthcare personnel with SARS-CoV-2 infection or exposure, CDC.
- Calculating quarantine and isolation, CDC.
Treatment
For information about pre-exposure and post-diagnosis COVID-19 therapeutics, view our COVID-19 Treatment Information for Providers page.
Considerations for special populations
Immunocompromised
Pregnant or breastfeeding
- Care for breastfeeding people, CDC.
- COVID-19 frequently asked questions (FAQs) for obstetricians and gynecologists, American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists.
Long-Term care
- Interim guidance for transferring residents between long-term care and other healthcare settings, DOH.
Healthcare workers
- COVID-19 information for healthcare providers, CDC.
- Interim guidance for managing healthcare personnel with SARS-CoV-2 infection or exposure, CDC.
Children and teens
- Case definition and guidance for multisystem inflammatory system in children (MIS-C), CDC.
- Clinical considerations: myocarditis and pericarditis, CDC.
Personal protective equipment
- PPE when caring for patients with suspected or confirmed COVID-19, CDC.
- Video instructions for donning and doffing PPE, Providence.
Safety
- Guidance on discontinuing transmission-based precautions in healthcare facilities, CDC.
- Return-to-work guidance for healthcare workers, CDC.
- COVID-19 vaccine effectiveness and safety, CDC.
- Case definition and guidance for multisystem inflammatory system in adults (MIS-A), CDC.
- Report adverse events to CDC’s Vaccine Adverse Event Reporting System (VAERS).
- Encourage people to sign up for CDC’s V-Safe, a post-vaccine health check-up and adverse event reporting system.
Long COVID
- Post-COVID-19 conditions, CDC.
- Post-COVID-19 conditions, DOH.
Educational and promotional materials
- Register to access free promotional materials, DOH.
- As patients’ trusted source of medical information, you play a critical role in increasing COVID-19 vaccination. Join the Power of Providers Initiative, DOH.
- Provider Toolkit with many printable materials, DOH.
- What parents/guardians need to know about pediatric COVID-19 vaccine, DOH.
Patient resources
- Care Connect Washington provides food, care kits and other assistance to people who need to isolate or quarantine due to COVID-19.
- Washington Listens connects people with support specialists and community resources.
- Northwest Justice Project gives free civil legal aid to eligible people with low incomes.
Healthcare provider resources
- Healthcare providers can bill for COVID-19 vaccine counseling and administration. For more information, see the reimbursement policies for Medicaid and uninsured patients.
- National news and case counts, CDC.
- Healthcare providers resources and recommendations, DOH.
Additional guidance
- Testing guidance, CDC.
- Healthcare providers, DOH.
- Healthcare providers, CDC.
- Travelers, CDC.
- Preventing transmission in homes and communities, CDC.
Contacting the Health Department
Questions?- For urgent issues, call (253) 649-1412.
- For non-urgent issues, call (253) 649-1413 and leave a message.
- Includes reporting notifiable conditions 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.
- Leave the patient’s name, date of birth and disease.