Seattle is the first major U.S. city to have 70 percent of its population fully vaccinated against COVID-19, Mayor Jenny Durkan said June 9.
Seattle has administered more than 249,000 vaccine doses to 131,000 people. Seventy-eight percent of the city's population older than 12 has received at least one vaccine dose, which is also one of the highest rates in the country, Ms. Durkan said
Washington Gov. Jay Inslee applauded city leaders during a June 9 news briefing for working to make vaccines easily accessible.
"They've been very creative, getting to people who might not normally have good access to healthcare," Mr. Inslee said.
Close behind is San Francisco, with officials reporting 69 percent of residents over age 12 fully vaccinated.
Experts have debated at what threshold herd immunity for COVID-19 will occur, with the general consensus landing somewhere between 60 and 85 percent fully vaccinated.
As of June 9, 61.3 percent of Americans older than 12 years have had at least one vaccine dose, while 50.3 percent are fully vaccinated, reports the CDC.