September 12, 2025
New Department of Health Standing Order Recommends COVID-19 Vaccination for Most Washingtonians
The Department of Health has issued a statewide standing order for COVID-19 vaccines, which authorizes qualified health care professionals to vaccinate individuals aged 6 months and older, including pregnant persons, who do not have contraindications to the vaccine. The standing order follows the COVID-19 vaccine guidance issued by the American Academy of Pediatrics for people ages 6 months to 18 years old, the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists for pregnant individuals, and the American Academy of Family Physicians for people ages 19 years and older. The standing order does not follow the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's immunization schedule published on Aug. 7. The standing order was issued to help reduce confusion and address urgent access barriers in our state.
To support health professionals and settings administering the vaccine, the Department of Health has issued a COVID-19 vaccine schedule that physicians and practices can use to vaccinate their patients. For more information, see the department's FAQs for health professionals. For multilingual patient materials, visit the department's standing orders webpage.
The standing order builds on a development from last week, when Gov. Bob Ferguson announced that Washington state is joining Oregon and California to form a new West Coast Health Alliance in response to developments at the federal level and at the CDC regarding public health and immunizations (Hawaii was subsequently added to the group). The partnership is intended to help ensure our state's public health policies and strategies are informed by science and evidence-based recommendations, with the states coordinating health guidelines for immunization recommendations informed by national physician organizations and other medical organizations. In the coming weeks, the Alliance will finalize shared principles to strengthen public confidence in vaccines and in public health.