There’s a big cleanup happening at Ballard Commons today, with a hepatitis outreach and vaccination booth set up at the Ballard Library.

Seattle Parks says they’re doing a “deep clean” of the park today due to new reports of Hepatitis A in the area. In addition to the cleanup, Seattle & King County Public Health has a hepatitis vaccination booth set up at the Ballard Library. The outreach has been ongoing since January 2019, according to Seattle & King County Public Health Communication Director James Apa.

“As part of our response to the new cases in the Ballard area, our Environmental Health team has been connecting with Seattle Parks & Recreation to confirm best practice sanitation procedures of the Portland Loo at the Seattle Commons as a precaution,” Apa told My Ballard via email today.

Since Jan. 2019, there have been 101 confirmed cases of Hepatitis A among King County residents. However, in March alone, 25 new cases have been confirmed, and 11 of those individuals reported living homeless in the Ballard area. Apa says they haven’t confirmed a common link at this point, but the vaccinations today are part of the effort to stop the outbreak.

“The most important strategy for addressing Hepatitis A outbreak is vaccination, and we’ve mobilized several clinics in the Ballard area in March and continuing into April, and doing street outreach and vaccinations as well this week,” Apa says.

Thanks Angie for the tip, and Tiffany Schulze for the photo