WASHINGTON, D.C. – The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention announced it is awarding Washington state public health departments over $60 million in grants to strengthen the state’s public health workforce, infrastructure, and capacity.

“This pandemic has made it painfully clear these are exactly the kind of investments we need to be making every year,” said U.S. Senator Patty Murray (D-WA), a senior member of the Senate Appropriations Committee.

The CDC announced it is awarding $44.04 million dollars to the Washington State Department of Health and $19.15 million dollars to King County Public Health Department. The grants come from $3 billion in public health funding in the American Rescue Plan and a $200 million Public Health Infrastructure program in the FY22 spending bill.

“People in Washington state want to know our public health departments have what they need to protect families and save lives—which is why I fought so hard for this funding, and continue to fight for more,” said Murray. “Thanks to these grants, public health departments across Washington state will be able to hire and train staff, modernize data systems, strengthen local partnerships, address inequities, improve communication to fight misinformation, and make sure they have whatever they need to serve our communities.”