Concerned about inconsistent COVID-19 vaccine supply, Whatcom asks state for details
Whatcom County is asking the state Department of Health to explain how it allocates the COVID-19 vaccine amid an ongoing state and nationwide shortage, saying it is “concerned about the lack of transparency.”
The Whatcom County Health Board, which is the County Council in a different capacity, sent the letter on Tuesday, Feb. 2, to Dr. Umair Shah, who is the secretary of health for the state of Washington.
County officials said they were frustrated by the vaccine rollout, the lack of clear details that also was confounding residents, and the “dramatic inconsistencies” in allocations from one week to the next that made planning difficult.
“Allocation of vaccine from county to county is not clearly defined or seemingly based on population, number eligible or other reasonable metrics. This week, Whatcom County enrolled providers requested (by our best estimate) more than 8,000 doses and received 700 first doses of Moderna and zero first doses of Pfizer,” the letter states.
They also said they didn’t understand the difference in allocation between counties.
“Island County, with a population just 37% of Whatcom County’s, received 700 first doses of Moderna and 975 first doses of Pfizer. We don’t share this with the intention to compete for limited resources with our neighbors, but there is no clarity in why that decision was made,” the letter continues.
Officials here said that Whatcom providers have so far been able to vaccinate only about 25% of individuals who are now eligible because of the supply.
They said they were frustrated on behalf of those providers who made plans for vaccinations only to receive no doses in recent days.
“Whatcom County learned this week that of the 34 enrolled providers, only pharmacies would receive vaccine. This was confusing and frustrating for clinics and healthcare providers that have created expanded capacity, added staff, and communicated with their eligible patients,” the letter reads.
“How is DOH making decisions about which enrolled providers receive vaccine and what quantity of vaccine they receive? We know that allocation is not commensurate with requests, but don’t have details or transparency around how these decisions are made,” it continues.
In one instance, a large provider received nearly 1,000 doses in one week “requiring overtime and additional clinics to meet the 95% requirement set by the Governor,” Whatcom officials said, only to get no doses the next week.
“This inconsistency makes planning, scheduling appointments, and staffing extremely challenging,” they state in the letter.
As for the rationale behind its decision-making, Whatcom officials are asking the state to share that each week with providers and the public, on the state Department of Health website.
Frustrated with ‘bottleneck’
Erika Lautenbach, director of the Whatcom County Health Department, said “We are hearing a lot from our residents. It’s vaccine, vaccine, vaccine every day.”
Lautenbach said during a virtual media briefing on Thursday that she shared and understands residents’ frustrations.
But the “bottleneck” is the supply, she said.
The county hasn’t received a response from state officials, but at a virtual media briefing on Thursday, Gov. Jay Inslee noted that 1.7 million state residents are currently eligible for vaccination under the state’s phased rollout.
But the state is getting just 100,000 to 116,000 doses a week from the federal government.
“Vaccine supplies remain very limited. I know people are frustrated by this,” Inslee said, adding that the state’s allocation from the federal government is expected to increase.
In its vaccine distribution update sent out on Thursday night, the state Department of Health said that this week over 600 facilities requested more than 358,000 first doses of vaccine.
“Our first-dose allocation from the federal government was only 107,125 doses, which is less than one-third of what providers asked for,” the state agency said in its update.
As for providing timely information, Shah said during the Thursday press briefing: “We also are finding out that information just a few days before from our federal partners. We’re doing everything we can to improve those processes.”
Whatcom County Executive Satpal Sidhu also pushed the state for more information, saying details would help ease the public’s concern.
“We are not asking for special treatment. We are asking for equitable treatment. I recognize that certain factors, like the number of elderly and people in other at-risk groups, should be considered in vaccine allocations,” Sidhu said in a prepared statement on Thursday. “There is no argument with that.
“However, even taking into consideration these factors, it’s difficult to explain the disparities between counties with regard to the number of vaccines delivered,” Sidhu said. “If we had a transparent set of criteria governing vaccine allocation, that would go a long way in building public trust and fostering patience as we wait for vaccine supply to ramp up.”
This story was originally published February 4, 2021 at 1:56 PM.
