Whatcom residents leaving county for COVID shots at higher rate, and other vaccine updates
Here is the latest on who is eligible for the COVID-19 virus vaccine and where can you get it in Whatcom County. The information is frequently updated as vaccine availability changes.
The Washington State Department of Health allocates vaccines it receives from the federal government based, in part, on reported need and providers’ ability to properly store and distribute doses. Vaccines are going to state clinics and county clinics as well as private and public health care clinics and pharmacies.
Getting vaccinated remains challenging and frustrating as a nationwide shortage continues.
For the week of Feb. 15, the state Department of Health allocated no first doses to Whatcom County. The state said it was prioritizing second doses this week, making appointments to get first vaccine doses “extremely limited in Washington state.”
Whatcom providers received 2,400 second doses this week.
While the state didn’t allocate first doses to county providers, chain pharmacies in Whatcom that are part of the new federal retail pharmacy program received 1,300 vaccine doses last week, according to Cindy Hollinsworth, communicable disease and epidemiology manager for the Whatcom County Health Department.
The federal program distributes directly to pharmacies, and is separate from the state Department of Health’s weekly allocations.
Hollinsworth said information about those federal doses came from a first-of-its-kind report.
“I know it can be confusing when we say there were no first doses but that was through the DOH program,” Hollinsworth said during a virtual media briefing on Wednesday, Feb. 17.
She said there are now 37 state-approved vaccine providers in Whatcom County.
“This is really good news for us as a county that we have so many access points,” she said.
Not all of the 37 have requested doses, Hollinsworth said, adding that smaller practices that don’t have a large number of patients currently eligible for vaccination are abstaining.
Erika Lautenbach, director of the Whatcom County Health Department, said the county’s enrolled providers are meeting weekly to coordinate their vaccine requests, rather than working as 37 individual entities “all competing for a very scare resource.”
The weather is a further limiting factor.
Extreme cold weather elsewhere in the U.S., especially in Texas, is delaying shipment of more than 90% of the 200,000 vaccine doses meant for Washington state this week, the state Department of Health estimated on Thursday, Feb. 18.
Moderna vaccines haven’t shipped this week, state officials said, and Pfizer vaccines didn’t ship on Monday.
Vaccination dashboard
The state’s vaccination report for Wednesday, Feb. 17, said that as of 11:59 p.m. Monday, Feb. 15, Whatcom County had administered 25,848 vaccinations — an increase of 4,364 vaccinations from Friday’s report, which was through 11:59 p.m. Wednesday, Feb. 10.
An average of 881 Whatcom County residents per day received a vaccination dose from Feb. 9 to Feb. 15, up from the 512 seven-day average on Friday. Vaccination data is released Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays, but was not updated Monday in observance of Presidents Day.
The state estimates that 10.77% of the county (or 24,254 residents) has received its first dose of a COVID-19 vaccine and 3.98% of the county (or 8,958 residents) is fully vaccinated. The number of vaccines given and people vaccinated may not match, according to the dashboard, because people may be vaccinated in counties other than where they live.
The state data also underscored what frustrated Whatcom County residents have been sharing on social media — they’re having to travel for their vaccination.
In fact, they are having to travel outside the county at a higher rate than most of the rest of the state, as the total number of vaccine doses received by Whatcom County residents (33,212 combined first and second doses received) is 22.2% higher (7,364 doses) than the 24,848 doses administered in the county, according to The Bellingham Herald’s analysis of state data.
The only counties with higher rates are Douglas, which is next to a state mass-vaccination site in Wenatchee, and Franklin, which is next to a state mass-vaccination site in Kennewick.
According to the data released Wednesday, Whatcom residents have received approximately 2.8% of the 1,201,120 total vaccine doses given in the state — up from 2.6% in Friday’s report.
But the county has administered only 2.2% of the state’s total — up from 2% in Friday’s report — and has administered the 11th-most doses in the state. For comparison, Whatcom County represents 3% of the state’s total population and is the state’s ninth-largest county, according to 2019 U.S. Census estimates.
The Whatcom County Health Board earlier this month asked the state Department of Health to explain how it allocates the COVID-19 vaccine, saying it is “concerned about the lack of transparency.”
They also said they didn’t understand the difference in allocation between counties.
The county hasn’t yet received an answer to its questions, according to public health officials.
“We’re still actively working with the state on understanding what the criteria are and how those decisions are being made,” Lautenbach said during the media briefing on Wednesday, “but I feel like we’re having good conversations.”
Vaccine allocations
The three-week forecast of what’s coming to Washington from the federal government shows a gradual increase, the state Department of Health said on Thursday.
What the state expects to receive and the dates are:
▪ Week of Feb. 21: 263,570 total doses (146,110 first doses, 117,460 second doses).
▪ Week of Feb. 28: 269,270 total (146,110 first, 123,160 second ).
▪ Week of March 7: 292,220 total (146,110 first, 146,110 second).
It’s still not enough to keep up.
“Although the increase is encouraging, allocations still do not meet the number of doses providers requested,” state officials said.
For next week, providers in the state asked for 436,720 total doses of vaccine — 173,150 more doses than the state will receive from the federal government.
The state said it will focus on second dose requests to make sure people complete the vaccination series.
Who is eligible for vaccination
Washington state is allowing vaccinations by phases. Check yours online.
Those in phase 1B, tier 1, have been eligible for vaccination since Jan. 18:
▪ All people 65 years and older.
▪ People 50 years and older in multi-generational households where they live with and care for their parents or a grandchild.
▪ People who are over 50 and unable to live independently, who either receive long-term care from a paid or unpaid caregiver or are living with someone who works outside the home.
Not eligible in this phase are people younger than 50, people over 50 who care for a partner or friend, or any parent or guardian caring for their small child or teen.
Previously and still eligible for vaccination from phase 1A:
▪ High-risk health care workers.
▪ High-risk first responders.
▪ Residents and staff of congregate living settings, such as nursing homes.
▪ All other workers in health care settings who are at risk.
Next up, but not yet eligible, will be tier 2 of phase 1B, which includes:
▪ Workers 50 years and older who work in certain congregate settings, including agriculture, food processing, correction facilities, grocery stores, public transit, educators and child care.
The date for when this group can get vaccinated hasn’t been announced.
Where to get vaccinated
As of Thursday, Feb. 18, most of these health care systems have an appointment-only process and those seeking appointments should do so online. Some said they will reach out to qualified patients themselves. Many sites were seeing phone systems overloaded with those seeking vaccines and ask people not to call to inquire about getting their shots.
▪ Family Care Network: Is providing the Moderna vaccine and will schedule appointments for its established, specific, high-risk patients in eligible tiers as supplies become available. It is not maintaining a waitlist.
The health care provider continues to offer limited same-day appointments for “extra doses,” if they can be drawn from vials during a vaccine clinic.
People can schedule appointments, five to 15 could be available, by calling 360-733-1342 on the following dates and at the following times:
▪ Tuesday, Feb. 23 — 2 p.m.
▪ Wednesday, Feb. 24 — 3 p.m.
▪ Thursday Feb. 25 — 2 p.m.
Family Care Network said on its website that it has not been able to get first doses in recent weeks, and its ability to provide vaccination against COVID-19 remains limited.
“On Jan. 26, the state made a change in how they would allocate vaccine. They are emphasizing distribution to mass vaccination sites and to pharmacies in locations without a mass vaccination site (such as Whatcom and Skagit counties),” the post reads. “The state has denied our requests for first dose allocation for the last three weeks.”
▪ PeaceHealth: Vaccine appointments are only available for community health care workers and PeaceHealth Medical Group patients who are eligible based on Washington state guidelines. Patients whose medical records (age, medical conditions) indicate eligibility will be called or emailed about scheduling an appointment. PeaceHealth is not maintaining a waitlist. St. Joseph hospital has cold-storage facilities that allow it to use the Pfizer vaccine. It also receives the Moderna vaccine.
▪ Sea Mar: Has a first-come, first-served walk-in system, but check availability online first. As of 10 a.m. Thursday, Sea Mar said it had no doses of the Moderna vaccine, which is what it is distributing, at any of its clinics in the state, which includes Bellingham and Everson.
▪ Unity Care NW: The health care provider says its vaccine supply remains “very low” and that it will contact eligible patients to schedule vaccinations when it gets more doses.
▪ Department of Health map: It can be found on a website that lists some vaccine providers in Whatcom and other parts of Washington. Because vaccine supply is very limited, the featured providers may not have vaccine or may be fully booked.
The map is at covidvaccineWA.org.
Only providers who want to be on the map are listed. In addition to PeaceHealth and Sea Mar, the list for Whatcom County so far includes Costco on Arctic Avenue; the two Fred Meyers on Lakeway Drive and West Bakerview Road; Haggen on Woburn Street; Safeway on Guide Meridian Road; and Mt. Shuksan Family Medicine and Dermatology on Cornwall Avenue.
▪ Federal pharmacy program: The federal government has started to send vaccines directly to retail pharmacies — a move that would create new access for people who are eligible.
In Washington state, participating pharmacies include Albertsons Companies (Safeway, Haggen and Albertsons); Costco; and Health Mart Independent Pharmacies.
Albertsons officials said its in-store pharmacies started giving vaccinations on Feb. 11, adding that people can check for appointments at one website, mhealthappointments.com/covidappt. A check on Thursday morning showed no appointments were available.
The state said that more chain pharmacies in Washington are joining the program because allocation is expected to increase. The pharmacies are Walmart, Rite Aid and Kroger (Fred Meyer and QFC).
Pharmacies also can receive vaccines from the state Department of Health.
Government sites
▪ Whatcom County: A mass COVID-19 vaccination effort will be launched by a coalition of Whatcom County health care providers and the health department in March, provided there is vaccine supply, public health officials announced Thursday.
Public health officials and Whatcom providers are getting ready for the clinic, which will be at Bellingham Technical College. More details are coming, officials said.
“There’s going to be more vaccine coming. It’s just about when. So we are doing all the work behind the scenes right now to make sure we’re ready to stand up, with very short notice, when there is vaccine,” Hollinsworth said during the media briefing on Wednesday.
The Whatcom County Health Department piloted a mobile vaccine clinic last week at five adult family homes to fill an existing gap.
It ordered 100 vaccine doses for the mobile unit and gave shots to 26 staff and residents, said Lautenbach said Wednesday.
The health department gave the unused doses to a provider in Point Roberts last Friday, Feb. 12, for the remote community’s first vaccine clinic, according to Hollinsworth.
▪ Skagit County: The Health Department has set up a mass-vaccination site at the fairgrounds in Mount Vernon but vaccinations depend on vaccine supply.
“Due to lack of supply, no first dose appointments are available for the week of Feb. 15. Second dose appointments will not be impacted,” the Skagit health department wrote on its website.
People are encouraged to check the website at 9 a.m. on Saturday, Feb. 20, for an update.
▪ Washington: The state is offering large-scale vaccination in Spokane, Ridgefield, Wenatchee and Kennewick. They are open by appointment only to people who register and are eligible for the vaccine phase.
Vaccine delivery delays caused by winter storms elsewhere in the country mean the state-led mass vaccinations sites in Kennewick and Spokane will be closed through the weekend, the state said Thursday.
One-stop help
Volunteers have stepped forward to help people find vaccines or find them easier. Both are online.
▪ CovidWA.com is compiling just about all of the available vaccine appointments throughout the state, according to a KING 5 story. Users type in their zip code to get the information, and they may have to travel to get their shots.
▪ Find a COVID shot WA, a private group on Facebook, has what it calls “search party volunteers” that help people find appointments if they post using #searching. It has nearly 26,000 members.
The group also focuses on obtaining vaccine appointments for those most affected by COVID-19 — people with disabilities, those who are 70 years and older, people with limited English, and those who are Black, Indigenous and people of color. Vaccine seekers in these categories post using #support.
About the vaccines
Vaccines approved and currently available in Washington are:
▪ Pfizer: Requires two doses 21 days apart; authorized for people 16 years and older; 95% effective.
▪ Moderna: Requires two doses 28 days apart; authorized for people 18 years and older; 94.1% effective.
The CDC provides more information about the vaccines.
This story was originally published February 18, 2021 at 12:05 PM.
