State recognizes Whatcom shorted COVID-19 vaccine doses, makes plans to catch county up
The Washington State Department acknowledged in a letter to Whatcom County Health Board Chairman Barry Buchanan that the county has received a disproportionate amount of vaccine doses from the state and it will get an additional 4,680 first doses to help make up the difference.
“We also recognized that Whatcom County was behind in county pro rata vaccine allocations, as are a few other counties,” the Feb. 28 letter signed by state Secretary of Health Dr. Umair A. Shah said. “That is why we reached out to the county health department by email on Saturday, February 20.
“The email acknowledged they were behind, and that to catch them up we needed their help to identify providers willing to receive Pfizer vaccine as there is currently more Pfizer available than Moderna. We were able to work with the Whatcom County Health Department to get an additional 4,680 first doses to Whatcom County this week.”
The letter was forwarded to The Bellingham Herald by the Whatcom County Executive’s office on Monday, March 1.
“I’m very pleased to see more doses coming to Whatcom County. Vaccine accessibility is a source of great anxiety for many in our community,” Executive Satpal Sidhu said in a statement emailed to The Herald. “Our Health Department and providers are ready to administer the vaccines, yet the allocations have been inexplicably low.
“At the same time, I know that our colleagues at the state level are working tirelessly to do the right thing, and I appreciate Secretary Shah’s commitment to getting us caught up.”
Two weeks ago, according to the letter, the state sent Whatcom County pharmacies, community health centers and other local clinics 2,400 booster doses of vaccine. Last week, Whatcom received 2,540 first doses and 3,270 booster doses, and it is expecting 11,030 first doses and 1,900 second doses this week.
“The federal government has announced an increase in weekly allocation to our state, which will result in a higher allocation to counties,” Shah’s letter read. “We are working with local health jurisdictions toward a steady, predictable baseline allocation to each county.”
The letter also stated there are approximately 2.5 million Washington residents — approximately a third of the state’s population — that currently qualify to received vaccine under Phase 1A or 1B1.
“This means many people cannot get appointments right now even though they are eligible,” Shah wrote. “We know this is frustrating, and we ask for your understanding and patience as we wait to get more vaccines into the state to cover everyone who needs it.”
Vaccination dashboard
The state’s vaccination report for Friday, Feb. 26, said that as of 11:59 p.m. Wednesday, Feb. 24, Whatcom County had administered 32,287 vaccinations — an increase of 2,508 vaccinations from Wednesday’s report, which was through 11:59 p.m. Monday, Feb. 22.
An average of 501 Whatcom County residents per day received a vaccination dose from Feb. 18-24, unchanged from the seven-day average on Wednesday. Vaccination data is released Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays.
The state estimates that 12.28% of the county (or 27,665 residents) has received its first dose of a COVID-19 vaccine and 6.22% of the county (or 14,013 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.
In fact, Whatcom County residents are having to travel outside the county to receive the vaccine at a higher rate than most of the rest of the state, according to data analysis by The Bellingham Herald, as the total number of vaccine doses received by Whatcom County residents (41,678 combined first and second doses received) is 22.5% higher (9,391 doses) than the 32,287 doses administered in the county.
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 and Clark, which has a state mass vaccination site in Ridgefield.
According to the analysis of Friday’s data by The Herald, Whatcom residents have received approximately 2.78% of the 1,500,485 total vaccine doses given in the state — up from 2.74% in Wednesday’s report.
But the county has administered only 2.15% of the state’s total — up from 2.11% in Wednesday’s report — and has administered the 12th-most doses in the state. For comparison, Whatcom County represents 3.0% of the state’s total population and is the state’s ninth-largest county, according to 2019 U.S. Census estimates.
Based on 2019 five-year population estimates from the U.S. Census Bureau, The Herald’s analysis of Friday’s data found Whatcom County has administered 0.15 doses of vaccine per resident, which ranks 31st in the state.
With residents traveling to get the vaccine, Whatcom County has received 0.19 doses of vaccine per resident, which ranks 24th in the state. Both are behind the overall state average of 0.20 doses per resident.
Vaccine update
Here is the latest on who is eligible for the COVID-19 virus vaccine and where you can 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. These allocations are going to state clinics and county clinics, private and public health care clinics, and pharmacies.
For the week of Feb. 22, the state Department of Health allocated 2,540 first vaccine doses to Whatcom County and 3,270 second doses.
Finding a vaccination appointment remains challenging, although public health officials continue to say that the supply should increase in the coming weeks.
Demand still far exceeds supply, according to the Washington State Department of Health’s update on Thursday, Feb. 25.
This past week, vaccine providers in the state asked for a total of 436,720 doses. The federal government sent 263,570 doses to the Department of Health for distribution.
Federal allocations to the state are projected to increase over the next three weeks, according to the update:
▪ Week of Feb. 28: 279,800 total doses (156,640 first doses, 123,160 second doses).
▪ Week of March 7: 285,200 doses (156,640 first, 128,560 second).
▪ Week of March 14: 313,280 doses (156,640 first, 156,640 second).
In addition, the state likely will be allocated 60,900 doses of the Johnson & Johnson vaccine this week after the Federal Drug Administration gave emergency use authorization. The vaccine will be further vetted by the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices and the Scientific Safety Review Workgroup as part of the Western States Pact.
The Johnson & Johnson vaccine requires one dose.
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.
The federal government allocation to Washington state is one vaccine stream.
Other streams are the doses the federal government sends directly to Native American tribes and retail pharmacies that in turn vaccinate long-term care facilities and others in the public who are eligible. These doses are not reflected in weekly state allocation numbers, so it’s not known exactly how much vaccine is coming to Whatcom County.
Where to get vaccinated
As of Monday, March 1, most of these health care systems have an appointment-only process and those seeking appointments should do so online.
Some have 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.
Vaccine supply remains limited.
▪ Associates in Family Medicine: Says its vaccine supply remains limited. It asks people to fill out a form online for contact when more doses are available.
▪ 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 didn’t schedule first-dose appointments this past week, but planned to make an announcement by end of day Monday, March 1, as to whether appointments will be available in the coming days, according to its post on Monday, Feb. 22.
“It will take several more weeks — possibly months — before we see significant improvement in vaccine allocation. In the meantime, it is important to continue taking necessary precautions to reduce the risk of transmission in our communities,” Family Care Network said in its post, encouraging people to keep wearing masks, limiting social gatherings, being aware of physical distancing, and washing their hands.
▪ PeaceHealth: Vaccine appointments are available only 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 receive the Pfizer vaccine. It also receives the Moderna vaccine.
PeaceHealth said if is expecting to receive enough shipments of the Pfizer and Moderna vaccines the week of Feb. 28 to March 6 to provide approximately 4,440 first doses of the Pfizer vaccine and more than 1,500 second doses of either the Pfizer or Moderna vaccine.
PeaceHealth reported it is collaborating with the Whatcom County Health Department and is contacting other health care providers in the area that serve vulnerable populations to help identify eligible vaccine recipients in the 1A and 1B1 phases.
“We anticipate that these entities will supply PeaceHealth with a list of eligible patients who will, in turn, receive a phone call from PeaceHealth to schedule an appointment,” PeaceHealth’s weekly vaccine status statement says.
“These eligible patients will join PeaceHealth patients who are 77 years of age or older and who have a relationship with a PeaceHealth primary or specialty care provider. As in previous weeks, PeaceHealth patients will be notified through the PeaceHealth patient portal or via a phone call. PeaceHealth will continue to reduce the age limit throughout the week, reaching out to eligible patients following the same notification process.”
The vaccine clinic at the Health Education Center on the St. Joseph hospital campus will be open Tuesday through Saturday this week, PeaceHealth reported.
“We will continue to work closely with the county health leadership to ensure an equitable distribution of vaccine across providers and patient populations, requesting more vaccine supply each week,” PeaceHealth’s statement read.
▪ Sea Mar: Has a first-come, first-served walk-in system, but check availability online first.
▪ Unity Care NW: The health care provider continues to say that its vaccine supply remains “very low” and that it will contact eligible patients to schedule vaccinations when it receives 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 that want to be are listed, and those listed have changed since last week. Also new is information on whether the listed providers have vaccine appointments available, although not all providers are updating the availability information in a timely manner.
In addition to Associates in Family Medicine, the list for Whatcom County now includes Costco on Arctic Avenue; Ferndale Pharmacy on Alder Street; Fred Meyer on Lakeway Drive; Haggen on Woburn Street; Mt. Shuksan Family Medicine and Dermatology on Cornwall Avenue; Safeway on Guide Meridian Road; and Nooksack Valley Drug on East Main Street in Everson.
▪ Federal pharmacy program: The federal government has started to send vaccines directly to retail pharmacies to 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 Monday, March 1, showed that 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).
Check whether Rite Aid is scheduling vaccine appointments at riteaid.com/pharmacy/covid-qualifier.
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 said.
“Our intention is not to compete with providers who have relationships with their patients and who are trying to get those folks in for appointments but to allow for more broad-based vaccination efforts,” Erika Lautenbach, director of the Whatcom County Health Department, said to the County Council during a COVID-19 briefing on Feb. 23.
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.
▪ Skagit County: The Health Department has set up a mass-vaccination site at the fairgrounds in Mount Vernon but vaccinations depend on vaccine supply.
Online registration is closed at https://www.skagitcounty.net/Departments/HealthDiseases/coronavirusvaccine.htm, but appointments will be added if spaces become available.
▪ 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.
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.
In addition, Whatcom County residents trying to find vaccine appointments but who don’t have a computer or internet access are being advised to call the state Department of Health toll-free hotline at 1-800-525-0127, then press #.
Hotline hours are:
▪ 6 a.m. to 10 p.m. Monday.
▪ 6 a.m. to 6 p.m. Tuesday through Sunday and on observed state holidays.
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 March 1, 2021 at 12:03 PM.
