PeaceHealth says it expects to receive fewer COVID vaccine doses this week for Whatcom
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.
PeaceHealth said on Monday, March 8, that it expects to receive fewer vaccine doses from the state this week.
The state said that Whatcom County’s largest health care provider will receive one-third of the first doses of the Pfizer vaccine this week that it did last week. It also will receive several hundred Moderna doses, according to PeaceHealth’s weekly vaccine update.
But it still has vaccine doses it had previously received from larger shipments.
“The supply we anticipate receiving this week plus the additional doses on hand will be adequate to provide approximately 3,200 first doses, and about 900 booster (second) doses,” PeaceHealth said in its post.
It will focus on vaccinating health care workers, PeaceHealth patients who are 65 years and older, school district and licensed child care employees, and “individuals from some of our county’s most vulnerable populations,” PeaceHealth said.
Also on Monday, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention provided new guidance to those who have been vaccinated.
People who have gotten both doses of the Pfizer or Moderna vaccine, or one dose of the Johnson & Johnson, can gather with others indoors without masks or physical distancing two weeks after completing their vaccination series — provided the people they’re getting together with also have been fully vaccinated.
Vaccination update
Friday’s vaccination report said that as of 11:59 p.m. Wednesday, March 3, Whatcom County had administered 41,500 vaccinations — an increase of 3,747 vaccinations (up 9.93%) from Wednesday’s report. Statewide, the number of vaccine doses administered increased 5.96% from Wednesday’s report (104,972 doses administered).
An average of 1,158 Whatcom County residents per day received a vaccination dose from Feb. 25 to March 3, up from the 910 seven-day average on Wednesday. Vaccination data is released Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays.
The state estimates that 15.67% of the county (or 35,315 residents) has received its first dose of a COVID-19 vaccine and 7.85% of the county (or 17,679 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 continue to have 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 (52,994 combined first and second doses received) is 21.7% higher (11,494 doses) than the 41,500 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.
— David Rasbach, drasbach@bhamherald.com
Who is eligible for vaccination
Washington state is allowing vaccinations by phases. Check yours online.
Most of 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.
▪ Under the direction of President Biden, Washington state announced it was adding educators and licensed childcare workers to its Phase 1B-1 group starting Tuesday, March 2, and they could seek appointments immediately.
The addition means that about 5,000 more Whatcom County residents can now be vaccinated.
The county has 4,829 people employed in preK-12 education fields and 161 child care workers, according to The Bellingham Herald’s analysis of Washington State Employment Security Department data.
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:
▪ Critical workers who work in certain congregate settings, including agriculture, food processing, grocery stores, public transit, firefighters, law enforcement, and workers in prisons and jails.
▪ Pregnant women and those with disabilities that put them at high risk.
Gov. Inslee has announced plans to move to this tier beginning March 22.
Where to get vaccinated
As of Monday, 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 said on Monday afternoon that it wasn’t scheduling vaccine appointments this week for first doses, and expressed ongoing frustration about its allotted doses.
“We had to cancel several planned vaccine clinics after the state denied our allocation requests for first doses,” it said in its weekly vaccine update online.
“Since January, Family Care Network has been allocated an extremely small amount of vaccine, even though we provide primary care services to nearly 90,000 adults in Whatcom and Skagit County,” the post reads. “We’ve reached out to health department officials to better understand why Family Care Network is not receiving a proportionate allocation of vaccine as an approved vaccine provider, but it remains unclear.”
The state did approve its second dose allocation, so second-dose appointments will continue as planned this week.
Family Care Network continues to offer same-day appointments for when an extra dose can be drawn from a vial of COVID vaccine.
Same-day appointments — a maximum of 15 slots —will be scheduled by phone only starting at 2 p.m. on Thursday, March 11.
Call the vaccine scheduling line at 360-733-1342 at that time.
▪ 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 contacted via the patient portal 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.
The health care providers said it’s planning to launch, later this month, a tool that will allow people to schedule a vaccine appointment.
School district employees and child care providers will be contacted about getting vaccinated through their employers, and a list will be provided to PeaceHealth.
PeaceHealth said it worked with several regional organizations affiliated with farmworkers and other laborers to reserve nearly 500 appointments last week for those who were eligible.
Most were non-English speakers. Translators were there to help those who spoke Russian, Spanish, Punjabi, Mandarin and several other languages go through the vaccination clinic.
Several hundred more appointments will be reserved for such people again this week, PeaceHealth said.
▪ Sea Mar: Has a first-come, first-served walk-in system, but check availability online first. As of an update at 5:30 p.m. Friday, March 5, Sea Mar had no vaccine for any of its clinics in the state, including Bellingham and Everson.
▪ Unity Care NW: The health care provider said that its vaccine appointments are full until further notice.
The health care provider said it will contact eligible patients to schedule vaccinations as it gets more doses.
“You may get a text or email from our partner Luma Health. This is a legitimate and safe way to secure your vaccine appointment,” Unity Care said on its website.
▪ Department of Health map: It can be found on a website that lists some vaccine providers in Whatcom and other parts of the state. Because vaccine supply is very limited, the featured providers may not have vaccine or may be fully booked.
The map is at covidvaccineWA.org, which also breaks out the information for the county in a list. The information is different between the two, so check both.
Only providers that want to be are listed. There also 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 and Sea Mar, 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 8, 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 sometime in March, provided there is vaccine supply, public health officials have said.
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 was open on Monday, March 8, at https://www.skagitcounty.net/Departments/HealthDiseases/coronavirusvaccine.htm.
People who received their first dose elsewhere can’t get their second dose at the Skagit vaccination site.
▪ 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.
Officials said the Ridgefield, Wenatchee and Kennewick sites will once again provide first dose appointments this week.
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.
▪ Johnson & Johnson: Approved by the Western States Scientific Safety Review Workgroup Wednesday. Requires only one dose; authorized for people 18 years and older; 66.9% effective.
The CDC provides more information about the vaccines.
This story was originally published March 8, 2021 at 1:24 PM.
CORRECTION: The number of first and second vaccine doses that PeaceHealth expects to distribute was updated on March 8, 2021.
