PeaceHealth launches online scheduling for COVID-19 vaccine as eligibility expands
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 March 15, providers in Whatcom County expect to receive 5,710 first doses of COVID-19 vaccine and 5,180 second doses, the Whatcom County Health Department said.
As up to 30,000 more Whatcom County residents become eligible for vaccination against COVID-19 starting Wednesday, March 17, PeaceHealth has launched an online tool that allows people to book appointments online.
“We have many appointments available this week for people in the eligible categories. No affiliation with PeaceHealth is required,” Bev Mayhew, spokeswoman for the health care provider, said to The Bellingham Herald.
Search for an appointment by going to PeaceHealth COVID-19 Online Scheduling.
Another way to schedule an appointment is to call 833-375-0285 from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m., Monday through Friday. The phone line doesn’t allow the caller to leave a message.
“We want to make sure that people who may not have access to a computer can reach us,” Mayhew said.
PeaceHealth has said it plans to distribute 2,600 doses of the Pfizer vaccine this week.
Family Care Network, which had expressed frustration at the small number of vaccine doses it had been receiving, got some good news for its patients this week.
“We are so pleased to (finally!) have enough vaccine that we can open a significant number of appointments over the next two weeks!” Family Care Network announced Wednesday, March 17, on its website.
It will open scheduling starting at 10 a.m. Thursday, March 18, for about 750 Moderna and Johnson & Johnson appointments. They will be for clinics held March 22 to April 1.
Eligible people can make appointments by going online to covidvaccine.fcn.net or by calling 360-733-1342.
Meanwhile, a COVID-19 mass vaccination clinic that offered 400 doses of the Moderna vaccine on Saturday, March 20, at Bellingham Technical College filled up within minutes of accepting appointments starting at 9:30 a.m. on Wednesday, March 17.
The next vaccination clinic is set for Saturday, March 27, and appointments for it will open on Wednesday morning, March 24, the Whatcom County Health Department said.
Future vaccine shipments
The Whatcom County Health Department has been told to expect between 3,500 and 3,600 prime (first) doses of the Pfizer and Moderna vaccines from the Washington State Department of Health each week the next two weeks (March 22 and 29), Communicable Disease and Epidemiology Manager Cindy Hollinsworth said during an online media briefing Wednesday.
Hollinsworth added that “very little” of the single-dose Johnson & Johnson vaccine is expected from the state at this time.
“Unfortunately, we expect vaccine appointments to be very limited for the next three weeks,” Hollinsworth said.
Whatcom County Health Director Erika Lautenbach added that the county may receive more doses through several other federal pipelines, but that the county does not have enough information to know what to expect from those and the information they receive is usually a week or so behind when area pharmacies and providers actually receive vaccine doses.
—David Rasbach, drasbach@bhamherald.com
Now is the time
Even though approximately 30,000 more Whatcom County residents became eligible to be vaccinated with the opening of Phase 1B-2 Wednesday, Hollinsworth estimated approximately 15,000 residents over the age of 65 in the county still have not been vaccinated.
“If you’re 65 or older and you’ve been holding back because you think it’s going to be too hard to find an appointment, now is a good point to reach out to your pharmacy or provider and let them know you’re interested,” Hollinsworth said. “Our providers are very committed to helping people over 65 and getting them vaccinated.”
If you know a resident who has not attempted to schedule an appointment because of a lack of internet skills or not having an email address, Hollinsworth said now is also a good time to reach out to them to assist.
—David Rasbach, drasbach@bhamherald.com
Who is eligible for vaccination
Washington state is allowing vaccinations by phases. Check yours online.
Eligible phase 1B, tier 2, starting March 17:
▪ Critical workers employed in certain congregate settings, including agriculture, food processing, fishing vessels, grocery stores, public transit, firefighters, law enforcement, and prisons and jails.
▪ Those who are 16 years and older who are pregnant or who have disabilities that put them at high risk.
Not included are restaurant workers. The state has yet to determine where they’ll fall in the queue.
Phase 1B, tier 1:
▪ 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.
▪ Educators, school staff, licensed child care workers.
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.
Where to get vaccinated
As of Wednesday, most of these health care systems have an appointment-only process and those seeking appointments should do so online when possible.
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 continues to lag behind demand.
▪ 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 and Johnson & Johnson (Janssen) vaccine and will have appointments for its established patients in eligible tiers as supplies become available. It is not maintaining a waitlist.
In addition to the 750 appointments it will open for scheduling starting Thursday morning, the health care provider continues to offer limited same-day appointments for when it can draw “extra doses.”
Find dates and details by going online to familycarenetwork.com/alert-info#Appointments.
▪ PeaceHealth: Its St. Joseph hospital has cold-storage facilities that allow it to receive the Pfizer vaccine. It also gets the Moderna vaccine.
▪ 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. Monday, Sea Mar had no vaccine for its clinics in the state, including in Bellingham and Everson.
▪ Unity Care NW: 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 remains limited, the featured providers may not have the 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.
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; Nooksack Valley Drug on East Main Street in Everson; and Walmart on Meridian Street.
▪ Federal pharmacy program: The federal government has started to send vaccines directly to retail pharmacies to create new access for people who are eligible.
For the week of March 8, pharmacies in Whatcom County received 1,800 doses through this program, according to data provided by the county health department, which gets the data a week behind.
In Washington state, participating pharmacies include Albertsons Companies (Safeway, Haggen and Albertsons); Costco; and Health Mart Independent Pharmacies.
Check for appointments at Albertsons in-store pharmacies at one website, mhealthappointments.com/covidappt.
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 has been launched by a coalition of Whatcom County health care providers and the health department. Appointments are required and are based on vaccine supply.
A second clinic at the Community Vaccination Center is set for Saturday, March 20, in Building G at Bellingham Technical College, where 400 doses of the Moderna will be given.
The Whatcom County Health Department said that for the next two weeks it will announce weekly clinic dates and times on Tuesdays, and open registration on Wednesdays.
When registration opens, people can go to prepmod.doh.wa.gov.
People who don’t have internet access, an email address, or who need language interpretation can call 360-778-6075 for help in scheduling an appointment.
Learn more about the clinic, what to expect, and directions for driving or taking public transportation to BTC by going to vaccinatewhatcom.org.
▪ Skagit County: The Health Department has set up a mass vaccination site at the fairgrounds in Mount Vernon but vaccinations depend on supply.
New appointments are announced at noon on Fridays on skagitcounty.net/covidvaccine. Appointments may be added throughout the week depending on vaccine availability.
People who received their first dose elsewhere can’t get their second dose at the Skagit vaccination site.
Search for appointments at prepmod.doh.wa.gov.
People who can’t access online appointments, can call 360-416-1500 for help from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Saturday. Spanish speakers will be available for those who need it.
▪ 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.
See what’s available at prepmod.doh.wa.gov. The site also provides information on other vaccine clinics elsewhere in the state.
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.
People also can follow @covidwashington for live alerts, as well as call or text their zip code to 425-292-1727 for three nearby clinics with availability, organizers said.
▪ Find a COVID shot WA, a private group on Facebook, has volunteers that help people find appointments if they post using #searching. It has more than 44,000 members.
The group also focuses on obtaining vaccine appointments for those most affected by COVID-19 — people with disabilities, those who are 65 years and older, people with limited English, those who are Black, Indigenous and people of color, school employees teaching in-person. Vaccine seekers in these categories post using #support.
▪ Covid Vaccine Tracker: Discussion in Bellingham WA Area, a private Facebook group, has volunteers who are stepping in to try to help Whatcom County residents find appointments. It has over 800 members, who share information about appointments and what people are experiencing (good and bad).
▪ 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 #. Language assistance is available.
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: 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 17, 2021 at 9:12 AM.
