These evening hours, new location added to Bellingham COVID-19 vaccine clinics this week
Community COVID-19 vaccinations at Bellingham Technical College will be offered two weekday evenings starting Thursday, April 29 — a shift that should help people having trouble getting their shots during the day.
Vaccines will continue to be offered during the day on Saturdays.
After this week, the vaccine clinics at the college will be set for Tuesday and Thursday evenings, according to a Whatcom County Health Department release on Monday, April 26.
Registration is now open for the clinics on Thursday, April 29, and Saturday, May 1.
▪ A total of 240 Moderna doses, for those who need their first shots, will be offered during the Thursday clinic, which will run 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. Find them at https://bit.ly/2R3blDv.
▪ And 480 first doses of Moderna will be offered at the Saturday clinic, from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. Find them at https://bit.ly/3vhWdBh.
People who don’t have internet access, an email address, or who need language interpretation can call 360-778-6075 for help booking an appointment.
Everyone age 16 years and older in Washington state is eligible to get vaccinated against COVID-19 as of April 15.
However, the Moderna vaccine has so far been authorized only for those 18 and older. The Pfizer vaccine is the only one, so far, that has been cleared for use in those as young as 16.
Appointments are required for the clinics at the Community Vaccination Center at Bellingham Technical College, 3028 Lindbergh Ave. in building G.
“The intention of the Community Vaccination Center has been to fill in what the network of private providers doesn’t have capacity for,” said Cindy Hollinsworth, communicable disease and epidemiology manager for the Whatcom County Health Department, in the release.
She said Community Vaccination Center organizers have been planning for shifts with different hours and fewer appointments.
“Many more health care providers and pharmacies in Whatcom County are able to offer the vaccine now, so we will continue to watch the uptake of appointments and vaccine supply to adjust (Community Vaccination Center) operations accordingly,” Hollinsworth added.
Much of the Moderna doses for this week’s clinics at BTC will come from unused shots last weekend, where 1,680 first doses were available.
Hollinsworth said more than 1,100 doses were given last weekend
“Over 500 appointments went unfilled,” she said to The Bellingham Herald, “but we did vaccinate roughly the same number of people as the previous weekend (April 17 and 18).”
“Unused doses go into our COVID-19 vaccine inventory and will be used at future clinics at the (Community Vaccination Center), or they could be transferred to other providers if needed,” Hollinsworth said.
Learn more at VaccinateWhatcom.org, including how to book an appointment. Spanish-language instructions also are at the site.
If those days and hours don’t work for you this week, the state also has planned a mass-vaccination clinic at Mount Baker Theatre for 1 p.m. to 4 p.m. on Wednesday, April 28. First doses of the Moderna vaccine will be given by the National Guard.
Book your appointments by going to https://bit.ly/3nsteYD.
The theater is at 104 N. Commercial St. in downtown Bellingham.
