Whatcom providers to get 3,470 first doses of COVID vaccine, fewer than last week
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 22, Whatcom County providers expect to receive 3,470 first doses of COVID-19 vaccine and 5,850 second doses from the state, according to the Whatcom County Health Department.
Those first doses include the Johnson & Johnson vaccine, which requires one shot as opposed to the two needed for the Moderna and Pfizer vaccines.
That’s fewer than the 5,710 first doses that the state allocated to Whatcom providers the previous week.
But Erika Lautenbach, director of the county health department, sounded a hopeful note on Tuesday, March 23, when she told the Whatcom County Council that vaccine shipments coming to the state were expected to double by April 1.
That should help come Wednesday, March 31, when the next phase kicks in and 38,000 more Whatcom County residents become eligible for vaccination.
A total of 122,000 Whatcom residents will be eligible by then, when the other tiers of the phased rollout are included, according to state Department of Health figures.
As for when the remaining Whatcom County residents can get in line for the vaccines, President Biden has instructed states to open eligibility to all adults by May 1.
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Who’s eligible for vaccination
Washington state is allowing vaccinations by phases. Check yours online.
Eligible phase 1B, tiers 3 and 4, starting March 31:
▪ People age 60 to 64 years old.
▪ People with two or more comorbidities, which are underlying health conditions listed by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control website that increase the risk of severe illness from COVID-19.
▪ More people living in congregate settings, including correctional facilities, group homes for those with disabilities, and people who are homeless and living in or access services in such settings.
▪ More workers in congregate settings, including restaurants, manufacturing and construction.
A total of 38,000 Whatcom County residents will become eligible for vaccination in this phase.
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.
A total of 17,000 Whatcom County residents are eligible for vaccination in this phase.
Previously and still eligible, 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 and staff in grades pre-kindergarten through 12th grade as well as 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.
A total of 67,000 Whatcom County residents are eligible for vaccination in phase 1A and phase 1B, tier 1, combined.
Previously and still eligible, 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.
Whatcom vaccination update
Monday’s vaccination report said that as of 11:59 p.m. Saturday, March 20, Whatcom County had administered 68,827 vaccinations — up 11.94% (7,341 vaccinations) from Friday’s report, which was for data through Wednesday, March 17. Statewide, the number of vaccine doses administered increased 7.76% from Friday’s report (203,427 doses administered).
Vaccination data is updated on Monday, Wednesday and Friday afternoons. Here is what data analysis of the latest numbers by The Bellingham Herald shows:
▪ Whatcom County — the ninth most populated county in Washington state, according to 2019 U.S. Census estimates — has administered the 10th most doses of the state’s 39 counties.
▪ The state estimates 25.09% of Whatcom County residents have initiated a COVID-19 vaccine — the 13th-highest rate in the state, and ahead of the statewide average of 24.16%. The state reports 56,526 people in Whatcom County have initiated a vaccine — eighth highest in the state and an increase of 5,158 from Friday’s report.
▪ The state estimates that 13% of Whatcom County residents are fully vaccinated — the 25th-highest rate in the state, and behind the statewide average of 13.83%. The state reports 29,298 people in Whatcom County are fully vaccinated — the eighth highest in the state, an increase of 3,165 from Friday’s report.
▪ An average of 1,488 Whatcom County residents per day received a vaccination dose from March 14-20— up from the 1,066 seven-day average from Friday’s report.
▪ Whatcom County has administered approximately 2.44% of the 2,824,937 total vaccine doses given in the state — up from 2.35% in Friday’s report. Based on 2019 five-year population estimates from the U.S. Census Bureau and counting residents fully vaccinated by the single-dose Johnson & Johnson vaccine as having received two doses, Whatcom County has administered 0.31 doses of vaccine per resident — the 32nd highest rate in the state and behind the overall state average of 0.38 doses per person.
— David Rasbach, drasbach@bhamherald.com
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 primarily online.
Some providers 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.
▪ 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 vaccine and will schedule appointments for its established patients in eligible tiers as supplies become available. It is not maintaining a waitlist.
The health care provider said it won’t offer new appointments this week.
But it will keep scheduling open online and by phone to fill a limited number of appointments that could become available because of cancellations for its clinics on March 23 to April 1, according to Family Care Network’s weekly vaccine update on Monday.
You can try for those appointments at covidvaccine.fcn.net or 360-733-1342.
▪ PeaceHealth: Is administering the Pfizer and Moderna vaccines to all who are eligible under the state’s phased rollout, although its focus is primarily on the Pfizer vaccine. People don’t have to be PeaceHealth patients.
All of PeaceHealth’s vaccine appointments for this week have been filled.
Appointments for next week’s clinic will be available starting Friday afternoon, when the state tells PeaceHealth how much vaccine it will get, according to the update. People who can book them will include those who become newly eligible on March 31 under the state’s expanded vaccine eligibility into phase 1B, tiers 3 and 4.
The county’s largest health care provider has launched online scheduling for vaccine appointments.
Find it at peacehealth.org.
People also can 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.
It says it continues to reserve appointments for eligible individuals in underserved communities.
▪ Sea Mar: Has a first-come, first-served walk-in system, but check availability online first. As of its last update at 10:20 a.m. on Wednesday, March 24, Sea Mar had no first doses for its clinics in Bellingham and Everson or the rest o the state, with the exception of Monroe.
▪ Unity Care NW: The health care provider said it will contact eligible patients to schedule vaccinations.
“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.
The health care provider also is piloting an online scheduling system.
▪ Department of Health: The state has launched a new Vaccine Locator tool, which it says will make it easier for people to find doses.
Go to vaccinelocator.doh.wa.gov and put in your ZIP code to search for appointments from different providers within 50 miles. The site also will let you know how recently the information was updated.
▪ Federal pharmacy program: The federal government is sending vaccines directly to retail pharmacies.
In Washington state, participating pharmacies include Albertsons Companies (Safeway, Haggen and Albertsons); Costco; Health Mart Independent Pharmacies; Walmart, Rite Aid and Kroger (Fred Meyer and QFC).
Check for appointments at Albertsons in-store pharmacies at one website, mhealthappointments.com/covidappt.
Check whether Rite Aid is scheduling vaccine appointments at riteaid.com/pharmacy/covid-qualifier.
The state’s vaccine locator site also will provide information about whether vaccines are available.
For the week of March 15, the federal government sent 2,000 doses to Whatcom pharmacies through the program. Reporting lags by a week.
Pharmacies also 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 for the Community Vaccination Center are required and are based on vaccine supply.
The next vaccination clinic is set for Saturday, March 27, in Building G at Bellingham Technical College. It is full.
More information about the next clinic will be released on Tuesday, March 30.
Additional information about the clinic is at vaccinatewhatcom.org.
▪ Skagit County: The health department runs a mass vaccination site at the fairgrounds in Mount Vernon but vaccinations depend on supply.
Appointments are required.
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.
The state said first-dose appointments will be available at all four sites this week.
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. All 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.
The site said it tries to check over 800 vaccine providers in the state about every 5 minutes.
▪ 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 46,000 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 950 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.
