Submitted by Clark County
Earlier this month, Clark County Public Health began accepting requests from people eligible for COVID-19 vaccination in Phase 1a and needing help accessing vaccine. On Tuesday, Public Health began accepting requests from people eligible in Phase 1b Tier 1.
Public Health continues to support the requests through local health care facilities, including PeaceHealth Southwest Medical Center, Legacy Salmon Creek Medical Center, Vancouver Clinic, and Sea Mar Community Health Centers. More than 18,000 people have submitted requests using the Public Health webform.
Local health care facilities received limited COVID-19 vaccine last week and some facilities will not receive any additional COVID-19 vaccine this week. Therefore, opportunities for Public Health to refer people to local health care facilities will be limited until local health care facilities receive additional vaccine.
However, on Tuesday, Washington State Department of Health will open a vaccination site at the Clark County Fairgrounds. Vaccine will be administered by appointment only. The state Department of Health estimates vaccinating up to 600 people per day next week, with capacity increasing in the coming weeks as vaccine supply increases.
Public Health recommends those who are eligible to be vaccinated and are awaiting a referral from Public Health also seek an appointment at the fairgrounds vaccination site. Visit the Department of Health website for more information and to schedule an appointment at the fairgrounds.
“Those who have submitted requests with Public Health will remain on our list, and we’ll continue to work with local health care facilities to get those individuals connected with vaccine as quickly as possible,” said Dr. Alan Melnick, Clark County health officer and Public Health director. “However, some people may be able to be vaccinated sooner at the fairgrounds site.”
Public Health will continue to accept requests for vaccination from those eligible in Phase 1a and Phase 1b Tier 1 on its COVID-19 Vaccine webpage. Given the large volume of requests and limited vaccine supply, it may take several weeks before people are contacted by a facility to schedule a vaccination appointment.
As of Wednesday, more than 15,000 doses of COVID-19 vaccine had been administered in Clark County, according to data from the Washington State Department of Health.
Clark County Public Health, Cowlitz County Health & Human Services, Skamania County Community Health and Pacific Northwest Incident Management Team 3 continue to develop plans for opening additional community vaccination sites throughout the three-county region.
