Here’s how long it may take to find a COVID-19 vaccine appointment after April 15
Limited supplies of COVID-19 vaccine means many Thurston County residents will have to wait into the summer to get their first dose, despite being eligible starting April 15, county officials say.
Gov. Jay Inslee announced all residents 16 or older will be eligible for a vaccine on April 15. However, county officials expect appointments to fill up quickly starting that day.
The county currently has infrastructure in place to vaccinate about 2,000 people a day at both the Thurston County Fairgrounds and South Puget Sound Community College, county spokesperson Magen Johnson said in a statement.
“Our ability to vaccinate at this volume is still dependent on vaccine supply and the allocation of vaccine our department receives,” Johnson wrote. “There will likely be more demand for the vaccine than the supply chain allows, especially after April 15. Everyone will be able to receive the COVID-19 vaccine, they just need to be patient.”
County Public Health and Social Services department director Schelli Slaughter said on Tuesday at least 79,418 residents, or about 27.6% of the county population, have received their first dose while least 47,970 residents, or about 16.8%, are now fully vaccinated.
In anticipation of April 15, Thurston County is planning to scale up its vaccination efforts by increasing days of operation at its mass vaccination sites, Johnson said. The county also will continue to offer mobile and closed pod clinics focused on underserved and special populations, Johnson said.
However, there are currently no plans to open more mass vaccination sites in Thurston County.
The county does not yet have projected supply numbers throughout April and into May.
“Unfortunately, we don’t know what our supply of vaccine will be in May, but we anticipate the vaccine supply coming into Washington state will continue to increase,” Johnson wrote. “We plan for and hope this will continue.”
Next week, the state expects to receive a substantially large allocation of 458,340 total doses from the federal government, including 285,320 first doses and 173,020 second doses, according to a state news release.
Looking ahead the state expects about 412,570 total doses the week of April 11 and 390,340 total doses the week of April 18, the release read.
PHSS encourages residents to be patient if they have a difficult time scheduling an appointment when they become eligible on April 15, the statement read.
More appointments will be available through private health care providers and pharmacies. However, some adults may not be able to be vaccinated until the summer.
“We hope that by summer, all adults in Thurston County will have had the opportunity to receive a COVID-19 vaccine,” Johnson said.
Last Wednesday, the state expanded eligibility to residents in Phase 1B tiers 3 and 4. Those two tiers include people 16 or older with two or more underlying conditions, all people 60 years and older, staff in certain congregate living settings and high-risk critical workers in certain congregate settings.
Residents can find nearby appointments and check eligibility criteria at the state’s Vaccine Locator website. As of Wednesday, residents no longer need to verify their eligibility through the state’s online Phase Finder tool.
People with difficulties scheduling appointments online can call the Department of Health vaccine hotline at 888-856-5816 or the Thurston County public health line at 360-867-2610.
More volunteers will be needed as the county increases the number of days it operates its mass vaccination site, Johnson said. Anyone interested in volunteering can sign up through the United Way of Thurston County website.
This story was originally published April 3, 2021 at 1:53 PM.
