The Tower Mall parking lot location will serve those on the county’s waiting list and those in underserved and disproportionately affected communities.
VANCOUVER, Washington – People who live in southwest Washington have a new place to get the COVID-19 vaccine. Clark County Public Health announced a new mass vaccination site Tuesday afternoon. It will be in the same place that drive-through tests have been conducted since January: the Tower Mall parking lot. Vancouver City officials will help run the clinic, with Safeway pharmacists delivering the vaccine.
“This is in central Vancouver and more accessible to a lot of people; The journey is not that long, there is public transport there and is therefore much easier to reach, ”said Dr. Alan Melnick, Clark County health officer and director of health for several counties in southwest Washington.
Clark County Public Health had wanted to open a mass vaccination site for a while, even before the state even set up on the fairgrounds. But the amount of vaccine coming into the area wouldn’t support this. Now it’s working. The county is finally getting its claim after receiving much less vaccine per capita than most of the other major counties in the state. This week, the Washington Department of Health delivered 14,140 initial doses of vaccine. Over the past 11 weeks, the average allotment was 4,175. The last delivery is almost three times as high.
And the county’s new location will use vaccines from an entirely different source: a federal allocation to pharmacies. Safeway will give the vaccines, but you won’t have to sign up for a seat like the state fairground clinic did. These doses will go to some of the 20,000 people still on the county’s waiting list and to those in undeserved and disproportionately affected communities. The county calls you to offer an appointment.
“Some of them have been on this waiting list for a long time, so we’re really excited to finally give them the opportunity to get vaccinated,” said Melnick.
At the beginning there are 2,400 doses for the vaccination clinic in the Tower Mall. The county plans to create 600 a day for four days, next Friday, Saturday, and then Monday and Tuesday.
The continuation of the clinic afterwards depends on the continuing greater supply of the district with vaccines. Dr. Melnick feels good about the continued surge in vaccine flow.
“The news I hear from the state right now is gratifying that they will prioritize vaccine deliveries to counties that have received less,” he said.
[ad_2]
