The venue should serve up to 600 people per day, from Tuesday to Friday
CLARK COUNTY – More than 18,000 people who qualify to receive COVID-19 vaccines under Phase 1B, Level 1 of the state have signed up on the Clark County Public Health website to be notified when they can receive their first dose.
On Sunday, the department warned that vaccine shipments to health care providers such as PeaceHealth Southwest, Legacy Salmon Creek, The Vancouver Clinic and Sea Mar Community Health Centers remain limited, meaning it can take weeks before people can be scheduled.
However, the Washington Department of Health is due to open a mass vaccination site at Clark County Fairgrounds starting Tuesday, January 26, with vaccines administered by appointment only.
The Clark County Department of Public Health is asking people who have registered on the county website to also look for an appointment on the fair site using the Department of Health website.
(NOTE: as of this publication, the Fairgrounds vaccination site schedule page does not show available vacancies, but this is likely to change on Monday.)
“Those who have submitted requests to Public Health will remain on our list and we will continue to work with local health centers to ensure that these individuals receive the vaccine as soon as possible,” said Dr. Alan Melnick, Clark County health officer and director of Public Health. “However, some people can be vaccinated earlier at the fair.”
The fairground vaccination site is scheduled to operate from 9 am to 5 pm, from Tuesday to Friday, with an initial capacity to vaccinate up to 600 people per day.
“As vaccination allocations increase in the coming weeks, vaccinations at the site will also increase,” says the state website. “Currently, DOH is working with our private sectors to build the necessary infrastructure to achieve the state’s goal of 45,000 vaccinations a day.”
The state is urging people not to go to a vaccination location without an appointment, as walk-ins are not currently being accepted.
In Phase 1A and 1B1, the following people are eligible for vaccination:
* Health personnel
* Residents in long-stay institutions
* Emergency medical staff
* Individuals over 65
* Individuals over 50 AND live in families with several generations
If you are in one of these categories, you can apply for a vaccination using the Albertsons website and Safeway Health Check In here.
Clark County Public Health, along with Cowlitz and Skamania County, with assistance from Pacific Northwest Incident Management Team 3 through FEMA, is continuing efforts to increase vaccinations and open other clinics, along with mobile vaccine units.
Details on these plans are expected to be announced in the first half of this week.
According to the DOH COVID-19 data panel, as of Saturday, just over 15,000 people in Clark County have been vaccinated, mostly frontline medical workers and people in long-term care facilities, which is being done. through a separate program administered directly by the Centers for Disease Control.