Partnership members will focus on different aspects of vaccine distribution, said the governor, and “will coordinate all available resources to deliver more vaccines in Washington state as quickly and efficiently as possible.”
“Now, we are not a healthcare company,” said Starbucks President and CEO Kevin Johnson during the news conference. “But Starbucks operates 33,000 large-scale stores, serving 100 million customers a week, and we have a world-class team of human-centered design engineers who are working under the direction of the state and healthcare providers … to help support the creation of vaccination centers that can scale and … expand the comfort, care and safety of every person who is vaccinated. ”
Microsoft President Brad Smith said he will provide technology expertise, adding that he is “confident that we can get vaccines for everyone more quickly because of this initiative”
Smith added that since not all of the company’s buildings are staffed by the pandemic, they will partner with local hospitals to establish vaccine administrations on their campus and provide support staff.
“The goal is to make this, in February, one of the mass vaccination sites,” said Smith, clarifying that “this will not be a site for Microsoft employees, but for people in the community. “
Other stakeholders in the coalition include Costco, who will assist with pharmacy delivery of vaccines, as well as employee unions to help coordinate voluntary vaccinators.
“Together, with the measures that Governor Inslee and others announced, we commit to making the progress that the people of Washington deserve to bring COVID-19 under control and protect everyone with this life-saving vaccine,” said Shah.
Governor announces more initiatives
“The reason for that is clear,” he said during a news conference. “About 80% of all Covid deaths in Washington state occurred in individuals aged 65 and over. Therefore, our prioritization of vaccines obviously reflects the need to protect these most vulnerable Washington residents. ”
Inslee said the state will also establish mass vaccination sites with the help of the National Guard and also launched a new Phase Finder – an online tool that helps residents determine their eligibility for Covid-19 vaccines.
After the announcement, the state health department announced that so many residents were visiting the tool that authorities were “receiving reports that some people were breaking”.
Inslee says the goal is to eventually vaccinate 45,000 residents a day. That goal, he said, is “several times greater than the federal government’s current allocation of vaccines from the state.”
“We want to set an ambitious goal of building capacity to vaccinate 45,000 people and the reason for that is that we always want our vaccination capacity … to match or exceed the number of doses we are actually receiving from the federal government,” he added.