Olympia, WA — The Washington State Department of Health (DOH) released this statement in response to President Biden’s directive to get all teachers nationwide at least one shot of COVID-19 vaccine during the month of March.

This is the DOH Statement:

“As you heard today, President Biden announced a directive to all states to get every pre-K educator, K-12 teacher, and licensed childcare worker at least one shot of COVID-19 vaccine in the month of March.

“The Washington State Department of Health (DOH) recognizes the importance of vaccinating educators, school staff, and childcare workers. School staff and childcare workers were already in the next group to become eligible for vaccines, and our state was moving to vaccinate them in a matter of weeks. This announcement represents a faster timeline than originally planned, and the department is engaging partners on a robust plan to support this directive.

“DOH is working quickly to get clarity from the Biden Administration to ensure roll-out in our state will result in ample vaccine supply through various providers and equitable access for education and childcare workers. Vaccine supply will likely primarily be delivered through the federal pharmacy program, and the directive indicates all vaccine providers should prioritize these workers.

“DOH remains committed to continued vaccination for older adults and others who are currently prioritized for vaccinations under the current plan. DOH also remains committed to vaccinating all Washingtonians as quickly and equitably as possible.

“DOH acknowledges these announcements may cause a mix of excitement, concern, and confusion for different communities. The department will share more information in the days ahead as DOH learns more from our federal partners.“

Vancouver, WA — Clark County Public Health has been researching concerns and questions about the amount of COVID-19 vaccinations coming into Clark County and released their findings today. 

The health department looked at the amount of vaccine being allocated by the state to counties, and compared the allocation for 15 counties: The five counties with the highest, lowest and median population sizes. 

“While Clark County has the fifth highest population in the state, we ranked near the bottom (14th out of 15) in the allocation of first doses per 1,000 residents and first-dose allocation as a percentage of the total county population,” the health department said in a statement. “Through 11 weeks, the state has allocated 45,950 first doses of vaccine to Clark County. That’s 94.1 doses per 1,000 people or doses for 9.4% of our population. The next largest county, Spokane County, has received 30,325 more first doses than Clark County, but has only 35,000 more residents. Spokane County has received 145.9 doses per 1,000 people or doses for 14.6% of their population.”

The counties with the lowest and median size populations ranked higher in doses per 1,000 people. But the largest counties – King, Snohomish and Pierce counties – all received considerably more vaccine doses per 1,000 than Clark County (132.4, 121.1 and 111.9 doses per 1,000 respectively).

The only county in their 15-county comparison that has received fewer doses per 1,000 people than Clark County is Ferry County, which has a population of about 7,600 people.

“This allocation data comparison reinforces what we have suspected: Clark County is receiving less vaccine per capita than other counties,” said Dr. Alan Melnick, Clark County health officer and Public Health director. “This disparity is impacting our ability to get Clark County residents vaccinated and is hindering our efforts to ensure equitable access to COVID-19 vaccine in our community.”

Clark County Public Health has been working closely with local health care providers, community partners and neighboring counties to get people vaccinated as quickly as possible and develop plans for community vaccination sites, as vaccine supply allows. 

“We’re working with community partners to identify key populations who are being underserved or disproportionately impacted by COVID-19, are identifying locations throughout the county where we could host accessible community vaccination sites, and are lining up the necessary volunteers and staffing to operate those sites,” the health department said. “Our biggest barrier has been vaccine supply.” 

Congresswoman Jaime Herrera Beutler addressed these same concerns today at a Congressional hearing.

“The news that Southwest Washington counties are being shorted COVID vaccines is absolutely unacceptable,” said Herrera Beutler. “I made this known when I had the opportunity to question Washington state’s Secretary of Health Dr. Umair Shah today at a congressional hearing.”  

As an example, she said Lewis County has a high population of elderly residents, but in terms of vaccine distribution is the worst in the state’s 39 counties. 

“And Clark County is the fifth largest county in the state, but is ranked 14th out of 15 counties in first dose allocations amongst counties with the highest, lowest, and median population sizes,” she said. “The state has to do better.”

In addition to the efforts by Clark County Public Health, local health care providers have the capacity to vaccinate several thousand people per week. 

“Clark County is ready to expand our vaccination efforts, once we receive the vaccine supply needed to serve our community,” said the health department.

Olympia, WA — Clark County is moving to Phase 2 of Governor Jay Inslee’s statewide reopening plan, along with four other regions. 

“This will mean increased economic activity. We are very happy about it,” Inslee said. “Ninety-two percent of the state of Washington is now in Phase 2 or higher.”

Inslee said this will be effective starting Monday, but may open earlier for Valentine’s Day and current weather conditions. The only region in the state that isn’t in Phase 2 is the South Central region, including the Walla Walla, Tri-Cities and Yakima areas.

Inslee said he doesn’t have a date for when Phase 3 guidelines/restrictions will be released. He said the state has been focused on getting to Phase 2. 

He said “this is now both a time for celebration for the state, but also a time for increased diligence due to new variants of COVID-19.”

In Phase 2, restaurants may open indoor dining at 25 percent capacity. Indoor gatherings are also allowed, with a maximum of five people from outside a household per gathering, but limited to no more than two households. Outdoor gatherings allow 15 people present from outside a single household.

Movie theaters, concert venues, and museums can now operate at 25 percent capacity, and are subject to eating and drinking requirements.

Zoos, rodeos and concert venues can now host groups of 15 and up to 200 people at a time.

Indoor weddings and funerals are now allowed, and must follow gathering requirements. Dancing is still prohibited. 

Low and moderate risk sports may resume indoors, and fitness centers may now operate at 25 percent capacity. Low, moderate and high-risk sports are all allowed outdoors with a 200-person limit, including spectators. The WIAA will provide specifics on this.

The decision to reopen most of the state despite risk of having to move back, Inslee said, was based on science and the fact that businesses have had to close for months. He added that if the numbers go back up, the state can go back in phases.

Regions could be moved back if metrics start going in the wrong direction. Under the state guidelines, in two week the regions must still meet three of four requirements. If the region meets two or fewer, they would return to Phase 1 the following Monday.

Washington is nearing 1 million COVID-19 vaccine doses administered, according to the Department of Health.

Inslee said getting close to 1 million doses is an achievement, but he also acknowledged that people are frustrated by the wait for their doses.

Inslee says they are making rapid progress in vaccination push and that “help is on the way” for those who haven’t had their shots yet. He emphasized there is equity in vaccine distribution among communities of color, and said that this helped determine where the mass vaccination sites were located.