The Times - Serving Waitsburg, Dayton and the Touchet Valley

OLYMPIA—As part of a new plan to increase the number of Washington residents vaccinated against the COVID-19 virus, Governor Inslee Monday announced changes to state infrastructure for increased vaccinations.

To assist with the administration of vaccine doses currently on hand, the Department of Health (DOH) will coordinate volunteer vaccinators in Spokane, Kennewick, and Bellevue. It will connect all vaccine administrators across the state to assess where additional assistance is needed to reach the new goal of 45,000 Washingtonians vaccinated per day.

High vaccination sites are being established to prepare for future vaccine distribution. Some sites will build upon existing infrastructure, with the National Guard assisting with set up. The DOH will coordinate with local health officials to aid in preparation.

Four sites are being set up to begin vaccine distribution as early as next week, including The Spokane Arena in Spokane, Benton County Fairground in Kennewick, and the Clark County Fairgrounds in Ridgefield.

Rogelio Riojas, president, and CEO of SeaMar Community Health Centers, said this infrastructural growth is necessary to protect all Washington residents.

“We need to expand our efforts and work seven days a week on our vaccination plans to defeat this dreaded virus,” Riojas said. “Essential workers, especially farmworkers and people of color, are disproportionately getting sick and dying because they cannot work from home. We must get them vaccinated.”

Vaccines allocated after January 25 will be equally distributed between these sites and local pharmacies and clinics to begin vaccinating Washingtonians in Phase 1B.

In addition to these changes, the DOH announced their new Phase Finder tool, designed to help Washington residents find out if they are eligible for a COVID-19 vaccination now, and if not, how to sign up to be notified when they become eligible.

The Phase Finder tool can be found on the Washington State Department of Health website at http://www.doh.wa.gov.

Please be patient as there has been very high traffic on this site over the past few days, and the site has been down for short periods at this time. It will provide the most updated and comprehensive data regarding vaccine availability throughout the state as the situation continues to change frequently.