WSDOH Offers New Vaccine Details, Implementation-Who Gets It
The Washington State Department of Health Thursday released some specific information about the arrival and dispersion of the COVID vaccines.
For some time, their news releases were not very informative. Federal officials mandated each state provide a plan and schedule for how it would be dispersed and used in each state. Finally, WSDOH released details, which include:
- "We are hopeful we will have a vaccine to begin administering by mid-December. The federal government has given us an estimate of 62,400 doses of the Pfizer vaccine for our initial allocation. They have also told us we should receive an estimated total of around 200,000 doses of the Pfizer vaccine by the end of December. Regular weekly shipments should begin in January."
- "What we know for sure right now is that the first phase of vaccination, called 1a, will focus on workers in healthcare settings serving patients who either have confirmed or suspected COVID-19, along with staff and residents of long-term care facilities."
- "Providers who have fully enrolled in the COVID-19 Vaccine Program by December 6 will be eligible to receive part of the first shipment. As of December 1, we had 116 providers fully enrolled, with many more applications partially completed or pending approval. Clinics, pharmacies, and hospitals are encouraged to enroll right away."
Part of the dispersion plan includes this statement from WSDOH. If you know how to 'read' between the lines, this is government-speak for looking at vaccines through the equity lens. From WSDOH release:
"We are working on finalizing our guidance around initial vaccine allocation and prioritization framework. This framework includes feedback from the communities, partners, sectors, and industries that are heavily impacted by COVID-19, and by the National Academies of Medicine’s Framework for Equitable Allocation of Vaccine for the Novel Coronavirus"
As more information becomes available, we will continue to update.