Mass vaccination site adds additional date Friday

By Dan Hammock • February 3, 2021 3:02 pm
COURTESY GRAYS HARBOR COMMUNITY HOSPITAL A crew of mostly volunteers operates the county mass vaccination site. The site vaccinated more than 900 people last week, and 975 are scheduled for Thursday, with an additional date added Friday. Vaccinations are by appointment only through the county’s intake form.
COURTESY GRAYS HARBOR COMMUNITY HOSPITAL A crew of mostly volunteers operates the county mass vaccination site. The site vaccinated more than 900 people last week, and 975 are scheduled for Thursday, with an additional date added Friday. Vaccinations are by appointment only through the county’s intake form.

Another 1,600 Pfizer COVID-19 vaccinations secured by the county will allow Grays Harbor County Public Health and its many partners to operate the county’s mass-vaccination site two days this week instead of the previously scheduled one.

Appointments are being scheduled for Thursday and Friday from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m., Grays Harbor Community Hospital announced Tuesday.

“If you filled out the county’s form on their website or ours, you are in the queue,” read the hospital statement. This site is by appointment only for those who have filled out the county’s intake form.

The vaccination intake form is available at http://www.healthygh.org/directory/covid19. The form takes a few minutes to complete. At its completion, you’ll see a screen telling you the form has been submitted, what vaccination phase and tier you are in, and a general idea of when you may be contacted for an appointment.

Emails for scheduling the next two dates of mass vaccination clinics have been sent and include instructions for the next steps, according to the hospital statement. This scheduling email address is not set up to receive replies, so questions about your appointment should be made at 360-964-1850. You do not need to call this number to find out if your intake form was completed.

If you did not include an email with your vaccine intake form, public health will call you to schedule your appointment.

“Please be patient, thousands of Harborites have requested their vaccine, so it’s going to take time to get you your shot,” read the hospital statement. “Our goal is to get a vaccine to everyone who wants one, as quickly and safely as we can.”

Partners making the mass vaccination site possible include public health, the county incident management team, Grays Harbor Community Hospital and Summit Pacific Medical Center, Pasha Automotive Group — whose warehouse and Port property are used for the site, the Port of Grays Harbor, and Homeland Security — which is providing security at the site.

The site is manned primarily by volunteers. Local fire and EMS are also participating with paramedics and staff on hand to monitor people post-vaccination for side effects.

While the state focuses on getting vaccines to large-scale vaccination sites, other providers are getting an allotment as well. A list of providers by county can be found at the state Department of Health website, https://www.doh.wa.gov/YouandYourFamily/Immunization/VaccineLocations. If you are on the county’s intake list and are able to secure an appointment elsewhere, be sure to contact the call center listed above to have your name removed from the county list.

Latest numbers

The state Department of Health reports as of Monday 6,775 vaccinations have been given in Grays Harbor County. In comparison, other counties in the state’s healthy start west region vaccination numbers are: Pacific County, 2,569; Lewis County, 6,391; and Thurston County, 21,182.

Data as of Monday shows 3,028 cases in Grays Harbor County for the pandemic, and 32 deaths — down one death from the Jan. 29 report. Between Wednesday, Jan. 27, and Monday, Feb. 1, there have been 154 new COVID-19 cases reported in the county, 138 between Jan. 27 and 29 and 16 between Jan. 29 and Feb. 1. Hospitalizations were at 143 for the pandemic Monday with no new hospitalizations reported.