Gov. Inslee To Add 2 Million People To Washington Vaccine Rollout

Seattle WA

19 March, 2021

4:58 PM

Description

By Donna Gordon Blankinship, Crosscut March 18, 2021 Two million more people will soon be eligible for the coronavirus vaccine in Washington state, including restaurant and construction workers, those 60 to 64 years old, people experiencing homelessness and those who have other health problems that make them more likely to die from COVID-19.Gov. Jay Inslee announced the expansion of vaccine eligibility — to take effect on March 31 — at a news conference on Thursday. He said he was expanding eligibility because the state has been getting better at distributing the vaccine and more doses are coming our way. The Washington Department of Health reports the state has nearly reached its goal of giving vaccines to 45,000 people a day. Also on Thursday, the governor extended the statewide eviction moratorium through June 30, 2021, and signed proclamations protecting consumers from utility shut-offs and stopping debt collectors from going after federal pandemic relief checks. It's also OK to start visiting the state's nursing homes and long-term care facilities. To help adults get access to Washington's increasing vaccine supply, the Department of Health is working with Amazon to provide more customer service people to answer the telephone and help individuals make vaccine appointments. The governor's previous estimate when most of these new groups would be added to the vaccine line was April 12, although previous phase lists did not include people 60 or older or restaurant and construction workers. As of March 13, a total of 2,517,506 doses of the three approved coronavirus vaccines have been put into arms across Washington, according to the state vaccine dashboard. That's about 80% of the doses delivered to the state as of that date. To facilitate vaccine appointments, the Department of Health has set up a vaccine location finder. Another resource for finding a place to get the vaccine is the Washington COVID Vaccine Finder, which calls itself a community-driven effort to help Washingtonians find vaccine appointments. The state also has a tool to help people figure out what phase they are in. That same tool is supposed to notify people when their phase is open and when and where they can sign up to get vaccinated. The governor previously added grocery store employees, teachers and workers in congregate settings, such as jails and group homes for those with disabilities. Thursday's order adds anyone living in a congregate setting, including those experiencing homelessness, anyone with two or more comorbidities, anyone 60 to 64 and people working in restaurants, construction and manufacturing. Crosscut is a service of Cascade Public Media, a nonprofit, public media organization. Visit crosscut.com/membership to support independent journalism.