Vaccine Information – Updates
On Monday January 18th, Governor Inslee and the WA State DOH authorized delivery of vaccine to those in the Phase 1b Tier 1 eligibility group (note that the eligibility age has been reduced to 65 or over). Please remember that vaccine supplies are still extremely limited, and it is estimated that approximately 5,000 San Juan County residents will qualify for the first Tier of Phase 1b.
Islanders who are Phase 1b Tier 1 eligible and would like to learn more about how to receive a vaccine should carefully read this document. Please remember that until the Federal government vaccine supply increases, a very small number of San Juan County residents will be able to be immunized, regardless of Phase eligibility.
In addition, if you are a registered patient with UW Medicine it’s likely you received an email yesterday advising that appointments were available for those eligible in Phase 1b Tier 1. If you tried to access the online appointment scheduling it’s likely you realized the only options were for facilities in Seattle. Please note that this message went out to the hundreds of thousands of UW Medicine patients, and the island clinics are the only UW Neighborhood Clinics delivering the vaccine.
The UW Medicine Lopez Clinic leaders are meeting weekly with representatives from the County, Lopez Island Pharmacy, Lopez Island EMS, LIHD and those representing the volunteer group on Lopez. Together, they are finalizing the logistics to ensure all Lopezians are vaccinated in the most timely fashion. As details become available you will receive them from these providers.
For now, the County is continuing their weekly vaccine clinics and their online scheduling tool is open. Those who are able to register will receive a confirmation email and be automatically scheduled for their 2nd shot exactly 28 days later at the same time as their first shot.
You will need to be prepared to show picture ID at the time of your immunization. Please remember that slots will fill up quickly, and additional slots will not become available until more vaccine supply is on hand. For now, the best approach is to keep checking in on the registration tool to see if slots have opened. As soon as the Lopez Pharmacy is confident their supply is on the way, they will also launch an online scheduling tool.
If you are eligible to receive a COVID-19 vaccine, based on your membership in Phase 1b Tier 1, click HERE to schedule an appointment at one of the Health & Community Services vaccination clinics on Lopez.
Finally, please be aware that the County will be adding resources to assist anyone without ready access to the internet, or for whom English is not their first language, assistance with the registration process.
As always, the partnership and collaboration across all of the Lopez Island health care community is setting the standard of excellence. We are incredibly fortunate!