Vancouver, Wash. – Clark County Public Health has been working closely with partners in Cowlitz and Skamania counties to plan for community vaccination sites across the Southwest Washington region. Two weeks ago, the three-county region, with support from the state, submitted a request for a Type 1 incident management team to help plan and manage the operation of community vaccination sites.
This weekend, FEMA approved the request to deploy one of 16 national Type 1 incident management teams to Southwest Washington. Pacific Northwest Incident Management Team 3 is made up of federal, state and local representatives experienced in handling complex incidents. The team arrived in Clark County on Tuesday and met with representatives from the three-county region.
Clark, Cowlitz and Skamania counties will work closely with the incident management team to establish multiple community vaccination sites in the region, including some mobile sites that can allow for vaccination at high-risk workplaces. Other community partners, such as health care providers and schools, will be involved in the process as well.
“We are thrilled to have Pacific Northwest Incident Management Team 3 in Southwest Washington,” said Dr. Alan Melnick, Clark County health officer and Public Health director. “Through a coordinated effort between the incident management team, the three counties and community partners, we will be able to more quickly and efficiently get people in Southwest Washington vaccinated against COVID-19.”
Details about the vaccination sites, including locations and opening dates, are not yet available. Updates will be provided in the coming days.
The effort to open community vaccination sites in Southwest Washington will require collaboration with the Washington State Department of Health. Funding support and vaccine supply from the state will be critical for ensuring the success of these sites.
Clark County Public Health is working to get additional information from the state Department of Health about the governor’s Monday announcement that a community testing site will open at the Clark County Fairgrounds next week. Clark County currently does not have any additional information about the plans for a vaccination site at the fairgrounds.
Accessing vaccine
People included in Phase 1a or Phase 1b Tier 1 (B1) of the state’s vaccination plan are now eligible to be vaccinated. People who are eligible and need help accessing COVID-19 vaccine can submit a request form on the Public Health website.
All requests must be submitted through the webform. Public Health is connecting eligible people to local health care facilities with COVID-19 vaccine. Public Health is not administering COVID-19 vaccine at its Center for Community Health offices.
Public Health began accepting requests from people eligible in Phase 1b Tier 1 on Tuesday morning. In the first 24 hours, Public Health received more than 11,000 request forms. Given the large number of requests and the continued limited vaccine supply, it may take several weeks before those who submitted request forms are contacted by a facility. Public Health will not be able to provide individual updates on the status of requests.
People who used the state’s Phase Finder tool to determine whether they are eligible for COVID-19 vaccination must still submit a request form on the Public Health website if they need help accessing vaccine. The Phase Finder tool does not connect eligible people to facilities with vaccine and it does not send information to Clark County Public Health.
For additional information about COVID-19 vaccine eligibility and accessing vaccine, visit the Clark County Public Health website.