As Cases Rise Sharply Statewide, Virginia Mason, Amazon to Offer Pop-Up Vaccine Clinic This Sunday

by Carolyn Bick

Virginia Mason has partnered with Amazon to offer COVID-19 vaccinations for eligible individuals at Amazon’s South Lake Union campus in a pop-up clinic this Sunday, Jan. 24. The welcome news comes against sobering figures from the Department of Health, which show a sharp increase in cases statewide.

Gov. Jay Inslee announced in a press conference on Jan. 21 that the pop-up clinic will be offering 2,000 vaccines. The clinic will be open from 8:30 a.m.–4 p.m., and while it is open to anyone deemed eligible under Phases 1A and 1B – Tier 1, signup for vaccination is required. People may determine whether they are eligible using the WA Phase Finder. All vaccines will be free, regardless of whether a person has insurance.

While there are no announcements of future pop-up clinics, Amazon’s Senior Vice President of Global Corporate Affairs Jay Carney said that the e-commerce giant would be committing one of its executives to the Washington State Vaccine Command and Coordination Center, the creation of which Inslee announced on Monday.

Cases of COVID-19 continue to rise statewide. At a press conference earlier in the day, Department of Health (DOH) Health Sec. Umair Shah said that Washington is seeing yet another uptick in cases around the state. According to the DOH’s COVID-19 dashboard, linked above, if the state continues along this trajectory, it is poised to see an even larger case rate than at the previous peak in November, when the state was recording upwards of 3,000 cases per day.

WA Dept. of Health COVID-19 Dashboard graph showing case rates increasing in recent time. (Click to view larger image.)

While Swedish’s Vice President of Medical Affairs Dr. Elizabeth Wako said Swedish hospitals are seeing a decline in hospitalizations, the uptick in statewide cases means that an increase in hospitalizations and deaths statewide are not far behind.

WA Dept. of Health COVID-19 Dashboard graph showing recent data on the hospital admission rate of patients with COVID-19. *(Click to view larger image.)*

The pop-up clinic will be located at the Amazon Meeting Center, 2031 7th Ave, Seattle, WA 98121. Virginia Mason’s CEO and Chairman Gary Kaplan assured listeners that parking would be available.

Carolyn Bick is a local journalist and photographer. As the Emerald’s Watchdragon reporter, they dive deep into local issues to keep the public informed and ensure those in positions of power are held accountable for their actions. You can reach them here and can check out their work here and here.

Featured image by Carolyn Bick.

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