curated by Emerald Staff
A round-up of news and announcements we don’t want to get lost in the fast-churning news cycle!
Rainier Beach COVID Testing & Vaccine Hub Will Convert to Vaccine-Only Service, Increase Capacity
The City of Seattle announced today that the City’s Rainier Beach and West Seattle COVID testing hubs, both now offering vaccines, will transition to eliminate testing as a service and become vaccine-only hubs. Mayor Jenny Durkan says that this will increase Seattle Fire Department’s capacity to vaccinate community members significantly, with each site able to vaccinate 3,000 people per week once the transition is complete. The sites will make the switch to vaccinating full-time next week on Wednesday, March 31. The City has vaccinated 40,000 people thus far, so this increase in capacity should quickly build on Seattle’s total vaccination count. Seattle Met reported on March 22 that 31% of people over age 16 in King County have received their first dose of a two-dose vaccine and roughly half of that number are fully vaccinated according to Department of Health and Public Health — Seattle King County data.
People looking to get tested can still make appointments for various other Seattle-area testing sites, including the SODO site. To schedule an appointment to get a vaccine, first check your eligibility by using the Washington State Phase Finder Tool, which will confirm your eligibility (you may need to show this to a provider when you get your vaccine). Find the latest version of the vaccination roll-out phased timeline on the Department of Health Website, also available in Spanish. We are currently in Phase 1B, Tier 2 and are on target to go into Phase 1B, Tiers 3 and 4 on March 31.
If you are 65 years or older and live in a South Seattle zip code, you can schedule an appointment for the Rainier Beach Vaccine Hub online now. If you are otherwise eligible, but do not fit the aforementioned criteria, sign up for the City of Seattle’s vaccine notification list online to make an appointment to get your vaccine when an appointment is available. You can also call (206) 684-2489 from Mon. to Sat., from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. for assistance (interpretation available).
To find a location to make an appointment to get a COVID vaccine outside of the City’s Rainier Beach Vaccine Hub, use the DOH’s vaccine locator tool. International Community Health Services is also vaccinating community members (current patients may call for an appointment; new patients will need to schedule online). UW Medicine is also vaccinating community members. Call 844-520-8700 to join their vaccine appointment waitlist. When an appointment is available for you, you will receive a call to schedule it (only first-dose appointments will be made through this system).
Learn more about navigating phase finding, vaccine locating, and online appointment scheduling for COVID vaccines on our Vaccine Eligibility and Appointments for South Seattleites page.