CLARK COUNTY, Wash. — Eligible Clark County residents can now start signing up for the COVID-19 vaccine, the county's public health department announced Tuesday.
Residents of Clark County who are eligible to be vaccinated in Phase 1a or Phase 1b Tier 1 (B1) of Washington's COVID-19 vaccination distribution plan can make a request for vaccination through a webform on the Clark County Public Health (CCPH) website.
CLARK COUNTY RESIDENTS: Fill out this webform to sign up for the COVID-19 vaccine
Update (11:06 a.m., Tuesday): A Clark County health official said the webform is currently inundated with requests and may not work for everyone. If the link doesn't work, CCPH said people should keep trying and/or try again later.
Once a request is submitted, the person will be contacted by a local health care facility to set up an appointment. County health officials said wait times will vary and advised people to show patience.
"We're working with local health care providers to get people vaccinated as quickly as possible, but the demand for vaccine in Phase 1b is far greater than our current supply," said Dr. Alan Melnick, Clark County health officer and public health director.
CCPH said it continues to explore community vaccination sites to speed up the process and said more information will be shared on this later this week.
One site in the works is the Clark County Fairgrounds in Ridgefield. Gov. Inslee announced it will be a mass vaccination site and that it will open next week. But details are still being worked out at the local, state and federal level.
"We want to do this kind of united and fold them into the work that we’ve already done, so if we can get it set up next week that would be ideal. Honestly it’s a very short timeline but everybody feels the urgency to do this," said Dr. Steven Krager, who is the Clark County deputy health officer.
Krager also announced Tuesday that the Federal Emergency Management Administration approved a Type 1 incident management team to assist Clark County. The team includes a team of 10 from FEMA, including a leader with experienced in emergency-type response.
Clark County residents now eligible for COVID vaccination hope the bold plans pay off with a safer community. Vernetta McCraw is now able to get vaccinated under the Phase 1B rules. McCraw, who has underlying health conditions, said she is anxious to get the protection the vaccine will provide.
"I’m one of those people who’s been hiding in my house since March and so I’m just hoping that everybody out there gets theirs, because it doesn’t work if we don’t all do it," said McCraw.
Eligibility requirements
Phase 1a
- People who work in health care settings
- High-risk first responders
- People who live or work in long-term care facilities
Phase 1b Tier 1 (B1)
- All people 65 years and older
- People 50 years and older who live in multigenerational households
Note: CCPH said there are two categories of people eligible under the "multigenerational household" definition:
- People who are 50 and older AND are not able to live independently AND are either: Receiving long-term care from a paid or unpaid caregiver OR Are living with someone who works outside the home.
- People who are 50 and older AND are living with and caring for a grandchild.