VANCOUVER, Wash. — Thursday is a big day in Washington, as the state's final eligibility group gains access to the COVID-19 vaccine.
“Everyone 16 and older will now be eligible for the COVID-19 vaccine in Washington. I’m thrilled so many people are eager to get vaccinated," said acting assistant secretary of health Michele Roberts, who is in charge of Washington's vaccine planning and distribution.
"I do have a favor to ask: please be patient,” she added.
Roughly 5 million residents are currently eligible to be vaccinated. On Thursday, including people 16 and older will add close to another 1.5 million. It will take many weeks to get everyone signed up and vaccinated.
In the meantime, health officials are concerned about an increase in COVID cases and hospitalizations.
“We are continuing to race the clock when it comes to vaccines, and are very concerned about the fact that we are seeing increasing trends in cases in the majority of counties across the state of Washington,” said Washington Secretary of Health Umair Shah.
The sharpest COVID increases are among people in their teens through their 40s and 50s. People within this age range are the most likely to go to bars and restaurants or travel, most still unvaccinated.
"We are seeing increased cases. There's big concern that's a fourth wave," said Dr. Scott Lindquist, acting state health officer. "People need to distance themselves, they need to wear a mask. I know the weather is turning nice, I know people are tired of doing this."
Washington state is currently averaging 57,577 vaccinations a day. But based on feedback from vaccine providers, it could be doing as many as 150,000 doses a day. That’s not possible because of supply, as the state expects to receive 365,000 doses a week from the federal government over the next three weeks.
As of April 10, nearly 4.2 million doses have been administered in Washington. The goal of every dose is that it protects someone from the virus.
The Clark County Fairgrounds and other mass vaccination sites are now open until 8 p.m. a couple nights a week. The fairgrounds recently gave 2,000 doses in a single day. And Clark County's Tower Mall clinic is set to give 4,000 doses this week during its four-day run on Friday, Saturday, Monday and Tuesday. Now is the time to sign up, if you can.
“You can protect yourself, protect your loved ones, protect your community and certainly take a step to get back to some level of normalcy,” said Shah.