WA Department of Health Releases Next Phase of Vaccine Prioritization

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January 8, 2021

On January 6th, the Washington State Department of Health (DOH) released guidance for phase 1B, which is the next phase of COVID-19 vaccine prioritization. DOH worked closely with the Governor’s Office to finalize prioritization for phase 1B, while also relying on federal guidance and public input through focus groups, interviews, and surveys over the past few months.

This guidance is for planning purposes only. Washington State and Skagit County will remain in Phase 1A of vaccinations until all Phase 1A individuals who want the vaccines have it. As a reminder, Phase 1A includes:

Tier 1: High risk workers in health care settings; High risk first responders; and residents and staff of nursing homes, assisted living facilities, and other community-based, congregate living settings where most individuals over 65 years of age are receiving care, supervision, or assistance.

Tier 2: All workers in healthcare settings.

Skagit County Public Health and its partner providers are ready to vaccinate our community; however, the ability to do so remains reliant on when and how much vaccine is received from the State. Current allocations have been very limited. To date, Skagit County has only received vaccine to meet approximately 25% of our 1A eligible workers and long term care facility residents.  Phase 1A will need to be completed before we will be able to move on to Phase 1B in Skagit County.

People should not expect Skagit County to move into Phase 1B until February at the earliest. If we receive greater dose allocations from the state, this timing will improve. Public Health will announce movement into the next phase of vaccinations via our press release system, web site and social media. Sign up here to get press releases from Skagit County.

“Skagit County Public Health and our partner providers have put a lot of time and effort into preparing for this moment. We are ready! As soon as we receive a consistent supply of vaccine from the State and are clear to begin phase 1B, we will let Skagitonians know how and where to get vaccinated.”

Jennifer Johnson, Skagit County Public Health Director

Due to limited vaccine availability, Phase 1B has been broken up into four separate tiers. Groups eligible for vaccination in phase 1B will include:

Phase 1B1 – (Tier 1)

  • All people 70 years and older
  • People 50 years and older who live in multigenerational households

Phase 1B2 – (Tier 2)

  • High risk critical workers 50 years and older who work in certain congregate settings: Agriculture; food processing; grocery stores; K-12 (teachers and school staff); childcare; corrections, prisons, jails or detention facilities (staff); public transit; fire; law enforcement

Phase 1B3 – (Tier 3)

  • People 16 years or older with two or more co-morbidities or underlying conditions

Phase 1B4 – (Tier 4)

  • High-risk critical workers in certain congregate settings under 50 years
  • People, staff and volunteers all ages in congregate living settings:
    • Correctional facilities; group homes for people with disabilities; people experiencing homelessness that live in or access services in congregate settings
Skagit County Public Health’s vaccine roll-out timeline, estimated based on WA DOH’s guidance and timeline, as well as adequate vaccine allocation from federal and state government.

WA DOH has also announced the creation of the Phase Finder online tool that allows people to assess their eligibility for the COVID-19 vaccine. It is currently being tested for Phase 1A eligible individuals and will launch broadly on January 18th. Phase Finder will be available in multiple languages and will be used to confirm individual eligibility for the COVID-19 vaccine.

For COVID-19 vaccine information, visit our webpage at www.skagitcounty.net/COVIDvaccine.

Flu Vaccine for Uninsured Adults Available

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November 10, 2020

Today, Skagit County Unified Command announced that Skagit Public Health will use the drive through testing site to provide seasonal flu vaccine for uninsured adults on Saturday, November 14 and Sunday, November 15 from 9:00 a.m. – 3:00 p.m.

“Flu vaccines are a good idea every year, but its more important than ever that all adults who are able get vaccinated. COVID-19 and the flu have several similar symptoms, so those with the flu could easily overwhelm limited COVID-19 testing resources, hospital beds and other parts of our medical system. Additionally, if someone were to contract both COVID-19 and the flu at the same time, they’d be at much higher risk for lower health outcomes. This is an important service we’re happy to provide.”

Jennifer Johnson, Skagit County Public Health Director

This service is for adult flu vaccine only; children’s vaccinations will not be provided. Vaccine will be available for those 19 years of age or older, who do not have medical insurance. COVID-19 testing or services will not be provided on those days, per the usual testing schedule. Vaccine doses for uninsured adults have been provided by the Washington State Department of Health.

“We’re really fortunate to have a site already set up that makes distribution of these extra vaccines possible. The Board fully supports Unified Command and Public Health in their efforts.”

Ron Wesen, Chair of the Skagit County Board of Commissioners

The testing site is located at Skagit Valley College in Mount Vernon (2405 East College Way, Mount Vernon, WA 98273). The site will be open to provide flu vaccinations for uninsured adults from 9:00 a.m. – 3:00 p.m. on Saturday, November 14 and Sunday, November 15. COVID-19 testing will not be available those days. Vaccines for children will also not be available, but uninsured children can get a free or low cost vaccination at their local pharmacy or through their primary care provider.

If you have questions, or need additional information, call Public Health at 360-416-1500.

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PARA PUBLICACIÓN INMEDIATA: El Condado de Skagit ofrecerá la vacuna contra la gripe para adultos sin seguro en el lugar de pruebas el 14 y 15 de noviembre.

Hoy, el Comando Unificado del Condado de Skagit anunció que Salud Pública utilizará el sitio de pruebas para proporcionar la vacuna contra la influenza estacional para adultos sin seguro el sábado 14 de noviembre y el domingo 15 de noviembre de 9:00 a.m. a 3:00 p.m.

Este servicio es para vacuna contra la gripe sólo para adultos; no se proporcionarán vacunas para niños. La vacuna estará disponible para aquellos de 19 años de edad o más, que no tengan seguro médico. Las pruebas o los servicios de COVID-19 no se proporcionarán en esos días, según el programa de pruebas usual. El Departamento de Salud del Estado de Washington ha proporcionado las dosis de vacuna para adultos sin seguro.

“Las vacunas contra la influenza son siempre una buena idea todos los años, pero es más importante que nunca que todos los adultos que puedan que se vacunen,” dijo la Directora de Salud Pública Jennifer Johnson, “El COVID-19 y la gripe tienen varios síntomas similares, así que las personas con gripe podrían fácilmente sobrepasar los recursos limitados de pruebas de COVID-19, las camas de hospital y otras partes de nuestro sistema médico. Más aun, si alguien contrajera COVID-19 y la gripe al mismo tiempo, correría un riesgo mucho mayor de sufrir resultados de salud más bajos. Este es un servicio importante que nos complace proporcionar”.

“Realmente somos afortunados de tener un sitio ya establecido que hace posible la distribución de estas vacunas adicionales”, dijo el Presidente de la Junta de Comisionados del Condado de Skagit, Ron Wesen. “La Junta apoya plenamente al Comando Unificado y la Salud Pública en sus esfuerzos”.

El sitio de pruebas se encuentra en Skagit Valley College en Mount Vernon (2405 Oriental College Way, Mount Vernon, WA 98273). El sitio estará abierto para proporcionar vacunas contra la influenza para adultos sin seguro de 9:00 a.m. a 3:00 p.m. el sábado 14 y domingo 15 de noviembre. Las pruebas de COVID-19 no estarán disponibles esos días. Las vacunas para niños tampoco estarán disponibles, pero los niños sin seguro pueden recibir una vacuna gratis o de bajo costo en su farmacia local o a través de su proveedor de atención primaria.

Si tiene preguntas o necesita información adicional, llamar a Salud Pública al 360-416-1500.

SKAGIT COUNTY TO PRIORITIZE TEST SITE FOR SKAGIT RESIDENTS AND WORKERS

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August 21, 2020: COVID-19 Updates from Skagit County

Yesterday, Skagit County announced that beginning on August 31, 2020, it will limit use of its drive through testing site to those who live in or work in Skagit County. This was a difficult decision, but COVID-19 is more likely to be with us for months than weeks, and long-term sustainability of the testing site for Skagit County residents, workers and employees has to be the top priority.

In a press release yesterday, Public Health Director Jennifer Johnson spoke about the decision: “We want to be good neighbors, but we’re in a place where our current testing level isn’t sustainable. In order to protect this vital service for Skagit County residents, we have to ask that those who do not live or work here seek testing elsewhere.”

Understandably, the decision to restrict testing has created some questions about data and availability of testing.

If Skagit was testing residents from other counties, does this mean that those positive cases are counted in our case count total?

No. It doesn’t matter where a person is tested; the positive test result only counts for the county where the person lives. We do show total positive results and people tested at the drive through site on our separate testing website, but only those positive cases who live in Skagit count towards our total and the Governor’s risk assessment metrics.

How will Skagit County ensure that only residents and workers are using the testing site?

Starting on August 31, 2020, we will be setting up an additional screening tent at the test site. Workers will ask patrons questions about where they live or work. More information on how this will affect the flow of the testing site can be found at www.skagitcounty.net/coronavirus.

We also regularly tweet live updates on wait times and weather conditions at the test site. You can follow those at @SkagitGov on Twitter, or by taking a look at the Twitter feed embedded on the main page of our website.

How many people was Skagit County testing from other counties?

Around half of those utilizing the testing site over the last three months were Skagit County residents. The second largest group came from Whatcom County, at roughly 22 percent. We do not currently ask questions about employment, so it is entirely possible that many of those individuals work in Skagit County. Anecdotally, however, our testing site workers have noticed that a large portion of non-Skagit residents are seeking testing for travel purposes.

What does it cost to operate the testing site?

It varies slightly week to week, but it costs roughly $60,000 per week for Skagit to operate the drive through testing site. This amount does not account for the large number of unpaid volunteer hours and the hidden costs of Public Health staff time required for follow-up on positive cases. Skagit County has been using its allocated Coronavirus Aide, Relief and Economic Security (CARES) Act dollars, provided by the federal government, to cover some of the costs. CARES funding is only available through October 31, 2020.

I’ve heard utilization of the testing site has decreased in recent weeks. Why limit use now?

We have seen a slight decline in testing site utilization over the past few weeks. We do not expect this to continue. With another major holiday coming—we’ve seen spikes in cases and utilization about 10 days after every major holiday since March—flu season right around the corner, and some school districts returning to hybrid or in-person instruction, we have to plan for the inevitable increase in need at the testing site and make sure our operation is sustainable.

Where can people who don’t reside in or work in Skagit get tested?

Individuals can always contact their primary care provider about testing. If you don’t have a primary care provider or need additional information, individuals can contact their home county health department or district:

What should I do if I have more questions?

Our Health Department is always happy to answer any questions you have.
You can email them at eh@co.skagit.wa.us or call 360-416-1500.

You can also follow Public Health on Facebook for up to date information, take a look at our blog Skagit Health Connection or check out our Communications Coordinator Laura Han’s updates on Nextdoor.