Department of Health vaccine distribution

Boxes of Pfizer vaccine arriving in Washington state.
Photo courtesy The Seattle Times

From the Department of Health

The Washington State Department of Health (DOH) continues to make progress with our COVID-19 vaccine distribution and administration efforts.

Yesterday DOH updated phase 1A guidance, with the goal of expediting vaccine administration efforts across Washington state. Read our statement.

As of this week, 69,349 people in our state have received their first dose of vaccine. We expect to order second-dose allocations of the Pfizer vaccine this weekend. This means that initial recipients of the Pfizer vaccine will be receiving their second dose soon. We expect to start receiving second-dose allocations of the Moderna vaccine the week of Jan. 12.

As a reminder, all vaccine recipients must receive two doses of vaccine from the same manufacturer for maximum protection against COVID-19.

Vaccine ordering and administration

The table below is a snapshot of the most recent vaccine supply for Washington state.

We anticipate the following for our week three allocation:

• Pfizer: 57,525 doses
• Moderna: 44,500 doses (this includes 200 doses originally from week two due to order cancellations)
• Locations:
• 43,375 doses will go to 87 sites in 26 counties
• 58,650 doses will go to support long-term care facilities and 17 tribes and Urban Indian Health Programs

Long-term care facilities

Vaccinations have started for residents and staff of long-term care facilities. Last week, a local long-term care pharmacy began vaccinating as part of the state program. This week and next, under the federal Pharmacy Partnership Program, Walgreens and CVS have several onsite clinics planned specifically for long-term care facilities. Walgreens and CVS have a shared goal to complete the first dose of vaccinations in nursing homes in the next three weeks.

Future phases

We hope to know more next week about prioritization decisions in Washington state. We’re using the broad ACIP guidance as a framework, but will need to prioritize within it to match projected vaccine supplies. Gov. Inslee is playing a crucial role in this decision-making process alongside public health experts here at DOH. When this document is available, it will be published on the DOH website, and we will share information that informed the decisions.