A drive-thru COVID testing site. (AP Photo / Virginia Mayo, File)
Executive Dow Constantine announced on Friday that King County will set up major community vaccination sites.
Watch the vaccination stages of COVID-19 in Washington
The hope is that the sites will be comparable to existing high-volume testing sites the county already employs, and to ensure that “we’re off to a flying start as medical personnel receive their doses.”
The county will try to cut some of the red tape that would typically hinder a plan like this, and will instead pay for the vaccine distribution sites directly from its own budget.
“We are not waiting for all the usual negotiations and contracts, but we expect to be reimbursed by the state and federal government if we are to continue our robust public health response,” Constantine said.
Initially, the focus will be on setting up sites in South King County, where COVID-19 cases are currently highest in the region as residents grappled with “ dire health disparities. ”
On the current timeline, Seattle-King County Public Health expects the first sites to be operational on Feb. 1.
This comes after Washington State health officials released information on the next stage of vaccine priority setting.
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The first phase, which began in December, includes high-risk health workers in health care facilities, high-risk first responders, residents of long-term care facilities, and has recently expanded to all other health care workers.
Michele Roberts, acting assistant secretary in the Washington State Department of Health, specified that Stage 1B will have multiple levels, the first of which includes all people 70 years older and people 50 or older in multi-generational households. Level B2 includes high-risk workers aged 50 or older who work in certain municipal environments: agriculture; food processing; grocery stores; K-12 teachers and school staff; Day-care; corrections; prison, prisons or detention centers; public transport; fire; law enforcement.