After several delays, Vashon Pharmacy received a major shipment of the new COVID vaccine this past weekend.

The pharmacy can administer vaccinations for everyone aged three years and above.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recommends the vaccine for everyone six months and older, so parents of children under three years of age will need to make an appointment with their healthcare provider.

To make an appointment, go to Vashon Pharmacy’s new consolidated immunization page. You can choose to receive multiple vaccinations at a single visit, including the possibility of getting your COVID and flu shots together.

Volunteers from the Vashon Medical Reserve Corps, the Community Emergency Response Team, and the island’s Emergency Operations Center are augmenting pharmacy staff to increase capacity and meet the surge of vaccination requests.

Vashon School Kids Get Dedicated Clinics

School-aged kids on Vashon get their own clinics.

A COVID and flu clinic for students aged 12 and older will be held at the Vashon High School gym on Tuesday, Oct. 10. A clinic for students aged five and older will be held at the McMurray Middle School gym on Thursday, October 12. Clinic hours are 7:30-10 a.m. To sign up for your child, go here.

Vashon Pharmacy will bill the insurance companies of students who are insured.

For students without insurance, flu vaccinations will be provided free of charge, paid by earmarked donations managed by VashonBePrepared.

COVID vaccinations will be provided at no charge at a future date when Vashon Pharmacy receives vaccines paid for by the government for those who do not have insurance.

Register your child for a COVID vaccination and Vashon Pharmacy will contact you when the free-of-charge vaccines arrive.

Visiting Nurses Hold for One-time COVID/Flu Vax Event

In addition to the pharmacy and dedicated school events, the Seattle Visiting Nurse Association (SVNA) will come to Vashon next week, offering COVID and flu vaccinations for everyone. Your insurance company will be billed using the information you provide during registration. If you are not insured, you will be asked to pay.

The event takes place from 3 to 7 p.m. on Friday, Oct. 13, at Vashon High School. You must register in advance here. You will then receive a personal confirmation code via email; bring the code with you on the day of the event.

Flu shots will be for those aged four years and older. COVID vaccines will be for those aged five years and older.

Hospitalization rate continues to rise

The COVID hospitalization rate continues its slow rise in our exposure area, which includes King County as well as Pierce and Kitsap counties.

COVID hospitalizations are not far below the level that would trigger an increase from Basic Risk to Elevated Risk.

That’s concerning for several reasons.

First, the official COVID case rate in our region is severely under-reported to public health agencies, and we know the hospitalization rate is a lagging indicator of COVID prevalence in our community.

We also all seem to know several people with COVID at the moment. Finally, we are getting into the annual respiratory virus season that combines the health impacts of COVID, flu, and RSV.

For now, advice from Vashon’s Medical Reserve Corps remains to wear an N95 mask indoors in public if you have been exposed to COVID, are at risk for health or other reasons, or live with or spend time with someone at high risk.

Plan on getting the updated COVID and flu vaccines in early fall.

Maintain good ventilation at home and at work, and avoid those with suspected or confirmed COVID.

If exposed to COVID, wear a mask in public and avoid contact with those at high risk for 10 days. Always home-test if you have symptoms. If you test positive, isolate for at least five days and until you test negative. Also check in right away with your doctor about treatment, even if your symptoms are initially mild.

If immunocompromised, discuss additional prevention actions with your healthcare provider.

Stock Up On Free COVID Tests

The current wave of COVID cases on the island means people need to be testing in order to know when they should be isolating to keep from spreading COVID. Fortunately, the federal government revived the free test kit program last week. As with the old program, your test kits will be delivered in the mail. There is no charge and you can order four rapid COVID tests for your household here.

Preparedness Task

September was National Preparedness Month. A key theme this year was being ready to get by if your source of essential medical needs has been cut off. On Vashon, that could be an earthquake shutting down ferries for an extended period, or even major damage to our only pharmacy.

Here’s a quick list of tips, curated from a complete list you can find here.

• Always have at least a two-week supply of all your medications. Keep a medication list including dose, frequency, and the name of the prescribing doctor. Replace medications in your go kit regularly to make sure they don’t expire.
• Have an extra two-week supply of any medical supplies you use, such as bandages, ostomy bags or syringes.
• Secure a backup power source for all medical equipment requiring electrical power — beds, breathing equipment or infusion pumps.
• If you use oxygen, have an emergency supply for at least two weeks, including your expendable supplies such as tubing, solutions and medications.
• You might need to leave your home with little notice, so keep a bag packed at all times that contains your medication list, supplies for two weeks, and copies of vital medical papers such as insurance cards and power of attorney.