Vashon Emergency Operations Center COVID-19 Pandemic Situation Report

Here’s what you need to know about May 4 to May 10.

May 13, 2021 1:30 am
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Current Vaccination Eligibility: Everyone 12+

THE VIRUS

Virus statistics: Public Health – Seattle & King County (PHSKC) reports 117 positive cases of COVID-19 on Vashon since the pandemic began, an increase of one case since the last edition.

Why the spike? Experts, including those at King County. Public Health – Seattle & King County, list several reasons for the spike. People are letting their guard down by not wearing masks indoors or keeping social circles small. Most new COVID-19 cases are due to new, more contagious variants, which are infecting younger people in greater numbers. We only recently had enough vaccines for everyone.

VASHON VACCINATION AVAILABILITY

The overview: The island’s vaccination rate has been rising sharply, now that both of the island’s active vaccination providers (Vashon Pharmacy and Sea Mar clinic) have consistent supplies of vaccine. You can get vaccinated at one or the other of the two locations any day, Monday through Saturday.

12 to 15-year-olds: Vashon Island School District has targeted the week of May 17 for school vaccination days for 12 to 15-year-olds. Early this week, the Food and Drug Administration authorized the use of the Pfizer vaccine for this new younger age group. In a planning meeting late last week with Vashon Pharmacy, the EOC, and Vashon Medical Reserve Corps, the School District decided to aim for holding vaccination clinics at McMurray Middle School and Vashon High School during the week of May 17, pending final authorization by the state Department of Health (DOH). Information about pre-registration and parental approval will be coming from School District emails and the EOC Situation Reports.

Free: All vaccinations are free to all. You’ll be asked for insurance information if you have it, but there’s no co-pay. If you do not have insurance, the cost is covered anyway and you will not be charged.

Questions about vaccination: If you have questions, please call (844) 469-4554 and select option 4. That will connect you to one of the Medical Reserve Corps doctors who can respond with information. You can’t make a vaccination appointment at that number. For an appointment, follow the directions below.

Vashon Pharmacy: Just walk up to the vaccination tents from 9 a.m. to 12 p.m. and 1 to 4 p.m. on Tuesdays, Thursdays or Saturdays. You are encouraged to make an appointment for your own convenience and you can do that by going to the schedule page at VashonPharmacy.com/COVID. The appointment page is wide open most days, with none of the computer traffic jams people experienced a few months ago. The Pharmacy will bill insurance to recover the cost of administering the vaccine, but there’s no co-pay. If you don’t have insurance, no problem, no charge. Spanish language interpretation is available at all walk-up clinics.

Sea Mar Clinic: Sea Mar will vaccinate walk-ups without appointment most weekdays. You can check availability on the Sea Mar website daily to find out what vaccine is on offer and to make sure they’ll be open, at SeaMar.org/COVID-Vaccine. If you prefer to make an appointment, call the Sunrise Ridge clinic at (206) 463-3671 or you can stop by in person to make an appointment. Like the Pharmacy, there’s no charge. They will take your insurance information and there’s no co-pay. If you don’t have insurance, the cost is covered. A Spanish-language interpreter is available for early visits beginning at 7:30 a.m. on Wednesdays only.

COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENTS

Major improvement in vaccination rate: Vashon’s first dose vaccination rate rose to almost 82% of those aged 16 and over as of the first of this week. The second dose, the fully vaccinated rate, is at nearly 54%.

Household economic recovery looking up: Unemployment claims from Vashon Island residents continue to show signs of economic recovery, after more than one year of the pandemic. Current claims counts are at 312, down from 339 two weeks ago, and a full 71% lower than the 1,080 claimants from last April. If you have questions about unemployment or need assistance in filing, contact deborah@vashonbeprepared.org or phone/text her at 206-200-3236.

Voice of Vashon’s voice: Check out Voice of Vashon’s new series of COVID-19 Public Service Announcements (PSAs). You can hear all four of them online.

EMERGENCY OPERATIONS

Emergency Operations Center (EOC): Vashon’s pandemic emergency response began over 14 months ago (428 days). Our current operational priorities were established by the Incident Commander, Fire Chief Charlie Krimmert, and approved by the VashonBePrepared Board. Those priorities are health, food security, housing security and economic recovery.

Vaccination Operations/MRC/EOC: Operations enhancements have been taking place across multiple fronts in the vaccination project.

  • The site redesign at Vashon Pharmacy has worked well this week. Thursday was the first day of combined drive-through vaccination and walk-up vaccination with no appointments required.
  • A multi-disciplinary team met to solidify plans for vaccinating 12 to 15-year-olds when final state authorization comes through. The School District set the week of May 17 as a target for school vaccination days at McMurray Middle School and Vashon High School.
  • The island’s two active vaccination sites have been coordinating. This week, three patients requested vaccinations at the Pharmacy site when that would have required opening a new vial of vaccine and wasting some unused doses. The Pharmacy site called Sea Mar and asked if they could be accommodated there, and the answer was yes. The patients were good sports and drove to Sea Mar to get their shots.

School COVID monitoring: The proposed pooled COVID-19 monitoring program now under study for the School District has not yet been able to launch, except for a few pilot tests by MRC volunteers. Efforts are underway to resolve challenges around staffing and insurance.

EOC/Community Engagement: Most elements have been put in place for a new vaccination encouragement campaign aimed at the 20% of islanders who have not yet decided to get their shots.

  • Production has been completed and a new Rosie the Raccoon ad will appear in The Beachcomber this coming week. Rosie sends a note to the community urging everyone to pull together.
  • The campaign also includes new banners, leafleting at strategic locations, emails, new Q&A information sheets, Facebook posts and more.
  • The EOC has begun forming a new outreach team that will go to the field to help people understand the importance of getting vaccinated, how to get the shots, and answer questions.

Volunteers: For the last full week reporting period, 35 volunteers contributed 429 hours of work to VashonBePrepared’s pandemic emergency response. That brings the total contributed hours to nearly 29,000 since the activation began. At the FEMA reimbursement grant rate of $31.72/hour, VashonBePrepared volunteers have run up nearly $917,000 of contributed in-kind value. VashonBePrepared also gives thanks for the many hours of extra work logged during the pandemic in support of the Vashon community, by the staff and volunteers at our partner social services agencies on the island.

Acknowledgments: This week we acknowledge the businesses which have supported our work despite the vaccination traffic and parking challenges in the alley (actually 100th Place SW) running behind the Pharmacy from the movie theater. Thanks for bearing with us! Vashon Theatre, Island Queen, Recess Lab, Voice of Vashon, Glass Bottle Creamery, Island Paper Chase, Valise Gallery, Gravy, Vashon Print & Design, Sporty’s, Pizzeria Mario, Caffe Vino Olio, The Hardware Store Restaurant, Chase Bank, Spinnaker Building, Sugar Shack, Water District 19, and the Cunningham Building.

ABOUT

This information is compiled from the Situation Reports produced by the EOC Situation Section and provided to The Beachcomber to help islanders stay informed and safe. To receive reports and other emergency information emails, go to VoiceofVashon.org/alertsignup.